How to Point to Jesus chapter by chapter in the book of Jonah

When I was teaching overseas earlier this year I was asked by a seminary student of how would I point to Jesus in each chapter of the book of Jonah.

Here’s my answer.

Jonah Chapter 1

Point: I would point to Jesus in that Jesus is the opposite of Jonah the unwilling prophet in that Jesus is the willing Prophet and Priest for us.

Note first the parallel of Jonah in Jonah chapter 1 with Jesus on the boat with His disciples (we will look at Mattthew 8 as the example passage):

1. Both episodes involve a man of God.
2. Both episodes involve being in a vessel: “When He got into the boat” (Matthew 8:23a)
3. Both episodes involve a vessel sailing the opposite direction (Youngblood, Location 1724).
4. Both episodes involve a man of God that has others being in the vessel with him as well: “His disciples followed Him.” (Matthew 8:23b)
5. Both episodes involves being at sea. “on the sea” (Matthew 8:24a)
6. Both episodes involve a “big storm”: “And behold, there arose ^[a]a great storm on the sea,” (Matthew 8:24a)
7. Both episodes involve the vessel being threatened: “so that the boat was being covered with the waves,” (Matthew 8:24b)
8. Both episodes involve the man of God sleeping during the storm: “but Jesus Himself was asleep.” (Matthew 8:24c)
9. Both episodes involve the man of God being waken up: “but Jesus Himself was asleep.” (Matthew 8:25)
10. Both episodes involve terrified men: “And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “ Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” (Matthew 8:25)
11. Both episodes involve the storm miraculously stopped: “He *said to them, “Why are you ^[b]afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and ^[c]it became perfectly calm.” (Matthew 8:26)
12. Both episodes involve the response of fear and awe: “The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Matthew 8:27)

But what is the differences between Jesus and Jonah?  Jesus is the willing Prophet!

Application: Aren’t you glad He willingly came to save us and die for us?  Aren’t you glad Jesus shared the Good News and is the willing Good News for our salvation?

Jonah Chapter 2

Point: I would point to Jesus in that Jonah being in the belly of the sea creature is a Type of the Messiah’s burial and resurrection.

Jonah is in the sea creature’s belly in Jonah 2.  Much of this passage is Jonah’s prayer.

Note what Jesus said in Matthew 12:38-40: ^“38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” ³⁹ But He answered and said to them, “ An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; ⁴⁰ for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹  The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”

Note how in the Gospel of Matthew the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign (v.38).  But recall earlier they are suppressing the evidence even to the point of saying He’s satanic (Matthew 12:22-24).  Thus Jesus’ response with condemnation in v.39.  Then Jesus tells them a sign in v.40.  That sign was parallel to Jonah’s in the belly of the sea creature.  Thus we note how Jonah in the belly of the sea creature was due to his disobedience to God.  But Jesus was in the belly of the earth not because of His sins (He didn’t have any) but because our sins.  Because of our sins He died and He was buried for three days.  But He was also risen back to life to save us from our sins.

Application: Have you seen the evidential and prophetic implication of Jonah in the belly of the Sea Creature as a Type of Jesus being buried for three days?

Jonah Chapter 3

Point: From Jonah 3 I would point to Jesus being the fulfillment of Old Testament anticipation of God saving Gentiles.

Jonah chapter 3 records Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, repenting after hearing Jonah’s message.  We see here Gentiles (non-Jews) turning to Jesus.

Recall that when God started a people through Abraham that would eventually become the nation Israel God gave this promise to Abraham: “And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).  God’s plan all along was not to set Israel to be favored merely for Israel itself, but to bless other nations.  That ultimate blessing from Israel is the Messiah being born from Israel’s line and that Messiah will saved all sinners from all nations.  Jonah 3 is the anticipation, a foretaste of things to come.

Application: Have you realized God and Christ is in the business of saving sinners, both Jews and Gentiles?  Have you turn to Jesus?  Note what Jesus said in Matthew 12:41 ^{“The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”}

Jonah Chapter 4

Point: I would point to Jesus and His saving works is the height of the display of God’s glorious attributes.

In Jonah 4:2 Jonah complains about the attributes of God: “He prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.”

How did Jonah know these five attributes about God?  He experienced it when he was spared his life in Jonah 2.  But note the irony in that Jonah in 4:2 is a complaint that Jonah had against God.  Jonah also knew that God was all these attributes from Exodus 34:6-7 since four of the attributes of God are mentioned there: “Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; ⁷ who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

God’s display of being “gracious and compassionate,” and “ slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity” didn’t stop in the Old Testament.  In fact in the New Testament it is heightened with Christ.  Christ’s work to save sinners display God’s attribute with crystal clarity.

Application: Have you trusted in Christ as Lord and Savior of your life?  Have you placed faith in Him, believing Christ is the display of God’s grace, compassion, loving kindness, and patience?