“Overlooked Stories: Jonah”
Preached August 17, 2025
Today, you might be surprised that I am including Jonah in our “Overlooked Stories” sermon series. Jonah? Overlooked? It’s one of the first Bible stories we learn in Sunday School. There is not a single children’s Bible that doesn’t include this story. The book of Jonah is a beloved story. Running away, getting swallowed by a whale - the story delights every child. And while children’s books and movies depict the awe-inspiring, fantastic imagery of a man living inside a fish…There is more to this story. We think we know the story of Jonah and the “whale” and so the rest of this story is often overlooked. I did not know the whole story of Jonah until I read it in seminary!
And so today we are going to go beyond Jonah running away and being thrown overboard and the big fish that swallowed him…because there is more to this story that is often overlooked.
We must remember that God was not asking Jonah to do something easy. God called Jonah to go and preach repentance to the people in the city of Nineveh. Now Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. The Assyrians were known as aggressive, ruthless conquerors. Jonah hated the Ninevites. He may even have been afraid of them - and probably for good reason. As so he ran… I think a lot of people think Jonah ran because he was afraid of public speaking or that he didn’t want to be a preacher or a prophet…a lot of pastors, especially second career pastors, use the story of Jonah to mirror their call stories. They ran from their call until they couldn’t anymore. But Jonah, Jonah actually ran from what God was asking him to do because he HATED the Ninevites. “Preach repentance to THOSE people? I’d rather run away to the opposite ends of the earth.”
It’s not surprising that Jonah did not want to take the message to Nineveh. We often forget that these Biblical figures are also human. And it is very human to hate. To fear. To run. Every human, somewhere inside of them, has hate. Sometimes that hate is unconscious, learned but not realized, beneath the surface. Sometimes that hate bubbles to the front and explodes in our actions and words. Sometimes we know it’s there and do our best to quietly ignore it. Other times we see it, recognize it, ask God for forgiveness and then work towards repentance. But in whatever form hate dwells inside of us, it is there. Every group hates something or someone. Sometimes our hate or dislike for a person can bind us together more than shared interests or things we like.
This hate is a part of our fallen human nature and can easily take a hold within us. As Christians we know we shouldn’t hate people. We don’t even like to use the word hate because it seems too harsh. And, at the same time, there might be people who, if they fell off the face of the earth? Well, we might just think, “good riddance” or even “thank GOD.”
Not only that - sometimes we, as a culture, hate people so much that we celebrate their deaths or misfortunes. In recent history I can remember people shooting off fireworks to celebrate the death of a terrorist. He was so hated, that for many, his death was worth celebrating. I’ve also seen people celebrating diseases and awful diagnoses for politicians they don’t like. I’ve seen people online giving death threats just because they don’t like a pop star. Hate can give people a heck of a high.
And this is an apt comparison to the story of Jonah, because in today’s world, asking Jonah to go to Nineveh might be like asking one of us to go to the headquarters of Hamas or the KKK or the Proud Boys or other terrorist groups. Groups that, generally, we hate and we fear, the two emotions tied up in each other. And so, Jonah ran away. Heck, I would too.
And our hate isn’t just for enemies of state, far away. In this day and age I do not think anyone really needs convincing that hate is a part of humanity. All we have to do is turn on the news or scroll down our facebook feeds, or look into our own hearts.
Not only can hate rot our souls from the inside out but it can overflow in violence. I want to say as Christians this hate inside us won’t lead to violence or destruction, but it will. There is a reason there is a phrase that is often used in atheist of post-Christian spaces, “There is no hate like Christian love.” The story of Jonah is satire that is meant to hold a mirror to our own souls, our own hate, our own half-hearted following of God. The story of Jonah is a precursor of what Jesus preaches, “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 children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.”
