But He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For 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. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And now One greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And now One greater than Solomon is here.

Matthew 12:39–42

It is a common understanding that the sign of Jonah is resurrection after death. But… What if there is another aspect of that sign. Resurrection itself is a powerful thing to leave as a sign to Israel. Yet Jesus expands on the idea that the Ninevites readily responded to the preaching of Jonah.

Could the entire narrative of Jonah be an outline of the failure of Israel to share God with the entire world?

There were some in the nation who believed Jesus when He came to Earth. Before leaving, He left instructions to go to all nations and preach. He even had to give Peter a dream to prod him.

The voice spoke to him a second time: “What God has cleansed, do not call common.”

Acts 10:15

While Peter was wondering what that could mean, three men called for him. They said they served Cornelius, a Gentile centurion. He sent them to summon Peter to Him at the prodding of an angel.

Peter was astonished at what happened. While he was preaching to the house of Cornelius in Caesarea, all who heard were given the Holy Spirit. That is, Gentiles received the same salvation and gifting from God as Israelis.

The aftermath of the event reached far and wide. And Peter was challenged by religious authorities for what had happened.

The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised disputed with him, saying, “You went in and ate with uncircumcised men!”

Acts 11:1–3

Peter explained how God had worked in his meeting with Cornelius. He recounted how it was he who entered the house of a goyim. He also recounted what had happened when he spoke.

As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as He fell on us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?”

Acts 11:15–17

It is not hard to discern the resistance of Jewish folk sharing with Gentiles. Especially when it comes to sharing their God to Whom they assumed exclusive rights. Keep in mind the reluctance of both Peter and the council in Jerusalem, and how it changed.

When they heard these things, they were silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then God has granted to the Gentiles also repentance unto life.”

Acts 11:18

I have questions. Did not these apostles know the account of Jonah?

Did they not know that the Ninevites responded to Jonah’s preaching?

Jonah had the same cultural reluctance. Even though God orchestrated both things, it is Jonah’s response afterward that needs to be understood.

Now this greatly displeased Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is this not what I said while I was still in my own land? This is the reason that I fled before to Tarshish, because I knew that You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in faithfulness, and ready to relent from punishment. Therefore, Lord, take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Jonah 4:1–3

I mean, can you imagine that bitterness?

God sought to teach Jonah a lesson. He caused refreshing shade to fall on Jonah, for which he was happy. Then God took the plant that brought the refreshment away. Jonah played martyr and declared it was better for him to die rather than live.

The Lord said, “You are troubled about the plant for which you did not labor and did not grow. It came up in a night and perished in a night. Should I not, therefore, be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people, who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”

Jonah 4:10–11

What if that anger and reluctance to share God with Gentiles is part of the sign of Jonah?

Could that provoke jealousy to the Jewish folks?

It has been almost 2,000 years since the Temple was destroyed and Jerusalem trampled over.

Today… The word of the Lord is heard worldwide. Jonah pouted that Gentiles got saved. He tells God that is why He sought repentance from His call to go to Nineveh. He did not want them to know God is merciful. His anger was so bad, he even waited around to see what would happen… Would God judge them finally?

The issue with Jonah was unresolved. Could that be part of the sign?

What did God do with Jonah… And what is God going to do with Israel?

It is like Jonah was jealous over how God treated Nineveh. It seems like jealousy of God, who is seeking the salvation of the world through Christians, would be part of the seemingly unresolved close to the account of Jonah.

For I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if somehow I may make my kinsmen jealous and may save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?

Romans 11:13–15