Buddy Greene – Jonah and the Whale [Live]
Book Overview – Jonah – Scofield Reference Notes
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/srn/jonah.html
The Prophet. His name means “done,” and he is the son of Amittai. His home was Gath-hepher, a village of Zebulun, and he, therefore, belonged to the ten tribes and not to Judah. He is first mentioned in 2 Kings 14:28, where he prophesied the success of Jeroboam II, in his war with Syria, by which he would restore the territory that other nations had wrested from Israel. He very likely prophesied at an early date, though all attempts to determine the time of his prophecy or the time and place of his death have failed.
The Prophecy. It differs from all the other prophecies in that it is a narrative and more “the history of a prophecy than prophecy itself”. All the others are taken up chiefly with prophetic utterances, while this book records the experiences and work of Jonah, but tells us little of his utterances. The story of Jonah has been compared to those of Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17-19, and 2 Kings 4-6).
Although full of the miraculous element, the evident purpose is to teach great moral and spiritual lessons, and it is unfortunate that its supernatural element has made this book the subject of infidel attack. But the facts, though extraordinary, are in no way contradictory or inconsistent. Indeed, Mr. Driver has well said that “no doubt the outlines of the narrative are historical.” Christ spoke of Jonah and accredited it by likening his own death for three days to Jonah’s three days in the fish’s belly. It is the most “Christian” of all the Old Testament books, its central truth being the universality of the divine plan of redemption. Nowhere else in the Old Testament is such stress laid upon the love of God as embracing in its scope the whole human race.
Equipping Comments:
Date Of Jonah – 760 B.C. (Ryrie Study Bible)
Additional Date Considerations: https://bible.org/article/introduction-book-jonah
III. DATE: During the pre-exilic period and perhaps during the Life time of Jonah (first half of the eighth century B.C.)
A. The date needs to fall between the reign of Jerobaom II (793-753 B.C.) to the fall of Ninevah (612 B.C.)25
Author of above article: Dr. David Malick, https://bible.org/users/david-malick
The Location Of Nineveh:
“Today, the ancient ruins of Nineveh are located just opposite of the present day city of Mosul.” (…taken from the section of the above link, “the Assyrian Empire;” check out the map to see the location being in northwestern Iraq. Mosul was a hot bed of news reports after the 911 attack on the Twin Towers in New York City.) http://www.bible-history.com/biblestudy/nineveh.html
“Three Days And Three Nights ”
The following verse of scripture, in the Book of Jonah, is the one that Christ used to tell of his death, burial and resurrection, “Three Days And Three Nights” is explained in this article.
Jonah 1:17 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
17 Now the Lord had appointed a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 2:1,2 -10 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Jonah’s Prayer
1 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish:
2 I called to the Lord in my distress, and He answered me …..
10 Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
1:17 a great fish. The species of fish is uncertain; the Heb. word for whale is not here employed. God sovereignly prepared (lit. “appointed”) a great fish to rescue Jonah. Apparently Jonah sank into the depth of the sea before the fish swallowed him (cf. 2:3, 5, 6). three days and three nights. See note on Matt. 12:40. MacArthur Study Note.
In the following verses, Christ uses the account of Jonah 1:17 to tell of his death, burial and resurrection. The audience was that of Jewish religious leaders.
Matthew 12:38-41 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
The Sign of Jonah
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
39 But He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s proclamation; and look—something greater than Jonah is here!
MacArthur Study Note
12:40 three days and three nights. Quoted from Jon. 1:17. This sort of expression was a common way of underscoring the prophetic significance of a period of time. An expression like “forty days and forty nights” (see note on 4:2) may in some cases simply refer to a period of time longer than a month. “Three days and three nights” was an emphatic way of saying “three days,” and by Jewish reckoning this would be an apt way of expressing a period of time that includes parts of 3 days. Thus, if Christ was crucified on a Friday, and His resurrection occurred on the first day of the week, by Hebrew reckoning this would qualify as 3 days and 3 nights. All sorts of elaborate schemes have been devised to suggest that Christ might have died on a Wednesday or Thursday, just to accommodate the extreme literal meaning of these words. But the original meaning would not have required that sort of wooden interpretation. See note on Luke 13:32.
The Ryrie Study Bible breaks down the activities of each of the days of Passion Week. The events of Passion Week show the fulfillment of Jonah 1:17. This particular time of the feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread occurred in 30 A.D. (Passover, Leviticus 23:4-5; Unleavened Bread, Leviticus 23:6-8).
Palm Sunday: Luke 19:28-44 (The Sunday prior to the crucifixion of Christ; The triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem)
Monday:Luke 19:45-48. (The Cleansing Of The Temple. This is the second cleansing of the temple by Christ; see John 2:13-25 for the first cleansing.)
Tuesday: Luke 20:1-21:38. (The Questioning Of Christ By The Jewish Leaders)
Wednesday: Luke 22:1-6. (Judas Agrees To Betray Christ)
Thursday: Luke 22:7-53. (The Passover Meal)
Friday: Luke 22:54-23:55 (key is 23:53-56). (The Crucifixion) Notice that:
vs 54: “it was the Preparation Day (Friday afternoon), and the Sabbath (Sunset on Friday) drew near.
A more detailed look at vs 55-56 provides a closer view of the happenings of that Friday afternoon.
Luke 23:55-56 New King James Version (NKJV)
55 And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
Mac Arthur Study Bible comment follows. Please read it carefully.
