The Sign of Jonah
Jonah’s adventure happened in the early eighth century BC. Jesus’ storm on the sea was in the early first century AD. So, they happened approximately 800 years apart. Yet the similarities between the stories are remarkable. They uncover the parallels between Jesus and the Yahweh (God) of the Old Testament, showing that Jesus is Yahweh in the flesh. What are the comparisons between Jonah’s storm and Jesus’s storm? Let’s look at the table below to answer that question.
Note: Some important parallels are drawn from other relevant passages.
| Jonah Chapter 1 | Mark 4:35-41 | |
| Jonah the son of Amittai | Jesus the Son of God | |
| Destination: Nineveh to cry out against their wickedness | Destination: Decapolis to advance the Kingdom against demonic forces | |
| Jonah fled from Yahweh’s presence and away from Nineveh | Jesus advanced God’s Kingdom toward the Decapolis | |
| Jonah found a ship and boarded it | Jesus had boarded a boat | |
| The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea | Demonic forces hurled a great wind on the sea | |
| Jonah’s ship was about to break up | Peter noticed the boat filling with water | |
| The sailors become afraid | The disciples become afraid | |
| The sailors cried out to their gods | The disciples cried out to Jesus | |
| The sailors hurled their cargo into the sea… | The disciples feared they’d be hurled into the sea | |
| Jonah in the stern fast asleep | Jesus in the stern fast asleep | |
| Captain awoke Jonah to cry out to his god | Disciples woke Jesus | |
| Captain wants Jonah’s god aware so they don’t perish | Peter wants Jesus to awake so they don’t perish | |
| The sailors cast lots | The soldiers will cast lots | |
| The sailors want to find who is responsible | Mark hints at who is responsible for the storm | |
| Jonah a Hebrew who fears the Lord | Peter a Hebrew who fears the Lord | |
| The sailors become afraid | Peter becomes afraid | |
| The sailors rowed desperately to return to land, but the sea became even stormier | The experienced sailors did all they could, but the sea became more dangerous | |
| The sailors claimed they were innocent of blood and didn’t want to cast Jonah into the sea | Pilate declared himself innocent of Jesus’ blood and didn’t want Him crucified | |
| The sea calmed when Jonah was tossed overboard | The sea calmed when Jesus spoke to it | |
| The sailors became extremely afraid of Yahweh | The disciples became very afraid of Jesus | |
| The sailors offered sacrifices and vows to Yahweh | Jesus delivered the demoniac | |
| Jonah was in the fish three days and nights | Jesus was in the tomb for three days and nights | |
| Jonah repented and was resurrected | Jesus died in our place and was resurrected. | |
| Nineveh repented and was spared | The healed Demoniac remained as a witness |
Jesus and the Sign of Jonah
The Jewish leaders asked Jesus for a sign to prove that He was the Messiah. He denied them any sign except the sign of Jonah:
No sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For 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.
Matthew 12:39-40
The content of the gospel is that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). That’s the sign of Jonah.
We invite you to watch the Great News video on this page to find out more about how you can receive the free gift of forgiveness, salvation and eternal life because Jesus died for your sins. And mine.
Jonah stepped out of his comfort zone. Read how you can step out of yours here.
