“The Sign of Jonah” (Matthew 12:38-41)
With material adapted from Dr. Reed Lessing’s
sermon series on Jonah
“Sign,
sign, everywhere a sign. Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind. Do this, don’t do that, can’t
you read the sign?” That’s from the 1971
song called – you guessed it – “Signs” by the one-hit wonder band the Five Man Electrical Band. It’s about a hippie who feels discriminated
against, unwelcome, and limited by all the signs he encounters in business, on
private property, and even at church.
Signs,
signs, everywhere there are signs for you and me. “No shirt, no shoes, no service.” “Don’t walk on the grass.” “Do not disturb.” “Speed Limit 55.” “Limit One Per Customer.” “Limited Time Only.” We dislike these signs because they limit us. Now, of course, the limits might be there for
our protection … like the speed limit.
Or it might be because we’re getting a really good deal … so we’re
limited to only one item for a limited time.
But we don’t like to be limited.
We want to live unbound and free, so we dislike the signs that limit
us. And then there are the signs we
crave. We search for a sign to believe
that a love that once burned bright is not fading away. We pray for a sign that a loved one will soon
enjoy a full restoration of health.
A group
of experts in the law and members of the religious group known as the Pharisees
asked for a sign from Jesus. They wanted
proof of his claims to be the Messiah, proof to back up the authority of his
teaching. Jesus replied by describing
them as “an evil and adulterous generation.”
Ironically, Jesus had given them numerous signs already. All that he did in his earthly ministry … feeding the multitudes, healing the sick,
giving sight to the blind, casting out demons, and so forth … all this is exactly
what the Old Testament scriptures said the Messiah would do when he came on the
scene. But what did the religious
leaders do in response to these signs?
They attributed the works Jesus did to Satan.
But
there was one sign Jesus said would be given.
The sign of Jonah. Before we
describe this sign, let’s review what we know about Jonah, just in case you
weren’t here for our midweek sermon series on Jonah this past Lent. God called Jonah to go to the wicked city of
Ninevah and preach a message of repentance.
Instead, Jonah hired a boat to take him as far away in the opposite
direction as possible. But God does not
stop pursuing Jonah. He causes a great
storm to arise. Jonah admits to the
fearful sailors that he is the reason they are in peril. So he convinces them to throw him into the
sea. Perhaps Jonah felt that being dead
would be better than having to go to Ninevah.
But again, God would have none of that.
He sends a great fish to swallow Jonah, and in the fish’s belly Jonah
remained for three days and three nights.
In the darkness of the deep, Jonah cries out for deliverance. The fish vomits Jonah onto dry land. The prophet finally heeds the Lord’s call and
delivers the message of repentance to Ninevah.
The Ninevites repent. God
withholds judgment. But Jonah gets
angry. He was hoping they wouldn’t
repent, but rather get what they deserve.
The book ends with Jonah wallowing in self-pity and the Lord explaining
to Jonah the importance of showing mercy and compassion, even to one’s enemies.
So that’s
Jonah. Now listen to Jesus as he
describes “the sign of Jonah.” Jesus
said, “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.” This is the sign given to his
opponents. This is sign given to all
people of all times and all places. This
is the only sign we will ever need in order to know and believe that Jesus is
our Savior from sin, death, and hell.
Jonah,
the imperfect prophet of God, was cast into the depths of the sea as a
sacrifice of sorts so that the sailors on the ship might live. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, was cast into
the depths of death as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world so that
you and I might live eternally. After
three days, Jonah was spit out of the fish.
On the third day, Jesus was spit out of the grave. It was impossible for the grave to contain
the holy, innocent body of the Savior. It
is impossible for death to contain the body of the one who is “the resurrection
and the life.”
Both Jonah
and Jesus bore the marks of their suffering.
