The main message of all of scripture is the Lord Jesus Christ. And if we can go through the whole book of Jonah and not see Christ in some way or another, then we have failed our mission. And our mission is to see how the Lord Jesus Christ is taught to us, not just in terms of moral lessons that are in harmony with the law of Christ, And not just in terms of example, but also in terms of Christ and his person and work. And to that end, I'd like for us not to turn to Jonah, but rather to Matthew chapter 12, where we find Jesus himself speaking of Jonah and drawing this connection. Matthew chapter 12, verses 38 through 41. And I'd like to read that passage, although you might be able to see just with a glance that it goes on, and there's certainly more that could be said here that Christ brings out. But insofar as he mentions Jonah, that's what we're going to be looking at today. Jonah, or excuse me, Matthew chapter 12, verse 38 through 41. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him saying, Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you. But he 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. 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. 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." Some of your translations might actually have the phrase, someone greater than Jonah is here, and that is also correct. one greater than Jonah, and be that as it may, Jesus is referring to himself. He is the one who is greater than Jonah. The Ninevites repented and took heed to the words of a Jonah, a backward Jonah, a sinful Jonah. And these people, to whom Jesus was giving this corrective, had seen sign after sign after sign and demanding more signs and would not heed, listen to, or believe upon the one greater than Jonah, even the Son of God." Now, in our study of Jonah, we've already seen how Christ is typified or symbolized by Jonah. Or to put it another way, we've already seen how Jonah is similar to Jesus. In the sense that he was three nights, three days and three nights in the great fish, even as Jesus was three nights and three days and three nights in the grave. We saw how there is a similarity between Jonah's consignment to that prison of the whale or the great fish. That consignment was brought upon him because of sin and God's displeasure. And in that same way, although in a slightly different way, of course, Jesus was consigned to the grave, to the cross and then to the grave because of the father's displeasure and wrath towards sin. Obviously, it wasn't Jesus's sin, but the sins of you and me. But still, there's some similarity there. We also saw the similarity in that Jonah was released from his prison of the great fish after three days and as it were, rose again. And Jesus also rose again from his prison on the third day. And then also a much overlooked aspect of similarity between Jonah and Christ is the fact that Jonah's deliverance from his prison, from his watery grave, if you will, resulted in Gentile inclusion. That is, it resulted in Gentiles being preached to and Gentiles being converted and brought into the kingdom of God. Even so, Jesus and his resurrection resulted in the same thing, except on a much larger scale, on a worldwide scale, resulted and continues to result in Gentile inclusion, preaching to the Gentiles and all the nations of the earth, being exposed to the gospel and becoming members of the kingdom of God. And so we've seen that. We touched on that in a previous lesson, some of you might recall. However, our focus this afternoon is not so much on how Jonah and Christ are similar in the sense that Jonah is a type of Christ, but rather we want to draw our attention to the fact that they were quite different. In fact, we could say the contrast, how Jonah is not like Jesus. And the reason why we're doing this is not because I'm trying to be pedantic and telling you something you already know, because I'm sure none of you has as your main hero, Jonah. Jonah is not your main hero. I know that. So I'm not trying. I realize, though, that was a major issue, though, in the New Testament. The book of Hebrews 2, you can see it. In the book of Colossians, you can also see that the emphasis in those epistles is to try to wean these people off of their heroes so that they'll see that there's no comparing their heroes to the ultimate, supreme, superior Jesus Christ. And that is the theme of Hebrews, one greater than, one superior than, one sufficient, and in Colossians as well. There was in the Lycus Valley when Colossians was written, along with Laodicea and another church there. They had imbibed in some kind of a admixture of Christianity and heathenism where even angels were being adored. Today we have the Roman Catholic Church where saints are adored. It's the same thing. Jesus Christ is somehow overshadowed and marginalized and eclipsed in favor of hero worship. And that, of course, I hope is not a problem here. Jonah is not our hero. However, since Jesus himself makes this point, one greater than Jonah is here. He would have us contemplate that. He goes on to say, one greater than Solomon is here. One wiser than Solomon. And he's referring to himself. So if he would have us consider the obvious, which to them obviously wasn't, because they weren't bowing the knee, they weren't listening, they weren't taking heed of Christ. For us, however, it's still profitable and always is. to meditate upon our most glorious savior, the God-man, Jesus Christ, the great prophet, priest, and king. And even though everything that I say today will be something you've already heard before and perhaps many times, it's for the purpose that our hearts would go out to him once again afresh in love and devotion and faith. So I want us to note five ways in which Jesus is greater than Jonah. Five ways in which Jesus is greater than Jonah. And Jesus points us to this line of thought by suggesting that he is one greater than Jonah. And the first thing, and I think this is perhaps the most obvious, when we think of Jonah, we think of a backslidden prophet running away from God. So we could observe that Jesus is greater than Jonah because Jesus sought to do the will of the father. while Jonah sought to do his own will. Jesus sought to do the will of