A Little (Easter) Bunny Trail with Jonah and Jesus

When we read Jonah, we see how God wants to restore this sin-soaked planet. He calls His reluctant prophet, who is justifiably horrified at the people he's supposed to go and share the love of Yahweh with: the Ninevites.  Jonah is just fine with God working in and through His chosen ones, but THOSE PEOPLE?  C'mon, Lord, they are beyond the pale; they pillage, murder and stack up their enemies' skulls with impunity.  Yuck. 

But God's kingdom class both the oppressed and the oppressor:

Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed— and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors— and they have no comforter. (Eccles. 4:1)

God desires to see all come to repentance: 

Say to them, "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’" (Ezek. 33:11) 

Jesus makes it clear the order of God's salvation plan: 

You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. (John 4:22)

Paul echoes it: 

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. (Rom. 1:16)

Jonah does not grasp the inclusivity of God's plan, for he is judging the behavior of a pagan people, not seeing them as fellow sinners, as part of the human family who desperately need the touch of Yahweh.   

What I love about the Scriptures is when you've read verses in the past and they suddenly jump out at you with a freshness and an urgency. I am reading through a chronological Bible these days. It fits how I think.  I am an unabashed history nerd, and so having the Scripture unfold in historical order (some interpretation is necessary, to be sure), I can better understand the trajectory of God's salvation story. 

I am reading Jonah now in this Bible (this blog comes from a study I did some time ago) and some familiar verses popped out! We just passed the momentous celebration of Easter.  We look once more  into the empty tomb and see what the apostles saw: He is not here! He is risen!  We also run to share this news about our risen Savior! 

So, when I read these verses, I realized just how much Jonah's experience echoes what Jesus is going to experience in His impending death. 

In Jesus' day, people knew their Hebrew Scriptures, and when they heard a small portion of Scripture, they could hear the rest of it in their minds.  The Pharisees were especially well-versed (pun intended) in knowing the larger context in which the verses were set. 

So, imagine the scene.  The Pharisees have asked Jesus for a sign. Jesus compares the tomb He will be laid in to the "belly of a huge fish."  The tomb will be in the "heart of the earth."  They get the implication Jesus is making between Jonah's experience and His own: He will not remain in the grip of death. 

Hmmmm.    

Let's set the scene from Matthew 12:38-41:

Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here."

Let me humbly insert some verses from Matthew and the Psalms into Jonah's time in the belly of the whale that echo Jesus' coming death and resurrection. The Pharisees know the verses from this portion of Jonah and will be greatly disturbed by Jesus' not-so-subtle comparison. 

From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said:

"In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.

"Then he said to them, 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.'" (Matt. 26:38) 

You hurled me into the depths,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.
I said, "I have been banished
from your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple."

He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” (Matt. 12:42)

The engulfing waters threatened me,
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.

"From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' (which means 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?')." (Matt. 27:45) 

But you, Lord my God,

brought my life up from the pit.

"For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, you will not allow your holy one to experience corruption." (Psalm 16:10)

When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.

"Jesus answered, 'Destroy this temple and in three days I’ll raise it up.'” (John 2:19)

Those who cling to worthless idols
turn away from God’s love for them.
But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.

"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you.” (Matt. 28:5-7)

I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus [the LORD saves], for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matt. 1:21)

And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. (2:1-10)

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:16-20) 

Jonah exited the fish.

Jesus will exit the tomb. 

We will, like Jonah, are directed to preach the good news:  Salvation is open to all.