This week I wanted to focus on main ideas from the Old Testament book of Jonah. Despite its brevity it is a leviathan of theological power. I hope you enjoy.

Context: Jonah was probably written in the 700s B.C. And Christ himself refers to the historical person of Jonah (Mt 12:39-41). Christ clearly believed Jonah and referenced Jonah’s experiences as germane to the Christian gospel. This matters because it reveals once again the coherence of the Bible’s storyline. And Jonah’s strengths and weaknesses speak directly to those who are Christian pilgrims on the way.

Issue # 1: The call to obey God despite human hostility. Jonah was a reluctant prophet. When God called him to go to Nineveh, Jonah rebelled against the Lord. Rather than accepting God’s word, he tried to evade it by literally going the opposite direction. (Jonah 1:1-3). Jonah was determined to go “away from the presence of the LORD” (Jonah 1:3, ESV).

Let that sink in. Jonah was God’s man, God’s prophet. But the scope of Jonah’s ministry was to pronounce God’s judgment to a people that hated Jonah, hated people of Jonah’s ethnicity, and certainly hated Jonah’s message. Perhaps we can cut Jonah some slack for his reluctance. In modern parlance, we might read Jonah’s initial response to God like this: “What? Them? Are you kidding? They’re the worst. They hate you (God), me (your messenger), and most of all your message (repentance of sin and faith in the Redeemer)!”

Encouragement & Application: I could go on, but for today, I just want us to consider and camp out on this one basic principle—the call to obey God despite human hostility.

The world system scoffs at the gospel message, folks. It always has. The New Testament teaches the same truth (see John 15:18-25, e.g.). Therefore, let Christian pilgrims learn from Jonah. God calls his people to go with his message despite human hostility, to count the costs, and to press on.