A Look at Jonah and Peter

As I was reading about Peter in Acts the other day, there was one little detail that made this particular story just jump off the page.  It’s not a long story, just two chapters, so I would highly encourage you to read it before reading on… :) (look I’ve even made it easy for you—just click this link! http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%2010-11&version=NIV)

Did you catch that little detail in verse five?  Peter was in Joppa when the Lord gave him a vision and Cornelius’ servants came to tell him to travel back to their master’s home with them.  Why is this such a big deal?  Okay, maybe it’s not—Joppa was a huge port city that saw a lot of traffic, a lot of people frequented there, so maybe it’s just a coincidence.  Maybe it is just a coincidence, but I don’t serve a God of coincidences—I serve a God of intentionality.  So what is the intention here?  I think it serves as a parallel example of what happens when we respond to God in either obedience or disobedience.

There is nearly an 800-year difference between the time when Jonah and Peter would have been in Joppa.  This common link, years later, places these two prophets nearly side by side.  The interesting thing is that both Jonah and Peter heard nearly the same word from the Lord—“Rise, go…”  It was in Joppa they both decided their response to the call of the Lord.  If you know the story of Jonah, you know that he chose to flee and run the other direction, thinking he could outrun and outhide God.  Peter, on the other hand, chose to go.  He chose to travel with these strangers, to a stranger’s house, I’m sure not knowing fully what to expect.  Here is where I think the parallel gets interesting.  Let’s look at what happened in both these men’s lives after their decision was made:

Jonah: Jonah gets on the boat to Tarshish and encounters the most tempestuous storm.  After realizing this storm was brought on because of his disobedience, he is tossed overboard by the Phoenician sailors and literally sinks to the depths of the sea.  In his divine mercy, God rescues Jonah through sending a great fish to eat him, giving Jonah another chance.  Jonah does go to Ninevah and preach repentance to the people, but his heart is full of anger and pride and bitterness when the Ninevahites respond and repent.  Jonah’s story ends with him moping outside the city walls, and that’s it.

Peter: Peter follows Cornelius’ servants without hesitation.  Upon meeting him, Peter hears how the Lord spoke to Cornelius, and sees God’s divine hand on this encounter right from the beginning.  Peter then shares the gospel with Cornelius’ whole house, and not only do all of them believe, but the Holy Spirit comes and is poured out on everyone, even though they are Gentiles, and all are baptized.  The story continues though!  When Peter later goes up to Jerusalem, he is criticized by members of the circumcision party (people who believed that circumcision was still necessary for salvation, i.e. making it unavailable for Gentiles) because he ate with these Gentile men.  Peter then explained to them the vision God had given him and all that happened at Cornelius’ home.  These men fell silent, gave glory to God, and responded by saying, “‘Then to the Gentiles God has also granted repentance that leads to eternal life.’” (Acts 11:18)  The Lord continues to spread his message of eternal life through Peter and the other disciples, continuing to work miracles and showing them the glory of Himself. 

Unlike with Jonah, we get to see Peter’s story continue.  Did God still use Jonah in his disobedience?  Yes, he most certainly did.  But how much more did he use Peter in his complete obedience?  Their stories after Joppa are incomparable.  Let’s take a lesson from Peter—respond to the Lord with obedience and watch him lead you places you never imagined you’d go, experience his countless blessings, and continually see the glory of our great God.