Ep. 149. Jonah | Fish Food

EPISODE 149

FISH FOOD: JONAH

Let me give you a couple of things to consider here. 

"Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the fish, so Jesus will be three days and nights in the earth." Jesus is the one to point this out to his audience. Jesus would be three days and three nights in the earth. But then he would be raised from the dead. Then, he would reveal himself in glory. The figuratively resurrected Jonah was a "sign" to the people, and they repented. The wicked people of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah, but the rebellious people of Jerusalem would not repent at the preaching of Jesus. You and I look to the resurrected Jesus, and we believe his testimony; we believe the "signs" and repent and turn to God. Jonah, in this way, foreshadows our savior. 

Second, I do not know if this is true, but I find it interesting. I heard a preacher in Chicago some two decades ago or so argue that Jonah must have returned to the Lord in faithfulness. After all, he is an example pointing to Jesus in the New Testament. But beyond that, the book of Jonah is attributed to Jonah himself. And if Jonah did, in fact, record for us this record, then it is fascinating that he paints himself in such a terrible light. The preacher I sat under argued that an unrepentant man would never be content to paint himself in such a terrible light but that, certainly, a penitent soul would be willing to discuss his shortcomings and sins. I won't ever preach it from a stage. I can't prove a word of it. But I do think about it every time I read Jonah. Of course, maybe someone who hated Jonah wrote the book, and then we know full well why Jonah was portrayed in such a disparaging light. 

ADDITIONAL READING: 2 Kings 14:24-26; Mark 4:38-40; Matthew 12: 38-39; Matthew 16: 3-5; Exodus 34:6-7