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OUT OF THE GRAVE I CRIED, AND YOU HEARD MY VOICE.
M: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Cong: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
In the name + of Jesus.
Jonah was a prophet of the Lord, but not a
very good one. The Lord had called Jonah
to preach to the people of Nineveh. Nineveh
was the capital city of Assyria, an enemy nation of Israel. It would be like a pastor in the USA being
sent to preach to the Taliban. Instead
of going east to Nineveh, Jonah boarded a ship to sail west to Tarshish, which
was probably Spain. The Lord was not pleased
and commanded a storm to throttle the ship.
Jonah told the crew that their only deliverance from God’s wrath was to
throw him into the Mediterranean Sea. Reluctantly, they did so. The storm immediately ceased, and the sea
grew calm. Jonah, on the other hand,
plunged into the depths of the sea. “The waters closed in over me to
take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the
roots of the mountains” (Jonah 2:5-6).
The Lord chose to be merciful to
Jonah. “The Lord appointed
a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish
three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17). Rather than let Jonah die in his
stubbornness, the Lord preserved Jonah inside a giant fish. From there, Jonah repented of his rebellion,
and his prayer was heard. “Out of the belly of Sheol—that is, the
grave—I cried, and you heard my voice” (Jonah 2:2). Jonah was neither consumed by the sea
nor consumed by the fish. The Lord delivered
him from the belly of the grave. “The Lord spoke
to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land” (Jonah 2:10).
There are many today who deny this story. We admit that it sounds unbelievable. And we do not need to find ways to make it believable. We confess that this was a miracle, and miracles
defy logical explanations. But another
reason we believe that Jonah’s account is historical is because Jesus thought
so. Jesus did not treat this as a
parable or a myth. He confessed Jonah to
be real and his deliverance to be real.
He even said that Jonah is a type of himself.
When the religious leaders of Jesus’ day
demanded to see a miraculous sign from him to prove that he is the Messiah,
Jesus could have referred to any number of miraculous healings. But he did not. This is what he said: “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a
sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just 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” (Matthew
12:39-40). If Jonah was a mythical figure, are we to
conclude that Jesus’ death and resurrection are mythical, too? God forbid!
If Jesus’ resurrection is mythical, the consequences are terrible. Jesus offered up his life as an atoning sacrifice
for your sins. If Jesus did not rise
from the dead, then his payment for your sins was insufficient. Then death still reigns. Then your future is the grave, which is the best
you can hope for. Hell would be the
worst, and with our sins still clinging to us, there is no chance that we could
escape it.
A faith based on myths is useless.
After all, sins are real. You
know what it is to have people hurt you with insensitive remarks or
self-centered behavior. Some hurt you unwittingly. Others hurt you intentionally. You have hurt others in the same way. If Jesus did not take away our sins, then our
guilt remains, and the grave is the future.
And death is real. It takes
without permission and without mercy. After
death comes God’s judgment where we all must answer to God for our sins. And you can be sure that God’s judgment is real. Your conscience tells you that.
Our guilt is real,
our regrets are painful, our shame is humiliating, and our fear of death is
haunting. And we have done this to
ourselves. Sin produces suffering, pain,
and death. God cannot overlook our sins
or suspend his judgment, not if he is a righteous God. If you think that God should let sins slide,
ask yourself if you feel the same way about the sins of rapists, murderers, and
human traffickers. Not just them, but we
even want to see snobs get their comeuppance. Without a Savior, we have no answer at the
judgment. Without a Savior, we will
discover just how real hell is and how unbearable the wrath of God is.
Jonah was a prophet
of God, but he was not a very good one.
You and I are the people of God, but we are not very good at it. We have not overcome our sins. We have not escaped guilt, shame, and
regret. We will not elude death. Out of the grave we cry, and God has heard our
voice. Jesus addressed all of it. Jesus removed our sins from us by taking them
into himself and being condemned on our behalf.
That is why he died and was placed in a grave.
