Jonah and Jesus

Johannes Verukyl states in his article "The Biblical Foundation for the Worldwide Mission Mandate" that the book of Jonah carries two major messages:


1. Jonah is a missionary book in which God, in  rare circumstance in the Old Testament, sends one of His people to the nations to display God's mercy and glory to Nineveh, a gentile nation, rather than Nineveh being drawn to the glory of God that Israel was supposed to display, but failed.


2. The book of Jonah is a comparison to the church today, in all of its indifference to the missionary call to "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19) or to be "witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Jonah represents the hardness of the contemporary church's heart to proclaim the Gospel.


He claims the following:


"Jonah's crafty evasion efforts represent a lazy and unfaithful church which does not heed its Lord's command. God has to wrestle against Israel's narrow ethnocentrism which tries to restrict His activity to the boundaries of Israel alone and against the church's ecclesiocentric refusal to go out into the world to proclaim God's message and do His work."


He also closes his article with this rather harsh comment:


"Jonah is the father to all of those Christians who desire the benefits and blessings of election but refuse its responsibility."


At this point, let me offer this disclaimer: I do agree to some extent that Verukyl's message can be agreed with as there certainly a fair share of believers who would rather attend their Sunday morning worship service with never a thought of the lost beyond those four walls. And to that end I would agree that Verukyl's message is one to be considered as a fair warning to those believers. That being said, let me get to the heart of my concern with his article and where I believe he misses the point of the book of Jonah in light of the entirety of the Scriptures.


I would disagree with the strength of criticism he offers the Church today. What I see in today’s church is not a complete indifference to the missionary call, as is seen in Jonah. In fact, I see quite the contrary. Though I believe quite unfocused and man-centered at times, the amount of missionary efforts, programs, funds, organizations, and youth programs are somewhat overwhelming to sift through. So, in that regard, I would disagree with Verkuyl’s criticism. I do not see the hardness and pride of Jonah’s heart as comparable to today’s missionary efforts.  Jonah failed to glorify God by refusing to proclaim the greatness of God to Nineveh and failed to love people by refusing to share the blessing God had given to Israel with them. Ultimately, Jonah failed to obey the greatest commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18)


I think a comparison to Jesus would be more sufficient than to the church. Both Jesus and Jonah were asleep in a boat that was overtaken by storms. In both stories the sailors woke the sleeping man up and said “We are going to die.” In both cases, there was a miraculous divine intervention and the sea was calmed. Both were swallowed up for three days and three nights.


But what was the difference between Jonah and Jesus?


In the midst of the storm, Jonah says to the sailors, “There is only one thing to do. If I perish, you will survive. If I die, you will live.” Jonah was refusing to do the will of God by refusing to bring the good news of faith and repentance to Nineveh. Therefore his apparent concern for the sailor’s lives was purely selfish. Jesus ultimately says the same thing, but is completely in line with the will of the Father: “Greater love has no one than someone lay down his life for His friends.” (John 15:13) He faithfully does the will of the Father in perfect obedience and love as He says in John 14:31. Jesus willingly endured the storm of the wrath of God, spent three days in the “belly of the whale” and laid down His life for those whom He loved. He did bring the good news to the proverbial “Nineveh” when He crossed into humanity to bring us the good news of the Gospel, namely, enjoyment of God Himself through His finished work.


He perfectly fulfilled the greatest commandment. 


I think Verkuyl’s message, although of some value, misses the arrow that points directly to Jesus as “greater than Jonah”, (Luke 11:32) and not as a comparison or criticism of the church. The Gospel is painted throughout the book of Jonah and the book should point us to the mercy, compassion, and obedience of Jesus as one who suffered those three nights not because of His own sin, but those of the "sailors"; i.e., you and I. The "sailor's" sin was the reason the storm was upon them, yet Jesus, having deep love for them, was thrown overboard and endured the stormy waves of the wrath of God and suffered three days in the belly of the whale so that the "sailors" would survive. This is the Gospel.


The Gospel of Jesus is the perfect opposite to the story of Jonah. Jesus died so that the "sailors" did not. Jesus willingly went to "Nineveh" to bring the gift of repentance and free grace. Jesus endured the belly of the whale so that man would live. Jesus brought the glory of God to the nations.


The book of Jonah is a missionary book, but points to Jesus as the great missionary who was "greater than Jonah".