The Sign of Jonah
Over 2,000 years ago, Jesus chose to use the prophet Jonah as a prophetic sign to what was about to happen to Him. His intent was to call His people, Israel, to repentance and belief in Him.[1]
What does the story of this ancient prophet have to do with the Jewish people today in 2024?
Let’s look at a couple of verses from the text in Jonah to see just how relevant and important they can still be for us today:
So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. Then the men feared the Lord greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:15–17 [NASB])
When the severe storm on the Mediterranean Sea threatened to capsize the ship, the sailors questioned Jonah about what to do. Upon hearing the answer, “Throw me overboard,”[2] they desperately tried instead to deliver him safely to shore. The storm increased all the more until they abandoned their futile efforts[3] and resigned themselves to the mercy of God, acknowledging Jonah’s plight as the LORD’s sovereign will. They then heeded Jonah’s counsel and, after they had prayed,[4] threw him overboard into the churning tumultuous sea.
Just as Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee with a rebuke as Matthew’s Gospel records, the Mediterranean in the Jonah narrative grew still! And, just as the disciples were exceedingly afraid at this display,[5] mirroring how the sailors had feared the LORD greatly, once the storm quieted! The psalmist confirms that what Jesus did on the Sea of Galilee shows Him to be the LORD, as we read in Psalm 89:8–9 and, 107:25–31.
In response to God’s calming the roiling sea, the sailors offer a sacrifice and a vow to the God of Israel. What a show of thanks and faith from pagan seamen! Oh, and next we see the obedient savior for Jonah, and it comes in the form of a great fish! As the Sovereign ruler of all, God instructs the physical and spiritual world as He wishes.
In Scripture we see God use a colt, a donkey, a cloud, a burning bush, a rainbow, a dove, a raven, and now a whale. He parts a sea, divides a river, walks on water, and makes time stand still. Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD!
We can clearly see from these texts that God’s will is going to be done. May we be wise, like the fish, like the donkey, and the raven, by obeying His will, His way. In doing so, we may avoid the rather difficult circumstances God designs to turn the wayward back to His desired path. Today, though mankind’s mandate is to “rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky,” we do well to learn from their obedience to our Maker.
And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” (Revelation 5:13)
This passage from Jonah is what Jesus is referring to when He speaks to the scribes, Pharisees, and “this generation.” “The only sign that will be given is the sign of Jonah” (Matthew 12:39).
It is worth noting that Saul (renamed Paul), after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, was three days without sight, neither eating nor drinking, in a blinded state caused by unbelief. Compare that with Jonah’s three days in the belly of a great fish because of disobedience. Thankfully, both Jonah and Paul repented and became obedient to the will of the Lord!
In the passage from Matthew, it is clear that the judgment will happen to “that generation.” specifically to its leaders, because of a lack of repentance to the message Jesus brought. On the other hand, Nineveh, a people thought to be much more wicked than those of Israel and its religious leaders, and with less “light,” of divine revelation, repented at the sign and message of Jonah.
Jesus then, is giving a significant “last chance” warning for all who heard the message (and would after, through the disciples) to believe and trust in Him after His resurrection. John tells us:
For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. (John 3:17-20)
The story of Jonah, like so much of the Tanakh (Old Testament), reminds us that the Scriptures from beginning to end point to God’s redemptive plan through His Son, who is the Messiah of Israel according to the Scriptures. We are to be telling others of the “sign of Jonah,” especially to the Jewish people (Romans 1:16), while there is still time.
Written by Jeff, Life in Messiah staff
Intrigued by how the Tanakh foreshadows Jesus? Check out www.insearchofshalom.com.
Want to keep reading? Here is another good read on the book of Jonah: Upside Down Grace.
For more on Jesus’ teaching on “signs of the times,” check out The TŌV Podcast on Matthew 24: Are These the Birth Pains of Messiah?
Endnotes:
[1] Matthew 12:38–42; Matthew 16:1–4; Luke 11:29–32.
[2] Jonah 1:10–12.
[3] Jonah 1:13.
[4] Jonah 1:14.
[5] Mark 4:35–41.