Mark 1:14-20

Mark 1:14-20  

¹⁴ Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

¹⁶ As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” ¹⁸ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰ Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. 

The theme of Mark 1:14-20 is summarizing the preaching of Jesus and the calling of the first disciples to join Jesus in delivering his message.

The theme of Mark 1:14-15 is that of providing a summary of the preaching of Jesus. The source is Mark.  The good news is about God.  Jesus calls for a response to the coming rule of God.  We will note the temporal and spatial dimensions of the kingdom.

            In context, Mark 1:12-13 has rehearsed the exodus experience of Israel in the desert in which the experience tests their faith in Yahweh, as in Deuteronomy 8:2.  The difference is that Jesus relived the wilderness experience without yielding to the testing, while Israel failed its test.  Mark has dismissed Satan. He has John arrested and in prison before the preaching of Jesus begins. He has set the stage for Jesus to begin preaching the gospel of God.  

            This text begins with a crucial "hinge" statement that moves the reader from Mark's prologue that includes and introduces the central people and events that together prepare Jesus for his public ministry. Mark 1:14-15 forms the threshold of the entrance of Jesus into the Galilean ministry, which is by far the most extensive portion of Mark's gospel. 

In Mark, the rule of God is a reality of the near or immediate future.  Indeed, appearance Jesus and the appearance of the rule of God are the same.  Mark rarely defines the content of the preaching of Jesus. Where Mark specifies the message of Jesus precisely, it is the announcement of the rule of God.  The tangible power of the rule of God is also apparent from the way others react to Jesus and his message. 

Mark 1:14 firmly close the door on any active role for John the Baptist: ¹⁴ Now after John was arrestedJohn the Baptist's active role by revealing that the authorities arrested (παραδοθῆναι later translated as betrayed, delivered up, and handed over in 9:31, 10:33, 14:21, 41). The time of John is past. The time has come to focus one he prophesied would come. The end of the ministry of John reminds the reader of the fate awaiting Jesus. Jesus begins his public proclamation only after the imprisonment of John the Baptist.[1] Thus,Jesus came to Galilee, Mark letting us know that Jesus did not stay with John in the wilderness very long. The ministry of Jesus will be among the cities and towns of Galilee rather than in the wilderness. He will make Bethsaida, Chorazin, and Capernaum the center of his public activity. Mark describes the message of Jesus as proclaiming (κηρύσσων) the gospel or good news (εὐαγγέλιον) of God, which may explain why the early church used the term “gospel” for the comprehensive presentations of the Jesus tradition.[2]

The content of Jesus' proclamation is fourfold in Mark 1: 15. For some context, this summary of the content of the preaching of Jesus is like Isaiah 52:7. The prophet writes of the beauty of those who bring good tidings, who publishes peace, who brings good tidings of good, and who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” 

The first part of the summary is that in the arrival of Jesus, we find Jesus proclaiming ¹⁵ and saying, “The time (καιρὸς) is fulfilled (Πεπλήρωται). God is the one fulfilling time in this way. Mark is not referring to chronos (extended time), but kairos (the right time for something to happen). According to Mark, the right time is after the arrest of John and the right place is the moment of the arrival of Jesus in Galilee. At this time, God steps into human history in a unique and decisive way. The time of John the prophet is over; the time of Jesus and fulfillment has begun. John predicted the coming of the One who would baptize with the Spirit. If the arrival of Jesus fulfills the time, it indicates that the ministry of Jesus will bring about the age of salvation anticipated by the prophecy of John. “Fulfilled” refers to a completion of the past, and thus a keen sense of continuity.  Scripture, Law, and the purpose of the old covenant find their fulfillment in Christ. “The time you have been waiting for, the time announced by the prophets, is finally here! The glorious new day of the rule of God has just dawned!" We can see here a partial basis for saying that Jesus is Lord of time. In Matthew 13:16-17, this generation receives so much blessing from God because it has seen and heard Jesus. In Galatians 4:4, Paul refers to the fullness of time as being the moment when the Father sent the Son into the world. Ephesians 1:10 says that in the fullness of time, God is summing up all things in Christ. The promises and prophecies of the Old Testament find their fulfillment in the arrival of Jesus. If the time finds its fulfillment, the fulfillment comes in a moment, an event, in the arrival of Jesus. This real event occurs as a particular event and a particular time, a center around which all other times will revolve. The time before has moved toward Christ. The time after Jesus moves away from this event. Humanity has time because Jesus had his time. We have the fullness of our time because we orient ourselves to and live in light of the time Jesus has. The purpose of our time after this decisive event is to allow space before the rule of God to repent and believe. Those who do believe have as their primary purpose to make known this event. They too must wait expectantly, even as the universe waits, for this last event.[3]  

The second piece of the proclamation of Jesus: and the kingdom or rule of God has come near (ἤγγικεν). Jesus spoke of the rule of God as close or already present but hidden, and thus in a way that frustrates ordinary expectations. The central content of the message is the dawning of the reign of God, indeed in the sense that God has already entered upon that reign. Note the similarity of this message to the central theme of Jesus as identified by this verse, although in relation to its future Jesus saw the divine reign as still in the process of dawning.[4] It implies the irruption of the reign of God into history is imminent. Even if we translate that the rule of God “has come,” it would refer to God revealing it in moments like the resurrection. Until the full revelation to all persons comes, we can only pray for the coming rule of God. Yet, we can see the subtle notion of the presence of God when Jesus says that he casts out devils by the Spirit of God, then the rule of God has come upon them (Matthew 12:28). The salvation promised for the end is a present reality in the healings and exorcisms of Jesus. The rule of God is in their midst (Luke 17:21). Jesus even sees Satan falling (Matthew 11:12).[5] Scholars debate what this summary says. Does it mean the reign of God is about to arrive or that it is already here? These passages suggest the answer could be both. For Mark, the rule of God has both present and future dimensions. We have already seen this in John the Baptist's message. John announces Jesus' imminent arrival, and Jesus appears. As Jesus begins his public ministry, the rule of God lay in the immediate future. As the story of Mark's gospel unfolds, those who encounter the power of God through the words and works of Jesus experience the rule of God as present yet hidden; the fullness of the rule of God remains the object of prayer and expectant waiting, but is mysteriously present in the ministry of Jesus. 

