Introduction: Scripture Reading- Jonah 1:14-17
- Jonah’s experience in the belly of the great fish was a sign pointing to Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.
-Matt. 27:24-25 “When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.”
I. Jonah’s Time in the Belly of the Fish
- Jonah 1:17: Jonah was swallowed by a great fish and remained in its belly for three days and three nights.
- This was a time of judgment and deliverance for Jonah.
-Jonah 1:1-17
II. Jesus’ Death, Burial, and Resurrection
- Matthew 12:40: Jesus compares His death and resurrection to Jonah’s time in the belly of the fish.
- Just as Jonah was three days and nights in the fish, so Jesus would be in the heart of the earth before rising again.
- Mark 15:33-37
- Acts 2:22-32
III. Christ’s Resurrection: The Ultimate Sign
- Jonah’s deliverance from the fish is a type of Christ’s resurrection, which offers hope of new life for all believers.
- I Cor. 15:1-20
- 2 Cor. 5:17 “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” [Heb. 11:1, 6; Acts 17:11; I Cor. 10:12; Jer. 10:23] It is God’s Word that guides us and directs us. The only way we know about the resurrection and the 2nd coming of Jesus is by reading and studying God’s Word (Rom. 10:17). Without God and without His Word, we have no hope. If we truly believe His Word, then we will be obedient to it and strive to secure that hope to one day become sight.
Conclusion:
- Jonah’s story foreshadowed Christ’s death and resurrection, which gives us eternal life and victory over death.
- If we grab onto the free gift and never let go, then our faith will one day be made sight when Christ returns.
- Invitation