"THE SIGN OF JONAH", an Easter story!

 

Jonah and the large fish, c1400

[T]he scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But [Jesus] answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. (Matthew 12:38–39)

Jonah is mostly remembered for surviving inside a large fish for three days. Jesus refers to that event as similar to his death, burial, and resurrection. But is the sign of Jonah simply about a large fish? Is the prophecy of Jonah just about a judgment against a wicked city? What is the message of Jonah that Jesus was giving to “an evil and adulterous generation”?

You cannot separate events and dictates, duration and occupation from the person. It is not the locations or vocations, the miles or the smiles that define us. As it is with everyone, our well-played lives become our legacy. The lesson of Jonah is the story of the man!

When reading about someone recorded in scripture, do you put flesh and blood into the narrative, do you see them as real people? Their thoughts and feelings are not much different than ours.

Elijah had problems struggling with depression. “Take my life, Lord, I’m the only one left who loves you.” What a pity party! If he wanted to die, he just needed to stay around Jezebel. She would have loved to oblige him. Yet, this melancholy man was used by God to bring fire down from heaven, destroy falsehood, restore rain, and run a marathon—all in a single day. (1 Kings 18)

In an insignificant way, I can identify with a prophet named Elisha because, like me, he was bald. But he could not take bald-headed jokes. If children teased him about his receding hairline, they had to watch out for she-bears. (2 Kings 2)

The beloved John was a successful fisherman. He mentioned catching exactly 153 fish in a single haul. Why? Was John simply amazed at the size of the catch and wanted his readers to be equally astonished? He was a fisherman; they tell stories of great moments in fishing. That is what seamen do! (John 21)

The characters of the Bible were characters, and Jonah was no exception. In the archives of time, there was a real person named Jonah, a prophet of Judah, and the core of his story is the man himself.

Chapter One: Running from God.

To Jonah, this was the worst day of his life. He was filled with hate for a certain people group, he was prejudiced, and God was directing him to warn them of their destruction. If they were to be annihilated, then so be it. Why did they need to be alerted?

“Lord, just do it, why don’t you!”

The only possible reason for telling these people of judgment was to prevent it from happening, something he did not want to prevent. Jonah fully knew the loving nature of God and what could possibly happen if they were warned.

The prophet did not possess the heart of Isaiah who said, “Here am I, Lord, send me!” (Isaiah 6) He was more of the persuasion of, “I would rather not get involved!” He reminds me of an old R&R song of the ‘60s that included the lyrics, “Please, Mr. Custer, I don’t want to go!”

Jonah was instructed to go to a mean, oppressive people that resided in a very wicked city. “Lord, if I have to go somewhere, could it possibly be to some nice, clean, upper-middle-class suburban community? There are sinful people there, too, but they’re nicer and kinder and show more virtue, they better deserve being warned.”

So the hate-filled Jonah does not journey northeast by land but gets on a boat heading northwest by sea and puts the sailors and passengers at peril. When people disobey God, others are affected, usually those closest to them. Jonah tells the crew that everything will be just fine if they simply throw him into the water. It sounds very noble, doesn’t it?

This is where maybe we misread the story. The storm is raging while the ship is in the middle of the sea. The chances of swimming to shore are next to nil. Was he thinking, “I’ll simply drown and won’t have to go to Nineveh!”?

The sailors fulfill his request, the sea grows calm, and Jonah treads water. As he floats along the surface, a large fish approaches. Was he thinking, “I guess I won’t be drowning after all; my life will end sooner than I thought? But that’s okay because I still won’t be going to those despised people living in Nineveh. The wrath of God will consume them, just as I want!”

The large fish swallowed Jonah in one big gulp. He found himself alive in a small, shadowless, stinky, sticky space.

A day passed and he was still alive. Another day passed and he was still alive. A third day comes and he comes to his scenes: “God could keep me alive in this gooey gunk forever!”

Talk about holding a grudge. Most of us would have lasted maybe three minutes, probably no more than three hours before calling out to God, but Jonah held out for three days before he had a change of heart. That was one bitter and angry dude!

Chapter Two: Running to God.

Recorded in the next chapter is a flowery prayer, filled with laconic words. He made a sincere vow. A modest paraphrase would sound like, “God, if you get me out of this slime,…

I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord,

O’er mountain, or plain, or sea;

I’ll say what you want me to say, dear Lord,

I’ll be what you want me to be.”

