On the Road to Jerusalem: Something Greater

“The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”

—Luke 11:32

Jonah’s ministry was unparalleled. Entrusted by God to go to the dreadful Ninevites, he got up, ran to Joppa, and got on the next boat headed in the opposite direction. But God wouldn’t let Jonah get off so easy. He caused the sea to roar, the sailor’s panicked, Jonah admitted his wrongdoing, and then was thrown overboard only to be swallowed by a large fish where he languished for three days and three nights until he came to his senses and agreed to do what God had commanded. God caused the fish to vomit him up on dry ground and he made his way to Nineveh where he preached a simple message, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”—Jonah 3:4. Miraculously, the people of Nineveh “believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.” Even the king “covered himself in sackcloth, and sat in ashes,” a sign of deep sorrow and sincere repentance. And “when God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that He had said He would do to them, and He did not do it”—Jonah 3:10.

Jesus spoke to the crowds as they were increasing around him, warning them of those who sought a sign from Him. Only those who are evil sought a sign (Luke 11:29); what they needed to do was simply respond to what He was already doing. Jonah didn’t perform any signs for the Ninevites; he simply proclaimed the message of God’s judgment—and they responded to it, bringing about one of the greatest, if not the greatest, revival in history. Conservative estimates have the city at 120,000 people (Jonah 4:11), but some believe that the estimate consists only of children. If that were true, there would more likely have been 240,000 or 360,000 thousand. But, whatever the case may be, whether it was 120,000 or more than that, there was never a greater number of people within Scripture who responded to such a simple message.

Jonah then is one of the greatest preachers in the Old Testament, while Solomon, who is mentioned in Luke 11:31, was considered to be the wisest of men. But both fail in comparison to Christ. He is of infinitely greater value and importance than them, like the ocean to a mud puddle. And the people needed to recognize that fact, but they failed to do so.

Do we recognize how great Jesus is? He is not just a good man, but also the God-man, the greatest man to ever walk the face of the earth. He is the reason for our existence, our creator, sustainer, brother, master, teacher, high priest, intercessor, and friend. He is the prince of peace, Lord of Lords, and the King of Kings. He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, and the beginning and the end. He is our Lord, our Savior, and our God! Amen.