Jonah Didn’t Want Them Saved

This week Brenden Pristach shares from the book of Jonah as he wraps up about four months of teaching Sunday school. The spark was simple: his son Lincoln, watching Jonah in the van, asked, “Did dude just really get swallowed by a big fish?”

Yes, Jonah was swallowed by a great fish. But Brenden walks through the whole story to show what the book is actually doing.

God calls Jonah to Nineveh. Jonah runs the other way, goes down into a storm, and is retrieved by the fish God sent. When he finally goes, he preaches the shortest sermon in the Bible: “In 40 days, Nineveh will be overturned.” There is no altar call. Still, the city repents — people, king, even the animals.

Jonah is furious. He wanted judgment, not mercy. He knew God’s character and did not want that compassion extended to his enemies ...