Jonah’s Open-ended Ending

Inception is one of my favourite films. Directed by Christopher Nolan, this science fiction action movie tells the story of Dom Cobb, a professional thief. He engages in industrial espionage by infiltrating the dreams of his victims and stealing valuable secrets from their subconscious. But Cobb has been in and out of the subconscious so frequently that he struggles to separate dreams from reality. To help him discern what is real, Cobb spins a small metal top. If the top stops spinning and falls, then he is in reality. If the top keeps on spinning, then he is still in a dream.

The ending of Inception is one of the most famous open-ended finales in contemporary cinema. Spoiler alert: Cobb finally returns home to his children after completing a particularly perilous mission. To make sure he is not dreaming, Cobb takes out his top and spins it. The camera zooms in and focuses on the spinning top for several seconds. Round and round it goes, keeping us in suspense. Will the top fall or not? Then, suddenly, the screen cuts to black. The end.

So, did Cobb truly make it home, or was he only dreaming? Does the story have a happy ending? Since the film was released in 2010, audiences have been discussing and debating the ending. It has generated numerous interpretations, explanations, and theories. Fifteen years later, fans are still talking about the film, whose ending has become iconic.

Inception is a striking example of the power of open endings. When used well, an open-ended conclusion is an especially effective way of provoking thought and encouraging reflection. The Bible makes use of open endings as well. Perhaps one of the most well-known is found in the Book of Jonah.

Jonah was one of the Minor Prophets. He prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:23-28), who ruled Israel from 782 to 753 B.C. Jonah delivered good news to Israel, although the nation’s king did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. Yet, God showed grace and mercy to His unfaithful people: “He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher. For the LORD saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, for there was none left, bond or free, and there was none to help Israel.”

Meanwhile, Israel’s enemy, Assyria, was in decline. There was widespread famine and unrest within its empire. Assyrian weakness, coupled with Israel’s resurgence, would have stirred strong feelings of national pride among the Israelites, Jonah included. Surely God must help His own special people, and not the pagan nations of the world. Such sentiment would have made God’s command to Jonah particularly perplexing, if not downright shocking and galling. What? Arise and go to preach to Nineveh the city of the Assyrians, the enemies of Israel?

Jonah refuses. He flees in the exact opposite direction to the furthest place he can get to, Tarshish. But God shows Himself more gracious and compassionate than His prophet. He persistently pursues Jonah, lifting him up from the depths of the waters, miraculously rescuing him from certain death. The chastised prophet can only exclaim, “Salvation belongs to the LORD!” (Jn 2:9b)

For a second time, the word of the LORD comes to Jonah. This time, the prophet complies with God’s command. But has he truly obeyed from the heart? Despite Jonah’s reluctance, his preaching is met with a resounding response that would be the envy of other Old Testament prophets. The people of Nineveh repent in sackcloth and ashes. Realising that their hope is found only in the sovereign God, they cry out, “Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” (3:9) Salvation is entirely by grace, not due to any works of righteousness – either by the preacher or of his hearers. It is God who shows mercy.

You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.

But Jonah is livid. The problem is not with Jonah’s professed theology. He rightly confesses that the LORD saves. He is also right about God’s character, affirming, “You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” (4:2b; cf. Ex 34:6-7) The issue, however, is with Jonah’s heart. He thinks God’s grace should be limited to only those who are “deserving”.

Adversaries like the Assyrians certainly have no business receiving divine mercy and compassion. This is the reason why Jonah initially refused to go to Nineveh. Because he knew God’s character, he knew God would show grace. So, Jonah fled because he wanted no part of it. Right theology, wrong application!

The prophet himself must learn how God’s grace and mercy extend beyond Israel, to encompass the nations of the world. God’s heart is to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham’s promised seed (Gen 12:3). God’s compassion cannot be constrained by our petty parochialism. The sovereign LORD will have mercy on whom He has mercy.