Jonah and Jesus are just as real as sin, death, and the grave. Jesus’ death is undeniable. The Romans were excellent at crucifying
people. Even Jesus’ enemies acknowledged
his death. While death by crucifixion is
torturous and terrible, Jesus did not go into death in terror. Jesus offered up prayers as he faced death. He trusted God’s word. He could pray Psalm 16: “You will not abandon
my soul to Sheol—that is, the grave—or let your holy one see corruption”
(Psalm 16:10). Jesus died for our guilt,
but his innocence enabled him to conquer death.
Therefore, when Jesus died, he went confidently with this prayer: “Father,
into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46)! Out of the grave I cried, and you heard my
voice.
If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then he did not pay for sins. But Jesus Christ has indeed been raised from
the dead. His death and resurrection are
historical facts. While the Bible
records real history about real people in real places, the main point of the
Bible—all of the Bible—is this: “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). Everything
in the Bible focuses on Jesus Christ and the salvation he brings. Jesus rose from the grave to deliver us from
death. This is the sign of the prophet Jonah. Just as the giant fish spewed Jonah out, so the grave
vomited up Jesus. On the third day, the
grave burst, because death could not hold him.
Jesus lives, and death no longer has mastery over him.
This is not written
simply to pass along historical knowledge.
It is written for you. It is written
so that you can live without the fear of death or the final judgment. If Jesus has taken away your sins, God cannot
do anything but exonerate you. Rather
than his curse, you have his blessing.
Rather than his wrath, you have his favor.
You do not even
need to fear the grave. Jonah had good reason
to fear his watery grave. He went there
in rebellion against God. But God was
merciful and delivered him. Jonah was
delivered back from death when the giant fish was commanded by God to spit him
out. But your deliverance from death
will be more amazing, and it will be permanent.
The Lord Jesus, who is master over death, will give the command. Everyone will come out of the grave—whether a
burial at sea or in a cemetery, whether reduced to dust by decay or reduced to
ashes by cremation, whether entombed in a lavish monument or placed in an
unmarked grave. The grave will give
everyone back.
So, if you find yourself
lying on your death bed or fear that your life could be taken suddenly and violently,
you can die in peace. For, the grave is
but a temporary bed. No matter when or
how death takes you, it has to give you back.
Jesus will raise you up refreshed, renewed, and restored to perfection. You can confess with Jonah: “Out
of (the grave) I cried, and you heard my voice…. Salvation belongs to
the Lord” (Jonah 2:9)! And
you can pray with Jesus, “Father, into your hands I commit
my spirit” (Luke 23:46)!
Hear the word of the Lord Jesus:
“An evil and adulterous
generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of
the prophet Jonah. For just
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” (Matthew 12:39-40). Do not concern yourself with the time, as if
Jesus failed to keep it. First century
Jews were not slaves to the clock like we are.
Jesus was in the tomb on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On the third day, he rose again. Now Jesus lives and reigns forever.
Out of the depths we cry, and Jesus hears our voices. Jesus hears our voices when we grieve over
our sins. Jesus hears our voices when we
mourn the loss of our loved ones. Jesus
hears our voices when death points its icy finger at us. And Jesus responds with words of victory. Your sin?
It has been done away with. It
cannot condemn you. Your grave? It has lost its power.
Where, O death, is your sting?
That you drag us and our loved ones away? Jesus holds the keys to death and Hades. So, you, O death, do not own us. Jesus will raise us back to life. He will reunite us with all who have died in
Christ. Where, O grave, is your victory? The bodies that you take, O grave, you will
have to vomit out. Dust and decay will
turn to goodness and glory. In the end, O
grave, you get nothing. And in the end, O
death, you will be destroyed. For, God’s
people do not perish but have everlasting life.
This is why Jonah says, “You brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord” (Jonah 2:6-9)! Just as we do not face a mythical death, we do not have a mythical God. All other gods are lies. They do not give life. They are not merciful. And they certainly do not save. Whoever does not believe in Jesus forfeits steadfast love, salvation, and a resurrection to glory. But Jesus lives, victorious over the grave. Therefore, he gives us a real victory over sin and death. Salvation belongs to the Lord.
M: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Cong: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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