The third piece of Jesus' proclamation is the same message John preached - the call for people to repent (μετανοεῖτε). The prophetic theme of conversion is not prominent in the message of Jesus, even though this passage brings it to the fore as a theme of the preaching of Jesus. Yet, one could say that the summons to subordinate all concerns to seeking the reign of God in human life naturally implies very strongly a conversion to God. Conversion, for Jesus is not a precondition of participation in the reign of God. At the center of his message is the imminence and presence of the rule of God for believers.[6] To repent does not mean merely to turn away from a specific sin but turning toward God in faith and obedience. Repentance meant a complete about-face, a turning around of the mind, a changing of life and lifestyle, the taking of a radical new direction. The primary theme of the preaching of Jesus is that the rule of God has come near. This theme naturally leads into the call to hearers to turn around, to shift the direction of their lives, to look, listen and give their full attention to the arrival of the rule of God. Such repentance means complete re-orientation, both inward and outward, of the whole person to the God who truly has turned to humanity in time.[7] Such repentance implies genuine knowledge of oneself that includes our participation in sin.[8]

The final piece of the summary of the proclamation of Jesus is the call to believe (πιστεύετε) in the good news (εὐαγγελίῳ). In Mark, belief is trusting in the coming rule of God.  It involves a letting go of the things to which we cling to for security and identity. Believe the good news that the rule of God is arriving. Where Jesus is, there the rule of God is actively at work. However, this truth is not self-evident. For one to see it, one must believe it. It involves a letting go of the things to which we cling to for security and identity. The call to believe is not an intellectual exercise, but a call to trust. To believe in the good news means to wager one's future on the reality of God's involvement in the world through the person and ministry of Jesus Christ, despite the skepticism of the modern worldview. In the work of Jesus, the call for conversion rests on the message of the inbreaking of the future of God in the coming of Jesus and for those who accept the summons in faith. The proclaiming of the presence of the rule of God and its salvation in those who in faith rely on its all-determinative future is now a motive for conversion to God on the part of the hearers.[9] Faith means the unquestioning trust in this God that is the positive side of this re-orientation; the new life that is the only possible life after this event in the time that follows it.[10]

While these two "hinge" verses may appear at first to form a straightforward gate into the next phase of Jesus' ministry, in many ways they reflect the paradox that Jesus' own human/divine identity embodied. The fact that the "time" is both "fulfilled," and yet not proclaimed as "here and now" but as "come near," highlights the tension that accompanies the arrival of the rule of God. It is both "now" and "not yet." The content and the consequences of the message of Jesus also seem to be at odds. On the one hand, Mark describes the proclamation of Jesus as "good news," yet, at the same time, this "good news" is such that it demands all hearing it to "repent." Indeed, the call to repentance precedes the call to faith, to "believe." The content of this "good news," therefore, would appear to be not all that "good" to most of us. John the Baptist's call to repentance was in anticipation of the arrival of God's messenger. The call of Jesus to repentance is more urgent. His declaration that the "time is fulfilled" makes repentance an immediate requirement, not some distant goal. The "Good News" of the reign of God thus demands that the hearers accept the "bad news" about their current condition and "repent" accordingly. 

Mark 1:16-20 is a story about Jesus involving the call of the first disciples. The source is Mark. Many scholars consider this story “ideal,” in that it shows true discipleship as hearing the invitation of Jesus and leaving behind a former way of life to follow Jesus. The image of fishing for people is one that “fits” only some of the disciples, for the disciples came from a variety of professions. Some scholars think Jesus had no institutional goals, for his life was primarily that of an itinerant sage or teacher of wisdom. In what way does the episode have typical significance?  Following on the part of the disciples does not distinguish them from the people who are sympathetic to Jesus, but the people, by following, belong together with the disciples.  These features try to bring out the authority of the command and the completeness of obedience. The story is "ideal" in that it embodies a truth in a metaphorical situation.  It condenses into one symbolic moment.  Though it may not be "historical," it presents the impact of the call upon their lives by Jesus.

We might note that the image of fishing for people occurring in Jeremiah. 

Jeremiah 16:14-16

14 Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the LORD, when it shall no longer be said, "As the LORD lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of Egypt," 15 but "As the LORD lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he had driven them." For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their ancestors. 16 I am now sending for many fishermen, says the LORD, and they shall catch them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.

 

The image refers specifically to God's restoring the scattered Israelites to their land (albeit with punishing recompense for their misdeeds). The image is far less benign than the more common image of shepherding (even though the outcome for both types of animals, hunted or husbanded, is ominous for the animal), and one should not press the imagery too hard. Mark intended the focus of his statement to be on the dramatic difference between the old lives of the disciples as those consumed with worldly pursuits, and their new life as his followers engaged in the supremely important business of joining Jesus in proclaiming the good news of God. In other words, the important word in the verse is the noun "people," not the verb "fish."

I Kings 19:19-21 is the basis of the whole account.  

I Kings 19:19-21

19 So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. 20 He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." Then Elijah said to him, "Go back again; for what have I done to you?" 21 He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.

 

            The gospels continually emphasize the theme of renunciation.  Jesus issues an authoritative call.  Then, the person responds to the call Jesus issues without hesitation.  Some people read this text as a contrast between the worldly occupation of catching fish and the spiritual occupation of fishing for people.  Nothing suggests this contrast.  Nothing suggests faith or understanding of the mission of Jesus.  Responding to Jesus provides the disciples with no answers for their life struggles. If anything, their response will introduce new questions. Their response provides them with no security, but with rejection and even danger.  The text demonstrates how even the simplest, most ordinary people could perceive the presence of the divine rule in the being of Jesus and change their lives through the encounter. As common as these anglers are, and in contrast to those in political and religious authority, they readily perceive the invitation from Jesus as one full of power and promise.  Based exclusively on the power of Jesus’ personality and message, these first four disciples literally turn their lives around. 

