Rerouted: 30 Days Through the Book of JonahSample

Mercy Matters to God

Victoria Riollano

Jonah 1:13-14

We all need mercy. As a teenager, I needed more than most. Rebellious and determined to have my own way, I caused my parents years of turmoil. Though my choices hurt them, they still showed mercy and believed God had a greater plan. Though I had given up on myself, they spared no cost to save me from my recklessness. In the end, their mercy set the stage for encountering the Lord later in my life.

In today’s reading, Jonah, in his pious righteousness, had determined the Ninevites were not worthy of God’s mercy. Yet when God unleashed a terrible storm, Jonah found himself in need of mercy from the Lord and others (Jonah 1:13-14).

Some would argue the sailors on Jonah's boat should have thrown him overboard as he requested in Jonah 1:12. The Bible, however, records a different response: “The men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them” (Jonah 1:13). Rather than acting in anger toward Jonah, the sailors rowed tirelessly to try to prevent his demise.

Ironically, these sailors — who were gentiles and pagans, having no knowledge of the true God until moments before (Jonah 1:9) — showed Jonah mercy. As John MacArthur writes, “Heathen sailors had more concern for one man than Jonah had for tens of thousands in Nineveh.”

In this moment, Jonah came face to face with God’s mercy through the acts of gentile sailors. While trying to flee his responsibility to deliver God’s message of mercy, Jonah experienced compassion where he least expected it.

As Christians, this passage invites us to reflect on how often we show true mercy to others. After all, we serve a God who rescued us when we deserved punishment for our sin, so our patience and grace should be greater than the world's (Matthew 18:33)!

Romans 5:8 says: “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Even when we choose Jonah’s path of running away from God, the Lord remains unwavering in His mercy toward us. May we remember God’s amazing grace and show mercy to others without condition.