To teach Jonah about grace, God causes a plant to grow and provide shade from the sun. But the next day, God withers the plant. As Jonah sweats in the heat, he becomes “angry enough to die” (Jn 4:9b). He is upset that God should take the plant away. But if Jonah can care so much about a short-lived plant that he did not even bring into existence, then how much more should God show compassion for His creation? “The LORD said, ‘You pity the plant, for which you did not labour, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?’” (4:10-11)

This searching question closes the book. We do not hear Jonah’s reply; God gets the last word. The conclusion is left open-ended. But this seemingly abrupt ending is no accident. It is purposeful and in keeping with the overall thrust of the book, which confronts us with God’s surprising – even scandalous – generosity. Jonah’s open ending prompts us to engage with the book’s message in these three ways.

First, do we truly grasp the freeness of God’s compassion? Given our tendency to drift towards legalism and salvation by merit or works, we tend to impose limitations on God’s grace. But the Book of Jonah shines the spotlight on the glory of divine goodness and mercy. Repeatedly, God shows surprising, abundant grace to unexpected people: God rescues His rebellious, runaway prophet. He spares the ship’s crew, who end up worshiping him. He relents of judgement against the repentant Ninevites. God is gracious to all, even to those whom we are quick to write off as outsiders and outcasts. His mercy is more. His grace is greater than all our sin. Praise God that He is not like us!

Second, we are challenged to reflect on the condition of our hearts. Do we see ourselves in the hard-hearted Jonah? Judging some to be more worthy of God’s favour than others, Jonah fails to grasp the meaning of grace. Matthew Henry wrote, “Do we wonder at the forbearance of God towards His perverse servant? Let us study our own hearts and ways; let us not forget our own ingratitude and obstinacy; and let us be astonished at God’s patience towards us.”

Like the prophet, we might also be guilty of restricting mercy only to those we deem “deserving”. Do we begrudge God’s grace? Are we offended by the lavishness of his compassion, like how the Pharisees were scandalised that Jesus should eat with sinners? For example, we might think those people should not be allowed into the church, or at least they should not be regarded as our equals. Perhaps we keep them at arm’s length, imagining ourselves to be “better”. Have we forgotten that the gospel is for all sinners, and that there is no distinction? To give another example, are we still allowing unforgiveness to fester in our hearts? Are we stubbornly refusing to love others with the love we have freely received from God? Have we hardened our hearts against someone who has offended us, and refusing to be reconciled?

Third, we are encouraged to look forward to another prophet who is greater than Jonah. The open-ended conclusion finds an uncanny parallel in one of Jesus’ parables. In the parable of the prodigal son, the sheer generosity of the father’s compassion and grace contrasts with the prideful, self-righteousness of the older brother. The parable closes with the father’s patient, pleading words to his older son: “It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.” (Lk 15:32b) The parable is then left open-ended, for we do not hear the older brother’s response. Did he relent and move towards his younger sibling in love, or did he harden his heart further? We don’t know. But we are challenged to examine ourselves: How might we be like the older brother? Do we see our need for God’s grace and mercy?

Unlike Jonah, Jesus is the prophet par excellence who has gladly come to preach good news. More than that, He has obediently offered Himself as a sacrifice for sinners, so that we can be forgiven and reconciled to God. Jesus died and resurrected to give us eternal life, if we repent and believe in Him. “Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Mt 12:40) On the third day, God raised His Son from the grave, vindicating Him as the righteous Sufferer and Saviour.

Jonah’s open ending provokes us to consider the greatness of God’s grace and the hardness of our hearts. Do we share God’s compassion for the lost? But even more fundamentally, have we trusted in Jesus Christ, through whom we receive the generous mercies of God? If so, then will we not welcome others as Christ has welcomed us?

Eugene Low is the lead pastor of Grace Baptist Church. He is grateful for the mercies of God, which are new every morning. Eugene is married to Claire, and they have two teenage boys.