“Fish Tales”
Matthew 12:38-41
Sermon Series: “Jonah”
Introduction: Here is a brief introduction to the book of Jonah. Jonah was a prophet. God called him to go and proclaim a message of judgment to the wicked city of Nineveh. Jonah knew that if he did this and they repented that God would be merciful and spare them. Being an ardent Hebrew nationalist, he wanted to see Nineveh destroyed so he disobeyed God and got on a ship heading in the opposite direction. In essence, he tried to run from God, but the reality of the matter is that we run into God when we try to run from Him so God sent a great storm to get Jonah’s attention. Even after Jonah was identified as the cause of the storm, he still did not want to do God’s will so he had the sailors throw him overboard to get the storm to cease. God had prepared a great fish to swallow him as God’s means of both preserving and disciplining Jonah. While he was in the fish, Jonah repented and cried out to the Lord. God had the fish vomit him out on the shore, and Jonah finally decided to obey and go to Nineveh to proclaim God’s message.
The Ninevites heard the message, believed God, and repented so God was merciful and spared them from His judgment. However, Jonah was not happy about this, and he spends chapter 4 in an angry pout questioning God.
Here is the real issue. Is Jonah a real story or is it a “fish tale?” This question has made this book one of the most questioned and debated in the Bible. We are going to examine the answer to that question (by asking and answering four questions) and look at its practical relevance to our lives.
1. What does the Bible mean to you? A. Is it all true?
B. Is it authoritative?
Certain parts of Scripture are really a test of whether or not we truly believe. I think the story of Jonah falls into that category. Will we trust all of Scripture or try to pick and choose what we believe?
2. What kind of God do you believe in? The main character of the story is not the fish and really it is not even Jonah, but it is God. God is mentioned by name 39 times in the 48 verses of this book. Even Jonah is only mentioned by name 18 times. There are also at least ten miracles recorded in Jonah as this chart taken from the MacArthur Study Bible illustrates: “the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea” (1:4), “the lot fell on Jonah” (1:7), “the sea ceased from its raging” (1:15, “the Lord had prepared a great
fish” (1:17), “to swallow Jonah (alive)” (1:17), “the Lord spoke to the fish…it vomited Jonah onto dry land” (2:10), “God saw their works…they turned from their evil way” (3:10), “the Lord God prepared a plant” (4:6), “God prepared a worm” (4:7), and “God prepared a vehement east wind” (4:8). Do we believe in a sovereign, supernatural God who does miracles? I would argue that we don’t really believe in God if we don’t.
3. What do you believe about Jesus?
A. His Person-He is greater than Jonah, which means
He is more than a prophet.
B. His Work-This is a picture of His glorious
resurrection, which confirms His atoning death.
Ultimately, I believe in Jonah because I believe in Jesus. They go hand-in-hand. We can’t really pick and choose.
4. What kind of response do you need to make? A. Trust
B. Repent
Are we going to be like the Pharisees or the Ninevites? We need Jesus, but we can only know Him through faith and repentance.
Conclusion: Jonah is not a “fish tale” or “made-up story,” but it is a literally true, historical account that ultimately reveals Jesus to us (see Luke 24:44) and calls us to repentance? Will we believe and repent in order to know and honor Jesus or will we be hard-hearted and rebellious like the Pharisees?
