Introduction

Good morning everyone, I am so happy to be here this morning…Why am I happy to be here this morning, well, I guess that is because we are family and I love so much when I get to come here every week and see everyone here. Those of you that are joining us online, we want you to know that we love you also and we cannot wait to see you again. I know that this last year has been difficult and that you are all eager for the day that you feel confident to return. I hope that as more people are vaccinated and we continue through this recovery that you will feel more and more comfortable with returning to in person worship. I will tell you that some have said that they did not realize how much they missed it until they came back and were able to see everyone and connect with everyone in a fresh way. So, those of you online, we love you and cannot wait to see you again soon. :)

Today is a great day that we get to spend together. It is a great day for many reasons, for instance we have our kids church happening right now where kids are able to learn and grow in a way that is impactful and memorable to them. Then after our service we will have all of our Adult and Teen Bible Studies going on as well. The school year is over, or pretty much over I guess…which means that we will begin looking into various opportunities to be able to bless others through the summer. The Leaf River Days will be coming up here pretty soon as well, so the area is gonna start hopping again. I can tell you that I cannot wait to see what all this summer holds, especially for us as a church. That said, if you learn of a way that we can be a blessing to someone, then please let us know so that we can see what we can do.

You know one of the things that typically happens in the summer is cookouts and outdoor conversations and even parks, or concerts. There is all types of things that happen over the summer that gives you the opportunity to meet people and to have little conversations with people. Lots of things are talked about during these conversations. Sometimes that will include the weather, sports, sometimes politics or even your calendar and what you have going on. Did you know that is a perfect opportunity for you to tell someone that you are planning on coming to church on Sunday, and then ask them if they go anywhere…That’s literally all it takes to begin the conversation with someone about the most important topic that you can ever talk about. Now, Im not here to guilt you this morning about why you haven’t been doing this already. No, Im here to give you the tools to be able to be less intimidated. You see, frequently the reason that people don’t have that conversation is that you are unsure what to say when questions started coming back at them. Questions like, do you really believe that stuff? Don’t you think that is just good stories, or maybe, that’s good for you, but Im not really interested in fairy tales…As a matter of fact, the study that we are beginning today is one of those stories that sounds like a fairy tale. Actually, the book that we are going to be studying sounds like part of Pinocchio. Today we are going to start looking at Jonah...We will be working through the book of Jonah together over the next month. This week we will open up and get a little context from the book of Jonah, then we will go through one chapter every week moving forward. That said, this week will potentially be a little shorter than the other weeks.

This morning I want to give you the tools that you need in order to respond to someones questions about Jonah specifically. Jonah sounds pretty clearly like a story and so it would be really easy to just dismiss this story as make believe. Actually that is what many people have done. There are many beleivers, even quite a few pastors that would say that Jonah is nothing more than a parable that was written down in the Old Testament. The problem however, is that I do not think that Jonah is make believe. You see, I think it is a true story that took place, and I am going to share with you some of why I believe that this morning.

The thing is, in order to answer someones questions about Jonah, you might need to understand their questions about Jonah. So, this morning we are going to hit a few of these questions and hopefully you will leave encouraged about the truth of Scripture even in the midst of those that doubt.

Questions and Answers about Jonah

Ok, the way this is going to work is that I am going to present a statement against Jonah, and then I am going to give a rebuttal to that statement. The first statement is actually really, really easy, it is...

Jonah is not a real man...

Some have attempted to kill this story with the claim that Jonah is not even a real person. While it is hard to ID someone from the ancient near east with an ID, it’s not like we have birth certificates that would show us the reality who Jonah was. However, we do have something else…We have Scripture. This particular person is in fact identified in

2 Kings 14:25 ESV

He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.

We know based on this passage that there was a prophet by the name of Jonah who was the son of Amittai. Now there is something interesting that you may already know. Jonah’s fathers name was Amittai. The root word of that name actually means faithfulness, or “My true one”…So, Jonah is the son of faithfulness. The question we have to ask ourselves as we go through this story in the month of June is, “Is Jonah acting faithfully?”

