Introduction
“Hello, this is David Dunn. I am unable to take your call right now, but please leave your name, number, and a brief message, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Beep!”
That’s a standard voicemail many of us have recorded. The whole point is to make sure you don’t miss your calls.
But some people use that voicemail to screen their calls—to decide which ones to return and which ones to ignore. Ever done that?
Well, Jonah is like that when it comes to getting a message from God. His voicemail might have sounded like this:
“Hello, this is Jonah. I am unable to take your call right now. Please do not leave your name, number, or message—because I won’t be getting back to you. Beep!”
That’s how our passage begins this morning.
Jonah’s message light is flashing, but he’s not answering.
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The Call and the Context (Jonah 1:1–2)
> “Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.”
Before we move further, let’s understand something of the background.
2 Kings 14:25 tells us Jonah was from Gath-hepher, a prophet in Israel during Jeroboam II’s reign. His name means dove, “messenger.” His father’s name, Amittai, means truth. Jonah was literally a “messenger of truth.”
Nineveh, the city God sends him to, was the capital of Assyria—Israel’s bitter enemy.
Nahum 3 gives us a sense of their reputation:
> “Woe to the city of blood, full of lies and plunder … many casualties, piles of dead … all because of the wanton lust of a harlot, the mistress of sorceries.”
Assyrian engravings show their cruelty—skulls piled in victory towers, enemies impaled on stakes.
This was not “Disneyland or Philadelphia—the city of brotherly love.”
And yet, to these people, God sends Jonah.
It’s like being told to go preach in the heart of your greatest enemy’s camp. God says, Go East to Nineveh. Jonah books a ticket West to Tarshish.
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I. Jonah Hears the Word of God—and Disobeys (vv. 1–3)
God gives clear instructions:
> “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it.”
Jonah knows exactly what God wants—but he disobeys.
Tarshish was in Spain—2,000 miles in the opposite direction. Jonah is a prophet with a passport but no obedience.
Why does he disobey?
1. Fear? Maybe. Nineveh was brutal.
2. Futility? Maybe. Who would listen to one lone prophet?
3. Frustration with the message? Maybe he didn’t like being the bearer of bad news.
But none of those are given as reasons.
The real issue is rebellion.
Jonah, a man of God, simply refuses to serve.
He “fled from the presence of the Lord”—meaning he abandoned his prophetic office.
He knew God. He knew His Word. He just didn’t want to obey it.
Sound familiar?
You and I have more in common with Jonah than we’d like to admit.
You can be theologically sound, morally upright, biblically literate—and still disobedient.
You can know the truth and still run from it.
Our natural tendency is to run from God’s commands, to avoid the hard obedience He calls for.
Disobedience is easy. Faithfulness is hard.
But the path of disobedience always leads downhill.
Jonah goes down to Joppa, down into the ship, down into the sea.
Every step away from God is a step down.
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II. Jonah Is Found Out and Faces Judgment (vv. 4–16)
> “Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.”
When Jonah runs, God responds.
Not with lightning bolts, but with a storm tailor-made for one runaway prophet.
You can run, but you can’t hide.
The sailors cry out to their gods. They throw cargo overboard.
Meanwhile, Jonah—sleeping below deck—is oblivious.
The captain shakes him awake:
> “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god!”
When they cast lots to find who’s responsible, the lot falls on Jonah—because God controls even the dice (Prov. 16:33).
They question him, and Jonah confesses:
> “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”
And they panic: “What have you done!?”
Imagine being in a storm with the man who angered the God who made the sea!
Jonah knows the truth: “I’ve disobeyed God. Throw me overboard. This storm is my fault.”
No excuses. No bargaining. Just confession and surrender.
Jonah accepts the consequence:
> “Pick me up and throw me into the sea… it will become calm.”
That’s a powerful picture of repentance—owning our sin and yielding to God’s justice.
> “Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.”
The wages of sin is death.
Jonah sinks under the waves of judgment.
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III. Jonah Is as Good as Dead—and God Saves Him (v. 17)
> “But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.”
The miracle isn’t the fish—it’s grace.
Jonah expected death. He deserved death.
But God provided deliverance.
This is where judgment meets mercy.
While one hand of God stirs the storm, the other prepares a rescue.
The fish is God’s instrument of salvation.
Jonah goes from drowning to deliverance—a resurrection from the deep.
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IV. The Greater Sign—Christ and Jonah (Matt. 12:39–41)
Centuries later, Jesus said:
> “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but none will be given 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.”
Jonah foreshadows Jesus—both facing the storm of divine wrath, both descending into “death,” both emerging alive.
But where Jonah fled, Jesus obeyed.
Where Jonah ran from sinners, Jesus ran toward them.
Where Jonah’s life was spared, Jesus gave His life to save ours.
At the cross, judgment and mercy met again—this time, not in the sea but on a hill called Calvary.
Jonah’s fish was temporary mercy.
Christ’s tomb became eternal mercy.
> “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23)
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Conclusion
Jonah’s story is not about a prophet swallowed by a fish—it’s about a God who won’t let you go.
You can run, but you can’t hide.
You can resist His call, but you can’t outrun His grace.
The Ninevites repented at Jonah’s preaching. Jesus said, “One greater than Jonah is here.”
So what will you do with this sign?
Will you repent and trust the One who died and rose again for you?
Will you obey the Word of God you already know?
Maybe there’s something God has told you to do—something you’ve postponed, avoided, or resisted.
He’s calling you again.
The storm is not to destroy you—but to bring you home.
It’s time to stop running.
It’s time to start obeying.
Because one greater than Jonah stands before you.
