Jonah 1:1; 2 Kings 14:23-27; Matthew 12:38-42

The story of Jonah is one of the most well-known in the Bible, although it is generally told as a story about a big fish and a man who was in that fish and about disobedience and obedience.  What I remember from Sunday school was we never heard chapter four.  I was a young adult when, for the first time, I read the entire story and understood what was going on.

Was this a true story or is it a parable of some kind?  Why do people ask this question?  For one thing, we have never heard of a fish swallowing a man (that is amazing) and that man being thrown up by the fish (also amazing) and the man living through it (that is really, really amazing).  This is impossible, we say.  It must be a fairy tale or myth, like Pinocchio, a story with a moral.  So, is it true?

First, understand that parables in the Bible are not stories that could never happen.  The parables Jesus told could have happened; they were not fairy tales or legends of mythological creatures that never existed.  Jonah is not a parable.

Second, this question is part of an anti-supernatural approach to the Bible.  If it hasn’t happen to me, or to anyone in my lifetime, or in recorded history, observed by credible witnesses, then it can’t be true.  This effort denies Creation as well as Jesus’ resurrection and all His other miracles.  If your assumption is that nothing out of the ordinary can be true then this story is not true.  But be honest: if this is our assumption then we are seeking to reduce “God” to a manageable size, to a God we can fully understand and control.

Having said all that, here is why we believe this story must be true.

·        The Book of Jonah speaks like it really happened.  Jonah is spoken of by name and lineage (son of Amittai) elsewhere (2 Ki. 14:25).  Joppa, Nineveh, Tarshish and Gath Hepher (Josh. 19:13) are all real places. 

·        Jesus Himself referred to the story as if it were true (Matt. 12:38-42), using it to establish His own resurrection.  In the Bible doctrine is not built on myth; it is tied to real events, times and places.  If Jesus connects His resurrection to a myth, then His resurrection is also a myth.  And if His resurrection is not true, well, just read 1 Cor. 15:12-19 and you will see we are hopelessly lost.

·        This story is about a real God who is omnipotent (all powerful) and omnipresent (everywhere present).  AND the God of Jonah is a God who loves the world, even those that Jonah despises.  And that is the greatest supernatural feat in the story: not the fish but the love of God for sinners.

Jonah’s story is true.  Jonah’s God is real.  Thank the Lord!