And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out, saying, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. (Jonah 3:4-5)

The Power Of The Gospel

Jonah was a great preacher of the gospel. He is called the running prophet, the reluctant prophet, and the angry prophet, but when he preached to Nineveh, they changed their hearts and believed in God. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, having its origin with Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah.

The Lord tasked Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh and cry out against it, for their wickedness was great. At first, Jonah disobeyed God’s command, fleeing to Tarshish. On the way to Tarshish, the Lord sent a great storm, nearly breaking up the ship he was on before the mariners threw Jonah into the sea. God prepared a big fish, and Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of the beast. After the Lord spoke to the fish, Jonah was vomited onto dry land.

God again tells Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach the message God tells him. Jonah enters the city, telling the residents that in forty days, the wrath of the One True God will come down upon them and destroy them. Nineveh was not a Jewish city. It was a city filled with Gentiles. Jonah did not preach the Law of Moses or the covenant of circumcision or keep the Sabbath day found in the law. The Ninevites needed to repent before the wrath of God came upon them. They responded to the message of Noah by believing in God, proclaiming a fast, and putting on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.

Much is said about Jonah’s story, which centers on Jonah and the fish. The real story of the book of Jonah is the power of the gospel changing the hearts of those whom no one would have considered deserving of salvation. Nineveh was a foreign city filled with Gentiles. Why save them? One hundred and twenty thousand souls turned to God at the preaching of the good news of salvation found in believing God. Tragically, Jonah became angry these foreign dogs changed their hearts, and God would save them. The gospel moved them to repent and change their lives because the power is in the message.

Many Ninevites are walking around today, shunned and ignored because of who they are. The gospel can change the lives of anyone who turns their hearts to the Lord. Jesus died for Jews and Ninevites. A Jewish preacher went to a Gentile city and turned the heart of a city to God. That is the power of the gospel. That same power can be found today when the shackles of prejudice and hatred are removed to give the lost what they so desperately need – Jesus Christ and Him crucified. What the world needs more are patient hearts willing to share the gospel with a lost and dying world. Have you seen a Ninevite lately?