Theological Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship Focus: Obedience
- Obedience: Genuine and satisfying obedience comes out of our identity. Our true identity comes only from our Father.
Do you
remember the parable that Jesus gives to us in Matthew 21:28-32? In that parable we have two sons. One who seems agreeable but is really
disobedient and one that seems disagreeable but who is obedient. Keep this parable in mind as we study Jonah.
God comes
to Jonah. He tells him that He has a
message that needs to be delivered to Nineveh.
Jonah receives the message. He
packs his things and hits the road. From
all outward appearances, Jonah is the dutiful servant of the Lord.
However,
Jonah turns a corner and gets on a ship instead. If you’ve ever seen a map that has Jerusalem
and Nineveh upon it, you realize pretty quickly that there isn’t any need to
board a boat at all. Jonah has no
intention of obeying. He’s like that son
in Jesus’ parable who says, “Yes, dad. I’ll
go and work.” But he never does.
I’m not
doubting Jonah’s faith. I’m not doubting
Jonah’s belief that God is a great God.
Do you hear his prayer when he is in the rather large fish? Jonah clearly has respect with God. From Jonah’s perspective, he values his
relationship with God. But there is no
obedience. His faith is completely
one-sided. There is belief, but there is
no obedience. That’s what is wrong with
Jonah. That’s why he makes the mistake
he does.
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