We also know that the prophecy that Jonah gave in 2 Kings came true, so that gives him the credibility as a prophet. However, Jonah is the only Old Testament prophet to run from God as we will see. Finally we know that Jesus actually referred to the ministry of Jonah, which gives Jonah some legitimacy as a real person. Look at

Matthew 12:41 ESV

The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

You see, if Jesus refers to a person as real, I guess I am going to believe that Jonah is real. For me that is enough, however people still have questions and concerns, so let’s look at another argument. It has been said that...

A Whale cannot Swallow a man without the man dying...

Well, this is a good one. This is the part of the story that really makes you think of the fairy tale Pinocchio, right. I mean you have a man that is thrown overboard and he is eaten by a whale and then he survives inside of the whale for three days. Sounds a little similar to the story of a boy that was eaten by a dogfish and survived inside for two years. Both of these stories just don’t make any sense, we know that Pinocchio is a fable, so clearly Jonah is as well, right?

Well, it’s not quite that easy, you see, it would be simple to see that the idea for being swallowed by a whale could have been taken from the story of Jonah. So, while Pinocchio we know is a fable, that doesn’t mean that Jonah is a fable.

Next we have to think about the idea of a man being swallowed by a whale and that man surviving for three days. That seems a bit unrealistic to me to be honest. I mean, even if there were a way for a man to be eaten my a whale without dying, wouldn’t there be stomach acids and all that to dissolve Jonah so that the whale is able to digest him? I mean, if I swallow a live fly whole, that fly will absolutely die do to the digestive process.

Well, I did a little research this week and I actually found that there are 2 species of , well, monsters that live in the ocean that actually could eat a man without chewing. First there is the sulfur-bottom whale, and the whale shark. Neither of these have any teeth, they just swallow whatever is in their way. In 1933 one of these was caught and its mouth was 12 feet wide, large enough to swallow a horse. The stomach was big enough that many men could set up a camping site inside of it. That is crazy! Actually in Beirut, Syria there is a museum that has, or at least had, a whale shark that has a mouth large enough to swallow the largest man in history with no problem. There also is a white shark in the Mediterranean that has swallowed horses and reindeer whole.

Ok, so there are creatures large enough to swallow, but there is no way that they would survive for days in the stomach of one of these creatures. As I researched even more, I found that there are actually times that men have been swallowed and survived. In the late 1800’s there was a man called James Bartley. James had disappeared at sea for two days. Then the sailers found a sperm whale, a great catch for them. When they cut up this whale, they found inside James, who was unconscious, but alive. He woke up, and continued living his life. Now, his appearance changed, and he lost most of his hair, but he survived...

Then there is a man called Dr. Harry Rimmer. Dr. Harry was the president and founder of the Research Science Bureau of Los Angeles. Dr. Rimmer writes about an account of an English sailor who was swallowed by a gigantic whale shark in the English Channel. That creature was hunted and killed so that they could give a proper burial. However, when they opened up this whale shark they actually found this man unconscious but alive, only suffering from shock.

So, from a purely historical, and scientific standpoint the story of Jonah is actually plausible. Now, we don’t know of anyone that was swallowed and survived for three days, but this is a plausible story. However, I don’t think that we should take out the miracle from this event and just chalk it up to luck for Jonah. However, the thing is that the story of Jonah does not necessarily talk about a whale. You see, we read that God appointed a great fish in

Jonah 1:17 ESV

And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Then we read that God spoke to the fish in

Jonah 2:10 ESV

And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

So we can clearly see that God is involved in this situation. We read that God appointed, or arranged for a great fish to come and swallow Jonah. Now, it is clearly possible for God to have simply used of one the large animals, like one of these whales that he had already created. However, I personally feel that it is more likely that God created a special animal for this moment that allowed Jonah to survive in the fish and not become unconscious. Remember, every account we have so far has the person surviving for a few hours to 2 days, and they come out unconscious. Three days and three nights is a different story, however Jonah seems to have done it.

So, the question of whether it is possible for a man to be swallowed and survive is put to rest, but that leaves us with probably the greatest argument or question of Jonah and that is that...

Jonah is really just an Allegory, isn’t it...