(A classic gospel chorus)

He gave an Isaiah response but not with an Isaiah passion. He simply conceded to do what God commanded.

Jonah was placed in a very unpleasant classroom, but he would not listen to God anywhere else—just like some of us. We dare not blame the Lord for some of the circumstances that we find ourselves in. We often place ourselves in repulsive situations through wrongful feelings, intoxicated with hate and prejudice.

Jonah in his self-induced predicament learned about the need for surrender, trust, and obedience to God. He discovered the value of repentance, the nature of mercy, the importance of praise, and the call for salvation. All this happened in the dark, smelly, gross classroom of a fish’s stomach.

Chapter Three: Running with God.

Jonah goes to Nineveh, but his spirit is not in the task. He hated these people; they were so cruel to his race. He was hoping to be the most unanointed, uninspired preacher that there ever was. Although it should take three days to cover the whole city, he gives one day to the task.

Try not to imagine a preacher zealously shouting a warning on a street corner with a loud voice. See someone walking unwillingly through the streets informing, not proclaiming—confidently strolling, casually speaking, cheerfully stating doom. He was fulfilling the letter but not the spirit of the command.

Did the delivery of the message, as well as the content of the warning, impact the response? Someone the townspeople detected despised them was so certain, so poised, so sure, so serene! His behavior was communicating an unequivocal verdict.

The citywide repentance grew and intensified until the whole town was impacted. Everyone had covered themselves with mourning clothes. People and livestock refrained from all forms of eating and drinking, an absolute fast. They meant business!

Chapter Four: Running against God.

The people’s response triggered a change of divine plans and Jonah’s anger boiled to new heights. He thought this would happen if they took his message to heart. That was the only reason for the judgment to be announced to them. He admitted as such in his complaint to God: “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” (Jonah 4:2)

God always responds to repentance with forgiveness. He changes not; it is an integral part of his nature. If anyone fervently repents, God will forgive, no matter how wicked! As far as the Lord is concerned, everyone is reachable, and everyone should be reached!

But what about Jonah? As the Ninevites repent, does he rejoice? No! He is more concerned about personal comfort than innocent lives, and the worm of bitterness destroyed the little comfort he possessed.

A COUPLE OF TAKEAWAYS

First, in many ways, we are not much different than the man named Jonah. Have you experienced cruelty at the hands of others—been hurt, been cheated, been stung by injustice? If the offender should repent and receive God’s forgiveness, how will you respond?

Corrie ten Boom tells the story of accepting an invitation to speak in Germany after her imprisonment when the war was over. At the end of the meeting, one of her former Nazi prison guards approached and acknowledged he had surrendered his life to God. He had become a brother in Christ and extended his hand to her. She wrote that she learned the importance of forgiveness when she shook his hand. God forgives, do you?

Secondly, the whole book of Jonah is about yielding to God, starting with the prophet himself. Jonah had to change his mind before the townspeople could receive the convicting message that would change their heart. Are you acting as a barrier, preventing others from repenting and experiencing God’s acceptance? What ill will are you harboring deep within that is keeping the love of God from being seen by others?

Finally, could Jonah also be a sign of the imminent return of the resurrected Lord? Could the “sign of the prophet Jonah” be about devout God-lovers harboring animosity and anger toward others as the day of his coming approaches? Resentful feelings obstruct divine solutions. One thing is for certain: slippery, stinker scorn is not a condition to be associated with anyone looking for his promised, “come again!” (John 14:3)

The message of Jonah is more than the story of a large fish. And the prophecy of Jonah is more than the gloom of death vomiting the resurrected Jesus from the grave into the garden of life. The sign of Jonah includes the anger and contempt of a demanding and lost generation that put Christ on the Cross in the first place.

YES, YOU CAN!

Garden of Gethsemane mosaic in Church of All Nations

At the Garden Tomb, the community members come together for group devotions each morning before opening the gates. The Deputy Director asked if I would give attention to Exodus 13 in a recent gathering.

The chapter begins by reminding the newly released slaves of the importance of the Passover. It was to be an annual remembrance. And for the Garden Tomb community, we regularly recognize Jesus as the perfect Passover Lamb, releasing us from slavery to sin and bringing us out of exile into God’s promises.

The chapter then transitions to emphasizing the unique standing of the firstborn, whether human or animal. We are then informed of the beginning of the Hebrews' journey to Canaan and of taking the bones of Joseph with them, as promised. It ends by telling us of God’s leading, which is 24 hours a day, seven days a week, using the unique tools of a cloud and a fire.