This story will remind us that Jesus is looking for one primary qualification for discipleship: a willingness to follow. A good disciple leaves the familiar and comfortable and embraces the uncertainty of following. A good disciple is one who leaves the familiar and seeks connections with people who do not share their race, religion, political party or ideology. Disciples are going to have to make sacrifices and face hardships. So how can you figure out which way to go? According to Ignatius of Loyola, the Spanish founder of the Society of Jesus, the process of discernment always aims at enhancing your participation in the work of God, and one performs it for the glory of God and for the healing of the world. I am sure you have heard the story of a man standing before God, heart breaking from the pain and injustice in the world. His prayer was simple: “Dear God, look at all the suffering and distress in the world. Why do you not send some help?” God responded: “I did send help. I sent you.”[11] Frederick Buechner famously said, "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's hunger meet." I urge you. Listen to your deep gladness. Feel the hunger of the world. Hear the call of God in your life.

Jesus was looking for people willing to let him disrupt their lives. Imagine Jesus walking into an office building, a factory or a grocery store and tapping a secretary, a welder or a checkout clerk on the shoulder saying, “Follow me.” Imagine the looks on the faces of the coworkers when the employee walks out, leaving the Plasterer file open, the doors of a new car un-welded and the groceries un-bagged. We have a tough time fathoming that kind of response. We like the idea of religious devotion to a cause, but only as far as it does not get in the way of our “normal” lives. Jesus will disrupt our lives.

Mark 1:16-20 addresses the matter of what hearing the call of Jesus and believing in this "gospel" really means to people of faith. Immediately after making this opening declaration, Jesus extends his first invitation to discipleship, to acceptance of and participation in the rule of God. "Invitation" may be too delicate a word to describe the call Jesus issues toward his future disciples. The abrupt introduction of this scene by Mark, presented with the simplest of grammatical connections, keeps the interaction in this "calling" scene to a bare minimum. In fact, the exchange is so stark that Jesus' "invitation" to discipleship is far more like a command than a request.  The intended disciples in verses 16‑20 show no prior interest in Jesus or in his gospel message about the kingdom of God. Simon and Andrew, James and John are completely absorbed in attending to their normal workday lives when Jesus makes his unannounced appearance. Thus, ¹⁶As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee. He saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. It is wholly on his own initiative that Jesus extends the call or command ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and thus into a new life of in the discipleship of Jesus. The phrase repeats the ordinary form of an invitation that many learned rabbis offered to would‑be disciples or students. Thus, those he called recognized the kind of teacher-student experience Jesus offered them.  The call Jesus extends first to Simon and Andrew is that he will make, which we might think of shape or train, them into those who fish for people. Clearly, this invitation to discipleship entails more than merely sitting at the feet of the rabbi/master and passively absorbing his wisdom. "Fishing" is demanding work. It can be both tedious and exhausting. Even today, commercial fishing ranks high on the list of "most hazardous" jobs. Boats, weather, water, equipment‑‑all can either aid the fisher or be instruments of harm, even death.  Because the message he must spread is so important and the time for action has grown so short, Jesus calls these first disciples to a new, fully engaged, and consuming form of discipleship. This invitation to discipleship, to "fishing," is no less than a call to participate in the mission of Jesus. Instead of offering his disciples a place at his feet, Jesus offers them a place at his side, joining with him to proclaim the good news of the kingdom that is both present and yet‑to‑come.  Even so, the response is immediate and radical: ¹⁸ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. Peter and Andrew leave not only their daily work, but completely abandon their established livelihoods.

We are to imagine that Jesus continues walking along the sea. ¹⁹ As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. On analogy with the previous invitation, I like to imagine Jesus saying something like, “Follow me, and I will make you one who mends souls.” ²⁰ Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. James and John not only leave the security of their vocation, but they walk away from the safety of their family ties and support structures. We see the disruptive nature of the call of Jesus. The patriarchal structure of that culture would make such a decision an unusual and counter-cultural one. Making this decision without securing the permission of the father was a violation of the cultural code, not to mention an act that could put the welfare of the whole family at risk. For Jesus, however, the urgency of the rule of God means people must put aside normal expectations. For Mark, faithful readers will have their lives disrupted as they become faithful disciples and answer the call of Jesus While the call or command to "follow" proceeds entirely from Jesus, the action it inspires is impressively dramatic. The call of Jesus is so imperative that it demands no delays. 

Considering the matter of Jesus calling people, we read of Jesus calling another disciple, Levi or Matthew. We can assume that Jesus called all the other disciples as well. I wonder if he tailored his call to the situation of each of them. To Simon the zealot, he might have said, “Follow me, and I will make you zealous for the rule of God, instead of a political and religious party.” In Mark, their calling has a direct connection with the beginning of the public proclamation by Jesus in Galilee. Jesus will need witnesses to see and hear. He will need some who have responded positively to his announcement of the nearness of divine rule. He will need some who repent and believe. They will accompany Jesus on his way through Galilee and later to Jerusalem. We discover they will lack understanding many times. Yet, they still accompany him. His calling suggests their commission to future speech and action in the name of Jesus. They attach themselves to him. Jesus noticed them from among the many and selected them. With no disrespect to what they had had been doing, they must surrender it all in order to follow him. Jesus calls them to follow him, but their calling to him includes a calling to bring the message of Jesus to other people. Their basic calling is to win people for Christ, although this calling will not have full clarity until after the risen Lord commissions them.^[12]