Let’s turn our attention back to this sharp satirical story of Jonah interacting with his enemies, rather begrudgingly, following God’s word. At this point Jonah received the call from God to go preach to Ninevites, tried to run away to the opposite side of the world, got thrown overboard, swallowed by a giant fish, and spat out. Up until this point, we know the story. So let’s see what happens when he arrives in Ninevah:
“Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, ‘Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’” Now, let’s look at this. It was a three days walk to go through the whole city of Nineveh. Jonah went a third of the way across the city. This isn’t half-heartedly following God - this is one-third heartedly! After living inside a fish for 3 days and 3 nights, you’d think Jonah would have gotten his act together by now. But Jonah, Jonah didn’t even bother to go to the center of the city before he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” In English, 8 words. In Hebrew, 5. Can you imagine if I got up here every Sunday and the whole message consisted of 5 words - and five words that fell short of the full message that I wanted to convey? For some reason, I have a feeling that wouldn’t go over well - despite being able to beat the Baptists to lunch.
Jonah was following God’s call. He went to Nineveh, didn’t he? He kind of told them to repent, didn’t he? Well, yeah. Kind of. He was only half-heartedly prophesying. He was only half-heartedly following God’s call because Jonah didn’t want the Ninevites to repent! His hate and fear of them got in the way of him full-heartedly prophesying and preaching and following God.
Like Jonah, our hate can keep us from full-hearted discipleship. When we don’t address the hate and sin inside of us, when we aren’t calling it by name and actively working against it, it can act as a barrier for fully living out God’s commands to love our neighbor and follow Jesus.
I’m going to take a minute and look at myself. Where am I only serving God half-heartedly? Who do I hate? Who am I afraid of? I want you to know that I am airing out and working out my problems, not accusing anyone in this congregation or beyond. Despite living most of my life not wanting to recognize it, I know there is hate and fear inside of me and the more I examine it, I realize how much I stumble over it.
Sometimes I am afraid to address race and racism and the tricky and complicated feelings it brings up and realizing how I am complicit in it. Often I am afraid of addressing the hate disguised as Christian Nationalism or any -ism, really, fearing I will upset someone. Sometimes, maybe, I don’t really feel comfortable sitting by and having a conversation with those who are homeless. My first instinct is to be the one in the kitchen serving dinner rather than joining in fellowship. And sometimes I feel like there are *those* people that are just so far gone, so full of hate themselves, that they’re not worth my time - you know, the ones who watch the news channel that you hate. Maybe sometimes I’d really only rather serve God monetarily not by my actions or sometimes just by my actions and not by my money...These are some of the issues and things inside of me that I am dealing with that keep me from wholeheartedly following God. Since I have reflected openly about this question myself, I invite you to consider, inwardly: What is keeping you from fully serving God?
As we ponder that question, I am going to switch gears for a minute and share some good news this morning: Despite Jonah falling short, despite his hate and his half-hearted attempts at following God, God still used this flawed human being to bring about repentance. God worked in spite of, with, and through Jonah. Likewise, our hate and fear and sin, though they often act as stumbling blocks, don’t disqualify us from doing God’s work. And at the same time, a challenge: God wants us to serve full-heartedly.
Take, for example, the full-hearted repentance of the King of Nineveh. Not only does he repent but he calls for the whole city - even the animals - to repent, to fast, to cover themselves in sackcloth and ashes. The Ninevites REPENT. They repent SO MUCH that they even cover their animals in sackcloth and ashes. This is in direct contrast to Jonah’s half-hearted attempts. The “bad guys,” the enemies, the Ninevites - they throw themselves into full-hearted, over the top, repentance. This is another sign that this story is satire by the way, livestock do not need to repent. But they totally cover their bases - even the animals repent.
But Jonah, that hate inside him is still going strong, he barely followed what God was asking of him and now he is hoping that they didn’t listen to his five words that he said only one-third of the way into the city and that God will smite them. Jonah, in fact, throws a tantrum to God. The Scripture says:
“But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning, for I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.’ And the Lord said, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’ Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.”
But God, in God’s kindness, doesn’t leave Jonah to stew in his hate. God makes a little plant to give Jonah shelter and Jonah was happy about the bush. But the next day, God sent a worm to eat the plant. I am going to read again from the book of Jonah:
“But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, ‘It is better for me to die than to live.’