Yet in the middle of the chapter are two verses that captured my attention and imagination.

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. (Exodus 13:17-18 ESV)

Two phases caused me to ponder: “Lest the people change their minds when they see war” and then later “Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle.”

The zenith years of the ministry entrusted to my stewardship occurred in Chicago, a very unique city. Chicago is populated with 3 million people along the shorelines of Lake Michigan and is fully contained in Cook County, a very politically progressive community. And in the middle of the city is the east/west Eisenhower Expressway that unexpectedly serves as a dividing line, separating the city between the north (Chicago Cubs baseball country) and the south (Chicago White Sox’s baseball country). But the difference between the two cultures is far more than just loyalty to two different baseball teams; they are radically different. I spent ten years in the northern area before spending six years in the south.

The people of Chicago also refer to the area as Chicagoland, which extends the borders of the city’s mindset. It runs from the Wisconsin border up north to the Indiana border down south, about 120 miles. You cannot tell when you leave one community and enter another in Chicagoland. It is one massive sea of humanity. Eight million people live in that stretch of land and are as culturally different as Chicago itself. Yet all the people of Chicagoland have one thing in common; they can be very confrontational. You never have to wonder what they think of you.

My general practice in ministry was to stand at the exit at the end of a church service and thank the people for coming, but I quit doing that when overseeing the congregation in Chicago Southland. I discovered that some people were uncomfortable having to pass by me and shake my hand. I did not want to prevent them from coming to church because of me. They liked the church and the people of the church. So, I welcomed people as they came to church and stayed at the altar at the end of the service, praying for people in need while those not wishing contact with me could safely leave.

One Sunday, at the end of the service, I saw a guy lingering by the exit. He normally avoided me, yet he never missed a church service and the church administrator once told me that he was a very generous giver. When I got to the exit, the man approached and said, “That was a good sermon; I like the way you preach. I don’t like you but I like what you have to say.” I burst out laughing and said, “Well, I have six others pastors on staff, why don’t you go and like one of them?” With a twinkle in his eye, he said, “I can do that!” And he did, he became good friends with the Associate Pastor, faithfully attended and generously gave.

In those same years, I was selected by my colleagues to be the official encourager and counselor of the 33 churches and 150 ministers in the immediate area, which I did for five years. And then my colleagues selected me to be a statewide executive leader, along with three other individuals, helping give direction and guidance to over 300 churches and 1500 ministers for eight years. So, on top of leading a larger local church, I gave a lot of attention to conflict resolution in other churches, helping sister churches that were going through various kinds of battles; and there were lots of them. I spent so much time dealing with intense conflict, chronic wars. It could be very draining at times!

Because of the unique strain associated with the ministry, most pastors need regular and ongoing affirmation, something more unnatural in Chicagoland. I have seen too many ministers quit because of the wars along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. The conflicts were too many and too much, and they changed their mind about ministry and went back to their Egypt. It was not that they were unequipped to do ministry, just not equipped for Chicagoland. There were other places where they could have been very successful but they changed their mind and gave up.

The passage of Scripture just read states God would not let Israel take the shortcut to Canaan along the shoreline of the Mediterranean because he knew the wars would overwhelm them and cause them to give up, preventing them from attaining his promises. So, he gave them another route while still equipped for battle. What does that suggest? There would still be struggles and conflict but they would occur in the realm of what they could handle.

Here is the point: You may be going through a battle of some sort right now and thinking, “I can’t handle it.” And you are wrong; yes, you can! God does not bring his children on a route where the battle is too big and too frequent for them to handle.

You are equipped for your battles. And the God who guides you 24/7 has custom designed your very route AND the battles that come with it. Your battles are there for you to learn from and to spiritually grow from. And you can gain victory in every one of them.

The route he has for you is a route you can handle IF you allow him to guide you in the glory and light of his presence. Trust him and move on to the promises that he has for you.

(In context, the shorter and gentler topography of the more direct route near the Mediterranean would have made it too convenient for them to consider turning back, a quick and easier terrain. The lengthier and harsher wilderness topography would have discouraged them from trying to return.)

 

THE CORONATION

Thought: The crucifixion of Jesus viewed as a regal coronation of the King of kings, commencing the Kingdom of God on earth.

