Jonah 4:1–4 (ESV)
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the LORD said, “Do you do well to be angry?”
Jonah’s reaction seems incredibly stupid. How can a prophet of God be in such obvious rebellion to the LORD’s direct commands? His preaching worked. Isn’t that the definition of success?
He’s so wound up that he announces, “O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” Dude, get a grip. That’s crazy talk. What’s wrong with you anyway?
What’s wrong with Jonah is that he hates the Ninevites with all his heart, soul, and mind. Jonah has good reason to hate the Ninevites, but that’s not the point. His hatred has taken over.
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” — Matthew 22:37–38 (ESV)
One of the great things about this book is that Jonah is both the good guy and the bad guy. The Bible’s funny like that. We get to see both sides of a lot of folks—Abraham, Jacob, David. The heroes of the Bible are flawed characters.
There’s a lesson in this. No one is simply good or bad; everyone is both. The worst person is redeemable; the best person needs redemption.
That includes both the Ninevites and Jonah.
This is key to a proper understanding of salvation. It’s “I need the gospel,” not “I needed the gospel.” If you look at the life of any Christian, you see both a believer and an unbeliever. They’re the same person at different stages. People change.
The moment of conversion doesn’t end that change, it accelerates it. That’s what Romans 12:2 is about.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. — Romans 12:2 (ESV)
Renewal here (ἀνακαίνωσις, anakainōsis) is a uniquely Christian word that means renewal in the sense of spiritual rebirth. Paul is telling Christians, who have been renewed, to avoid conformity with this world, and, instead, focus on being transformed by that renewal.
The renewal has already happened, but the transformation is ongoing.
It’s a process.
