416. MAT 12:39. JONAH A TYPE OF CHRIST
Mat_12:39. Jonah a Type Of Christ
"No sign shall be given but that of the Prophet Jonah."’97Mat_12:39
Jonah was one of the least amiable or interesting of the prophets. Neither as to piety, talents, or usefulness, will he bear any comparison with his fellow seers, who were employed to reveal the mind of God to the people. How greatly is this disparity seen, when we compare him with the assiduous and devoted Samuel, with the devotional psalmist, with the evangelical Isaiah, with the sublime Ezekiel, or the pathetic Jeremiah. Yet, as in a great house there are necessarily vessels of wood and clay, as well as of silver and gold, so we see the same variety among the saints of God’s family, and the officers of his spiritual kingdom. Jesus has greatly honored Jonah, in referring to his history and sufferings as being figurative of his own mission, death, and resurrection from the grave. In glancing at the typical character of Jonah, we may notice,
I. The striking Signification of his Name.
Jonah signifies dove,’97a striking emblem of the meek and gentle Jesus. He was meek and lowly of heart. He did not lift up his voice and strive, but with open arms of affection did he receive the weary and afflicted, and gave them rest. When he was anointed for the great mission, "the Holy Spirit descended like a dove lighting upon him," Mat_3:16. Jonah was a type of Christ,
II. As a Proclaimer of God’s will to Men.
Jonah’s message was one which charged the people with guilt, called them to repentance, and assured them of the readiness of God to exercise mercy if they repented, but declared the vengeance of God if they repented not. These four leading particulars are evidently discernible in the preaching of Jesus Christ. He charged men with sin. He enjoined repentance. He offered forgiveness. He predicted God’s wrath to the incorrigibly guilty.
III. In his Sufferings and Deliverance.
Jonah in attempting to flee from God’s presence, was overtaken by a fearful tempest. The superstitions of the crew suggested the casting of lots. The lot fell upon Jonah. He offered himself to be the propitiatory victim, and said, "Take me up, and cast me into the sea," Jon_1:12. After vainly striving against the storm, at length they took Jonah and cast him into the sea. For his preservation God provided a great fish, which was the ark of his safety for three days and three nights, ch.Jon_1:15-17. In the belly of the fish, by reason of his affliction, he cried unto God, and the Lord heard and mercifully delivered him, ch. Jon_2:1-10. How strange and wonderful this series of events in reference to Jonah! How significant when viewed as typifying the sufferings and resurrection of Jesus!
(1) In the storm we have a striking representation of God’s righteous displeasure and wrath against a sinful world. (2) In Jonah’s willingness to be thrown into the sea, we have the voluntary engagement of Christ as the substitute for guilt. (3) In the cessation of the storm we have the perfect satisfaction of God, with the sufferings of his Son, and his desire for the reconciliation of the world to himself. (4) In the distressing sorrows and mournful complaints of Jonah, when surrounded by the waters of the great deep, we have a faint picture of the overwhelming anguish and grief of Christ, when presenting his soul an offering for sin. Especially when prostrate in Gethsemane, and when expiring on the cross. See Mat_26:36-39, and Mat_27:46. (5) In the preservation of Jonah we have clearly prefigured the care which Jehovah took of the body of Jesus; his resurrection from the dead the third day. In this Jonah was an express type of Christ’s burial and resurrection from the dead, and as such this was to be the last great sign which God would give to the Jews of the Messiahship of Jesus. A sign so great and peculiar that nothing but the deepest unbelief and infatuation could possibly reject. (6) In the success of Jonah’s preaching after his deliverance, we have brought to our remembrance the successful proclamation of the gospel of Christ, and the rapid spread of divine truth in the days of the apostles.
Jonah after all very imperfectly typified Christ. His unwillingness to obey God, how unlike the cheerful obedience of Jesus, and his readiness at all times to do the will of his Father. His envious spirit at the repenting of the Ninevites, how unlike Christ rejoicing in spirit where he beheld the progress of his gospel, and the kingdom of Satan falling as lightning from heaven. His discontented and fretful temper, how opposite to the holy, calm, resigned spirit of Jesus. Indeed a greater, one infinitely surpassing Jonah, is here. Greater in the mission he undertook’97the salvation of a world. Greater in the sufferings he endured. Greater in the deliverance he effected. A few mariners escaped death in the one case, a world was delivered from the curse in the other. Greater in his personal dignity and glory. Greater in his office, character, and work. Jesus was Jonah’s master, Jonah’s Lord. This very Jonah must have exercised faith in the coming Saviour, to have escaped the just wrath of God, and the true desert of his own sin.
Application
1. Christ as the propitiation for sin we would make known to all men.
2. The peril of sin and unbelief we would urge upon all careless lethargic sinners.
3. Faith in Christ as the only Saviour we would proclaim to all who are inquiring, "What must we do to be saved?"
Autor: JABEZ BURNS