In 1950s, group of American missionaries who had been working in Ecuador sensed God calling them to start a new work by attempting to reach tribe of people known as Auca (Ow-cah), who lived in rainforests of Ecuador – Aucas were an isolated tribe and they were known to be violent – No one had had meaningful contact with Aucas up to that point – Some people had tried and been killed
But this group of missionaries, which included Jim Elliot and Nate Saint, could not shake sense of God’s call – So, they gradually began trying to make contact with Auca people by flying over village – Eventually, they decided to try to land plane on nearby riverbank and make personal contact with people – First interaction was positive but, on their second attempt, Elliott, Saint, and three other men were killed by group of Auca warriors
About two years later, Jim Elliot’s family and Nate Saint’s sister, Rachel, compelled by Gospel and call of God, attempted to move into this same Auca village – This time, Aucas received them peacefully – Over time, many Aucas became Christians through faithful witness of Elisabeth Elliot and Rachel Saint[1] – Nate Saint’s young son, Steve, would return to live with his aunt among Aucas during summers
And during one of those summers, Steve was baptized in the same river where his father’s body was found, by same men who had speared him – One of those would become like an adopted father to Steve – Later in his life, Steve founded an organization focused on equipping indigenous peoples, like Auca, to fulfill Great Commission[2] – It’s an astounding picture of how Gospel compels us to move forward in faith and even to love our enemies at great personal expense, for glory of God and salvation of lost
And it’s positive example that stands in contrast with example we find in Book of Jonah – This morning we are going to overview Book of Jonah, which is coming up in reading plan this week – We don’t have time to get into too much detail, but I do want to bring main themes of Jonah to forefront this morning and help us think about how they apply to us as New Covenant Christians – We are just going to move through storyline and then make application at end
Before we jump in, let me give you a bit of context:
Jonah was real man and real prophet – He is mentioned by name as a prophet in historical record in 2 Kings 14:25 – So, we shouldn’t think this story we find in Book of Jonah is a mythical story; it is based in a historical reality – Jonah lived during reign of King Jeroboam II in 8th century BC
We know very little about Jonah apart from what we learn of him in Book of Jonah – And Book of Jonah is unique among prophetic books in a couple of obvious ways:
1) Whereas other prophetic books are compilations of many different prophetic oracles, Jonah is seamless narrative, which is why you may find that Book of Jonah is easier to read and understand at face value than other prophetic books
2) In most prophetic books, prophet delivers God’s message of judgment against Israel, Judah, or foreign nation – Prophet is vessel through which God’s delivers His message of judgment – In Book of Jonah, however, key lessons to be learned are not lessons that emerge through Jonah’s prophetic announcement, but rather through Jonah’s rebellious attitude – Jonah’s words and behaviors largely teaches us what not to do
With that in mind, let’s look at storyline of Book of Jonah:
Read 1:1-3
Book begins with God’s Word – God’s Word calls Jonah to action and obedience – God commands Jonah to do three things: “Arise…go to Nineveh…call out against it.”
Jonah is immediately confronted by God’s Word and God’s call – But, rather, than obeying Lord, Jonah runs from Him – Two contrasting Hebrew words are used throughout book to portray wrestling match between God and Jonah – Word koom means to “rise up” – Word yarad means to “go down”
God commands Jonah: “rise up” – Jonah does “rise up” – But rather than going to Nineveh, he “goes down” to Joppa and then “goes down” into ship headed for Tarshish, direction opposite Nineveh[3] – And, more significantly, direction opposite obedience – Jonah ignores God’s Word, resists God’s call, and is headed “away from the presence of the Lord”
And it would be easy to sit back in our cushioned seats this morning and judge Jonah for being so foolish – But let’s step into Jonah’s shoes for a moment and acknowledge reality of task Jonah had been given:
God was calling Jonah to go to a foreign place – Nineveh was a city in the heart of Assyria, a nation north of Israel, in modern-day Iraq – It would take Jonah about a month to travel the 600 miles to Nineveh – When he got there, he’d encounter a different people who spoke a different language and had a different culture – Interestingly, Jonah is only prophet that God sent in-person to deliver message to a foreign nation[4]
And it was a foreign nation with a terrible reputation – In 8th century BC, Assyria was rising to its greatest heights of power and terror – Assyrians were incredibly cruel to their enemies – We’ve found artifacts describing how they dismembered, skinned, and burned their enemies alive[5] – And God isn’t sending Jonah to make friends by a message of peace – He’s sending Jonah to call them out for their evil – How do you think that might go?
You have these external factors weighing on Jonah but most significant is what’s happening inside of Jonah – In addition to those external factors that threaten Jonah’s obedience, there is a major internal factor that threatens Jonah’s obedience and it’s this: Jonah hates Ninevites – He hates how evil they are – He can’t stand thought of Ninevites hearing God’s Word and turning from evil and receiving God’s mercy – Jonah would rather die than see his enemies live – This will all become clear in final chapter
God calls – Jonah runs – But Jonah won’t get away – God, in His sovereign power, which another key theme of book, God’s sovereign power to accomplish His purposes, hurls a great wind upon sea so that ship is in danger of breaking up – Pagan sailors begin calling out to their various gods and throwing cargo overboard to keep ship above waves – It’s a chaotic scene on deck of ship – But where was Jonah?
