BY Amanda Bible Williams
Text: Luke 15:11-32, Romans 5:6-9
This is part of a 7-day series on Jonah in the Lent 2016 reading plan.
The smiling felt-figure man next to the big, blue whale on the storyboards of our childhood: this is how many of us know the prophet Jonah. His story is memorable and fun to tell, a classic case of what not to do when God calls. But like all redemption stories, there is more to the book of Jonah than meets the eye. There is more to see than the irresistible spectacle of a man being swallowed whole by a fish.
Matthew Henry says the book of Jonah is “best understood by those who are most acquainted with their own hearts.” Because at its heart, Jonah is a story of salvation. It’s not about the fish. It’s not about the Ninevites. It’s not even about Jonah.
The book of Jonah is about the saving work of Christ and the boundless mercy of our sovereign God.
Jonah’s story foreshadows Christ’s sacrifice (we’ll see Jesus Himself draw this parallel in next week’s reading), but it also goes a step further: it illustrates the unreasonable forgiveness available to us because of Christ’s sacrifice.
A rebellious Jonah runs from God, repents when he sees of the vastness of his sin, and is pulled from the depths of his self-made pit by a merciful God.
A wicked Nineveh, undeserving of God’s compassion, repents and receives the same mercy.
Like the older brother in Jesus’ parable of the lost son in Luke 15, Jonah is angry at the Father’s unabashed display of mercy. He is ironically offended by God’s truly free grace—balking at the Lord’s mercy toward Nineveh while sighing with relief as he receives it for himself.
But grace is, by definition, undeserved. The distance between a sinful humanity and a Holy God can only be spanned by His saving mercy.
Like Jonah, the lost son, and the Ninevites, we too are invited to come clean. We are invited to repent and return to the arms of a God who pursues us at our worst, rescues us from our darkness, and rejoices over us as His beloved child.
May we hear the Father’s call as we read Jonah’s story. And may we be drawn to repentance, running toward the only One who knows and restores our wayward hearts.
70 thoughts on "Jonah"
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I’m so glad I decided to join in for this study. I had been feeling down, and originally wasn’t going to, but it is what I’ve been needing. Thankful for God’s Word & also for SRT!
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Me too , Courtney
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Beautiful! Just perfect. I never noticed the similarity between The older brother in the parable and Jonah. Wow. Thank you for writing this. Amazing grace is so truly amazing.
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Loooove Jonah! So relatable!
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“He is ironically offended by God’s truly free grace—balking at the Lord’s mercy toward Nineveh while sighing with relief as he receives it for himself.” How often do we respond like Jonah, or the prodigal son’s brother, and never even recognize it in ourselves?
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I have honestly never understood the Parable of the Prodigal Son. After who knows how many sermons and bible studies it took this to make it click. “We are invited to repent and return to the arms of a God who pursues us at our worst, rescues us from our darkness, and rejoices over us as His beloved child.” The beauty of the story seems so obvious now!
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This is exactly what I needed today. After a season of running, I’m finally coming back. It’s been an incredibly tough journey – I’ve been feeling this ache in my core, questioning whether God can forgive me for running so far for so long. Why would He still want me?
“We are invited to repent and return to the arms of a God who pursues us at our worst, rescues us from our darkness, and rejoices over us as His beloved child.”
But this… this tells a different story. To quote the timeless Chris Tomlin, “You’ve seen the depths of my heart, but you love me the same.” He won’t ever stop chasing or pursuing – and for THIS, I am thankful.
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Alyssa, love your honest words here and I can appreciate your questions about how or why God would still want you. I, too, ran very far away from God for a long time and asked those questions. It seemed unfathomable that God, as holy and pure as He is, would welcome me back, when He knows everything about me. That’s what grace is, though, right? His love is beyond our wildest imagination and better than we could’ve ever hoped! When I feel the enemy bringing doubts to my mind, I remind myself of the words in the old hymn, ” Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart – Lord, take and seal it. Seal it for thy courts above.” He’s a good Father. Blessings to you!
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<3
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Glad to see you made your way back today. Prayed a lot for you yesterday. Trust in the Lord for this new change…he will bring you to do great things for Him. Change is never easy, but the Lord moves us out of our comfort zone when we are too comfortable. Trust Him. Embrace the move. You can do this!
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Powerful – I needed this today. I’ve had a stomach ache all day thinking about this change.
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I’ve been stuck in my comfort zone and I keep telling myself you better get comfortable being uncomfortable. I keep trying to do it all myself but I have to trust in him that he’ll give me the strength.
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Mercy is not receiving what I deserve. Grace is receiving what I don’t deserve.
God lavishly gives them both.
Thank you, my good good Father.-
Amen! Perfectly said. So thankful for God’s grace and mercy!!!
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