Table of Contents

Foreshadows & Types

Jonah

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The biblical Jonah was a prophet called by God to preach judgment to the wicked city of Nineveh but tried to flee by sea to Tarshish, leading to a great storm, being swallowed by a “great fish” for three days, and eventual repentance, teaching lessons about God’s mercy, universal sovereignty, and the folly of disobedience. The story highlights Jonah’s reluctance and prejudice against the Assyrians, contrasted with God’s patience and the sailors’ eventual fear and worship of the Lord, ultimately showing God’s compassion extends beyond Israel.

Key Aspects of Jonah’s Story:

The Call: God commands Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital of Israel’s enemy, Assyria, to warn them of impending destruction.
The Flight: Jonah disobeys by boarding a ship to Tarshish (opposite direction) to escape God’s command, revealing his hatred for the Assyrians.
The Storm & The Fish: God sends a massive storm; sailors cast lots, discover Jonah is the cause, and throw him overboard, where a great fish swallows him.
Jonah’s Prayer: Inside the fish, Jonah prays, acknowledging God’s power and that salvation comes from Him, not through escape.
Obedience & Repentance: Vomited onto dry land, Jonah goes to Nineveh, preaches God’s message, and the people (including the king) repent, leading God to spare the city.
Jonah’s Anger: Instead of rejoicing, Jonah becomes angry that God showed mercy, preferring his own comfort (a plant that shaded him) over Nineveh’s survival.
God’s Lesson: God teaches Jonah a lesson about compassion through the plant and the potential destruction of the Ninevites, emphasizing His universal mercy.

Themes & Significance:

God’s Universal Mercy: God’s compassion isn’t limited to Israel; He desires the repentance of all people, even enemies.
Disobedience & Sovereignty: Shows the futility of running from God and His ultimate control over creation and human will.
Prejudice vs. Grace: Contrasts Jonah’s narrow, nationalistic view with God’s expansive grace.

New Testament Connection: Jesus refers to Jonah’s three days in the fish as a “sign” of his own death and resurrection (Matthew 12:39-40).

Jonah is a type of Christ primarily because his three days and nights in the great fish foreshadow Jesus’s burial and resurrection, a parallel Jesus himself highlighted as the “sign of Jonah”. Both experienced a miraculous deliverance from a watery grave (Jonah from the fish, Jesus from the tomb), symbolizing death and resurrection, and both preached repentance leading to salvation for Gentiles, though Jesus’s sacrifice and obedience far exceeded Jonah’s.

Key Parallels (Typology)

The Three Days & Nights:
Jonah: Was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights.
Jesus: Was in the heart of the earth (tomb) for three days and nights before His resurrection (Matthew 12:40).

Death & Resurrection:

Jonah: His miraculous expulsion from the fish symbolized a symbolic death and rebirth, a powerful sign of God’s power to save.
Jesus: His resurrection from the grave proved His divine power and offered ultimate resurrection to believers.

Preaching to Gentiles:

Jonah: After his ordeal, he preached to the pagan city of Nineveh, leading to their repentance (Jonah 3).
Jesus: Commissioned His followers to preach repentance and forgiveness to all nations, extending salvation beyond Israel.
The “Sign” for a Wicked Generation:
When asked for a sign, Jesus pointed to Jonah, stating that just as Jonah was a sign of God’s mercy and power to the Ninevites, He would be a greater sign through His own death and resurrection (Matthew 12:39-41, Luke 11:29-32).

Key Differences (Fulfillment)

Willingness: Jonah fled his mission, while Jesus willingly went to the cross.
Obedience: Jonah was a reluctant prophet; Jesus was perfectly obedient.
Power: Jonah’s deliverance offered a sign of God’s mercy; Jesus’s resurrection is the source of salvation and true power over death.

Jonah is considered a type of Christ (a foreshadowing) primarily because his experience of being thrown into the sea, swallowed by a great fish for three days, and then delivered mirrors Jesus’s death, burial for three days, and resurrection, with Jesus Himself pointing to this as the “sign of Jonah” (Matthew 12:39-40). Both figures faced symbolic death for the sake of others—Jonah to calm a storm for sailors, and Jesus for humanity’s salvation—with Jonah’s emergence representing a new life and mission, paralleling Christ’s resurrection and subsequent call for repentance.