23:55 observed…how His body was laid. According to John 19:39, Nicodemus brought a hundred pounds of spices and aloes (probably obtained while Joseph was negotiating with Pilate for Jesus’ body), and he and Joseph wrapped the body with linen and the spices. These women, from Galilee, were probably unfamiliar with Joseph and Nicodemus, who were Judeans. After all, both men were associated with the Jewish leaders who orchestrated the conspiracy against Jesus (v. 50; John 3:1). So the women were determined to prepare Jesus’ body for burial themselves. So they returned (i.e., went to their homes) to prepare their own spices and perfumes (v. 56). They had to have Jesus’ body placed in the tomb before sunset, when the Sabbath began, so they were not able to finish preparing the body. Mark 16:1 says they purchased more spices “when the Sabbath was past,” i.e., after sundown Saturday. Then they returned Sunday morning with the spices (24:1), expecting to finish the task that had been interrupted by the Sabbath.
My note: The women saw the body of Christ being laid in a burial tomb. It was Friday afternoon, prior to sunset, when the women saw the body of Christ being taken from the cross to the tomb. Without a doubt, the women saw Christ being crucified on Friday. Without a doubt, the women saw Christ being placed in a burial tomb on Friday, before the beginning of the Sabbath. Without a doubt, Christ was not crucified on any day of the week, except Friday.
Saturday: Luke 23:56.(The Sabbath)
Luke 24:1-12 (Resurrection Sunday; Don’t say Easter; See comment below).
Bio, Dr. Charles C. Ryrie, https://voice.dts.edu/article/dr-charles-c-ryrie-1925-2016-tribute/
Key elements of Friday of Passion Week is discussed in the Gospel of John, Chapters 18-19.(Ryrie Study Bible).
The Arrest Of Christ: John 18:1-11.
The Trial Of Christ Before Annas: John 18:12-23.
The Trial Of Christ Before Caiaphas: John 18:24-27.
The Trial Of Christ Before Pilate: John 18:28-19:1-16. (19:14 identifies Friday as being the “Day Of Preparation,” which precedes the onset of the sunset arrival of the Sabbath). (Luke 23:54 shows the sixth hour of the day as being Noon).
The Crucifixion Of Christ: John 19:17-37 (from the sixth until the ninth hour, noon until three P.M.). 19:31: It was the Day Of Preparation (Friday); the bodies on the cross would have to be removed and buried prior to the onset of the Sabbath (Friday at sunset). 19:31: the day preceded the Sabbath Day, a High Sabbath; i.e., the first day of the Feast Of Unleavened Bread fell that year on a Sabbath, making it a “high” or “special” festival. (Ryrie Study Bible)
The Burial Of Christ: John 19:38-42. (vs 41-42 explain the importance of the burial tomb being close to the place of crucifixion, with the crucifixion having taken place on the Day Of Preparation, prior to sunset on Friday). (Ryrie Study Bible)
In the year 760 B.C., God saved Jonah, “a Jew,” from bodily death. In the year 30 A.D., Christ, also a Jew, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23), saved Jonah from the eternal death of body, soul and spirit; this was done through His finished work: “Christ on the cross,” “it is finished” (John 19:30).
Don’t Say Easter!
Nowhere in the gospel accounts is there a statement that the day that Christ rose from death was called Easter. Nowhere in the books of Acts through Revelation is there a statement that the day that Christ rose from death was Easter. It is only in the King James Version that Easter is used, but not to relate to the resurrection of Christ. In the King James Version, Acts 12:4 erroneously uses “Easter” to relate to Passover. The resurrection of Christ is remembered by followers of Christ, one day each year, in honor of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. The feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread extend for eight consecutive days, celebrating God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Easter relates to a pagan celebration.
Acts 12:4 King James Version (KJV) (42 A.D., Scofield Study Bible)
4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
Even the New King James Version uses the word, “Passover.”
Acts 12:4 New King James Version (NKJV)
4 So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.
The context of Acts 12:4 shows nothing of the glorious resurrection of Christ, but of the persecution of believers of Christ.
Acts 12:1-4 New King James Version (NKJV)
Herod’s Violence to the Church
1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. 2 Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3 And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. 4 So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.
Easter: Consider the following from Unger’s Bible Dictionary.
“The word Easter is of Saxon origin, Eastra, the goddess of spring, in whose honor sacrifices were offered about Passover time each year. By the 8th century Anglo-Saxons had adopted the name to designate the celebration of Christ’s resurrection.”
Consider the following information that comes from the discussion of Patheos, which has a discussion of pagan holidays.
THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD “EASTER” AND THE NAMING OF THE SPRING EQUINOX OSTARA (first paragraph)
Read more at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/panmankey/2013/03/eostre-easter-ostara-eggs-and-bunnies/#xrdxS6lcSb3QGcFF.99
Consider the following information on Easter.
THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD “EASTER” AND THE NAMING OF THE SPRING EQUINOX OSTARA (first paragraph after the egg and rabbits)
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/panmankey/2013/03/eostre-easter-ostara-eggs-and-bunnies/
According to the British historian Bede (673-735 CE) the word “Easter” comes from the name of a Germanic fertility goddess named Eostre, whose name was given to an entire month “Eostur-month,” and then eventually to one specific holiday occurring in that month, the one we now call Easter.
So, as previously stated: Don’t say Easter! “Resurrection Sunday” explains the truth of the day that Christ arose from death.
Scriptures: Book Of Jonah: Jonah 1:1-4:11
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jonah+1%3A1-4%3A11&version=HCSB
Eternity 