March 27, 2005 Jonah 2:2-9
He said: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’ The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God. “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.”
Imagine if you were swimming on the shores of the Mediterranean, enjoying a nice vacation on the beach. What if, while you were sitting there, a huge fish came out of nowhere and yackked up a man - still alive - onto the shore. Whoa! That would be quite a sight, would it not? Imagine if you caught it on video! You would make thousands. The man would be interviewed by all the major networks. He’d probably even write a book - like the guy who had to chop his arm off to survive while hiking in Utah. Beyond that, though, what else would the story be? It would be a neat an amazing story - a miracle - but nothing more.
There are some that ridicule this story of Jonah. There are others that ridicule the story of the resurrection of Christ. Yet there are some who believe these things really happened. They probably even believe in the virgin birth. So they come to church every Christmas and Easter to show their kudos to this God who became man and then rose from the dead. They like the songs of the season and the spirit of the days, so they like to come to church at this time.
However, is that enough? If that’s all you came here for today, to see a man miraculously rise from the dead - you’re not going to get the full meaning of this service. There’s more to it than that. This morning, we are going to do something different. Instead of looking at the resurrection from our 21st century perspective, we are going to travel back at least some 2500 years and climb into the belly of a fish - looking at the resurrection through the story of Jonah. This may seem like a backwards thing to do, but Jesus said, “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.” (Mt 12:40) Jesus compared the resurrection to the time Jonah spent in the belly of the first. By God’s Word and the blessing of the Holy Spirit I want you to - as the old song goes -
Feel Like Jonah in the Belly of the Fish
I. It starts by being thrown in the sea
For those of you who don’t know the story of Jonah - he didn’t just end up inside this fish by some random accident. He was not just swimming in the Mediterranean one day when he was mistaken for a school of plankton. Jonah was a prophet of God. The LORD told Jonah, “go to Nineveh and tell them to repent.” The only problem for Jonah was that Nineveh was the capital city of Israel’s arch-rivals - the Babylonians. They were a bunch of heathen dogs. On top of that, they weren’t even Jews. Jonah looked at this as a dog’s job. He didn’t want to reach out to these heathens. So he ran - boarding a ship at Joppa to go the exact opposite way - to Tarshish - way over in Spain. The prophet hung up his tongue, threw in his gown, and said to God, “find a different man, I’m done.” Whew, that’s a dangerous thing to do, and Jonah knew it. He was trying to run from God.
The LORD wasn’t going to let Jonah go so easily. As Jonah was sound asleep in the bottom of the boat, the LORD sent a huge storm - a seemingly ungodly storm - that hit the boat. The seamen - who made their living on the sea - knew that this was not normal. They came to Jonah - knowing that he was running from his God - and asked him what they should do. He said, “throw me overboard.” After they couldn’t row back home, they complied. Immediately, the storm stopped. The only problem for Jonah was that he was left in the middle of the Mediterranean without a boat.
In chapter two, Jonah described what happened at this point. You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. I imagine that he tried to swim for as long as he could, but as the big waves and the little breakers kept on rolling, Jonah became weaker and weaker. Seaweed started wrapping around his head, and slowly but surely he sank to the mountains below. It must have been somewhat surreal to have to quit kicking, and just start sinking. What was worse was that Jonah said he was feeling as he was sinking. He said, “I have been banished from your sight.” He knew in his heart that he had rejected the LORD’S call - and now he was under the LORD’S judgment. This would be the worst feeling in the world. Imagine for instance driving across town to have an affair on your spouse, and then on your way to get in an accident where your car goes into the lake, and slowly sinks to the bottom - and you are not able to get out. How would you feel at that moment - knowing that not only was your mission a failure - but so was your life. Such a conscience in that moment would only feel banishment from God - knowing that His will had been rejected. That’s what Jonah was going through - he was on the verge of facing hell.
If you think that was bad, then imagine what Jesus was going through three dies prior to Easter. On Good Friday, Jesus also was on the verge of facing hell. There’s no way he could sleep in the face of this. Only he was not just facing the punishment of one man’s sins, but the punishment of the world’s sins. Why do you imagine that he sweat drops of blood on that evening in the Garden? Why else do you imagine that he asked for the cup to be taken from him? This was no mere death that Jesus was going to face on the cross. This was going to be worse than any man’s punishment. Jesus was about to face man’s punishment. He was about to be blamed for the sins of the world - the ultimate Scapegoat. Isaiah 53:5-6 says, But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. That’s what happened on the cross. Jesus said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Before Jesus ever rose from the dead, remember what happened in the belly of that beast of God’s wrath. Jesus was going through hell. If you don’t see this, Jesus will just turn into a happy little story about a guy who cheated death - no more, no less.
II. It continues with prayer
As Jonah sunk down to the bottom of the lake, his pride was pummeled. In despair, he could not continue with his attitude. He had only one place to turn. “He said: “In my distress I called to the LORD, . . . From the depths of the grave I called for help. . . . When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. In time of trouble, Jonah turned back to Old Faithful - the LORD. His prayer echoes many of the Psalms of David and other writers. He remembered what God’s Word said about the LORD. That word that Jonah refers to God as - the LORD - is referring to the ever faithful God - the One who is always there - who cannot betray His very nature. Jonah realized that even though HE had been unfaithful to God’s call, the LORD would not be unfaithful to Himself. When Jonah recalled his Scriptures, he knew that the LORD was a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness. (Exodus 34) Since this LORD was patient and forgiving with the unbelievers of Nineveh, surely he also could turn to the LORD in his time of distress.
