One Greater Than Jonah is Here

Christ proclaimed that He is greater than the prophet Jonah, under whose reluctant preaching the people of Nineveh turned away from evil and were spared God's judgment upon their city.

There are several comparisons to be made between Jesus and Jonah. Both experienced an episode of sleeping through a storm in a ship, with their shipmates imploring them to take action to rescue them.

Their attitudes contrast as well: Jonah wept because Nineveh repented and was spared God's wrath. The Lord Jesus wept because Jerusalem rejected the Gospel and was destroyed.

More importantly to Jesus' rebuke of His audience: Nineveh heard and believed God's Word through Jonah's preaching, while Israel rejected the Incarnate Word!

Jonah preached only wrath and judgment, yet Nineveh repented and was saved from temporal judgment. The Lord Jesus preached salvation and eternal life, yet Israel rejected His sweet offer of grace.

Perhaps the saddest verse in Jonah is Jonah 3:10: And God saw their works, and God repented of the evil.

Temporal, and temporary, salvation came to Nineveh because they left off their sin, and God saw it and withheld their judgment. But 200 years later, the entire city was wiped out forever!

No wonder the Lord Jesus is better than Jonah: He saves forever, not temporarily.

There was no justification or righteousness found in Nineveh, but everyone who trusts in Jesus is justified and made righteous by His sacrifice in our place!

Jesus' Gospel is better than Jonah's! Christ's salvation is not based upon God seeing our works, like Nineveh's was.

Nineveh's judgment was only postponed. Our Judgment was finished at Calvary through Christ's offering!