Introduction
The Bible contains some very peculiar verses, doesn’t it?
But two of the strangest I’ve come across are right here in Jonah chapter two.
Verse one: “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.”
And verse ten: “And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.”
If you ever needed proof that God can hear prayer from anywhere — there it is. From inside a fish. If God can hear Jonah down in the digestive system of a whale, He can surely hear you from your living room, your hospital bed, your car, your storm, or your own mistake.
Now, if you have your Bible, open to the tiny book of Jonah — tucked between Obadiah and Micah.
The theme of this short book can be summed up in one word: salvation.
Salvation for Jonah. Salvation for Nineveh. Salvation that comes from the Lord.
Jonah himself says it in verse nine: “Salvation comes from the Lord.”
In this chapter we find Jonah, the runaway prophet, swallowed up by grace — literally.
He’s been saved from drowning, trapped in the belly of a fish, and now praying the most unlikely prayer of thanksgiving you’ll ever hear.
Today I want us to think about salvation in three movements:
Jonah. Jesus. And You and Me.
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I. Jonah — Salvation in the Depths
Let’s start with Jonah.
Last week we saw Jonah on the run — the prophet who said “No” when God said “Go.”
Instead of heading to Nineveh, he ran the other way, down to Joppa, down to a ship, down below deck — and eventually, down into the sea.
Every step away from obedience was a step downward.
Sin always has a downward pull.
Jonah’s disobedience led to disaster. The storm came, the sailors panicked, the prophet slept. The captain shook him awake and said, “Call on your God!” But Jonah already knew what had to happen. “Throw me overboard,” he said. “This is my fault.”
And when the waves closed over his head — the text says, “The Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah.”
That’s where we find him now: alive, but in a place nobody would envy.
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1. God Didn’t Give Up on Jonah
The first thing we learn about salvation from Jonah’s story is this: God did not give up on him.
Jonah says in verse three, “You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and your waves and breakers swept over me.”
He recognizes that even though it looked like the sailors threw him, it was really God who was at work.
Sometimes God has to let us go down before we look up.
He had pursued Jonah through wind and wave, and when Jonah wouldn’t listen, God took him to the lowest point of his life to wake him up.
Maybe you’ve been there — where God strips everything else away until you have nowhere else to cling but Him.
When all the props fall away — the money, the career, the relationships — and you find yourself saying, “Lord, I can’t do this anymore.”
That’s when grace does its deepest work.
Jonah thought it was over, but God had only just begun.
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2. Jonah Couldn’t Save Himself
The second thing we learn is this: Jonah could not save himself.
Verse five says, “The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.”
That’s not just poetry — that’s panic.
He’s describing the feeling of being pulled under, lungs burning, life slipping away.
He says in verse seven, “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.”
Jonah’s rescue didn’t begin when the fish swallowed him — it began when he prayed.
When he stopped running and started remembering.
People react to crisis in different ways.
Some get bitter — “God, why me?”
Others get better — “God, help me.”
The same storm that hardens one heart can soften another.
Jonah finally did the one thing he should have done from the beginning — he prayed.
He didn’t deserve another chance, but he got one.
And you and I — we can’t swim our way out of sin any more than Jonah could swim out of that sea.
We can’t save ourselves by our effort or our willpower or our cleverness.
“Those who cling to worthless idols,” he says in verse eight, “forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”
Whatever we cling to — our success, our image, our control — it can’t keep us afloat.
But the moment we let go and cry out, grace finds us.
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3. Jonah Responded to Grace
And then there’s the third thing Jonah teaches us: God’s salvation demands a response.
Verse nine — “But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good.”
There in the darkness, Jonah made a vow — a promise to turn around.
And chapter three shows he did.
Grace doesn’t just rescue us from death — it changes the direction of our life.
Now, it’s true — Jonah wasn’t exactly comfortable yet.
He wasn’t home and dry. He was still in the belly of a fish!
As one commentary puts it: “Jonah had been rescued from drowning, but he was still in deep water.”
And maybe that’s you. You’ve been saved — but you’re still in something you don’t understand.
You know God’s grace has rescued you, but life still feels like the inside of a fish — dark, confined, unpleasant.
That doesn’t mean God has abandoned you.
It means He’s still working out the rest of your story.
Sometimes salvation comes in stages — rescue first, release later.
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II. Jesus — Salvation Fulfilled
Now, let’s turn to our second movement: Jesus.
The story of Jonah isn’t just a strange miracle — it’s a divine preview.
The Bible, though written by many authors, has one storyline, one heartbeat, one message of redemption running all the way through it.
