Jesus’ Resurrection: A Whale of a Tail?

“Without the resurrection, Jesus’ death becomes the heroic death of a noble martyr, the pathetic death of a madman,

or the execution of a fraud.” John MacArthur

  A South African photographer has a whale of a survival story — and the stunning photo to prove it. Rainer Schimpf, 51, had his own personal Jonah from the Bible moment when his head and torso were gobbled up by a whale while he was shooting footage of a sardine run off the coast of South Africa. “I held my breath and I was prepared, and that's the only thing I could do, I mean there was no other thing I could do. I mean, you can't fight a 15-ton animal,” said Schimpf. He found himself in the mouth of a Bryde’s whale, which can grow up to 55 feet long and weigh up to 30 tons. Thankfully, he was only trapped for about two seconds before the whale let him free. The incredible scene was captured by photographer Heinz Toperczer, who was in a nearby boat. A stunning photo shows the head and torso of Schimpf in the mouth of the whale off the coast of South Africa. 

  “I was just holding myself and bracing myself and calming myself down not to be panicked, and it worked out,” he said. “He spat me out and everybody’s happy.” His biggest fear was not being completely swallowed by the whale, but being pulled down into the deep ocean. A check of his body after the ordeal found that he didn’t even have a single bruise and was back in the water minutes later. Someone joked that Schimpf might be the first person since Jonah's biblical odyssey to enter the mouth of a whale and survive. “I showed (the photo) to my son, and he was impressed,” Schimpf said. “And you’ll never guess what his name is — Jonas.”

  In Matthew 12:39-41 Jesus said, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just 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 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. For just 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.” No one can read that without understanding at once that it’s a prophecy of Jesus’ resurrection. The sign of Jonah is what’s called a “typical” prophecy. The experience that Jonah went through is a “type” of what Jesus would go through.

  As Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and nights and then was spit out, so the Son of Man – Jesus the Messiah – would be in the heart of the earth for three days and nights and then rise again. It was a prediction of Jesus’ coming death, burial, and resurrection. That would be the sign Jesus would give. But would they heed it? No. Jesus said in His account of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16, that if they would not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they still wouldn’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.

  It’s noteworthy that Jesus Himself affirms the veracity of the account of Jonah being swallowed by a big fish. If you have a problem believing the account about Jonah is true, you also have a problem with Jesus because He attested that it is true.

  When Jesus heard their request for a sign He must have been thinking, “How blind can you be? Haven’t you seen my miracles and heard my words?” He said, “You want a sign? Here’s your sign, the sign of Jonah.”

  What is the sign of Jonah? Just as Jonah spent three days in the dark, cold belly of a huge fish and was as good as dead, God miraculously delivered him after three days. The same thing happened to Jesus. He spent three days and three nights in a dark, cold tomb, but unlike Jonah, Jesus really died and God raised Jesus from the dead.

  Believing in the Resurrection of Jesus is a requirement for salvation. Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Why doesn’t the Bible say, “Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus walked on water; or believe in your heart that He fed the 5,000”? Because the resurrection of Jesus proves He’s more than some great teacher or just a martyr. He was and is God. He rose from the dead and is alive forevermore. Your salvation rises and falls on whether or not you truly believe Jesus died and was raised to life again.

  Some people are looking for proof, but they’re making the same mistake the disciple Thomas made. They want a sign. On that first Easter night Jesus appeared to the disciples but Thomas was gone. Jesus vanished and when Thomas showed up they told him about Jesus. He refused to believe. He said, “I have to see a sign. Unless I see the nail prints in His hands and place my hand in the hole in His side I won’t believe.” It’s why he’s called Doubting Thomas. A week later Jesus appeared and knew exactly what Thomas had said because He said, “Here, Thomas put your finger in the nail scars in My hands.” Thomas fell to His knees and said, “My Lord and my God!” Then, Jesus said something to Thomas and He said something about believers today…Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” (John 20:29) Jesus was talking about Christians who believed in His resurrection by faith – blessed are those who have not seen, but believe.

  Do you recognize the sign of Jonah? Do you believe God raised Jesus from the dead? Jesus said that you’re blessed if you do. I hope that you’re not waiting on a sign from God. The sign that Jesus is the only Savior and our only hope is His empty tomb. It’s what we’re celebrating today – our Lord is alive! Is He your Savior? Is He alive in your heart and life?

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Easter: Be Our Guest!

“During Easter a lot of people regret

not buying the clothing that was on sale.”

