Episode 2434 - Lesson 13 - Sunday June 22 - The Reluctant Prophet

The story of Jonah (see Jonah 1–4), while brief, delivers considerable impact. Many believers have found reflections of themselves in this reluctant prophet. The story also contains remarkable overtones of future events.Read Matthew 12:38–42. Which parts of the story of Jonah does Jesus refer to as He addresses the scribes and Pharisees? What lessons about the judgment are found in His statement?Jesus declared that He was greater than Jonah. He knew that coming to this world would mean the Cross, and still He came to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Jonah spent three days in the great fish because of his own sins; Jesus spent three days in the tomb because of ours. That’s what it took to save the lost.Today, we know Jonah as a reluctant prophet, unwilling to go to Nineveh. From a human perspective, it is easy to understand—the Assyrians ran a brutal regime. Assyrian murals are replete with scenes of unusual cruelty; conquered peoples were put to death by the most cruel methods imaginable. Who would want to face the prospect of preaching repentance in their capital city?There is an important moment in the story that may point forward to the last-day remnant movement. When Jonah is asked who he is, he responds, “ ‘I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land’ ”—a statement much like the first angel’s message (Jon. 1:9, NKJV; Rev. 14:7). Indeed, his emphasis on the Lord as the One “ ‘who made the sea and the dry land’ ” is, of course, pointing to Him as the Creator. This fact is foundational to why we should worship Him, and worship is central to last-day events.At the same time, we, too, have been charged with preaching a potentially unpopular message in spiritual Babylon. To say “come out of her, my people” (Rev. 18:4, NKJV) is to tell the world they must repent—a message that has almost always provoked a negative response from many people, even when delivered in the kindest way possible. Who of us when witnessing has not received negative, or even hostile, responses? It just comes with the job.How much of Jonah do you find in yourself? How can you move beyond this wrong attitude?