Cecil Frances Alexander (1852) wrote a wonderful hymn that builds on this text. “Jesus calls us” over the tumult of the wild sea of our lives with a sweet voice, saying, “Christian, follow me.” She refers to our worship of this world, from which Jesus calls us, “Christian, love me more.” She invites Christians to hear the call and serve and love Him best of all. Fanny J. Crosby (1875) wrote, “All the way my Savior leads me.” Through my life, he has been my guide. From the perspective of eternity, we will look back and see that Jesus led us all the way. Mary Louise Bringle (2004) wrote that from the nets of our labors, the noise and confusion of city or seashore, Jesus summons us all. Its refrain is the encouragement that we will rise and follow, Christ before and beside us, loving pattern to guide us as we answer the call. We may be weary. We see the stranger and the neighbor. We hear words of hatred that cry out for challenge. We have moments of courage and see the need for justice. Like disciples before us, risking selfless compassion, Jesus summons us. Cesareo Gabarain (1936-1991) wrote that Lord has come to the lakeshore, looking for neither wealthy nor wise, but only that I humbly follow. Chris Tomlin wrote the praise song, “I will follow,” suggesting that if Jesus goes or stays, I will follow. Finally, the chorus “I have decided to follow Jesus,” says that there is no turning back. If none goes with me, I will follow. The world is behind me, the cross is before me, no turning back. 

Mark 3:13-29 articulates the "mission" aspect of discipleship more fully. There the gospel writer notes that Jesus commands those whom Jesus calls to discipleship to be with Jesus continually and to preach the gospel. Jesus also gives them authority to cast out demons.[13] Underlying these marks of discipleship is the message that identifies true discipleship as true service (diaknoia). Although this text only articulates the basic "call" to discipleship, it does extend the command that Simon, Andrew, James and John "follow Jesus." Jesus himself, of course, became the epitome of servanthood, for the purpose of the incarnation itself is servanthood (Mark 10:45). All those, then, who would genuinely "follow" Jesus, follow his footsteps into a life of service to others.

After Jesus announces the rule of God, he calls people to enter it and to invite others to enter it, too. Mark offers us some details in this story - personal names, the Sea of Galilee, the nets, the boats, the hired servants, the casting, the mending, and the following. While these give us a sense of participation in the story, we know little about the men Jesus called. Did they enjoy their work? Were they prosperous or poor? Did the brothers have a good relationship with each other? What was the relationship with the father? While we may find this information interesting, it is not the point of the story. We find the point of the story in Jesus' authoritative command "follow me" and then in how the men responded.

In two successive encounters, Jesus appears to four ordinary men engaged in routine activities. He calls, and they follow. In the call and response, the rule of God arrives in the present. Where Jesus is, there is the rule of God. The presence of the rule of God is present in his word, and his reign appears in their action.

The literal meaning of "follow me" is "come (plural) after me." This nuance is important because it points to Jesus and not to the disciples. Jesus does not call these four anglers to save the world by their heroic performance, but to show subordination to Jesus and to bear witness to him. Likewise, Jesus does not call them into this service as individuals, but as a group. When we think of fishing, we think hook and line, but here Jesus is talking about net fishing. Although some small nets were thrown and retrieved by individuals, fishing was a team effort, not a solo venture. Jesus is calling followers to work together to capture people for the kingdom. Effective evangelism is a shared enterprise.

            While we may not read this story with shock, there is much here that is countercultural. To the ancient reader, the summons to follow Jesus was an extraordinary disruption in a person's life. It might even seem offensive. Simon is a married man (1:30), responsible for support of his wife and children (unless he is widowed but see I Corinthians 9:5) and his mother-in-law as well. His family, friends, and community would have regarded his response to Jesus as irresponsible. 

            The call of God or our vocation is an invitation to come, and then to follow. We arrive and then we follow. We find, and then go on seeking. The call of God is a never-ending call into the unknown, toward an adventure of discovery, into the night, and into solitude. The call bids us to go further and further with Jesus. The calling is not to a static place, but a dynamic movement. Reaching Jesus means going on and on. The call of God is like the call to become an explorer. The invitation becomes an adventure.[14]

            The fruit of conversion, which in this context involves repenting, believing, and following, is that God can use the one who responds for the healing of the world. We who follow Jesus today have the privilege of inviting others to follow as well. I came across this list of tips for reeling in disciples.[15]

*Be with people on their turf.

*Be real, be vulnerable, be honest.

*Be creative: Do old things in news ways.

*Be spiritual, not churchy.

*Be patient.

*Be ready for surprises.

*Be willing to step out of your comfort zone.

*Be on the lookout for where God is at work.

*Be praying.

 

---

[1] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 326.

[2] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 455.

[3] Barth (Church Dogmatics III.2 [47], p. 459-461)

[4] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 456.

[5] Barth (Church Dogmatics III.2 [47], p. 459-461)

[6] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 311.

[7] Barth (Church Dogmatics, III.2, [47], 461)

[8] John Wesley gives a long description of this self-knowledge in sermons 14 and 15.

[9] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 245.

[10] Barth (Church Dogmatics, III.2 [47], 461)

[11] --David J. Wolpe, in Teaching Your Children About God, (Harperperennial, 1995).

[12] Barth (Church Dogmatics, IV.3 [71], 588-9)

[13] (See Demetrios Trakatellis, "Akolouthei/Follow Me [Mark 2:14] Discipleship and Priesthood," Greek Orthodox Theological Review 30, [1985], 274‑275.)

[14] --Ernesto Cardenal, Love (Crossroad, 1981), 68.

[15] --On Mission, September-October 1999, 15.

I Corinthians 7:29-35

I Corinthians 7:29-35

²⁹ I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, ³⁰ and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, ³¹ and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. ³² I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; ³³ but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, ³⁴ and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband. ³⁵ I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.

