Why is the sign of the prophet Jonah so significant that the Lord said that there’s no other sign He can give people except this one? The unique sign given to us by God is the crucified and resurrected Christ preaching the gospel of peace!
Just as Jonah was called by God to go to the most evil Gentiles and preach the gospel of peace to them, so Christ in His resurrection is now preaching the gospel to all the Gentiles!
He has the authority in heavens and on earth, now we need to go and disciple all the nations (Matt. 28:19), preaching the gospel of peace to those near and those who are far off (Eph. 2:17).
In His body on the cross Christ abolished the ordinances and the law of commandments, and He made peace between the Jews and the Gentiles, creating them into one new man.
Peace! We proclaim the gospel of peace today, one with Christ in His resurrection!
Christ made peace between Jews and Gentiles
God called out of all the nations one people, the people of Israel, to be His treasure and possession. They are holy unto Him, and God gave them the law and the sacrifices which they have to keep an offer – they are a peculiar people, different than anyone else.
Because of this law in ordinances, there was a great separation and division between the Jews and the rest of the nations (also called, Gentiles).
But Christ in His flesh on the cross abolished the law of commandments in ordinances and He created a new man, making peace between the Jews and the Gentiles.
The enmity is slain, and the Jewish and the Gentile believers are one in the one new man – peace was made and we enjoy peace in the church life today! Christ Himself is our peace (Eph. 2:14), and through the blood of Christ we both have access unto the Father through Him, and we are both the people of God.
Now whoever believes into Christ is part of the spiritual people of God enjoying the blessings of God, just as the Jews are the physical / earthly people of God.
Also, in the church life there’s no separation, distinction, or enmity – Christ is our peace, no matter what nationality, race, color, tribe, culture, or language we have!
Christ preaches the gospel of peace
Christ is the greater Jonah, and He preaches glad tidings to the nations. Jonah in Hebrew means dove – God wants Jonah to go out as a dove and preach the gospel of peace (Jonah 1:1-2).
On the one hand Christ Himself is our peace, and on the other hand now in His resurrection Christ comes to announce peace as the gospel (Eph. 2:13-17).
In His resurrection Christ became the life-giving Spirit for the preaching and the spreading of the gospel of peace to all the nations of the world (see Acts 2:27; Eph. 4:9; 1 Cor. 15:45).
For the last two thousand years Christ has been preaching the gospel of peace through the members of His Body. This is what we preach today also, the gospel of peace! Now sinners can come freely to God and be saved by repenting, confessing their sins, and believing into Jesus Christ as the Son of God!
God desires that all men would be saved (2 Tim. 1:4). Even in His life on the earth, the Lord Jesus was rejected by the Jewish people, and He went to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. In His resurrection, Christ is now preaching the gospel of peace to all the nations.
Isn’t this wonderful? Christ made peace in His flesh on the cross by abolishing any ordinance, cultural differences, and laws, and now He wants to bring peace to all people by giving them His life for them to receive and enjoy!
God’s heart is for all the nations
Jonah was a very prejudiced man, a real Jew, centered only on the Jews – God is only OF THE JEWS and salvation is ONLY FOR THE JEWS. But God’s heart is for all the nations, all the Gentiles!
When Paul was in the temple praying, God wanted him to GO to the nations and preach the gospel! We shouldn’t be focused so much on our own people, our own family, our relatives, our co-nationals, etc, but have an enlarged heart to speak the gospel to everyone!
It may take some rejection from those from our family, house, city, or country – just as the Lord Jesus was rejected as a prophet in His own country (Matt. 13:57) – but eventually may the Lord break through in us!
God wants to save everyone. Even the vilest sinners and the most evil people like those living in the city of Nineveh – God wants to save them. Yes, He will condemn sin and He will judge the sinners, but if we repent, He forgives!
We shouldn’t be angry that God does great things among other people different than ours, nor should we be jealous and upset because others who don’t meet with us or are not “in our church” are saved and blessed by God!
We are here to announce the good news, tell people about the sign of Jonah, and disciple every nation to become Christ’s people!
Christ has died, He has overcome everything, and He overcomes right now everything in you, around you, and outside of you – when you call on His name, He will come into you as your Savior and He will change your life!
Let’s preach the gospel of peace to all the nations! Peace to those who are near, and peace to those who are far off!
Lord Jesus, open our eyes to see what is in Your heart. May we really see the sign of Jonah. May we see and appreciate this wonderful Christ in His crucifixion, resurrection, and preaching of the gospel of peace. Lord, enlarge our heart that we may speak the gospel to EVERYONE! We don’t want to “save our face” and we don’t want to be self-centered, our-family-centered, or our-nation-centered. Lord, make our heart a duplication of Your heart in every possible way, and may we GO and SPEAK the gospel of peace to all the nations!
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from, Life-study of Ephesians (msgs. 22-24), and brother A. Yu’s speaking in this message, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of the Minor Prophets, week 8 (entitled, The Greater Jonah).
- Hymns on this topic:
# Publish glad tidings, tidings of peace; / Tidings of Jesus, redemption and release.
# It’s gospel time! Let us spread the gospel all around. / Yes, gospel time! We will never fear the people’s frown! / God’s done His work; / Let us not shirk;
# Christ is our peace! Christ is our peace! / We praise Thee, blessed Lord! / Our peace with God, our peace with man / Have fully been restored.
About aGodMan
amen, praise the Lord!
Amen make us part 0f diz c0operate reality,da reality 0f da B0dy 0f Christ.deify us little by little and day by day until we are fully made G0d in life and nature but n0t in da G0dhead.!
Amen br0thers and sisters lets us declare 2 da wh0le universe dat da L0rd Jesus is nw in da heavens and dat as exalted 0ne.He is nw pr0pagati0n Himself 0n earth thr0ugh us as His witnesses.
our preacher Wednesday night said,The Church is made in peace. He said it was the most important thing Jesus taught., after reading your article I understand what he meant.Thank you
Praise the Lord! Amen!
Amen oh Lord Jesus