Here’s a breakdown of the key parallels:

The Storm & Sacrifice:

Jonah: Volunteered to be thrown overboard to calm a violent storm, giving his life to save the Gentile sailors.
Jesus: Willingly submitted to the cross (a spiritual storm of wrath) to save humanity.

The “Three Days” & Burial:

Jonah: Spent three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, a symbolic watery grave.
Jesus: Was in the heart of the earth (the tomb) for three days and three nights after His crucifixion.

The “Resurrection” & New Life:

Jonah: Was vomited onto dry land, emerging alive to continue his mission to preach repentance to Nineveh.
Jesus: Was resurrected from the dead on the third day, offering eternal life and a new covenant.

The Mission & Message:

Both were sent to call people (Gentiles) to repentance, with Jonah’s imperfect obedience foreshadowing Christ’s perfect obedience.
In essence, Jonah’s story serves as a prophetic “shadow” or outline, with the central events pointing forward to the ultimate reality of Christ’s redemptive work, as confirmed by Jesus Himself.

While listing 50 specific parallels is difficult, Jonah prefigures Christ through shared themes: both were called to a divine mission, experienced a symbolic death/burial (Jonah in the fish, Jesus in the tomb) for three days, were miraculously delivered/resurrected, and brought salvation/repentance to Gentiles, with Jesus being the perfect fulfillment of this pattern, even accepting death willingly, unlike Jonah. Jesus Himself pointed to Jonah as the ultimate sign of His own death and resurrection.

Here are key ways Jonah foreshadows Christ:

The Call & Mission

Both received a direct call from God for a spiritual mission.
Both were sent to warn sinful people (Nineveh for Jonah, the world for Jesus).
Both initially resisted their call (Jonah fled, Jesus prayed for the cup to pass).

The Storm & Sacrifice

4. Both encountered a great storm at sea.
5. Both were cast into the sea to calm the waters, a voluntary act for Jonah, mirroring Christ’s ultimate sacrifice.
6. Jonah’s sleep on the ship parallels Jesus’s sleep (death) on the cross.
Death & Resurrection (The “Sign of Jonah”)
7. Jonah’s three days in the fish symbolize Jesus’s three days in the tomb.
8. The fish’s “vomiting” of Jonah parallels Jesus’s resurrection.
9. Both experienced a miraculous deliverance from the “belly of death”.
10. Jesus called His own death/resurrection the “sign of Jonah”.
Aftermath & Ministry
11. Both preached a message of repentance and judgment.
12. Jonah’s preaching led to the salvation of the Gentile city of Nineveh.
13. Jesus’s death and resurrection opened salvation to all nations (Gentiles).
14. The number forty appears: Jonah wandered 40 days in Nineveh after rescue, mirroring Jesus’s 40 days ministering after resurrection.
15. Both revealed God’s mercy extended beyond Israel.
The Better Jonah
16. Jonah’s disobedience highlights Jesus’s perfect obedience.
17. Jesus willingly went to death; Jonah went reluctantly.
18. Jonah’s story shows God’s power over life/death; Jesus’s is the ultimate demonstration.
19. Jonah’s experience was a type; Jesus’s death and resurrection is the antitype, the reality.

 

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Posters & Visual Aids

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Foreshadows & Types List:

Jonah
Was found asleep on a boat when the fishermen were scared of storm.

[Jon 1:5 KJV]

“Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that [were] in the ship into the sea, to lighten [it] of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.”

Jesus
Was found asleep on a boat when the fishermen were scared of storm.

[Mat 8:24 KJV]

“And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.”

[Mark 4:38 KJV] “And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?”

Jonah
A prophet who speaks the Word of God that God gives him. Tells them they are wicked.

[Jonah 1:2 KJV] “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.”

[Jonah 3:1-2 KJV] “And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.”

Jesus
Jesus also spoke what the father gave Him. Warned they were wicked.

[John 8:28 KJV] “Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am [he], and [that] I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.”

[John 7:7 KJV] “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.”

Jonah
Mariners found him and woke him to see what he could do.

[Jonah 1:6 KJV] “So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.”