“…Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.” (Jon. 1:5)
And, in an ironic twist, pagan sea captain scolds Jonah and commands him to “rise up” and call out to Yahweh – “6 …“Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” (Jon. 1:6)
Does Jonah actually do it? – We’re not told – What we are told is that sailors discover that Jonah has offended Yahweh – In an attempt to appease Yahweh and save themselves, they throw Jonah overboard – And chapter one ends with another ironic twist – Pagan sailors do what Jonah, God’s prophet, has refused to do: call out to Yahweh for mercy and offer him worship
When Jonah hits water, sea calms down – And God appoints great fish to swallow him up – God sovereignly and miraculously preserves Jonah’s life for three days and three nights in belly fish – And, in belly of fish, Jonah talks to God in prayer and praise
Jonah 2:6 epitomizes Jonah’s prayer – Also highlights ongoing “up/down” contrast in book – Read 2:6
Chapter two shows us best side of Jonah – It’s closest we get in whole book to seeing Jonah do and say what is right and good and faithful in God’s sight – But, story is not over – Chapter two ends with Lord commanding fish to vomit Jonah out upon dry land
And chapter three begins with Lord re-issuing call of chapter one – Jonah gets a second chance (3:1-2) – This time, Jonah obeys (3:3)
And when Jonah gets to Nineveh, hear is his unique message: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jon. 3:4) – That’s it – That’s sum total of Jonah’s prophetic message in book – Five Hebrew word
It’s brief and it’s also vague – No indictment of Ninevites for their sin – No clear call to repentance – No promise of restoration – Not even a mention of Yahweh
And vagueness is made murkier by nature of verb: “shall be overthrown” – Verb is consistently used two different ways in OT – One way is to “be overthrown” by destruction, as in Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:21-29) – Another way is to be “overthrown” by having a change of heart/mind/essence, as in how Lord turned psalmists mourning into dancing (Psa. 30:11) – Begs question: Is God’s intent to judge Nineveh? – Or transform it? – Or, somehow, both?
Despite Jonah’s brief, obscure message, Ninevites repent with sackcloth and ashes – They fast and turn, with sorrow, from their sin (Jon. 3:5-6, 9) – And, when they repent, God relents (Jon. 3:10)
But as angels in heavens rejoice, Jonah recoils – Read 4:1-3
Rather than rejoicing that Ninevites have repented and turned to Lord, Jonah is angry – He quotes a foundational Old Testament creed about character of God: how He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love – This creed, which originates in Exodus 34, had become Israel’s positive and perpetual affirmation of God’s character – A declaration of faith, hope, and comfort
But that’s not how Jonah speaks it – Jonah isn’t rejoicing in God’s character – He’s despising it – Because it means mercy for his enemies, forgiveness for wicked people – Jonah would rather die than see his enemies live – That’s what he’s saying here
God doesn’t ignore Jonah or reject Jonah for thinking and believing these things, but He does question Jonah – Read 4:4 – Or, literally, “Is it good that you are angry?” – This is a moral question – “Is it good, Jonah?” – “Or is it bad?”
Jonah doesn’t answer – He walks away – He sets up tent east of city and waits, hoping God will change His mind and judge city – There, God makes His final point – God, in His sovereign power, appoints a plant to come up over Jonah to shade him from heat – Jonah is very glad about this – Next day, God appoints a worm to kill plant and a scorching wind to weary Jonah – And Jonah is very angry about this – Jonah, exasperated, once again declares: “It is better for me to die than to live.” (Jon. 4:8)
And here is God’s response, which brings book to a conclusion: Read 4:9-11
And that’s how book ends – With an unanswered question – We don’t find out how Jonah responds – But we don’t need to, because God has made His point
Here is God’s point: Jonah is deeply troubled about plant – Jonah feels so much anguish over death of this plant that he’d rather die than go on living without it – But Jonah had invested literally nothing in plant – Nothing – He didn’t labor for plant – He didn’t water plant – He didn’t make it grow – And plant is a very temporary thing: it “came into being in a night and perished in a night” – Temporary – Plants don’t live forever
Now, hear what God says next: “Jonah, if you are this troubled about a temporary plant that you invested nothing in…should I not be troubled about these eternal people whom I have made in my image to worship me, and yet they know nothing about me?” – “Should I not be troubled, Jonah?”