          In I Corinthians 7:29-35, part of a segment that began in verse 25, Paul continues a conversation he is having about singleness. They have asked him concerning people who choose to remain virgins. He has no direct advice from the Lord, so he can only offer his opinion as one who faithfully follows the Lord. He points to stress that is weighing upon “us.” Paul speaks of an ἐνεστῶσαν ἀνάγκην "present necessity." The NRSV translates this phrase "impending crisis." This present necessity entails Paul's view of the imminent day of the Lord that for him shapes the believer's life, relationships, and perception of the world.  Given this reality, he thinks it good for people to stay as they are. If married, do not seek release. If single, do not look for a spouse. Of course, marriage is not a sin. They will have the hardships that result from human nature, and the advice Paul offers is to spare them all of that. 

 In I Corinthians 7:29-35, Paul continues a conversation he is having about sexuality, focusing on marriage and virginity. He is focusing on questions the congregation has asked him. Paul gives us an opportunity to reflect upon the critical nature of this moment. To look back, he invites us to consider the moment in history related to the coming of Christ as critical for the dealings of God with this world. He also invites us to reflect upon the critical nature of this moment in our lives. Considering the critical nature of this moment, Paul invites us to reflect upon singleness as an opportunity rather than a problem that needs marriage as a solution. We can open our eyes to the myriad of needs, crises, and challenges in the world around us. God is calling us, single or married, and God has many ways to answer that call faithfully. He will not disparage marriage, but he will invite us to consider the possibilities contained in the single life. Paul is also going to provide us with an opportunity to reflect upon the relationship between man and woman.

Paul offers his reflection on how the time in which Christians live affects his perspective on sexuality. ²⁹ I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time (καιρὸς or season) has grown short (συνεσταλμένος). The stress weighing in on the readers involves the limited time before the return of Christ. If some of us could have a conversation with Paul at this point, we might ask him why the impending death of each of us might not also create a sense of urgency. For him, though, the coming of Christ means that God has shortened the time available. He wants his readers to live with a sense of urgency. This time calls for lives that exhibit the new reality that is coming. For Paul, the urgency of the time relativizes all relationships, situations, and conditions. The point here is the people who are sojourners in the world will not treat the world as if it were everything. Human beings are in obvious fellowship or communion with the world but must not cling to the world too tightly. Yes, if nothing else, the world will go on, and we will lose our grip on it through our death. We must not cling to it as if this world were everything for us. Thus, the recognition that the present form of the world is passing away creates a freedom that does not allow the structures and institutions of this world to trap one, allowing this world to become a cage or prison. From now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, ³⁰ and those who mourn as they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy property as though they had no possessions, ³¹ and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with or lived so engrossed in it. The reason is: For the present form (σχῆμα) of this world is passing away. Such a realization shapes not only how one sees oneself but also how one relates to the world around one. Throughout the letter, Paul faces the serious challenge of transforming the thinking of the Corinthian believers. They must allow the Lord to transform their minds to perceive and understand the new way of being and knowing that God has called them to in this new age inaugurated by Christ. The question Paul addresses to them is simple: to what age do they belong? ³² I want you to be free from anxieties (ἀμερίμνους, or without concern). If we could talk with Paul at this point, we might discuss that we assume this world is staying. We live our lives as if the world will be here tomorrow and for the near future. We live in a different world from that of Paul, hoping this world will not die. We invest ourselves in the continuation of this world at some level. That is why we have legacies, build monuments, start businesses, and start families. That is why we continue to find solutions to personal and communal problems that we want to lead to human flourishing. The pursuit of happiness is important to us. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord, ³³ but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, ³⁴ and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body (σώματι) and spirit (πνεύματι); but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband. Yet, if we could talk with Paul about this, many of us have had extended periods of singleness. We know that the single life has its struggles as well. ³⁵ I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord. His point is to help them rather than bridle them. He wants everything to be as it should be. He wants them to give undivided attention to the Lord. Marriage, according to Paul, can create divided loyalties in which one not only cares about the things of God but also the things concerning the other spouse. The shortness of the time does not mean one should sell all possessions and wait for the end to come. Instead, Paul is urging his readers to seize the day. Carpe diem! The principle seems to be that we need to be serving God now. Are you single? Be serving God! Are you married? Be serving God! Every moment is critical because we may not have many moments left. Even if we do have many moments, we need to treasure and use each minute to honor the Lord. Paul also provides us with an opportunity to reflect upon the relationship between man and woman. Clearly, the relationship between man and woman is larger than that of marriage. Marriage is a form of the fellowship between man and woman. Marriage is the free, mutual, harmonious choice of love between a particular man and woman that leads to a responsibly undertaken life-union that God intends to be lasting, complete, and exclusive. Paul has told us that marriage is a gift (7:7, 17). Paul is aware of the need to bring sexual pleasure to each other (7:3-5). He has stressed the importance of becoming one flesh (6:17).[1] I have indicated that I find it difficult to travel with Paul in all that he says here, but fortunately, he has conditioned this entire chapter by giving us the freedom to disagree with him. However, I will say this. If we recognized the present form of this world as dying “for us,” then we would not allow the structures and institutions of this world to trap us. We would have a certain degree of freedom. I am not suggesting a form of Stoicism, as if we are aloof from the world. Christians are to differentiate themselves from the world and live in communion with the world. We live in that tension. God in Christ has shown supreme communion with this world. We need that communion as well. Yet, God is not identical with the world process. Rather, God is ahead of us, moving us toward a new and transformed world. We ought not to let our communion with the world to blind us to the new world God wants to bring. Thus, we need a sense that as God steadily transforms us into the persons God wants us to be after the pattern of Christ, so God envisions a new age, the redemption of creation, and we long for and pray for that redemption.

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[1] Barth, Church Dogmatics, III.4 [54.1]  139-148.

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

            The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ² “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” ³ So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. ⁴ Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” ⁵ And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

¹⁰ When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

An unidentified author wrote Jonah sometime between 537 and 428 BC. Along with Ruth, the story of Jonah would put Gentiles in a positive light. Jonah is different from other prophetic books in that it is prophetic legend.  It would be like the story of I Kings 13 and the man of God there, and like the story of Balaam in Numbers 22-24.  It would also be like the Elijah and Elisha cycle.

