And as many of you know already, when we come to the end of the book of Jonah, rather than seeing a rejoicing, God glorifying, ecstatic prophet, we get just the opposite. This isn’t the usual fairy-tale ending where the hero learned their lesson and is changed for the better. No, the story of Jonah […]

The book of Jonah is essentially a story about a prophet who failed to wrap his mind around the breadth of God’s character. In particular, Jonah knew about God’s mercy, but he simply couldn’t understand how God’s mercy could coexist with another aspect of God’s character that he loved – God’s justice. Jonah 3:1-10

Jesus references the story of Jonah as history. He speaks of the great fish and the Ninevites in the same breath as Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. According to Jesus, Jonah was not a fictional character. He was three days and three nights in the belly of a great fish, after which he emerged […]

The story of Jonah is not a story about a big fish – though it does feature a big fish. This story is meant to teach us one grand over-arching lesson: We do not get to decide who is beyond the scope of God’s mercy.  Jonah 1:1-16