But God said to Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?’ And he said, ‘Yes, angry enough to die.’” Hold, on, I gotta interrupt here to just, emphasize this ridiculousness. ANGRY ENOUGH ABOUT A BUSH TO DIE! Okay, back to Scripture, “Then the Lord said, ‘You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left and also many animals?’”
Again - satire. Jonah cared more about a BUSH than the fate of all the people, including children and innocents, in Nineveh. He cared more about a plant than a hundred and twenty thousand people. Just because he hated those people - they were the enemy.
It is here that we, once again, are called to hold the mirror up to ourselves. Who are we hating? And perhaps, our hate is as ridiculous as wanting to die because a plant got eaten by a worm and yet not caring about the fate of thousands of people.
So we’ve already said there is Good News here, God can work good through us even as we still struggle with the sin of hate. And here is some more Good News, in the words of Jonah himself: “for I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment.”
In other words, hear this Good News: While we are often afraid, while we often have hate inside of us, there is hope -- God does not hate ANY. ONE. Thank God for that!
God loves all of God’s creation. God loves you and God loves me, even with all of our faults. God loves you regardless of your immigration status. God loves you regardless of your gender or sexual identity. God loves you regardless of your race and ethnicity. God loves you regardless of your employment status and socioeconomic status. God loves you whether you're single or married, kids or no kids. Simply put, God loves you. Because isn’t that the whole point? That God loves us so much that God would send us Jesus? To live and breathe and die with and for us? No one - not even our enemies and not even ourselves with all our faults - no one is outside the love of God made manifest in Jesus Christ. Trust me, it’s hard to say this, as it would have been very hard for Jonah to say that God loved the people of Nineveh - even those we love to hate or even hate to hate...God loves them too.
And because God loves us and them, yes, even our enemies, so unconditionally - we too are called to love like God loves. Regardless. Just love.
This theme of God’s love makes itself known over and over in Scripture. Love even for the enemy.
And so, grounded in the knowledge of God’s love and hope, how can we address the hate and sin in this world, in our community, inside of us? How can we work against it? How can we move beyond the things that separate us from each other and from God? The things that keep us from wholeheartedly following God? I don’t have the answers for you today - but Jonah holding up a mirror to reflect on the ways, the ridiculous ways, we get stuck on hate is a start. And so I want to challenge each of us to consider these things: to examine ourselves, to begin to pray for our enemies and the eradication of hate in our hearts and the world. I pray that each of us can reject hate so that we can move towards love - love that allows us to fully follow God, and fully love like God loves.
Amen.
We must remember that God was not asking Jonah to do something easy. God called Jonah to go and preach repentance to the people in the city of Nineveh. Now Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. The Assyrians were known as aggressive, ruthless conquerors. Jonah hated the Ninevites. He may even have been afraid of them - and probably for good reason. As so he ran… I think a lot of people think Jonah ran because he was afraid of public speaking or that he didn’t want to be a preacher or a prophet…a lot of pastors, especially second career pastors, use the story of Jonah to mirror their call stories. They ran from their call until they couldn’t anymore. But Jonah, Jonah actually ran from what God was asking him to do because he HATED the Ninevites. “Preach repentance to THOSE people? I’d rather run away to the opposite ends of the earth.”
It’s not surprising that Jonah did not want to take the message to Nineveh. We often forget that these Biblical figures are also human. And it is very human to hate. To fear. To run. Every human, somewhere inside of them, has hate. Sometimes that hate is unconscious, learned but not realized, beneath the surface. Sometimes that hate bubbles to the front and explodes in our actions and words. Sometimes we know it’s there and do our best to quietly ignore it. Other times we see it, recognize it, ask God for forgiveness and then work towards repentance. But in whatever form hate dwells inside of us, it is there. Every group hates something or someone. Sometimes our hate or dislike for a person can bind us together more than shared interests or things we like.
This hate is a part of our fallen human nature and can easily take a hold within us. As Christians we know we shouldn’t hate people. We don’t even like to use the word hate because it seems too harsh. And, at the same time, there might be people who, if they fell off the face of the earth? Well, we might just think, “good riddance” or even “thank GOD.”