It is very possible that 3:2 suggests that Nineveh is no longer in existence, making the text sometime after 612 BC. the similarities of the language in 3:5-9 with Jeremiah 26:3 and its context suggest a date after that story, which took place in September 609 to April 608.  

Jeremiah 26:³ Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from their evil ways. Then I will relent and not inflict on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done.

 

The focus of the story is the prophet Jonah as he represents the spiritual condition of post-exilic Israel. The message of Jonah radiates a message of inclusion of foreigners at a time when voices like Ezra and Nehemiah were calling for their ouster. It makes a mockery of those in Israel who thought that the interest of YHWH was only in Israel. The real focus of the story is on the prophet himself. The author of Jonah uses the tale of the spoiled and selfish prophet to speak to a hardened and smug post-exilic Israel. Like Jonah, the Hebrews in exile were increasingly hostile toward all their Gentile neighbors, while nursing a growing self-righteousness about their own status as the chosen people of the Lord. By the time of the writing of Jonah, Nineveh is gone. Yet, it seems to ask longingly, "What if it had received the message?" It even invites us to ponder what would happen if the entire world knew the mercy of YHWH and converted to worship YHWH? Would that not be a good thing? Most of the people in the Restoration period after the exile seemed to be saying just the opposite. They were striving for an unrealistic and theologically indefensible ideal of religious "purity." Haggai, Zechariah 1-8, Ezra, and Nehemiah hint in this direction. Jonah, then, by lampooning the incredible narrowness of that view through humor, has forever given us a priceless lesson on the mercy and compassion of God for the entire creation. If God has such compassion, asks the book of Jonah, should not we?

Jonah must be the funniest book in the Hebrew Bible. One of the things that makes Jonah such a hilarious book is the fact that it is not actually a book of classical Israelite prophecy, but a lampoon of classical prophecy employing the farcical caricature of a classical prophet in the character of Jonah son of Amittai. Anyone who doubts that the author intends the story of Jonah to be funny should refer to 3:7-8 where the repentant king of Assyria commands that even the animals in the kingdom fast and wear sackcloth along with the humans as a sign of repentance. The visual image of cows and sheep and goats wearing sackcloth is quite ridiculous. 

The humor in the book of Jonah, however, exists alongside definite historical realities. There actually was a Jonah son of Amittai who served as Israel's prophet in the days of Jeroboam II of the Northern Kingdom (II Kings 14:25). In addition, in those days the great enemy of Israel was the Assyrian Empire headquartered in Nineveh. 

            Whom was God trying to convert in this story? The words proclaimed by Jonah were not very poetic or powerful (Jonah was no Isaiah). God takes Jonah's words and gives them power to convert. However, after their conversion, Jonah is angry with God. Why? Because the prophecy was effective. If God could use Jonah to say a few words and have the whole city convert, God could have used anybody. Therefore, the people God was trying to convert might not the Ninivites, but Jonah. God might be trying to convert the prophet himself. Of course, the author could also use Jonah as a symbol for the people of Israel. Post-exilic Judaism needed a conversion. Nevertheless, how many times in our lives has God used us as ministers/prophets not for the benefit or conversion of others, but more for the benefit or conversion of ourselves.

Everyone (storm, fish, plant, worm, even Ninevites) obey God, except the prophet of God. The rest of the prophets were fabulous failures--no one much paid attention to their words except a few scribes who preserved them for the canon--but Jonah is the most successful prophet in the scriptures. Moreover, nothing irritates him more than his own success. The Ninevites repent. The king even has the animals dressed out in sackcloth! Little puppy dogs in sackcloth chasing little kitty cats in sackcloth chasing mice in sackcloth! Nineveh repents, and it is the last thing Jonah wanted. The story is hilarious, written by some precursor to Neil Simon or Woody Allen. 

First, note that God never takes Jonah into his confidence. Jonah must guess from events how to interpret the motives and purpose of God. Second, Jonah does want to allow heaven to dictate moves on earth in disregard to his dignity. Third, wherever Jonah goes, he brings bedlam and calamity. Fourth, Jonah remains aloof from other human beings. Fifth, Jonah keeps his distance from God.  There is not an easy relationship or an intimate rapport that one might suspect with other prophets. Sixth, Jonah and God have a conflict of wills. Seventh, whether he resists or obeys the will of God, he finds no satisfaction. 

            We also need to note what the story says about God. God shows readiness to toy with human beings in toying with Jonah. God also shows concern for those in terrible straits. The doctrine in the 700's BC that human repentance brings divine repentance is one Jonah does not accept. Jonah believes evil must receive divine punishment. We see a focus upon the character of God. An impatient God would be a petty, human, weak, and false god. Only a patient God is great, divine, strong, and true. He sees this truth emerging with clarity in this book. He invites us to notice the relation between the two parts of the book. Chapters 1-2 we have the disobedience of Jonah to his prophetic mission, the punishment of the disobedience, and the gracious and miraculous deliverance from the belly of the fish as he pleads for it and celebrates it in advance. There then follows in Chapters 3-4 the apparent obedience of the prophet. However, the same man who was the object of the patience of God is slow to understand it. He shows crass ignorance in consideration of the message read to him. If the Ninevites repent, God will repent. He acknowledges that God is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness. He justifies running away from God because this is true. The prophet shows impatience by asking God to take his life. The patient God has the final word. We do not know if Jonah learned his lesson. However, we as readers have a lesson to learn of who God is. The truth of the patience of God with Nineveh and with Jonah for their salvation is the ultimate message of this scripture.[1]

            The issue is how merciful God can be.  That is the scandal to Jonah.  By the end of the book, we discover the real reason for the disobedience of Jonah. He had foreseen that God would ensure the triumph of grace, and so he casts back the gracious words with which Israel had from of ancient time made its confession in worship. In fact, the whole issue of the possibility of God destroying Nineveh may have been for show.  Even at the end of the book, the people do not know their right hand from their left.  They revert to their old ways. However, God was determined to forgive the people their wickedness anyway. Why? Because God has the right to show mercy upon humanity. God has a right to feel sorry for them. That was the scandal that Jonah found so hard to accept. God receives glory, not through the prophet, but despite the prophet. Jonah is in fact shocked into silence at the mercy of God. In fact, God reproaches Jonah for showing concern for a plant, while not allowing God to show compassion upon Nineveh. 