This was similar to what Jesus did as He was falling into the great abyss of death. Jesus cried out on the cross, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Jesus prayed to His Father to accept His sacrifice and take His spirit to Himself - to not abandon Him to the grave. All this Jesus did after the Father had abandoned him on the cross! Even though God sent Him through hell, Jesus still trusted that the Father would accept His spirit. Jesus reflected the ultimate faith, as reflected in the words of Job 13:15, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;” When you go into surgery, you entrust your life in the doctor’s hands. When you go on vacation, you entrust the care of your home to your friend or neighbor. These do not compare to the most ultimate possession you have - your eternal spirit and soul. Jesus trusted that the Father - who had already condemned and abandoned and sent Him to hell - would not do the same in death. What a tremendous faith this was - to allow His body to die!
You may like to think that the Bible is only about the resurrection - but there’s a cross that comes first. Sooner or later, you will find yourself sinking in the sea of death. It may be cancer that gets you. It may be a car accident. It could be a long and drawn out sinking, or it could be a quick sinking - like the Titanic. It could be a painful death of persecution. Either or - sooner or later - your ship will sink - like Jonah at the bottom of the sea. In today’s text, Jonah encourages YOU to do the same thing as what Jesus and Jonah did. “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.” Jonah says to you - don’t trust in your worthless idols. Don’t think the doctor can save your soul from hell. Don’t trust in your medication. Don’t think that you can ignore your own guilt. Like seaweed that simply and slowly wraps around your head, hell, death, and sin will torment you - sooner or later. At that time Jonah says, “don’t forfeit the grace that could be yours!” Recognize that this Jesus - who faced death and hell - did it for YOU. The whole message of Jesus Christ is that God wants to give you what you DON’T DESERVE - that’s GRACE. God wants to GIVE you eternal heaven and righteousness - through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul wrote very clearly in Romans 3:21-24, But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. This is the promise of the LORD - the faithful LORD.
III. It concludes with hope in the belly
Jonah’s prayer was heard, not because his prayer was so bold, but because his LORD was so faithful. “In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry. . . . . you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God.” God delivered Jonah from drowning by having him be swallowed by a huge fish. Imagine what life was like for Jonah. Some pictures like to picture Jonah sitting on a chair and lighting a little fire, having a nice little time inside this fish. I can’t imagine that life was quite so pleasant in this fish. I would imagine that there were some dead critters in there, along with plenty of stomach bile. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jonah was full of mucus and all other kinds of garbage. There wouldn’t have been much light if any in there. Yet he could breathe. In the midst of this stinking and rotten place, Jonah still knew that this was no mere extension of bad luck. He knew that this was a miracle -that the LORD had delivered him from death. IN SPITE of Jonah’s rebellion, the LORD made faithful on His faithfulness and forgiveness. Three days later, Jonah was spit out on shore - given a new lease on life.
Jesus knew that just as Jonah spent three days in the belly of the fish, so God would deliver Him from death. If this were just a mere resurrection, it would not even match up to that of Lazarus - who was dead in the grave for FOUR days, not three. But when we look into the belly of the beast that Jesus climbed out of - this is where the miracle strikes us between the eyes. There are plenty of people who have entered into hell and lived to talk about it. The rich man lived to beg Abraham for a drop of water to touch his tongue. Satan still lives and talks and walks and suffers while being condemned to hell. The people of Noah’s time are still living and suffering in hell to this very day. Jesus also suffered through hell. However, Jesus is the only Person who has COME OUT OF hell and STOPPED tasting it. Any other person or demon feeling a taste of hell - will never stop feasting on God’s wrath. Here’s where it’s really important for us - God had staked the salvation on the whole life and death of Jesus Christ. Jesus didn’t just go through His own personal hell, He went through the WORLD’S hell. If He had not risen from the dead, it would have meant that He lost the battle and would still be living in hell. But - he is risen, HE IS RISEN INDEED! When Jesus rose, He left God’s condemnation of hell behind in the grave. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:20-22, But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. The resurrection promises us that when we die, we will live WITHOUT hell. It promises us that we too will rise to everlasting life! Jesus, however, caused hell and death to spit Him back out. This is what makes the resurrection so miraculous. THAT’S WHY EASTER IS SO IMPORTANT! There’s a cross is behind it!
Feelings are reactions that come from within. They are brought about by many different things. Sadness, happiness, joy, and feelings of energy can come from any number of things. Easter is about joy and rejoicing. For Christians, it doesn’t come just from singing the songs. It isn’t about the candy or the Easter eggs or the family - although those brings some joy too. It comes from the message behind Easter. Like modern day Jonah’s we have found ourselves running from God’s call. But instead of letting us drown in our guilt, the Holy Spirit called us by the Gospel and devoured us in Christ, swallowed us in our baptism in the belly of His grace - rescued us from death. Like Jonah in the fish, we haven’t been completely rescued from this world yet. Living in this belly of deliverance, we’re still surrounded by darkness. It stinks in this world. We don’t want to set up shop here, because it stinks and we can’t live the lives we would like to live. Yet we know we’ve been delivered from eternal death. We know that God has forgiven us. We also know where God’s grace is taking us - up to the shores of heaven. So we too will praise God, like Jonah, because we know we’ve been delivered most importantly from God’s wrath. We feel great about this - like Jonah in the belly of the fish. That’s why we enjoy Easter so much, because we know we won’t be living in this filthy world forever. Because Jesus lives, some day we will rise from the dead - to live with a resurrected body - face to face with the Lord. Amen.
