10.05.2025 | Jonah, Prophet to Ninevah
Jonah
If you were a Jew in 900 B.C., the last place on earth you wanted to visit was the city of Nineveh! Nineveh was full of Assyrians—a group of wicked and violent people who did not follow God. Going to Nineveh to tell them about God was a dangerous—and maybe even deadly—mission. No wonder Jonah didn’t want to go!
The real reason Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh, however, was because he felt like these wicked people didn’t deserve God’s forgiveness. They were wicked and cruel, so how could God show them mercy? What Jonah didn’t understand is that God cared for the people of Nineveh as much as He cared for the rest of the world.
God wanted the Ninevites to turn away from sin and trust in Him—so much so that God used a big fish to get Jonah back to Nineveh when he tried to run away. Finally, Jonah reluctantly preached the message God had given and warned the people about God’s judgment. The people repented, and God spared their lives.
The Bible tells us that God shows mercy on whomever He wants to show mercy. Jonah didn’t think the Ninevites deserved God’s mercy, but the truth is that none of us deserve His mercy. But God loved the world so much that He showed us His mercy through Jesus. Unlike Jonah, Jesus willingly accepted the mission God gave Him. Jesus came to save the sinners who God cared to much about.
Jonah spent three days in a fish so that the people of Nineveh could hear God’s message, turn from sin, and be saved. Jesus was in the tomb for three days so that we could hear and trust the gospel, turn from sin, and be saved.