Not only that - sometimes we, as a culture, hate people so much that we celebrate their deaths or misfortunes. In recent history I can remember people shooting off fireworks to celebrate the death of a terrorist. He was so hated, that for many, his death was worth celebrating. I’ve also seen people celebrating diseases and awful diagnoses for politicians they don’t like. I’ve seen people online giving death threats just because they don’t like a pop star. Hate can give people a heck of a high.
And this is an apt comparison to the story of Jonah, because in today’s world, asking Jonah to go to Nineveh might be like asking one of us to go to the headquarters of Hamas or the KKK or the Proud Boys or other terrorist groups. Groups that, generally, we hate and we fear, the two emotions tied up in each other. And so, Jonah ran away. Heck, I would too.
And our hate isn’t just for enemies of state, far away. In this day and age I do not think anyone really needs convincing that hate is a part of humanity. All we have to do is turn on the news or scroll down our facebook feeds, or look into our own hearts.
Not only can hate rot our souls from the inside out but it can overflow in violence. I want to say as Christians this hate inside us won’t lead to violence or destruction, but it will. There is a reason there is a phrase that is often used in atheist of post-Christian spaces, “There is no hate like Christian love.” The story of Jonah is satire that is meant to hold a mirror to our own souls, our own hate, our own half-hearted following of God. The story of Jonah is a precursor of what Jesus preaches, “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 children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.”
Let’s turn our attention back to this sharp satirical story of Jonah interacting with his enemies, rather begrudgingly, following God’s word. At this point Jonah received the call from God to go preach to Ninevites, tried to run away to the opposite side of the world, got thrown overboard, swallowed by a giant fish, and spat out. Up until this point, we know the story. So let’s see what happens when he arrives in Ninevah:
“Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, ‘Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’” Now, let’s look at this. It was a three days walk to go through the whole city of Nineveh. Jonah went a third of the way across the city. This isn’t half-heartedly following God - this is one-third heartedly! After living inside a fish for 3 days and 3 nights, you’d think Jonah would have gotten his act together by now. But Jonah, Jonah didn’t even bother to go to the center of the city before he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” In English, 8 words. In Hebrew, 5. Can you imagine if I got up here every Sunday and the whole message consisted of 5 words - and five words that fell short of the full message that I wanted to convey? For some reason, I have a feeling that wouldn’t go over well - despite being able to beat the Baptists to lunch.
Jonah was following God’s call. He went to Nineveh, didn’t he? He kind of told them to repent, didn’t he? Well, yeah. Kind of. He was only half-heartedly prophesying. He was only half-heartedly following God’s call because Jonah didn’t want the Ninevites to repent! His hate and fear of them got in the way of him full-heartedly prophesying and preaching and following God.
Like Jonah, our hate can keep us from full-hearted discipleship. When we don’t address the hate and sin inside of us, when we aren’t calling it by name and actively working against it, it can act as a barrier for fully living out God’s commands to love our neighbor and follow Jesus.
I’m going to take a minute and look at myself. Where am I only serving God half-heartedly? Who do I hate? Who am I afraid of? I want you to know that I am airing out and working out my problems, not accusing anyone in this congregation or beyond. Despite living most of my life not wanting to recognize it, I know there is hate and fear inside of me and the more I examine it, I realize how much I stumble over it.
Sometimes I am afraid to address race and racism and the tricky and complicated feelings it brings up and realizing how I am complicit in it. Often I am afraid of addressing the hate disguised as Christian Nationalism or any -ism, really, fearing I will upset someone. Sometimes, maybe, I don’t really feel comfortable sitting by and having a conversation with those who are homeless. My first instinct is to be the one in the kitchen serving dinner rather than joining in fellowship. And sometimes I feel like there are *those* people that are just so far gone, so full of hate themselves, that they’re not worth my time - you know, the ones who watch the news channel that you hate. Maybe sometimes I’d really only rather serve God monetarily not by my actions or sometimes just by my actions and not by my money...These are some of the issues and things inside of me that I am dealing with that keep me from wholeheartedly following God. Since I have reflected openly about this question myself, I invite you to consider, inwardly: What is keeping you from fully serving God?