the father while Jonah sought to do his own will. And if you can picture with me that scene in Gethsemane, you realize that Jesus is praying to his father and he's anticipating the wrath of God that is even now in smaller amounts falling on him and will in larger amounts increasingly come upon him as he hangs there on Calvary. He is saying to his father, if it be possible, let this cup pass for me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. We see that contrasted with Jonah, who in essence said to God, not as you will, God, but as I will. And he runs away from the commission of God and catches a ship to Spain. We see a huge contrast. And by the way, this ought to remind us of a certain hermeneutical principle when we're reading the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, we find prophets, priests, and kings. Jonah was a prophet, for example. David was a king. Aaron was a priest, and others. And we can say, in all truth, that they point to Jesus Christ. Every one of them points to Jesus Christ. The office itself, of course, points to him who would be in himself the anointed one, the Christ, which means the prophet, the priest, and the king. But we could say even more so that wherever there were things in the prophets, the priests, and the kings that were positive and good, there would be a small foretaste for the people of what the Messiah would be in perfection and excellence. So they look forward to the Messiah when they consider how wonderful a king David was. They look forward to David's son who would be an everlasting king and far more superior and perfect And then we can also say, on the other hand, that all of the imperfections and the sins and the backward things about the prophets and the priests and the kings of old, those also pointed to Jesus. In the sense that there was offered to the people then a contrast by which they would all the more long for the coming Messiah who would be perfect prophet, priest, and king in himself. And so we find here Jonah, by way of contrast, pointing us to the Lord Jesus Christ who humbled himself and became obedient even to the death of the cross. The Ninevites listened to and heeded the word of the backward Jonah. How much more then are we and the Pharisees and scribes that Jesus was speaking to here, how much more then ought we to pay attention to the perfect Son of God who sought to do his Father's will rather than his own. In the second place, we can note that Jesus is greater than Jonah because Jesus displayed great mercy and compassion for the lost. Jonah didn't. Jesus wept over Jerusalem. He showed great mercy and compassion. That passage where he weeps over Jerusalem and he expresses their sin. You killed the prophets and you stoned those who were sent to you. But how often, he says, I would have gathered your children under my wings like a hen gathers her chicks. But you would not. And therefore, your city is going to be left to you desolate. He could see in his mind's eye the destruction that would come upon Jerusalem, which did indeed come in that generation, as he himself had already said in the Olivet Discourse, proclaiming to them that if they didn't repent, they would also likewise perish, speaking no doubt with reference to A.D. 70. And here he is in his mind's eye seeing the judgment of God, and does it make him happy? Does he camp out on the hill waiting for it to happen or hoping it would happen so he could actually witness it with his eyes? Well, he is witnessing it in his foresight, and it makes him very, very sad. And he is grieving a mixed multitude, mostly non-elect people. And yet Jesus has compassion toward the non-elect and does not wish to see them come under such judgment. He does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked. If that's not your God, then you have the wrong God. The true God is fully revealed in the man Jesus Christ in terms of his compassion and his mercy. He is slow to wrath. He is abundant in loving kindness. And he does not find this sick, sadistic pleasure in bringing judgment upon people, even if they're wicked, recalcitrant people. That's the compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ, of our God revealed in Christ. Contrast that then with Jonah, who couldn't wait for judgment to fall. on that great city of Nineveh. The difference is startling. Both men are sad. Both are upset. Jesus is upset and so is Jonah. Jesus is upset because he doesn't want to see this city go on in its impenitence and therefore be judged. Jonah is upset because he doesn't want to see God's grace shed upon that city. Aren't you thankful that Jesus is like Jesus and not like Jonah? And aren't you thankful that people who have wished to be God didn't get their wish come true? And the next time you're dealing with somebody, by the way, who's ranting and railing against Calvinism because it's such a heartless theology, How could God send people to hell, choose some and not others? You need to confidently remind yourself of the fact that God is far more merciful than any of us are. Far more merciful. We would be sending people to hell and resurrecting them changing our minds and condemning whole nations. And I've heard even Christian people speak that way with reference to warfare and how we'd just like to see certain parts of the earth disappear. We ought to be glad that God is who he is and that Jesus is compassionate and slow to wrath, abundant in loving kindness. Thirdly, Jesus is greater than Jonah. because he is the greatest of all the prophets. Jonah was just a prophet. Jesus was the prophet of all prophets with a capital P. In Deuteronomy chapter 18, God predicted, or at least prophesied through Moses, that he would raise up a prophet one day who would be like himself, that is like God, but also like Moses from one of the brethren. which is a implication of the dual nature of Jesus Christ, the God-man. And he also said that, if anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. This scripture in Deuteronomy 18 is quoted in the book of Acts with reference to Jesus. Jesus is the great prophet that was predicted, that was prophesied of. Now, when Jesus stands before these Pharisees and scribes and he says to them, Jonah prophesied and preached, the