I wish I could say that Jonah’s behavior was unique and strange and inexplicable, but I’ve seen it in Christians. It’s very similar to the same attitude the “good” son had in Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son. ^[1] Upon hearing the commotion being made over the return of his wayward brother who’d squandered his inheritance and caused the family so much pain, the other son exhibited anger and indignation.
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By all accounts, Jonah’s message to Nineveh was succinct and brief. He does not appear to have engaged in long, standing sermons, but keeping it short so as to tell it as he went along through the city. It was long enough to catch ears as he walked in and out of their range of hearing. And yet, like all messages of salvation, the hearer to which it was directed already knew in their heart what they needed to do; they were already aware of the specific sin from which they needed to repent.
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This is a fascinating, real-life application of Solomon’s dedication of the first temple in Jerusalem. It’s worth reviewing the whole of 1 Kings 8 to see that in the course of dedicating the temple, Solomon never mentions the sacrifices, rituals, or even the priesthood as God’s primary purpose for the role of the temple, but that it is rather to be a focus for prayer, whether one is worshiping inside it or so far away that all they can do is turn towards and remember it.
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It’s positively astounding how much attention this has been given not just by Christians and theologians, but even non-believers and secular academics. Over the centuries we’ve received reports of bodies found inside large-sized fish and there have been other cultures and religions which have plagiarized and adapted this story for their own. But what many fail to realize is what this truly is as identified by Christ Himself: it’s a sign. But not the sign isn’t about the fish, but Jonah.

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There’s somewhat of an amusing irony here. Having refused to heed God’s Word, God sends His prophet from the Jews to the heathen Gentiles. So it must have been unsettling when Jonah realized it took a heathen Gentile captain of the ship to awaken God’s prophet to what God was doing. Just as Isreal had a problem recognizing and responding to God’s Word and ways, so did Jonah.
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Today we call them toddlers. In Jonah’s time, children 3 years old and younger were called “persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand”. Jonah was so fixed on his desire for the destruction of a sinful city of approximately 600,000 that he failed to recognize not ALL of the population was equally sinful. In point of face, a significant portion of the population were yet innocent of the actions and choices of the rest.
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