Jonah’s three days in the fish were a type — a prophetic foreshadowing — of something far greater to come.
Jesus Himself said it.
In Matthew 12, when the Pharisees demanded a sign, Jesus replied:
“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.”
In other words: “You want a sign? You’ll get one. My death and resurrection — that’s the sign.”
Jonah pointed forward to Jesus.
Let’s draw the parallels:
Jonah was a prophet sent by God. Jesus was the Prophet, Priest, and King sent by the Father.
Jonah gave himself up to save others. Jesus gave His life to save the world.
Jonah spent three days in a fish. Jesus spent three days in a tomb.
Jonah came out onto dry land. Jesus rose in glory from the grave.
But the difference is even more powerful than the similarity.
Jonah went down because of his rebellion.
Jesus went down because of His obedience.
Jonah ran from God and was caught.
Jesus ran toward the cross and surrendered.
Jonah nearly died for his own sin.
Jesus truly died for ours.
Peter said it plainly:
“Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”
Jonah went into the sea of judgment to save a few sailors.
Jesus went into the sea of death to save the whole world.
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III. You and Me — Salvation Offered
Now let’s bring it home — you and me.
Jonah’s story isn’t just history. It’s your story and mine.
We’ve all been runners. We’ve all said, “Not now, Lord,” or “Not that way.”
And like Jonah, we’ve found ourselves in messes of our own making.
The storms come — not always to destroy us, but sometimes to direct us.
The fish isn’t punishment — it’s protection.
God lets us sit in a tight place long enough to see that He is still pursuing us.
You might not be in a whale, but maybe you’re in a marriage that feels swallowed up.
Maybe you’re in a season of depression, loss, or regret.
Maybe your finances, your health, or your family situation feels dark and confining.
Listen — God has not given up on you.
Jonah prayed from the lowest place imaginable, and God heard him.
“From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry.”
If God can hear a prayer through saltwater, seaweed, and whale belly, He can hear yours.
But here’s what Jonah’s prayer also shows us — salvation isn’t automatic. It’s personal.
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1. Acknowledge the Danger and God’s Pursuit
Jonah said, “You hurled me into the deep.”
He owned the fact that he had rebelled — but he also saw that God was behind even his downfall, working for his good.
When you admit, “Lord, I’ve run from You,” you’re not surprising God.
You’re finally agreeing with Him.
And that’s where grace meets honesty.
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2. Recognize You Can’t Save Yourself
Jonah stopped struggling and started surrendering.
He called out, and God answered.
Maybe you’ve tried to swim your way to the surface with self-help, self-control, self-discipline — but self can’t save self.
You can’t row your way out of rebellion. You can only reach up.
That’s why Jesus came — to take our place in the storm.
Jonah was saved because the fish took him in; we are saved because the cross took Him in.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
To save Jonah, God provided a fish.
To save you, God provided His Son.
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3. Respond to Grace with Obedience and Hope
Jonah said, “What I have vowed I will make good.”
He came out changed.
When grace touches your life, it demands a response.
Salvation isn’t just deliverance from sin’s penalty; it’s transformation of the heart.
If you’ve been saved, act saved.
If God has rescued you, live like someone who’s been brought back from death.
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IV. The Waiting Room of Grace
Still, let’s be honest — some of us don’t feel saved.
We believe, we pray, we trust — but we’re still sitting in the dark, waiting for the next step, wondering when the fish will finally spit us out.
Jonah’s story reminds us that salvation is both an event and a process.
Yes, Jonah was saved from drowning — but his journey wasn’t over.
And yes, you’ve been saved by grace — but God’s not done with you yet.
The belly of the fish was Jonah’s waiting room.
Maybe you’re in one right now.
It’s dark, it’s uncomfortable, it’s lonely — but it’s not forever.
When the time was right, “The Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.”
Not before. Not after. At the perfect moment.
God knows when to release you.
He knows when to move you.
And when He does, it’ll be onto dry ground — not half-done, not half-saved, but free.
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V. Conclusion — The Cross and the Fish
Two symbols have marked Christianity for centuries: the cross and the fish.
The cross reminds us of death — and victory.
The fish reminds us of life — and rescue.
In Greek, the word for fish, ICHTHYS, formed an acronym:
Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter — “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.”
But if I could make one little change to that old Christian symbol, I’d make it a vomiting fish — not just swallowing, but spewing life out again — because that’s resurrection!
Jonah went down and came up again.
Jesus went down and rose again.
And because He lives, we who believe will rise too.
That’s the gospel in a seashell.
Grace pursues. Grace saves. Grace restores.
And when your prayer rises from whatever deep place you find yourself in, God hears it.
