Peter, Are You Serious? Jonah?

Are you looking for an excellent way to speak to a crowd that has witnessed a miracle? Or for a way to encourage people with drooping spirits? Peter and our Lord Jesus suggest we point them to the Old Testament prophets. 

Why? Because, says Peter, “All the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken” foretold events in Jesus’ generation (Acts 3:24). The miracles that happen in Jesus’ name show God is now giving the blessings the prophets foretold. Jesus now makes the hearts of sad people joyful by showing how all the prophets spoke of “the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27).

 So far in this series, we’ve seen the truth of these words in Moses, Samuel, Obadiah, Joel, and Amos. Our inmillennial framework of prophecy has helped us along the way.¹

We now turn to Jonah, who lived about 793–53 BC, during the time of Jeroboam II (2 Kgs 14:24–25).²

This book differs from those we have studied; it doesn’t have a direct prophecy about Jesus or events in Peter’s generation. Still, Jonah spoke about these things—typologically. Jesus confirms this when He mentions “the sign of the prophet Jonah” (Matt 12:39). 

Let’s consider four ways Jonah and the events he experienced spoke about Jesus and His generation.

Jonah’s Place

Jonah was a sign of Christ because of his place: both were from Galilee. Jonah was from Gath Hepher, a town in Galilee;³ Jesus was from Nazareth, another city in that region (Matt 2:22–23). 

The apostate Jews made a critical mistake in this matter. When Nicodemus advised them not to condemn Jesus before hearing him, they said, “Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee” (John 7:52). They were wrong on two counts: Jonah of Galilee had been a prophet (Matt 12:39) and Jesus of Galilee was the Prophet (cf. Acts 3:23).

We can learn another lesson from Jonah’s place. His hometown was a great distance from where God told him to go. Nineveh lay roughly 725 miles to the northeast. The prophet was unwilling to make the long, arduous trip to speak to a people he despised. If God wanted to destroy them, that was fine with Jonah; he would stay home.

Sometimes a sign portrays the opposite of the thing it represents. For example, Adam was a sign of Christ, but some correspondences between them were opposites. We died in Adam but live in Christ (Rom 5:12–19). 

This typological inversion is present in Jonah, too. Jesus was in heaven when God sent Him to preach repentance to us—an unimaginable distance (cf. John 17:5). Still, His love for us—His enemies (Rom 5:10)—compelled Him to make the “trip” with joy (cf. Heb 12:2). Now, instead of pouting like Jonah did, He expresses indescribable joy when one sinner repents (Luke 15:10).

Jonah left his place grudgingly; Jesus left His with joy.

Jonah’s Preaching

Jonah was like Jesus because of his preaching. God sent him to preach repentance: “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me” (Jon 1:2). This commission was an act of God’s grace; He was under no obligation to allow the Ninevites to change their ways and escape earthly destruction.

Jesus also preaches repentance but with spiritual life in view. He says, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Matt 9:13). He continues preaching through His ministers. Peter, for example, said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).

As with Jonah, Jesus’ preaching of repentance is a gift of God’s amazing grace. Even the repentance it produces is because of His grace. The Jews who questioned Peter for preaching repentance to a Gentile “glorified God, saying, ‘Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life’” (Acts 11:18).

Jonah’s preaching produced repentance that averted physical destruction. Jesus preaches repentance, then grants it through His sovereign grace. Thus we escape eternal destruction.

Jonah’s Posture

Jonah resembled Jesus because of his posture—he slept in a boat. The prophet assumed this position while in sinful rebellion against God. When a terrible storm arose, “The mariners were afraid.… But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep” (Jon 1:5). The disobedient messenger had a false sense of peace.

Jesus also rested in a boat during a storm:

When they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was.… And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” (Mark 4:36–41)

What a contrast to Jonah! Jesus rested in perfect obedience to the Father, and having complete control over the billowing waves.

Jonah’s Prayer

Jonah, like Jesus, uttered a profound prayer in his affliction. He did so after his symbolic death: “Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish’s belly” (Jon 2:1). 

God had brought Jonah to a place where he had no way of escape. The prophet described his extremity: “I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, and He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice” (Jon 2:2). 

Now He prayed in faith and acknowledged that God had judged him. The Lord had cast him out of sight, but the hope of seeing God in His temple remained. In the depths, Jonah gave thanks and confessed: “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jon 2:3–9).

God answered Jonah’s prayer. After three days, “The LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land” (Jon 2:10).

Jesus also agonized in prayer but with important differences. He prayed “The High-Priestly Prayer”⁴ before His literal death (John 17). He asked in total submission: “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).

 A short while later, He acknowledged in anguish that God was judging Him: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt 27:46). He became sin, so the Father cast Him out of His sight (cf. 2 Cor 5:21; Hab 1:13). He, too, would be in the depths for three days and nights (Matt 12:39–41).

Like Jonah, Jesus knew He would yet see God (cf. Acts 2:25–28; Psa 16:8–11). God answered His prayer by raising Him from the dead on the third day (cf. Heb 5:8; Acts 10:40).

Conclusion

Jonah did not give an explicit prophecy about Peter’s generation. However, this doesn’t mean that Peter was wrong when he said all the prophets spoke of his days (Acts 3:24). Jonah and the things he experienced were living pictures of our Lord Jesus Christ. He spoke as a sign of events in Peter’s generation.

Whether we’re in an enthusiastic crowd and or walking with a discouraged friend, we need to hear and obey Jonah’s message. Let us repent and obey the gospel of Christ. “The men of Nineveh … repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here” (Matt 12:41)!

 

 

 

 

 

1. Please consider becoming familiar with the inmillennial view of prophecy. You can read a summary version here or tackle the full book-length version here. The title of the book—Inmillennialism: Redefining the Last Days—hints at the reason for my suggestion. This model says the “last days” are identical to Peter’s “these days”; both terms refer to the “last days” of the Mosaic age. This perspective will shed light on the prophets as we work through them.
   Also, consider watching the sermon I preached related to this material at Hopewell Primitive Baptist Church in Opelika, AL, on July 9, 2023. You can watch it here.
2. The image in this post is Jonah and the Whale by Pieter Lastman (1583–1633). It is in the public domain.
3. Walter A. Elwell and Philip Wesley Comfort, Tyndale Bible Dictionary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2001), s.v. Gath-Hepher.
4. Marvin Richardson Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887), 2:262.