5 weeks until Easter today. Today we only have a short passage to read from Luke 8:22-25 about Jesus calming a storm. It is interesting passage because it is widely understood to be intentionally connected to the story of Jonah, with Jesus acting as the "greater Jonah".
We don’t in fact have to a theologian or scholar to recognise the parallels to the story of Jonah, in fact Jesus made the link himself.
Matthew 12:38-41
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and 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. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
The link to the story of Jonah are a prediction of Jesus’s death and resurrection and our need for repentance.
People today want evidence before they’ll repent, they want physical signs before they’ll believe, it is very similar. But God has given more than enough evidence to believe as it says in
Romans 1:18-21
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
This is why it is a ridiculous claim for an atheist to say there is no evidence for God. They know the truth in their hearts and have to suppress it. We can be sure of that.
After we’ve read the passages from Jonah and Luke, we can look at the similarities and the differences and hopefully discern how and when they apply to our own lives.
Jonah 1:1-17
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
A lot of people are running away from the presence of the Lord. And when you do that, one thing happens. You start a journey down. At first you don’t realise you’re falling because the journey down is in the sunshine, it seems pleasant.
He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.
Finally Jonah went to sleep, he didn’t realise the danger he was in. It’s a dangerous place to be once you’re away from the presence of the Lord. Jonah was a lost sheep and his life was now in danger. It took someone who wasn’t a believer to wake him up.
So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”
The unbeliever is unaware of the danger they are in until something bad happens. Life is fragile, it can be lost in a moment. But we have the hope of the Gospel that we can share and when someone is facing death, we have the message that can save their soul. Are you ready to tell someone who needs to hear it?
So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
They say there are no atheists in a foxhole. There aren’t too many who hold out against the only hope there is when all else is lost.
Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous. And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”
There is a human tendency to blame ourselves when things go wrong even when there is no obvious direct link. But in this case Jonah realised that the pending disaster was his fault. He was the guilty one.
Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.” So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.
The men prayed to be saved. Ain’t that the truth! People do cry out to God when they are close to death. Romans 10:13 tells us anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. His name is Jesus.
Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
When we commit our lives to Jesus, we are making a vow to serve him all our lives. Have you made that confession? Then you’re in a good place. Now we move to the short passage on Luke.
Luke 8:22-25
Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”
What are the parallels to the story of Jonah?
Similarities
- Jonah and Jesus were asleep in the boat
- The sailors and the disciples were terrified that they were going to drown
- A great wind came
- The sea and the lake were calmed
- Jesus and Jonah went into the belly of the earth for 3 days (Jonah died when he was in the great fish)
- Jesus and Jonah were brought back from the dead
- Both Jonah and Jesus were sacrificed
Differences
- They were obeying the Lord going to the other side of the Lake
- The wind in Jonah was sent by the Lord; in Luke it came down
- The Lord was in the boat, in Jonah he was in Heaven
- The reason for the storm was because of Jonah
- Jesus had authority over nature, no one else does
- Jesus was innocent
- The emphasis was on sin and sacrifice in Jonah, in Luke it is on faith and the safety of being with the Lord
Sometimes we need to assess where we’re at. Are we doing what the Lord asks us to do, have we got Jesus in our boat? Because if we can answer yes to that question, we have nothing to fear from the storm. But if we’re not obeying the Lord, if we are running away from the presence of the Lord, we are taking a great risk, we are vulnerable to disaster, we are vulnerable to the enemy, our very souls are in danger.
This is a message for all of us and the Church today. There many souls to be saved just like the people of Nineveh they are living in darkness. Our God is merciful but they can’t be saved without hearing the message first so we mustn’t stay safe in our comfort zones. The Lord has called us to go to the other side of the lake with him (we are not on our own), in faith, to speak a message of repentance and a call to believe in Jesus. Next week we’ll continue on with this chapter side by side with the rest of the story from Jonah.
