Joppa, Jonah, and Peter

I was sitting in Sunday School the other day as we studied Jonah and learned some cool stuff. (Thanks Kurt) Check out the similarities between the story of Jonah and Acts 10 with Peter:

Comparison of Jonah and Acts 10

Jonah 1	Acts 10
God calls Jonah to preach to the pagans. - vs 1-2	God puts Peter in a situation so that he'll give the Gospel to Gentiles - vs 34-48
Jonah is reluctant until God sent the fish. - vs 1:3	Peter is reluctant until God gave him the dream. - vs 28 (Peter's own words)
The pagan sailors plea Jonah to help. - vs 8	Gentile men ask Peter for help. - vs 22
Language in vs 2-3 - Jonah called to "Rise" and then "go down"	Language in vs 20 - "Get up" and "go down"

I’m always fascinated by the way God uses certain places to speak particular things.There are certain places I can go that remind me of particular things God has done in my life. For example: If I go to Meridian State Park, I’m reminded of my conversion experience and the body of believers that God used to reveal Himself to me. When I go there, I remember my foundation. I remember where I came from and I can more clearly see who I’ve become.

It seems obvious that Peter would have known the story of Jonah. He had probably studied it as a child and quite possibly even memorized it (For more info, check this post). I wonder if he recognized the similarities of his situation with Jonah’s call? When he realized that God wanted him to share the Gospel with these Gentiles, did he realize that he was in the very same Joppa where Jonah had tried to run from God for a similar call? I wonder if he remembered that Jonah had to learn the hard way, and therefore made his choice to share the Gospel more readily because of it? These are the kinds of conversations that might be fun to have with Peter and Jonah someday in heaven.

PS – here’s another post I wrote about Jonah: Whoa Jonah!

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Steve Corn

Whatever Spills Out of My Fingers

Joppa, Jonah, and Peter