During the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ the majority of the common people accepted His teachings and had faith in Jesus’ name. Not only did Christ heal the people of all their infirmities, but He also cast out devils and even forgave men of their sins. However, these miracles which Jesus performed were not enough to make believers out of the Jews who belonged to the ruling religious sects know as the scribes and Pharisees and the Sadducees. For on more than one occasion did the Jews of the ruling class ask Jesus to show them a sign from heaven in order that they might believe in Him as their promised Messiah. But the Lord replied unto them by saying that, “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:39-40). I would argue that the sign of Jonah spoken of by Jesus means that Jonah did indeed die, just as Jesus did indeed die. Lets us turn now and further examine this claim as we attempt to discern the sign of the prophet Jonah.
As the Bible tells us, the word of the Lord came unto prophet Jonah saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me” (Jonah 1:1-2). But instead of obeying the call of God, Jonah ran from his responsibility and hopped aboard a ship going to Tarshish in order to flee from the presence of the Lord. However, soon afterwards the Lord sent a great wind and a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was in danger of breaking. But while the mariners were afraid, Jonah was fast asleep in the sides of the ship (Jonah 1:5). This is reminiscent of the story in the Gospel where Jesus’s disciples were caught in a great sea storm and thought they might die, but Jesus like Jonah, was fast asleep in the hinder part of the ship. And just as Jesus once woken rebuked the wind and the storm settled, so too once the ship-master threw Jonah overboard did the sea cease from her raging. It was also at this time when the Lord, “prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17).
The Bible goes on to state that during Jonah’s imprisonment in the belly of the fish, did the prophet begin to pray unto the Lord. At the beginning of his prayer, Jonah says the following, “out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice” (Jonah 2:2). This reference to the belly of hell is crucial in understanding the situation that Jonah was in once the whale swallowed him. It is very probable that Jonah could have drowned by being cast into the ocean during a storm where the waves of the sea were so violent. In fact it might even have been a greater miracle for Jonah to have survived the waves rather than being swallowed alive by a whale. Additionally, it would be extremely difficult for a person to physically survive inside a whale’s stomach for a period of three days with no oxygen to breath and no fresh water to drink. So, I would argue that the Lord sent the whale to swallow up Jonah in order to preserve his body, so in turn Jonah would still be able to preach unto the Ninevites. It would seem that God prepared the great fish to not only preserve Jonah’s body, but to give Jonah space to repent.
More evidence to support the opinion that Jonah died is found as we continue reading the prophet’s prayer unto God. Jonah speaks: “For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me…The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever” (Jonah 2:3,5-6). So from these words it sounds like Jonah is describing his death by drowning. However, as we shall see from the later part of Jonah’s prayer that there is indeed a resurrection. Jonah continues: “…yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD” (Jonah 2:6-9). It was after this prayer that the Bible states how, “the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land” (Jonah 2:10). So from these verses it is revealed that the sign of Jonah is truly one of resurrection, the very sign that Jesus said would be given to the unbelieving generation of the Jews who rejected Him as Messiah.
In conclusion the sign of the prophet Jonah as we have seen in relation to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is truly a fascinating typology of Biblical accounts from both the Old and New Testaments. Just as Jonah was preserved in the belly of the fish, so too was the immaculate body of Christ preserved in the tomb. Just as Jonah descended into the belly of hell, so also did Jesus Christ descend into the lower parts of the earth (Ephesians 4:8-10). And just as Jonah was released from his captivity in the whale’s belly, so also was the Son of God triumphant over death and Hades. Now for many this may sound like a fish story and could also be a hard pill to swallow for some. But, speaking to the generations who don’t believe in Jesus the only sign given them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. “For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation” (Luke 11:30).