Something Greater Than Jonah Is Here

Jonah 3:1-10
Luke 11:29-32

What a strange prophet Jonah must have been. He is God’s word bearer sent to the people of Nineveh. He boards a ship going in the opposite direction to flee from God! Poor Jonah sleeps through God’s response to his desertion, and after being awake, he must have cringed at the reverence of the pagan crew who cannot believe that he would do such a thing resulting to their perplexity. Drown into the depth of the sea as he has instructed, he was saved by grace of God thanks to the fish that acted as a submarine.

Jonah’s experience in the belly of the fish is a prefiguration of Christ being buried in the tomb. In today’s gospel when the crowds were getting bigger, He said, “ this is a wicked generation. It is asking for a sign and the only sign is the sign of Jonah . Luke 11. 29. whereas in Matthew 12:39-40 the Lord Jesus is announcing to the scribes and Pharisees that no sign but the sign of Jonah will be given to them: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the great fish’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” In other words, Jesus links his mystery of salvation through His Passion, Death,Burial and Resurrection to how God saved Jonah. Thus, Jonah becomes relevant today since we are called by Christ and preach repentance to all the nations (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47)

After Jonah was given a second chance, he obeyed the commands of God to go to Nineveh and preach repentance to them this brief but intense message’”Yet forty days, and Nineveh will be destroyed”-Jonah 3:4.
Jonah brought the nation on her knees. As soon as the people heard Jonah, they repented of their sins and God spare them of the punishment. the book of Jonah is a proof of God’’s unlimited grace and mercy not only for His earthly people Israel but also for the impious heathen city of Nineveh. It shows that God has given these people repentance for life. For Israel or the Jews, respectively, this was very difficult to understand for they considered only themselves as God’s elect people (Matt 12:41; 16:4; Luke 11:29-32)

Therefore, when we do not obey God, we are liable to judgment and others who come under us may receive the judgment of God because of my disobedience or we led them astray.
Jonah received a second chance this is your chance to step on stage. REPENTANCE IS NOW .
Happy New Month

Fr Joseph Osho