There aren’t many church or family traditions that I’m nostalgic about. One Easter tradition I’ve always enjoyed is when children got new clothes and dressed up for Easter. Today you’d be hard pressed to find a sport coat in a store for a young boy. We’ve become so practical and I understand, yet I always enjoyed seeing the girls in their Easter dresses with black patent shoes and the boys in sport coats and ties…for at least one Sunday.

  When I was a child, Easter was a highlight of the year. It meant new clothes. Our whole family dressed up. My Mom and sisters would even have Easter hats. My Dad, brothers and I had new suits or sport coats. And we’d all pose for a family photograph on the front steps of our home.

  Easter meant an Easter basket. On the Saturday before Easter we’d color hardboiled eggs. There might be an Easter egg hunt, though I never did figure out Easter egg hunts. Maybe the eggs they hunt today are better but the ones we hunted for were like rocks. Why someone wanted to “win” gathering the most of those repulsive things, I’ll never know. It seems to me the winner would be the one with the least Easter eggs.

  Easter means many things to different people. Probably for most it’s an opportunity to get together as a family. Those are some special times. Yet, it’s so much more. As believers, we know that, or at least, we should.

  I’ll never forget a lady many years ago telling me that she was going to have to skip church on Easter because her family was coming over and she had to make Easter dinner. Somehow she missed the point.

  So please don’t miss the point. Easter is about Jesus and His resurrection. It’s about the fact a just and holy God sacrificed His own Son for our sin to pay our debt. Jesus suffered and died a horrible death. But it’s not the end of the story. It looked like evil had won. Jesus was dead. There was no hope…

  But that was Friday and Sunday was coming. On Sunday, the One who was dead physically rose again and walked out of the tomb. It demonstrates that God was satisfied with His sacrifice. It gives us hope. Death is now a defeated foe. “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).  

  Easter is about forgiveness, eternal life, victory, hope BUT do your lost family members, friends and neighbors know that? Or, do they think Easter is about family get-togethers, bunnies and Easter egg hunts? Unless you tell them there is so much more, how will they know? Sometimes in the church we’re so enjoying the victory of the Easter Celebration, we forget the many who are just enjoying the “celebration,” yet have no idea what they’re celebrating. Easter is also a time when many who’d never consider going to church will attend because it’s tradition or even out of curiosity.

  So are you inviting guests to come with you to one of our Easter services? There are many people in your circle the Holy Spirit is already working on. They’re being drawn to the Lord. The Lord can use you—your words and courage—to bring someone within the sound of the gospel.

  According to Thom Ranier, 82% of the unchurched are at least “somewhat likely” to attend church if they’re invited. That means more than 8 out of 10 of the unchurched would come to church if they were simply invited. But Ranier sadly points out, “Only 2% of church members ever invite an unchurched person to church.” When was the last time you invited someone to come to church? Easter is one of the times when people are more open to attend church than nearly any other time of the year. So how can you invite folk for Easter?

  Pray for God’s help. Prayer is always the place to start. Creativity flows from God and so does the power to incline your neighbors toward Christ. Take some time with your family and ask the Father to help you with the ideas and the energy to do it. First, pray. Then, invite.

  Have a time and a plan. The Enemy does not want you to invite anyone, so he’ll pull out the best in his bag of tricks: busyness. Easter will come and go, and you’ll be buying discounted chocolate bunnies before you know it. So once you land on an idea, put your plans on the calendar.

  Ask if they’re planning to go to church this Easter. An easy place to start is with a casual conversation. Even in a passing chat about the weather, ask if they’re planning on attending an Easter service. Many are already thinking about it. Even if they’re not, going to church on Easter is still cultural enough to be an inoffensive topic. One of the most common hesitations potential visitors have is not knowing anyone at the church. Resolve that by offering to attend with them and to sit with them.

  Make cookies and deliver them. Who doesn’t like cookies? Making Easter eggs is fun too, but they don’t quite go down as well with a glass of milk. Your neighbors will not only enjoy it, they’ll be impressed that you took the time to make it and share it. If cooking isn’t your thing, there’s nothing wrong with buying some candy to share. Deliver the goodies and then invite them to an Easter Service.

  Take them some spring flowers. So candy isn’t your thing. After a hard winter, flowers are a breath of fresh air. Drop off a small bouquet. Send the kids. Who can resist a cute kid with a handful of flowers? Then, invite them to come as your guest.

  We have invitations that you can use to invite folk. The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter how you do it, it just matters that you do it! Will you?

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.