EmmDev 2015-09-08 [Jonah's Journey] Parallels and Contrasts

Parallels and Contrasts

...and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.      (Jonah1:17)

Jesus treats Jonah's time in the big fish's belly literally. In Mt.12:40 He notes: "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."

This provides a lovely parallel and contrast for us. Jonah spends three days in the fish because of his stubborn pride, racism and rebellion. Jesus, because of His humility, obedience to God and love for us, spends three days in the tomb.

In a similar parallel and contrast Paul loves using the "first Adam" and Jesus as the "second Adam" to create a contrast between human brokenness and Jesus' willing obedience.

We have a similar thing going here. We see our human failures so clearly depicted in Jonah but then Jesus does what Adam and Jonah (and we) didn't do so that we can be saved.

We tell the gospel story by quoting John 3:16:
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only (willing) Son (to die on the cross) so that whoever believes in Him will not die but have eternal life.

If there was a Jonah 3:16 it would probably read like this:
For Jonah so despised the Ninevites that he wasted his one and only life by running away so that they would never hear, believe and turn to God for eternal life.

But God in His ongoing mercy sends the "fishmarine" to give Jonah another shot...

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