Epiphany · Third Sunday after the Epiphany · Year B
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Jonah Goes to Nineveh
January 24, 2027
Overview & Insights
“Should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people?” (Jonah 4:11)
Though undeserving, Jonah has been delivered from death by God’s merciful working through a fish. The book of Jonah is, before all else, a lesson concerning God’s free grace. But it is also a portrayal of God’s incredible patience. As Jonah confesses in 4:2, Yahweh is a God who is “slow to anger,” and it is amazing that God says nothing to Jonah in 3:1–2 by way of rebuke or admonition. Instead, God simply calls Jonah again, using the same words that he used in 1:1: “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city . . .” (RSV).
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Commentary
Commentary on Jonah 3:1-5, 10 (Working Preacher) Working Preacher
Reads the Ninevites' repentance as prelude to Jonah's own reaction in chapter four.
Jonah 3 Commentary: Jonah Preaches Repentance in Nineveh Enduring Word · David Guzik
Verse-by-verse evangelical treatment of the prophet's second call and Nineveh's turning.
Jonah 3:1 Commentaries BibleHub
Classic commentators on the word of the LORD coming to Jonah a second time.
Jonah 3:1-5, 10 (Center for Excellence in Preaching) Center for Excellence in Preaching
Reformed preaching commentary on God's mercy and the surprise of Nineveh's repentance.
Background & Word Study
Book of Jonah Summary (Overview Video) BibleProject
Animated overview of Jonah's satire on a reluctant prophet and a merciful God.
Jonah 3:1 Interlinear Bible BibleHub
Hebrew text with parsing and Strong's numbers for word-level study.
Jonah 3 (Sefaria) Sefaria
Hebrew and English side by side with classical Jewish commentary.
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
Why is Jonah angry?
After Nineveh repents and God relents, Jonah sulks and would rather die than see his enemies spared (Jonah 4). God appoints a plant to shade him and a worm to wither it, then asks whether he should not pity a city of a hundred and twenty thousand. It is Scripture’s sharpest lesson on mercy reaching beyond our borders, paired here with the parable of the generous vineyard owner.
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