            The purpose of the book appears to be contrasting narrow religious nationalism with the theological doctrine of God's universal love for all humanity. 

Throughout the book, virtually everyone has more faith in Yahweh than Jonah does! 

Jonah 3:1-5, 10 reveals the heart of the message of the book of the Jonah. He received an impossible mission. God is sending Jonah to the capital of Assyria, a powerful enemy of Israel, and God wants him to preach against it. Who among us would volunteer today to fly to Damascus, or Riyadh, to walk the streets and call Muslim extremists to repent of their sins? I did not think so. Therefore, Jonah bolts in the opposite direction, taking off for Tarshis to escape the presence of the Lord. He hops on a boat, encounters a storm that throws him overboard, and the famous fish swallows him. Finally, the fish vomits him out on dry land. 

The message of Jonah has several facets that I will discuss considering this passage. I begin with the notion of hearing the word of God and obeying it. Obedience will lead to life rather than death. Regardless of what career path we are pursuing, obedience to God can open new possibilities for renewal and regeneration. New life comes from obeying God, even when God leads us to a difficult mission. Keep in mind that the primary problem of Jonah was one of willful disobedience. When he originally turned and headed for Tarshis, he was disobeying a direct command of God. 

Father Mapple, the preacher in another great fish story, Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick, points out that God often speaks to us in commands, because he knows that what he wants of us is difficult. “If we obey God, we must disobey ourselves,” Mapple says; “and it is in this disobeying ourselves, wherein the hardness of obeying God consists.” Jonah disobeyed God, and this led to the near-death experience of sailors throwing him into the sea and a large fish swallowing him.  However, when he repented and then obeyed God, he discovered life for himself, and for the people of Nineveh. Renewal and regeneration came when he did the hard work of being obedient to the Lord. Yet, I hope we can agree that the problem with obedience is that it is a tough sell.

The temptation of Jonah to flee was also a temptation for the people in exile who read the scroll of Jonah. It was tempting for people in exile to escape from the surrounding culture, to condemn and complain about it and huddle with their own people. They were the righteous people of God obeying the Torah, in contrast to other nations. 

We face a similar temptation today. Our temptation is to retreat into our little conclaves with our Christian sub-culture, music, schools, and ways of life. We need to be open, instead, to surprising dimensions we might learn about God, the culture, and yes, the resistance we have within us to hear and obey the command of God. 

I like to think of the book of Jonah as a series of acts and scenes in a play. We are jumping into the middle of the play. I would urge reading the opening in Chapters 1 and 2. 

Jonah 3:1-3a Act Three scene One, shows Jonah arriving in Nineveh. In contrast to the response of Jonah in 1:3, going the opposite direction that God intended, we learn that ¹the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. We see another major theme of the book as it emphasizes the patience and mercy of the Lord toward the prophet. The prophet tried to flee the presence of the Lord, providing an example of the impossibility of doing such, as Psalm 139:7ff reminds us. We should note that in this little story, storm, fish, plant, worm, and Ninevites all obey God, while the prophet does not. We can identify with him to some extent. The Lord does not confide in the prophet. He must guess from events the motive and purpose of God. The Lord tells Jonah ²”Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, (a hint that the city is a distant memory for the readers) and, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” The author presents us with this recalcitrant individual becoming the most wildly successful prophet in Israelite history. This is because Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire - the largest empire ever to rule the Middle East in ancient times. At its largest extent it stretched from Iran to Egypt and as far north as the Caucasus Mountains. In short, Nineveh and its king were the most powerful political and military force in the known world of the time. We need to be sure to catch the barbed humor in saying the word of the Lord came a second time. The prophet had tried futilely to flee from the presence of the Lord (see Psalm 139:7 ff.) when God told him to go to Nineveh the first time (1:3).

 ^3aSo Jonah does what a prophet ought to do, and set out to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Even here, we do not get a sense that Jonah has an intimate relationship with either other people or even with the Lord. He does not seem to have an easy relationship or an intimate rapport of which we read in other prophets. In fact, we see a conflict of wills between God and the prophet. He will find no satisfaction, whether he disobeys or obeys. We also see another major theme of Jonah. The prophet, representative of a certain strand of thinking in the Old Testament, needs to learn of the concern God has that the people of God pray in one accord for the healing of the nations, as the hymn of the church puts it. The book contrasts narrow religious nationalism, represented well in Haggai, Zechariah 1-8, Ezra, and Nehemiah, with the view of the universal love of God for all humanity. 

Jonah 3:3b-4 Act Three Scene Two, discusses the preaching of Jonah. ^3bNow Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. ⁴ Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk, indicating that only about one-third of the city heard his preaching. He utters the shortest prophetic oracle in the Old Testament, And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” It contains five Hebrew words: Forty days – Nineveh will perish! It does not call for repentance. It offers no qualification. The number of days is consistent with special retreat and fasting. The overthrow/destroy Hebrew word is the same word used to described the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24-25 and Deuteronomy 29:23).From what Jonah said, if we were to take it literally, it would be hard to imagine anyone changing, let alone a whole city! Yet, the power belongs to God and not with us. On his own, Jonah would not have moved a soul. Nevertheless, with God, all things are possible. Yet, we miss the point if we do not see the humor even in this. Could such a brief message bring such a large response? This response would not come in the real world, but in the world of legend, it could happen to get across a point. If God could use Jonah to say a few words and have the while city convert, God could have used anybody. Jonah wants this cruel foreign city to get what it has coming with no warning or mercy. The writer makes his point through farce, humor, satire, and playfulness, intending to reveal the readers to themselves. The writer believes God is God of all the world, and not just Israel. God cares about other nations as much as God cares for Israel. Israel has received mercy. Jonah has received mercy. They ought to want other nations to receive mercy! In fact, this conversion may be the true conversion the author seeks. The point is not so much the conversion of the Ninevites, a symbol of the concern God has for the nations, but rather, the conversion of the Jewish people to a concern for the nations. 