That’s question that hangs in air for us as we finish Book of Jonah – And author lets it hang in air on purpose – Because author wants us to answer question ourselves
As we move to answer that question, we need to acknowledge bridge between Jonah and Jesus – Between era of Old Testament and era of New
Book of Jonah starts with Word of Lord, which came to Jonah – And, as important and inspired as this Word of Lord to Jonah was, it was not God’s full and final Word – God’s full and final Word would came roughly 800 years later, not in a prophetic vision, but in Christ Jesus, His Son – Jesus was unmediated Word of God come to us, in the flesh, on display for all to see – In Jesus, we see and hear God’s full and final Word – And, in Jesus, we see a prophet far greater than Jonah
Matthew 12:38-41 – “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”
Jesus was like Jonah – Jesus, like Jonah, was a prophet of God – Jesus, like Jonah, was sent to declare message of God to people who were far from Him – Jesus, like Jonah, was sent in accordance with God’s sovereign plan to redeem nations of earth – And Jesus, like Jonah, spent three days in a dark tomb before emerging to complete His mission
Jesus was like Jonah but Jesus was actually far greater than Jonah – Because Jesus was not just a prophet; Jesus was God, Himself – Jesus experienced all of temptation Jonah faced, but none of failure and none of disobedience – Instead of running from His calling, Jesus marched right into it – Jonah couldn’t stand to see his enemies live – But Jesus couldn’t stand to see His enemies die, so He died for them
He was mocked, beaten, cursed, and crucified by His enemies – Jonah was punished for his rebellion – Jesus was punished for ours – Jesus bore consequences of our rebellion on Himself at cross – For our sake, Jesus was cast into deep – For our sake, Jesus was swallowed up by tomb
And for our sake tomb spit Jesus out again at sovereign command of Father – As Jesus came up from tomb, He proved that sin/death/evil will not win – Kingdom of Heaven will prevail over Kingdom of darkness, now and forever – Forgiveness and salvation and life can be found in Him
But if we, enemies of God because of our sinful rebellion, are to experience mercy of God, we, like Ninevites, must turn from our sin – And if we, God’s people, are to experience presence of God in our lives, we must Heed Christ Jesus, the Word of God as He comes to us – Jesus, Word of God, has issued each of us a call and a command
One of Jesus’ favorite calls was pure and simple: “Follow me” – With those words He summoned Peter and Andrew, James and John, Levi and others (Matt. 4:20, Matt. 4:22, Luke 5:27-32) – And, upon hearing call, those men left everything and followed Him in obedience
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…” as Jonah did in his rebellion (Heb. 3:15) – Stop running away from presence of Lord – Turn in His direction – And begin to follow Him by faith, trusting that salvation from sin and death are found in Christ Jesus
But you need to know this: When we choose to follow Jesus, Jesus changes most fundamental question of life – Our most fundamental question is no longer, “What is easy?” or “What is pleasing to me?” or “What makes most sense to me?” – When we hear call of Jesus and turn to follow Him, this becomes most fundamental question in life, “What did Jesus say to do?” – And when we discover those things as we read through Scriptures, we must “rise up” in obedience, not “go down” in disobedience
And Jesus’ Great Commission to His disciples is a command with a promise: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (Matt. 28:18-19)
So, see this: Jesus calls us to do very same type of thing that God was calling Jonah to do – He calls us to rise up, to go, and to call out with hope of Gospel – And He calls us to do it by faith, regardless of cost, and without prejudice – He calls us to go to uncomfortable places, to people who are different from us, to people who might even curse us, reject us, hurt us – People we might, by every human standard, consider to be enemies
But people that God tells us He has made in His image – People that God tells us are worthy of dignity and respect – People that God tells us will face eternal punishment apart from Gospel
People that Jesus commands us to love – Matthew 5:43-44, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.”
Jonah walked away from his call and command, and it led to his despair – Elisabeth Elliot, Rachel Saint, Steve Saint…they walked into their call and command, and it led to something greater than they could have ever asked or imagined
How is God calling you to go? – Where will you do this work of making disciples? –
Who are people God is calling you to love? – Who are enemies God would have you pray for?
Wrestling with those questions may produce a bunch of other questions? – Who am I to represent Jesus? – How could I possibly do that? – What if I don’t have answers to their questions? – What if it is awkward? – What if it changes my relationship with person? – Is that really wise? – What if they reject me? – What if it costs me or my family in some way?
In response to all those questions I would simply point to God’s sovereignty and encourage you to Trust His Character
If God was so committed to His plan of salvation that He would hurl a great storm on sea, appoint a fish to swallow Jonah, command fish to spit him up, convince Ninevites with Jonah’s obscure message – If God was so committed to His plan of salvation that He would use a reluctant, disobedient, skeptical prophet to accomplish His purposes – Then I think it’s safe to say that He can use you, despite all your questions, all your insecurities, all your insufficiencies to accomplish His purposes
God will carry out His plan of salvation according to His will and according to His timeline – We pray and obey, believing that He’ll use our meager efforts in process – As we Heed God’s Word, We Trust God’s Character – For His glory and the salvation of the lost
[1] Christianity.com, “Jim Elliott: Story and Legacy,” last updated Dec. 16, 2022, accessed June 16, 2025, https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1901-2000/jim-elliot-no-fool-11634862.html
[2] ITEC, “Steve Saint,” accessed June 16, 2025, https://itecusa.org/steve-saint#:~:text=Steve%20Saint%20was%20born%20and,men%20who%20had%20speared%20him.
[3] Widder, W. (2017). Jonah. (D. Mangum & E. Vince, Eds.). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[4] Ibid, Section on Jon 1:2.
[5] Bruckner, J. (2004). Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (pp. 28–29). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.