Jesus
The disciples, mariners, woke Him and asked His help….

[Mat 8:25 KJV]

“And his disciples came to [him], and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.”

Jonah
They cast lots

[Jon 1:7 KJV]

“And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil [is] upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.”

Jesus
They cast lots

[Luk 23:34 KJV]

“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.”

Jonah
Offered himself willingly to be sacrificed to save the people.

Even said he must be lifted up.

[Jon 1:12 KJV]

“And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest [is] upon you.”

Jesus
Offered himself willingly as our sacrifice. Said he must be lifted up to save the people.

[Jhn 12:32 KJV]

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me.”

Jonah
Knew God could calm the seas….

[Jon 1:12 KJV]

“And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest [is] upon you.”

Jesus
Calmed the seas himself

[Luk 8:24 KJV]

“And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.”

Jonah
They sought the LORD and cast in a substitute that pleased God for their salvation. They called Jonah’s death innocent blood.

[Jon 1:14 KJV]

“Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.”

Jesus
His death is a substitue for ours that pleases God….His innocent sinless blood for our salvation.

[Rom 5:8 KJV]

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

[Isa 53:10 KJV]

“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put [him] to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see [his] seed, he shall prolong [his] days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.”

Matthew 27:4 KJV

Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What [is that] to us? see thou [to that].

 

Jonah
Identified in verse 1 as the son of Amittai, Jonah came from a town called Gath-hepher, near Nazareth in the area that later came to be known as Galilee

Jesus
Although born in Bethlehem, according to Matthew and Luke, Jesus was a Galilean from Nazareth

Jonah
Seeing the miracle they repented and believed in the LORD

[Jon 1:16 KJV]

“Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.”

Jesus
Some saw miracles and believed…

[Jhn 2:23 KJV]

“Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast [day], many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.”

Jonah
The LORD prepared a fish to swallow up Jonah for 3 days and nights…

[Jon 1:17 KJV]

“Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”

Jesus
There was a tomb prepared for Jesus when he died and was buried….

[Jhn 19:41 KJV]

“Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.”

[Jhn 19:42 KJV]

“There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation [day]; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.”

Jonah
Imagery of something like a crown of thorns around his head

[Jon 2:5 KJV]

“The waters compassed me about, [even] to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.”

Jesus.
Is given a crown of thorns.

[Mat 27:29 KJV]

“And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put [it] upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!”

Jonah

A prophet who warned that the city would be destroyed ( and it eventually was )

[Jon 3:4 KJV]

“And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”

Jesus
Jesus was also a prophet and warned people that the city / temple would be destroyed…

[Luk 21:6 KJV]

“[As for] these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

Jonah
Was risen from the dead and sent into the city to preach, appeared to many and preached repentance and turning to God.

[Jon 2:10 KJV]

“And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry [land].”

[Jon 3:1 KJV]

“And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying,”

[Jon 3:2 KJV]

“Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.”

Jesus
Jesus was also a prophet and warned people that the city / temple would be destroyed…

[Act 10:40 KJV]

“Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;”

[Act 2:38 KJV]

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

[1Co 15:4 KJV]

“And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

[1Co 15:5 KJV]

“And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:”

[1Co 15:6 KJV]

“After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.”

Jonah
After events he went and prepared a booth….

[[Jon 4:5 KJV]

“So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.”

Jesus
Jesus is going to prepare a place for us…

[Jhn 14:2 KJV]

“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”

Jonah
The LORD prepared a covering….not made with human hands…and He made Jonah happy….

[Jon 4:6 KJV]

“And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made [it] to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief.

So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.”

Jesus
We are given a covering of the blood and protected from the heat in the future.

[Rom 4:7 KJV]

“[Saying], Blessed [are] they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.”

[Rev 7:16 KJV]

“They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.”

[Rev 7:17 KJV]

“For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters:

and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”

Jonah
God withered the gourd / plant in one day….

[Jon 4:7 KJV]

“But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.”

Jesus
Jesus withered the fig tree in one day….

[Mar 11:20 KJV]

“And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.”

[Mar 11:21 KJV]

“And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.”

See the Word.

See the Word.

See the Word.

See the Word.

[Isa 53:11 KJV] He shall see of the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

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