day no. 14,662: salvation belongs to the Lord

i listened to THIS the other night while on the treadmill.

I think Jonah 2 provides a great opportunity to exploit and unpack the "Sign of Jonah" motif borrowed from Jesus' own words regarding the 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth (predicting His sacrificial death).

Jesus is the better Jonah. Jonah's sin led to the storm at sea. But the mariners were also sinners and idolaters. They were calling out to their false gods for help. Sin was going to break their boat apart and kill all of them. The idolaters deserved God's punishment and the apostate prophet deserved His wrath. They were all, so to speak, in the same boat. Sin had all of them dead to rights... But a sacrifice could save all of them. The moment Jonah went overboard, the sailors were saved. They responded to the sacrificial death of Jonah by repenting and turning to the one, true God and offering to Him, in turn, the sacrifices of their lives and allegiance.

Jesus died not for His own sin, but for ours. The storm of sin was hanging over all of us idolaters and apostates alike. Those who don't know Him and those who know better are all under the same stormy seas of sin that threaten to tear our lives and eternities apart. That is, until Jesus was thrown into the sea and plunged into our sin on our behalf. Then, the very moment He went under, the raging seas of sin subsided, quieted and calmed -- we were safe. The only right response is repentance, worship and the sacrifice of our lives and livelihoods in allegiance to Him.

But there is another parallel to Jesus. Jonah prays while descending into the sea and God provides a great fish to save Jonah. Jonah is three days and nights in the heart of the sea, just as Jesus is three days and nights in the heart of the earth. The great fish saves Jonah. Just like the Ark of Noah, the fish rescues Jonah from the sea. The waters that were sent to wipe away sin in the days of Noah were overcome by God's boat and those who were IN it were saved. Jonah was surrounded by the sea of sin and was only saved by being IN the great fish. We are saved by being IN Christ. So Jesus is like Jonah in that He went into 3 days of darkness, but He is also like the great fish. He is the rescuer that descended into the depths of our sin in order to swallow us and wrap us IN Him so that we could be saved. We can ONLY be saved IN Him.

Jesus is the better Jonah. Jesus is the better great Fish.

"Salvation belongs to the Lord."

Jesus is our salvation and the Gospel's fingerprints are all over this tiny OT book.