The Parable of Jonah: Content and Meaning

All Christian texts, created more than two thousand years ago, bear a deep meaning. They are a collection of wisdom for future generations. Let's find out what the parable of Jonah tells us about. Its text is uncomplicated, and the deciphering of scholarly theologians is collected in huge volumes. What did he tell Jonas's contemporaries that the descendants are still puzzling? Let's figure it out.

Preliminary remark

It should be noted that the Old and New Testaments contain many texts that are studied by those who wish to master theology. They describe the eternal problems of the world. For example, the clash of peoples, the inability to understand each other without developing rules of conduct, says the Tower of Babel. The parable of Jonah has a slightly different, but also eternal meaning. It is necessary to know what different schools interpret in their own way. So it turned out, everyone tries to use biblical texts to justify their own worldview. Of course, theologians study all points of view. We will not disassemble them in detail, it is too long and uninteresting. We will try to outline the main conclusions that a cultural person needs to know so as not to be lost during the discussion of this topic.

The parable of Jonah is a philosophical story that encourages reflection. Above its text it is necessary to think. After all, everyone opens his own. Try to reflect on the fate of this real person when you become acquainted with the text.

The Parable of Jonah: a Brief Introduction

To one man the Lord in a dream ordered to go to the city of Nineveh. There he had to tell the inhabitants about their sinful way of life and convey that if they do not change, they will feel God's punishment. This man was Jonah. He was terribly frightened. After listening to the Lord, Jonah sat on a ship sailing to a different place. He decided to flee from the High Commission. However, in the way the schooner caught a terrible storm. Jonah was asleep in the hold. He was awakened by the captain and told about the misfortune. Seeing that everyone who sails on the ship, expects imminent death, Jonah confessed to disobedience. He told involuntary comrades in misfortune that they threw him into the abyss of water. They at first hesitated, but then fulfilled the sinner's request. Ion was immediately swallowed by a whale, and the storm calmed down. In the womb of the sea monster, the sinner spent three days. He realized that one should not deviate from duty and asked the Lord for mercy. Kit spat the man to the ground. Jonah went to the appointed city and told the inhabitants about the Lord's wrath. Those, to his surprise, repented. The Lord forgave them.

The Meaning of the Narration

The content of the parable is the usual story of a man of that time. However, it attracts the attention of theologians and philosophers for many centuries in a row by the depth of content. They lead an unending dispute about what the parable of Jonah teaches. On the very surface lies faith in the Creator. In fact, Jonah was far from refuting his existence. But he disobeyed, did not perform the task entrusted to him. And this already borders on unbelief. The man felt that he could decide how to act, acting out of fear. He was simply afraid that the people of the city would beat or destroy him for his grim tidings and moral teachings. And this is apostasy. Jonah placed his ego above the soul, speaking with the Lord. However, later he repented, deciding to save the lives of involuntary sufferers - fellow travelers at the price of his own. He rose above selfishness, he could overcome weaknesses. The Lord saved his life for this, but he did not relieve his responsibility for the task. It was necessary to the person who was able to realize duty, to go to certain death, as he imagined it. There he was surprised. The inhabitants of the city listened to the words transmitted by the Lord and repented.

The Parable of Jonah: Conclusions

The sense of the narrative is that everyone in this world has his own burden, duty, duties. And it is not good for a person to back away from them, to flee in order to facilitate their own destiny. What you need to do will haunt wherever you go, even to the end of the world. In addition, the parable of Jonah ends with an even more instructive episode. This man was disappointed and dissatisfied with the fact that the Lord did not punish sinners. He waited in the shadow of a tree, until God destroyed the city. But I did not see the penalty. And when the tree at the Lord's will dried up, the saving shadow disappeared, Jonah expressed discontent. God asked him why he felt sorry for the plant. He did not make any efforts to cultivate him. But he yearns for the destruction of the city and the death of thousands of its inhabitants. But it spent a lot of work on its erection. Conclusion: do not give in to emotions, look at the essence of phenomena.

Conclusion

The parable of Jonah, we will repeat, is deep and informative. We have considered only those aspects of it that lie on the surface. We add that the essence of the existence of man on earth is love. And it is service to duty, help to others. This can not be avoided. Not the wrath of the Lord, but the inner dissatisfaction with oneself will become that whip that will return the sinner to the true path. Although there are other, more detailed and ornate interpretations of the adventures of Jonah.