Ninevites repented, but one greater than Jonah is here, one wiser than Solomon is here. He is telling them that he is the great prophet. He is reminding them of that prophecy in the Old Testament, that one would arise that would be greater than all the prophets. And he was preaching himself and declaring to them that he was indeed the prophet. It reminds us of what the father said at Christ's baptism. This is my beloved son. Hear him. Listen to him. I've sent you prophet after prophet after prophet. What did you do? You killed them. You killed them. You killed them. You kept rejecting them. Now I send you my son. Listen to him. And that's why the Ninevites will rise up in judgment against these Israelites, because they repented under the ministry of a lesser prophet. And these would not bow and listen to the sun. Reminds us of the message of Hebrews again. If even the words of angels were met with great judgment, if you refuse to listen, how much more shall he be counted worthy of who tramples under his foot the things that have been revealed, which were first spoken by Christ and then confirmed later by his apostles. Fourthly, Jesus is greater than Jonah because he is the very source of God's grace. He's the very source of God's grace. Jesus was not only a messenger and an instrument of God's grace, as were the other prophets, but he was in himself the embodiment of grace, the very source and fullness of grace. As John says in John 1, 14, the law came through Moses. Moses was an instrument in communicating the law. That's really all that Moses could communicate. But grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. And that doesn't mean that Jesus didn't come preaching the law. That's not the antithesis that's being set up. The point is that all Moses could do is communicate law. He was not a source of grace. But Jesus comes not only communicating law, this is what you must do, but communicating the very grace and strength to keep that law. Because he is in himself the way, the truth, and the life. Jonah wasn't like that. Jonah merely preached was an instrument. Jesus himself was the light and the life and. The source of all grace. We find that repeated, by the way, in the epistles, notice how often the Paul, the apostle. will say grace and peace to you from God, our father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who is in himself the source and dispenser of grace. So he's much greater than Jonah in that sense. And then lastly, Jesus is greater than Jonah because he literally rather than figuratively experienced hell and the grave and rose from the dead. He literally, rather than figuratively, experienced hell and the grave and rose from the dead. Jonah spent three days in the belly of the great fish. Jesus spent three days in the grave. His body lay in the grave. Jonah, you might think, had a grave in the belly of the whale, but he was alive. He did not actually die. He experienced something horrible, but consider the hellish experience, literally, that Christ experienced on the cross when the wrath of God was poured out on him and the anguish of soul. There is no comparison. As O. Palmer Robertson said, all praise to Jesus Christ, the suffering servant of the Lord. He endured things worse than Jonah. Hell itself was his cup to drink, not merely a mouthful of salt water. The Lord pursued Jonah to the point of death for the sake of the salvation of many, but he pursued Christ to the fact of hell to save numberless sinners throughout the history of the world. And you might think, well, I already knew all this. You didn't have to tell me that Jesus is greater than Jonah. But don't you see how it is profitable to rehearse in our minds even the things that are most basic? Because it brings more glory to the Lord Jesus Christ and it will stand us in good stead, because in the future we need to remember that it doesn't matter how wonderful and godly so-and-so was that you've been reading a biography about, and it doesn't matter how wonderful this prophet was, or that king, or that priest, or that preacher, Jesus is fairer than them all. He outshines them all. He is the prophet, the priest, the king, the God-man, he eclipses whatever derivative glory any creature has, Christ eclipses them all, as he does with Jonah. And consider this, Jonah was brought out of the belly of the fish. In a sense, he was raised from the figurative death that we find him typifying in Jonah. And that resulted in an indirect way, in the conversion of Gentiles, but consider our Lord Jesus Christ who was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. He really did rise from the dead and his resurrection, not indirectly, but directly affected not just some outward reformation, but the justification of multitudes which no man can number. We find then a helpful way of remembering Christ just by seeing the contrast between Jonah and Christ. The book of Jonah is all about the extent to which God will go to show grace to those he loves. He went to great extent to save Nineveh and to bring about what we considered earlier a true revival. And he did this pursuing Jonah as he did for the sake of those whom he would save. But think how much more this is displayed in the way in which the father pursued his own son, even unto death, for the salvation of those whom he loved. For God loved the world in this way, in this amazing, ultimate way, in a way that he had never up until that point expressed in that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." So what should be our response to this amazing display of love in Christ? I want to close with a quote this afternoon from the King of Nineveh. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent. And with compassion, turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish. Our response, whether you're converted or not, should be to Jonah, to believe in the one who is greater than Jonah, to listen to him, to take heed to him, to trust in him. Or the people of Nineveh will rise up against you in the day of judgment. For they repented under the ministry of Jonah. How much more have we been given under the direct ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ? So may God enable us then to hear God's beloved Son and trust in Him.