Although the Scriptures don’t tell us what Jonah looked like after being
vomited up on the seashore, you can imagine he probably bore the marks of one who
recently spent time in a fish’s belly. Reddened
skin and graying hair from the acids in the fish’s gut. Stinking of decay as if he really had been dead. Covered in slime. Tangled in long strands of seaweed. What a pathetic sight he must have been.
Jesus bore the marks of a man who had been crucified. Following his resurrection, he appeared to
his disciples who were hiding in fear behind closed doors. Jesus showed them the nail marks in his hands
and the spear mark in his side. Bur rather than appearing bruised and beaten, Jesus appeared restored and renewed. Rather than being tangled in strips of graveclothes, Jesus stood victorious
before his disciples. Thomas, too, who
once had doubted, bowed before him in worship and rightly declared, “My Lord
and my God!”
Jonah
and Jesus both had a message to bring.
Jonah brought a message of repentance to the Ninevites. They did repent and trust in God’s favor to
them. Yet, sadly, Jonah resented the
fact that God would forgive these enemies of his, and God chastised him for
this.
Jesus
brings a message of repentance to us. He
calls us to repent of our sins and trust in his finished work at the cross and
empty tomb for our forgiveness. He calls
us to love and forgive all people, even our enemies. For those who do not, the Ninevites who
repented in the days of Jonah will rise up in judgment and condemn them. Do not be like the skeptics who do not
believe the story of Jonah or “the sign of Jonah.” Nothing is impossible with God. We have something
greater than Jonah, the prophet who was swallowed by a fish and survived. We have “the sign of Jonah,” the Christ who was
swallowed by death and rose to life again.
The
sign of Jonah is evidenced in our joy today.
The white paraments. The joyful
music. Alleluias returned to their
rightful place in the liturgy. A full
church. These death-conquering words of
life from the Scriptures: “In him was life, and the life was the light of men”
(John 1:4) … “I am the Bread of Life” (John 6:35) … “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68)
… “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10) … “I am
the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25) … “I am the Way, and the Truth, and
the Life” (John 14:6). All because we
have the sign of Jonah! The sign that leads
to life now and life forever!
And we
have one more sign … the baptismal sign of the cross! Our theme in Lent was titled “Survivor:
Mediterranean.” We heard how we survive
God’s judgment over our sin because of the death and resurrection of
Jesus. But in fact, we are more than
simply survivors. United to Christ in
Holy Baptism, we are conquerors … and even more so, as St. Paul says, “we are
more than conquerors through him who loved us!” (Rom. 8:37). Your sins were placed in the grave with
Jesus, nevermore to condemn you. And
like Jesus, you will rise again in victory on the Last Day, your body will be renewed
and restored, and no disease or disaster or other effects of sin in the world
will ever be able to cause you to suffer again.
In 1
Corinthians 1:22, St. Paul writes, “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek
wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified.”
People still want signs today, don’t they? But we have been given the only sign we
need. We preach Christ crucified … and
risen ... and present in his Body and Blood in the Holy Sacrament.
The sign of Jonah. This was the core of the preaching of the Apostles all through the book of Acts. It’s the apostolic eyewitness testimony that we receive still today.
The sign of Jonah. This was the core of the preaching of the Apostles all through the book of Acts. It’s the apostolic eyewitness testimony that we receive still today.
There
are signs that do limit us. “Speed limit
55.” “Limited time only.” The sign of Jonah – the resurrection of Jesus
– is a sign that does not limit you. It
means you truly do live a life unbound and free. Like the grave clothes that would have
hindered Christ’s corpse, like the stone that would have kept him in the tomb, in Christ Jesus there are no graveclothes or stones standing in your way. The
Lord of Life came forth unbound and free so that sin and shame and death and
the devil can no longer keep you in bondage.
Bound to the death and resurrection of Jesus in Holy Baptism and by
faith in him, you are unbound, set free … free to live of life of peace with
God, free to live in peace with your fellow men as far as it is possible, free
to joyfully anticipate your own resurrection to eternal life on the Last Day,
and free to proclaim that …
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Alleluia!
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