Intro: For our Advent season this year, I have chosen to enjoy the Jesse Tree by sharing a 24-day practice to prepare us for the celebration of Christ’s birth; the event we celebrate and honor at Christmas. From the root of Jesse’s stump, we will discover or rediscover the people in the family Tree of Jesus Messiah who were instrumental in bringing the presence of God near to us in order to revive the Spirit-led family of faith. With each day’s reading, we will add a new symbol—an ornament—to our family tree.
Today, is day seventeen of our journey and our symbol is the Fish.
One of my favorite restaurants has a glass aquarium that fills one whole wall; it contains a variety of fish and sea life. According to Scripture, fish were created by God on the fifth day; the number five being symbolic of grace. As well, fish and Jesus are mentioned together many times in the gospels and the connection always involves grace. So, I imagine fish have an awareness of their Creator’s authority and power. Now, some of the fish in the restaurant aquarium tank can be pretty good size, but nothing compared to the big fish God had arranged to be waiting for Jonah.
For just a minute, think about the big fish God had ready [like a life-saving Ark] to give a disobedient Jonah a ride back to the beach—a ride that would take three days and three nights [the number three represents growth and wholeness]. I imagine there was a whole lot of praying going on in the fish belly, don’t you? The fish gets a lot of attention for being Jonah’s transportation, but the true focus of the story should be God and sinners…not Jonah…and not specifically the fish. The Fish is a symbol for us, today, to remember that God is the all-powerful and merciful Creator who sustains and uses everything in creation for His glory. God loves people. And, in our lesson, God reveals His greatest desire: to save as many people as possible from spiritual brokenness and death by His life-saving grace. For this reason, Christ makes his disciples “fishers of men.”
God is rich in compassion; however, Jonah does not want God to spare or redeem Nineveh from judgment. Jonah hates the people and wants justice against the warlike Assyrians. But, God deeply loves the people and wants to offer them a chance to turn from wickedness. So, God uses a spiritually immature but growing Jonah to call the people to repentance and then grace moves. The people mourn their sin, fast, and ask God for forgiveness. When this happens, Jonah’s attitude tanks further into unrighteous anger, but God’s beautiful love continues to work the Truth in Jonah’s heart. Obedience brings transformation. The lesson of Jonah causes us to look at Jesus and the love He demonstrates for sinners by laying down His life and fulfilling prophecy [spending three days and nights in an earthen tomb] so we can know, grow, and commune with God. Hallelujah! Immanuel, God with us!
Jonah 1:1-6, 11-17 NLT Jonah Runs from the Lord
1 The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”
3 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.
4 But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. 5 Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.
But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. 6 So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”
Matthew 12:38-41 NLT The Sign of Jonah
38 One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.”
39 But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
41 “The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent.
Prayer: Lord, we thank you for this lesson that reveals the proper response to share your call for repentance and salvation. Thank you for reminding us of the depths of your love; it fills us with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Help us to share our joy with others, as well as invite them to share life with you through repentance and transformation. In Jesus’ name.