Jonah

Bible Study with Dr. Chuck Missler

The Book of Jonah eludes to Jesus' resurrection, and Jonah's account is authenticated by Jesus.

Matthew 12
Luke 11
Jesus speaks of Jonah and confirms Jonah's experience as a historical event, i.e., Jonah survived for the 3 days he was inside a fish. Scholars may argue about the historical fact of Jonah's account, but if Jesus Himself confirms the event, that ought trump anything that comes out of any scholar's mouth.

Jesus doesn't mention many prophets. In fact, Jesus speaks of only 4 Old Testament prophets;
Elijah
Elisha
Jonah
Isaiah

There are 3 elements that make up the good news of the Gospel:
1. Jesus died for our sins
2. Jesus was buried
3. Jesus rose again on the 3rd day

Echoes of these elements are found throughout the Old Testament and refers to Jesus' resurrection:
In < 1 Corinthians 15 >, Paul speaks about the Gospel "according to the Scriptures". What are the Scriptures? They are Scriptures of the Old Testament:
1. Jonah and the big fish is the most obvious reference to Jesus' resurrection simply because Jesus pointed to it.
2. < Genesis 1 >: New life begins on the 3rd day
3. Abraham's offering of Issac involves Issac being dead to him for 3 days until his death was substituted by a ram.
4. < Joshua 2:15 >: Rahab the harlot led the two spies down by a cord through the window. The word "cord" in Hebrew can also mean pain, sorrow, or travail. In < Joshua 2:18 >, when the spies told Rahab that she and her family can escape through the same cord, they used a different Hebrew word for cord, and that word could also mean, hope. When the spies left, Rahab told them to hide in the mountains for 3 days before going on their way. The interesting thing is, the first cord representing sorrow and pain and the second cord representing hope is separated by 3 days. This is the mystery level of the Bible that relates to Jonah's 3 days in the fish and Jesus resurrection on the third day.

In addition to alluding to the resurrection of Jesus, the account of Jonah also revealed several important points:

1. Jonah, in the process of telling the people of Nineveh to repent, he also led Gentiles to God. In fact, this is one of the many examples that show God has always had a plan for the Israelites and the Gentiles (as opposed to saving the Gentiles only because the Israelites rejected salvation).

2. Jonah was very reluctant to preach to the people of Nineveh because those people were rivals of his country. Jonah believed they deserved to be wiped out by God and did not wish to warn them as God instructed them to. It took 3 days inside a big fish to get Jonah to repent, and even then, God was like, so go, Jonah, get on with it. And so Jonah did. And to his surprise, the people of Nineveh repented! And Jonah was mad! He was so mad, he would rather die. But God said to Jonah (Jonah 4:10-11), "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" God's plan to save His children exceeds our foresight and understanding at times, and it is very easy for us to get overly emotional just because God's plan clashes with our selfish plans. In Jonah's case, his love for his country exceeded his love for God. There is nothing wrong with being a patriot, but we need to remember that as God's children, our duties are to God first, ourselves second.