The story of Jonah is very familiar to our ears. Those famous words have inspired thousands of poems and novels:
“And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.”
Our famous prophet is brought through this journey of death in the belly of the beast and through repentance is spat out of the fish after three days. This is meant to parallel Jesus’ three days in death after the crucifixion.
Unlike Jonah, our Lord was perfect so that he did not need to repent. Still, it is fairly certain to say that Jesus went to Sheol during those three days of bodily death and proclaimed victory from death; or, we could say, he proclaimed victory from Sheol.
The parallels are really remarkable. Jonah is swallowed up by Sheol; Jesus is swallowed up by Sheol. Jonah repents and finds life; Jesus prays right before death that his enemies would be forgiven and find life; Jonah spends three days in Sheol; Jesus spends three days in Sheol. Jonah proclaims that salvation is of the Lord in Sheol; Jesus proclaims that salvation is of the Lord in Sheol; Jonah is spat out of Sheol after three days; Jesus is spat out of Sheol (grave) after three days.
The stories of the prophets always remind us in these remaining thirty-one days that Jesus is the greater prophet; Jesus is the greater Jonah.
Prayer: O merciful God, you give us life when we turn to you. Like Jonah, may we seek your temple in our despair and in our delight. Where can we go from your Spirit? Even in Sheol you are there to speak like to our weary hearts. Blessed are you, Jesus, the one whom even Sheol could not hold. Amen.