            Jonah 3:5, 10, part of Act Three Scene Three, which includes verses 6-9. We begin this scene with the surprising success of the preaching of Jonah. In fact, his preaching has a fantasy aura to it, a farce, and a humorous trick on Jonah, to have such success after such few words.  ⁵ And the people of Nineveh believed God. At its best, only one-third of the city could have heard his preaching. Never in the history of prophets has one been so successful. Ninevites showed their belief because they proclaimed a fast. Not only that, everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. The people react to the gloomy message of the reluctant prophet. Yet, the true lampoon begins here. The theological heart of the book rests on this reaction of Jonah that Chapter 4 will reveal. The exemplary conversion of the Ninevites has its dramatic and humorous contrast in the incredulity and misery of the prophet of God we find in Chapter 4. The people of the city, these sinful Gentiles who exist outside the special covenant with the Lord that the Hebrews proudly claim, respond with an urgency, authenticity and unanimity that is remarkable. The Ninevites, while appearing entrenched in their corrupt ways, were parched yet fertile soil for the redeeming word of God. It took only the feeble, watery preaching of a reluctant prophet such as Jonah to cause this spiritually slumbering city to burst into the full flower of repentance. To emphasize again, the prophet represents a narrow form of Judaism at which the writer is poking fun. I invite the reader to re-read Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah 1-8 considering this story. They called for the ouster of foreigners. They seem to present the Lord as interested only in Israel. The writer of this little book is making his point, not through serious logic but through humor and playfulness. Jonah lampoons the incredible narrowness of his fellow Israelites through humor. What would happen if a prophet brought the message of the Lord to a city as wicked as Nineveh. Would it not be wonderful if it repented? Would it not be wonderful to see the mercy, compassion, and forgiveness of Yahweh? With humor, of course, the prophet will respond in Chapter 4 with misery at the repentance of Gentiles. The writer is asking readers to consider what their response would be if such an event occurred among the nations. What would happen if Gentiles believed in the Lord and repented? How would you, my Israelite friends, respond to that? The author, through humor, has suggested that they might be as miserable as Jonah will be in Chapter 4. The prediction of this book came true as the first century church called Gentiles to have faith in the God of Israel through Jesus Christ. 

In Jonah 3:10, we learn something important about God in all of this. ¹⁰ When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, with the result that God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. Jonah's worst fear comes true. Moved by their genuine spirit of repentance and prayers for forgiveness, Israel's own God spares the pagan Ninevites rather than destroying them. The story shows that powers of divine compassion and transformation know no national boundaries. The God of the Hebrews proves all creation to be under the same watchful, judging, yet loving eye.

This turn away from evil by the Lord, this repentance, exemplifies a surprisingly frequent concept in the OT, that of the Lord’s relenting (having a change of mind) from punishing the evil or wickedness of the people with corresponding “evil” (the same word ra’ah in Hebrew, often translated calamity, disaster, destruction or punishment). Due to the prayer of Moses for their sin of making the golden calf, the Lord relented of the disaster the Lord had threatened (Exodus 32:14). After David made the Lord angry for enrolling the fighting men, the Lord sent a plague, but the Lord relented of bringing the plague to Jerusalem (II Samuel 24:16 and I Chronicles 21:15). The Lord may announce the uprooting, tearing down, and destruction of a nation, but if the nation repents, then the Lord will relent and not inflict the disaster the Lord planned. However, if the Lord plans to build up a nation and it does evil, then the Lord will reconsider the good the Lord intended to do (Jeremiah 18:8-10). In this regard, Jeremiah 26:3 is of particular interest, in that the Lord tells Jeremiah that perhaps the city of Jerusalem will listen, each person turn from their evil ways, and then the Lord will relent, not inflicting on them the disaster the Lord was planning because of the evil they have done. This message took place September 609-April 608 BC. Further, if they reform their ways, the Lord will relent (Jeremiah 26:13). Hezekiah sought the Lord and therefore the Lord relented of the disaster the Lord had planned (Jeremiah 26:19). If the people turn to the Lord, the Lord may relent of the planned destruction and leave a blessing (Joel 2:11-14). This notion, that human repentance brings divine repentance, is one the prophet does not accept. He believes evil must receive divine punishment. It may offend our sensibilities to think that God would bring “evil” upon evildoers, but that is what the biblical texts say, even though interpreters generally understand such divine “evil” does not refer to be moral evil. Should it not matter to God what a people (or individual persons) do against God or against other peoples/persons? Should the Lord God just give a jovial “timeout” instead of something stronger? Nevertheless, God did respond favorably to genuine repentance (turning away from sinful behavior and toward God) by relenting/”changing the mind.” (The LXX translates the Hebrew verb naham as metanoew; this same word in NT Greek frequently receives the translation in English as “to repent,” “to feel remorse,” or “to change one’s mind,” depending on the context.)  Jesus uses the message of Jonah to call upon his contemporaries (and us) to repent, just as the Ninevites did (see Luke 11:29-32 and Matthew 12:41). The king was right. God is free to respond graciously, thus avoiding the terrible judgment that Jonah announced. Such freedom and responsiveness create important possibilities for those who collaborate with God. As the Lord was patient and merciful to the prophet, the Lord is patient and merciful to Nineveh. The prophet will be slow to see these qualities.[2]

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[1] Barth Church Dogmatics II.1 [30.3] 413-4.

[2] Barth Church Dogmatics II.1 [30.3] 413-4.