In the Old Testament, the most crucial
miracle is the miracle of Jonah, which
refers to the Lord Jesus' resurrection
from the dead.
Some have misinterpreted this
miracle. They say that the miracle of
Jonah being in the belly of the great
fish for three days and three nights
typifies the Lord being in the earth for
three days and three nights. However,
being dead and buried in the earth
for three days and three nights is not
a miracle because it is very common
to be buried in the earth after death.
It is also quite possible for a person
to jump into the sea and be devoured
by a big fish. It is not a miracle to be
in the belly of a big fish for three days
and three nights. It is not even a
miracle to be in the belly of a big fish
for fifty days and fifty nights. But being
in the belly of a fish for three days
and three nights and then coming out
of it is a miracle. For Christ to be in
the grave for three days and three
nights is not a miracle. His
resurrection from the grave after
three days and three nights is the
miracle. Death is not a miracle, but
resurrection is a miracle.
Jonah had made up his mind and
would not have returned if he had
not suffered a calamity. He was very
racially prejudiced. God commanded
him to go to Nineveh, but he went his
own way to Tarshish. Although he did
not obey God, God did not let him go.
He sent a great wind into the sea, and
Jonah's ship was on the verge of
being destroyed. Eventually, Jonah
realized that he was the cause of the
calamity. Finally, he asked the people
on the ship to cast him into the sea,
and the storm subsided. God
prepared a great fish to swallow
Jonah, and he remained in the belly of
this fish three days and three nights.
When God commanded the fish to
vomit Jonah out upon the dry land,
Jonah obeyed God's command to go
to Nineveh and preach the gospel.
Therefore, if you want to have peace
within, you have to cast this man,
Jonah, into the sea.
Jonah was a man who rebelled and
escaped the will of God. He was cast
into the sea because of his own sins.
Our Lord, however, was crucified on
the cross on behalf of our sins. When
Jonah was cast into the sea,
everything became peaceful. When
the Lord died, everything was also at
peace—man was reconciled with God.
Whenever we are willing to accept the
position the Lord gives to us,
everything will be at peace. Jonah had
to be cast into the sea, the Lord Jesus
had to die, and we too must die and
partake of the Lord's death.
Burial is typified by Jonah being cast
into the sea and swallowed in the
belly of the big fish. The unique
meaning of burial is keeping the dead
out of our sight. After Abraham's wife
Sarah died, he spoke to the sons of
Heth, saying, "Give me a possession of
a buryingplace with you, that I may
bury my dead out of my sight" (Gen.
23:4). Our baptism is to confess that
the Lord Jesus' death is real and that
our death with Him is also real. We
have both died and been buried
together with Him. Resurrection is
typified by the fish vomiting out Jonah
upon the dry land. The Lord Jesus
has been raised from the grave, and
we have been raised together with
Him. The Lord Jesus' resurrection is
the central point of this miracle.
Resurrection is not only an objective
fact but also a subjective experience.
Before Jonah was cast into the sea, he
would rather have died than go to
Nineveh. Jonah was not ready to go to
Nineveh until the big fish vomited him
out upon the dry land. This
fundamental change in him was the
work of resurrection. After we believe
in the Lord and have the experience
of resurrection, we are willing to do
what we previously were very
unwilling to do. We previously failed
constantly in many things and were
unable to overcome. But once we
received the resurrection life, we
underwent a fundamental change.