Commentary on the Gospel of
It feels good to be right, even at the cost of the lives of others! Jonah prophesied about God’s vengeance and punishment on the people of Nineveh, and how he desired to see God act on His threats, and thus Jonah be proven right in his prophesies! However, Jonah had an inkling, from the history of God’s dealing with human beings, that God might relent and change His mind. And when his fears came true, Jonah became furious with God. He would rather die than see the people of Nineveh live!
In our Christian living, it is possible to face the same kind of temptation Jonah faced—hoping to be justified in our ways by the condemnation and punishment of the “sinners.” It isn’t really a desire to see others denied mercy as much as it is a desire to see ourselves proven right—the temptation of the righteous! In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray to be delivered from temptation. This is one temptation from which we might want to pray for deliverance.
Paulson Veliyannoor, CMF - frpaulson@gmail.com
