More About the Sign of Jonah

Scripture: Then the sailors were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. Jonah 1:5

Observation: While many would consider to the story about a man swallowed by a whale to be metaphorical if not irrelevant and untrue, Jesus himself declares that he will give "the sign of Jonah" as evidence of his authority. That sign is typically considered being inside the whale (the grave) for three days then returning. It could be the mission to redeem a non-Jewish population with the message of God's repentance. And here is another option ... it could be sleeping during a raging storm, then calming that storm by action (commanding it, or being thrown into it).

The fact is, Jonah provides many parallels to Jesus. He sleeps during a storm. He has lots cast to decide part of his fate. His calming of the storm causes true worship and loyalty to the Lord. He prays to the Lord to save him from Shoel and the Lord does. His prayer further points out he has been driven from the Lord's sight, but the Lord brought him out of the Pit; these are all images used to describe Jesus' descent and ascension after the crucifixion. He proclaims the need to repent to all people, even explicitly non-Jews, and they respond. He is even from Galilee very near Nazareth, which is relevant with the Jewish leaders challenge Jesus' authority because no prophet has ever come from there. And even though non-biblical, like Jesus Jonah is included as a prophet in the Quran.

Application: I have heard a great pastor say many times that, if you see something in the New Testament, you can find the prediction, lesson, and/or parallel for it in the Old Testament. One would think that specifics about Messiah - a unique act intended by God to redeem the world - would be the exception to this. It isn't. And it is by this very fact that we can logically trust in the authenticity of Jesus.

So many want logic to justify faith, and yet they always reject such logic. In the case of Jonah, many even reject the entire book as a work of fiction. The truth is ... that doesn't matter. If the book was written ~700 years before Christ, and then predicts the life of Christ, that is still logical evidence. I know logic doesn't truly work when discussing faith, but understanding it can help in certain discussions.

I love the logic of the bible, and the way it can reinforce faith and hope. For this reason, Jonah has changed from a fascinating children's story about a man swallowed by a fish, to become a comforting study that reinforces God's plan through Jesus, especially as it applies to the salvation of Gentiles like me.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for your plan and intentionality, that makes faith both emotional and logical. May my faith grow stronger every day. Amen.