Most enthronements of national monarchs include the following: The coronation parade with crowds cheering and rejoicing. The king walking in royal attire, carrying the kingdom’s scepter. The king mounted to the throne, with flattering attendants on both sides. The royal diadem placed upon their head. Everyone hearing the pronouncement of rulership that establishes their kingdom—a reign seen as complete when their life is over.

The enthronement of Jesus:

The Via Delarosa: the spectacle of a crowd sneering and mocking.

The royal attire: filthy garments, covered with sweat and blood.

The kingdom’s scepter: a burdensome, heavy beam.

The throne: the excruciating cross.

The attendants by his side: cursing thieves.

The crown: thorns of suffering.

The chalice: a sponge of sour vinegar. 

The pronouncement: a sign above his head, inscribed in both local and universal languages.

The result: establishing his kingdom on earth that will be complete at his return.

As we contemplate the repulsiveness of the cross, does God sees our futile actions for achieving greatness as grotesque? Does he see our attempts at exaltation, rooted in pride and arrogance that often lead to greed, as a tragedy? Is he repulsed by our vain attempts for prominence? By taking a preferred posture of humility, is he condemning our patronizing actions as nothing more than mere nonsense?

Not only does the crucifixion show “our thoughts are not his thoughts, neither are his ways our ways” (Isaiah 55), not only does he reveal the true posture of greatness (servanthood), but he is also showing, by enduring and ignoring the shame of the cross, the perfunctory roadway to ruin that many have chosen to take. For them, it is time for a course correction.

A PILGRIM'S COURAGE

Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory. Allegories endeavor to communicate a central idea. What is the chief aim of the book? To show various portraits of progress on the pathway of faith!

To measure the progress, names play a prominent role in the narrative. Characters are given titles that generally fit into two categories: helpful qualities (good) and hurtful qualities (bad). Lying within these categories are thoughts of right and wrong—qualities are portrayed as black or white, without any gray in between.

Recently, the group looked at the contrast of PASSION and PATIENCE, passion being hurtful and patience being helpful. The focus makes it easy to conclude that passion is bad and patience is good.

Is passion bad? One may think so by how the book uses the term. The coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, however, was about passionately and powerfully communicating the message of Christ. Is that a bad passion?

Bunyan chose the word passion to communicate an idea, but his choice of that word can lean toward confusion. Passion is not a black and white scenario. If the book was written today, different words would fit the narrative better, such as CARNAL for passion and ENDURANCE for patience.

The author also used the name COURAGE to communicate a helpful component in the progress of faith. When reading about his description of courage, however, it does not take much imagination to envision a fierce Knight of antiquity waving a sword at an invisible force, a Don-Quixote-type hero lashing out at windmills. Is this an accurate portrait of courage? Should force define a modern-day sojourner’s courage? Would the phrase “daring perseverance” lead to a better understanding?

Matthew 11:12 was referenced, and rightfully so. Bunyan may have been thinking of this text when writing the narrative. The focus of the verse is the ministry of John the Baptist—the forerunner of the Messiah: “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been coming violently, and the violent take it by force.” Would the Scripture passage be better served if violence and force were interpreted with words like zeal and fervor? Such as, “With the coming of the forerunner, the kingdom of heaven has been invaded with sinners who, by the zeal of their repentance, are fervently snatching it away from the Pharisees who thought it belonged to them alone.”

After the passionate ministry of John the baptizer came the Messiah. What is the portrait of courage for those who now follow Christ, those abiding in him and no longer yearning for his advent?

N. T. Wright, writing about the death of Jesus, shows a weakness in the typical understanding of forcefulness. Consider what actually happened on that Friday afternoon? A new sort of power was let loose upon the world, the power of self-giving love. This was the heart of the revolution launched on Good Friday. The usual sort of power cannot be defeated by using the usual sort of means. If one force overcomes another, it is still “force” that wins. The heart of the victory of God, over all the powers of the world, lies in self-giving love.

So, what attributes will bring us victoriously into tomorrow? What is the portrait of COURAGE since Golgotha, shown by self-giving love? What is the cross-bearing courage expected from his followers on their journey of faith? Its characteristics may be witnessed in a variety of ways, based on circumstances, but they are all rooted in resurrection love, new-life love. Courage has little to do with domination and has everything to do with the blessed hope. It is “the courage to face the consequences” of whatever the Spirit of God is asking of you, even unto death—rooted in the love of Christ, not in the scorn of humanity.

The model of “force” Bunyan describes and many Christ-followers choose to embrace needs tweaking, needs to be filtered through the lens of love, not empowered by the scope of dominance.