As we ponder that question, I am going to switch gears for a minute and share some good news this morning: Despite Jonah falling short, despite his hate and his half-hearted attempts at following God, God still used this flawed human being to bring about repentance. God worked in spite of, with, and through Jonah. Likewise, our hate and fear and sin, though they often act as stumbling blocks, don’t disqualify us from doing God’s work. And at the same time, a challenge: God wants us to serve full-heartedly.
Take, for example, the full-hearted repentance of the King of Nineveh. Not only does he repent but he calls for the whole city - even the animals - to repent, to fast, to cover themselves in sackcloth and ashes. The Ninevites REPENT. They repent SO MUCH that they even cover their animals in sackcloth and ashes. This is in direct contrast to Jonah’s half-hearted attempts. The “bad guys,” the enemies, the Ninevites - they throw themselves into full-hearted, over the top, repentance. This is another sign that this story is satire by the way, livestock do not need to repent. But they totally cover their bases - even the animals repent.
But Jonah, that hate inside him is still going strong, he barely followed what God was asking of him and now he is hoping that they didn’t listen to his five words that he said only one-third of the way into the city and that God will smite them. Jonah, in fact, throws a tantrum to God. The Scripture says:
“But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning, for I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.’ And the Lord said, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’ Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.”
But God, in God’s kindness, doesn’t leave Jonah to stew in his hate. God makes a little plant to give Jonah shelter and Jonah was happy about the bush. But the next day, God sent a worm to eat the plant. I am going to read again from the book of Jonah:
“But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, ‘It is better for me to die than to live.’
But God said to Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?’ And he said, ‘Yes, angry enough to die.’” Hold, on, I gotta interrupt here to just, emphasize this ridiculousness. ANGRY ENOUGH ABOUT A BUSH TO DIE! Okay, back to Scripture, “Then the Lord said, ‘You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left and also many animals?’”
Again - satire. Jonah cared more about a BUSH than the fate of all the people, including children and innocents, in Nineveh. He cared more about a plant than a hundred and twenty thousand people. Just because he hated those people - they were the enemy.
It is here that we, once again, are called to hold the mirror up to ourselves. Who are we hating? And perhaps, our hate is as ridiculous as wanting to die because a plant got eaten by a worm and yet not caring about the fate of thousands of people.
So we’ve already said there is Good News here, God can work good through us even as we still struggle with the sin of hate. And here is some more Good News, in the words of Jonah himself: “for I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment.”
In other words, hear this Good News: While we are often afraid, while we often have hate inside of us, there is hope -- God does not hate ANY. ONE. Thank God for that!
God loves all of God’s creation. God loves you and God loves me, even with all of our faults. God loves you regardless of your immigration status. God loves you regardless of your gender or sexual identity. God loves you regardless of your race and ethnicity. God loves you regardless of your employment status and socioeconomic status. God loves you whether you're single or married, kids or no kids. Simply put, God loves you. Because isn’t that the whole point? That God loves us so much that God would send us Jesus? To live and breathe and die with and for us? No one - not even our enemies and not even ourselves with all our faults - no one is outside the love of God made manifest in Jesus Christ. Trust me, it’s hard to say this, as it would have been very hard for Jonah to say that God loved the people of Nineveh - even those we love to hate or even hate to hate...God loves them too.
And because God loves us and them, yes, even our enemies, so unconditionally - we too are called to love like God loves. Regardless. Just love.
This theme of God’s love makes itself known over and over in Scripture. Love even for the enemy.
And so, grounded in the knowledge of God’s love and hope, how can we address the hate and sin in this world, in our community, inside of us? How can we work against it? How can we move beyond the things that separate us from each other and from God? The things that keep us from wholeheartedly following God? I don’t have the answers for you today - but Jonah holding up a mirror to reflect on the ways, the ridiculous ways, we get stuck on hate is a start. And so I want to challenge each of us to consider these things: to examine ourselves, to begin to pray for our enemies and the eradication of hate in our hearts and the world. I pray that each of us can reject hate so that we can move towards love - love that allows us to fully follow God, and fully love like God loves.
Amen.
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