Leader Guide

Teaching

JONAH POINTS TO THE CROSS: DISCUSS HOW THE STORY OF JONAH POINTS TO JESUS AND THE CROSS.

Children will participate in this signpost presentation. Completion of all the steps of the presentation will form a cross from the signs, as seen in the illustration.

It was exciting to see in our Signposts video how Jonah’s mission pointed to Jesus’ mission. Let’s shout our SuperTruth together: “God showed His mercy through the cross.”

Yes, God showed His mercy in many ways throughout the Bible, but the depth of His love and mercy for us was shown by Jesus on the cross!  

For each step of the presentation, have a different child come up and pick the two signs that match what you are discussing for that step. Then, tape the signs in the correct position on the wall or lay them on the floor to form the cross—see illustration.

Signpost 1: Jonah was in the belly of the fish for how long? Three days.

Yes! Try to imagine what it would be like in the belly of a great fish! It would be very dark in that fish! Now, how could this point to Jesus and the cross? I need a volunteer to come up and find the two matching cards for Jonah and Jesus that we are talking about. Child finds match and places the cards on the wall in the correct place.

Yes! After Jesus died on the cross, He was in the tomb three days. Before Jesus was crucified, some religious leaders asked Jesus to perform a miracle as a sign to prove His authority and that He was God’s Son.

Read Matthew 12:39–40:

But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.”

Signpost 2: Do you remember what Jonah did in the belly of the fish? He prayed.

Yes, Jonah said that he was crying out from the belly of Sheol. Sheol means the place of the dead. Now, who thinks they can find how this points to Jesus? Child finds match and places the cards on the wall in the correct place.

Sin separates us from God, but Jesus had lived a perfect life, so He had never been separated from His Father, God—until He took all of our sins upon Himself when He was nailed to the cross. At that moment Jesus experienced separation from God for the first time. Here is what He said on the cross:

Read Matthew 27:46:

At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?”

These words are the opening sentence of Psalm 22, which David wrote about 1,000 years before Jesus was born. Amazingly, this psalm describes how the Messiah would suffer on the cross. Here is another verse in that same psalm. Read Psalm 22:24:

For He has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy. He has not turned His back on them, but has listened to their cries for help.

God did not abandon Jesus, just as He did not abandon Jonah—He heard their cries and answered them.

Signpost 3: God saved Jonah from the belly of the fish after his prayer was heard. Jonah said, “For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.” God immediately ordered the fish to spit Jonah up on dry land! How does this point to Jesus and the cross? Who can find the two cards that match? Child finds match and places the cards on the wall in the correct place. Read Luke 24:1–7:

“But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what He told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that He would rise again on the third day.”

Yes, Jesus had risen from the dead—He was alive—the tomb was empty! Jesus Christ defeated sin and death so we can live with Him forever! 

Signpost 4: Jonah was surprised and upset because God showed mercy to people who weren’t Israelites. Yet long ago, God had promised Abraham that his descendants would be a blessing—not just to the Israelites, but to all the world! God used Jonah to remind us that God’s blessings and salvation were for the whole world! Who can find the two cards that match? Child finds match and places the cards on the wall in the correct place. Read the SuperVerse—John 3:17:

“God did not send His Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent Him to save them!”

This is our SuperVerse for today. Jesus was sent by God not to condemn and judge, but to save! This is because God is full of mercy. He wants everyone to repent from their sins and be saved from punishment!

Read Luke 23:34a:

Jesus said on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”

Point to the cross that has just been completed with all of the matching cards. Even as Jesus hung on the cross, He showed God’s love and mercy for the very people who were torturing Him. He knew they didn’t understand who He really is—the Son of God! Jesus died on the cross so we could be saved from our sins! That is the Good News of God’s mercy through the cross!

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Hand out the Fish Necklace Patterns to any children who were not present for Lessons 1 and 2.

What does the fish remind us of? Jonah.

The fish was an ancient Christian symbol for Jesus. If you see Greek letters inside a fish like this, they stand for “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” Christians would make the sign of the fish to let others know they were followers of Jesus.

Did anyone use their necklaces from last time as a reminder to show mercy to someone?

What happened when you did? Allow volunteers to share about showing mercy. Did anyone receive mercy from someone this week?

As time allows, briefly ask the challenge questions from Lesson 2 about Jesus and the woman at the well, and allow children to share their answers from John 8:1–11.

Your challenge this time is to look at the back of the fish for Lesson 3, read the Bible passage in Luke 18:9–14, and answer the questions about who received mercy—and who didn’t! It also has a challenge for you to show mercy to someone. As you go about your daily life, be sure to notice opportunities God is giving you to show mercy to others!