Well, I guess the first question would be what is an allegory? Based on Oxford dictionary an allegory is, a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. OK, so we do know that as we read Jonah we will see some hidden meanings and maybe some moral truths that will help us to grow as beleivers, so maybe that could be true. Although, if Jonah is an allegory then that would mean it is not a true story, right?. That means we have to come to a decision about the reality of the story of Jonah.

We have seen that Jesus believes that Jonah is a true story and he even basis the theology of his resurrection on the story of Jonah. Look with me at

Matthew 12:40 ESV

For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

We also have seen that Jonah is actually a historical figure that played an important role as a prophet. We will see as we study this book that it presents itself as a historical narrative. There is even archeological evidence. Donald Wiseman says that the historical evidence shows that the details given in this book,

“exhibit an intimate and accurate knowledge of Assyria which could stem from an historical event as early as the eighth century BC, and as such the story of Jonah need not be considered as a late story or parable…” —Donald Wiseman

If all of these things are true, then we can’t believe that Jonah is an allegory, becuase it is a historically accurate story. Now, does that mean it is without literary devices, no. As a matter of fact, this is a story that is written as satire. It is a historically accurate account, but God seems to have placed satire into the life of Jonah. Follow with me...

The story of Jonah is a fantastical story about a rebellious prophet, who is the son of faithful, and who runs away from his calling, then tries to kill himself and gets swallowed by a giant fish who transports him back to where he started and barfs him up on the beach. Then he walks into a large city, preaches the worst sermon ever, and the whole city repents – which makes Jonah furious enough to want to die. God grows a plant for his shade in one day, and then takes it away with the creation of a worm that kills the plant the very next day. I mean this story is just one amazing piece of irony after another, isn’t it…It is kind of hilarious when we think about the whole story pretty quickly.

Some people would argue that the way this story is written is satire, which is true…that is the key literary element used here. However, that does not prove that Jonah is allegory, that simply proves that God is an amazing author that has used Jonah’s pride and arrogance in a way that teaches generations after him who God is and what God.

So, if this story is real, then...

What do I do with Jonah...

That really depends on your heart and where you are personally in your walk with the Lord. You see, every single one of us in this room has something to learn from Jonah. Whether is it the reality of Jonah being a real story, or the heart of Jonah, or what repentance looks like in a real life scenario.

In this story we will see that God uses many different means in order to persuade Jonah into the right actions. However, even in right actions, Jonah reveals that his heart never truly aligned with God’s heart in this story. So, what you have to determine is when does your heart align with God in your story.

There is a man named Andrew Knowles, Andrew says that,

Jonah gives us one of the Bible’s great images of God’s power to save. Just as Joseph was rescued from prison to become prime minister, and Daniel was kept safe among lions, so Jonah is preserved in the belly of a great fish. These episodes prepare us for their greatest sequel—the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb. Jesus went down into the depths of death and experienced utter loss of God—but was raised as the ultimate proof of salvation.

That is the ultimate story of Jonah and the big fish…this is not a story of a man and a fish, this is a preview of the greatest story that has ever been told. The greatest story becuase of the actions and sacrifice of a man for all of humanity, and most of all, the greatest story becuase it is true.

You see, Scripture tells us that Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life and was willingly sacrificed to pay for the sin of all humanity, including me and you. That is the greatest story. Listen, if you are here this morning, or listening online, then I want to encourage you to make a decision to follow Christ. You are a sinner and the penalty for your sin is death. However, Jesus stepped into the gap for you and me and accepted that penalty on himself, even though he did not deserve it. He took the penalty and he died, but that wasn’t all. You see, just like Jonah was spit out after three days, Jesus came breaking out of that grave after three days. Jonah came out reluctantly, but Jesus came out victorious. That was the end of the story, now all that is left if for you to admit your sin, repent and turn from sin to God, and confess that Jesus is your Lord.

That is what you should do with Jonah this morning. Whether you are here and you have commited your life to Christ, or you are here and you have never truly commited your life to christ I want to encourage you to make that commitment this morning. We read in

Romans 10:9 ESV

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Thats it…That is what it takes to make a commitment. So, this morning, commit that from today on you will live, or continue to live your life for Christ out of obedience, and out of gratitude for his saving sacrifice. That’s it…that is our only response to Jonah this morning...

Let’s pray...