A what if story: Jonah and the Captain

I’ve always wondered if Jonah ever again saw the sailors and captain from the boat he had boarded when trying to flee from God.  He'd told them that they had to throw him overboard in order for the storm to stop, so I imagine they figured he was dead. 

I’ve also wondered if God’s lesson really stuck for Jonah.  

So, below is what I imagine could have happened in Jonah ever did again meet up with the captain of that ship.

It must be a ghost!

The old sea captain blinked and shook his head.  This couldn’t be, could it?

Standing before him was a man he had watched be thrown to his death.  More than that, the old captain had been the one who had commanded his sailors to throw the man into the sea.  He’d never forgotten the man’s name either. How can you forget the name of a person for whose death you are responsible?

His name was Jonah.

Over and over again the captain had played things out in his mind.  He hadn’t wanted to throw Jonah into the sea.  They had jettisoned all of their precious cargo first, throwing all of their profits overboard, before throwing this prophet overboard.  The captain had hoped that throwing the cargo overboard would be enough to stay afloat.  But the storm had raged on. 

Oh, that storm.  The old captain had been on the sea for nearly his entire life.  He had been through storms of all kinds.  But never had he seen anything quite like that storm.  It was clear this storm was from a god. The storm tossed the boat to and fro, but it was as if the storm was designed to trap the boat without destroying it.  It was something only a god could accomplish.

The storm had raged on until they threw the man overboard.  It was the only way!  The man had even said as much! "Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you."

But here, in front of him, stood the very man they had cast into the sea…the very man who had so angered his god that the only way to save their own lives was to sacrifice his. The old captain was terrified.  Was this the ghost of the man come back to haunt him?

But soon enough the captain knew that without a doubt this was not ghost as the prophet wrapped his arms around the old captain, embracing him with a big bear hug.  “I’ve been looking for you!  Thank God that I found you!” he exclaimed.

The captain didn’t know what to say or do. Finally, after the man released him from the biggest hug he’d received in years, the old captain managed to mutter, “How…how are you here?  How are you alive?”

Jonah smiled broadly. “That’s why I’ve been looking for you! I want to tell you how it is that I’m still alive!  But I have to tell you, I think you’ll have a difficult time believing it.”

The captain did indeed have a difficult time believing it.  Swallowed by a big fish?  Alive inside of the fish for 3 days?  It was a fantastic story…and yet…and yet why would Jonah lie to him? He’d seen with his own eyes that Jonah had been thrown into the heart of the sea and there was absolutely no chance a man could have survived that without a miracle happening.

Jonah went on to tell the old captain of how he finally did go to Nineveh and the people in Nineveh repented of their sins.  Instead of destroying Nineveh with fire raining down from heaven, God had mercy on the people and forgave them.

“And I was so angry about it,” Jonah said.

“Angry?  Why would you be angry?” The old captain was puzzled.

Jonah answered, with a laugh, “That’s what the Lord said too! ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’  But I was angry.  I was angry because I didn’t want God to be merciful to them.  I wanted them to get what they deserved!  So I sat on a hill and watched, hoping that God would punish them. 

Jonah continued, “As I made a little make shift tent and sat on the hill waiting.  It wasn’t long before I noticed a plant had grown, faster than you can imagine, and was giving me shade.  It was a true blessing to have some shade from that plant and it really made me happy.  But the next day God sent a worm to attack the plant and just as quickly as it had grown up, it was gone.  Now I was really angry!”

Jonah was quiet for a moment and looked down at the ground, as if ashamed.  Then he softly said, “That’s the other reason I wanted to talk to you.  I wanted that day to be the day of destruction for Nineveh but God intended it to be a day of mercy.  God said, 'You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, 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?'  He forgave the people of Nineveh who had been truly wicked.  But He forgave me too for my wickedness.  He forgave me for wanting justice for others and mercy for myself.”

Looking the old captain directly in the eyes, Jonah concluded, “God was merciful to me, saving me.  Now I want others to know of His mercy too. I want you to know the mercy and forgiveness of God. That's why I came looking for you. I had to find you because I needed you to know what God has done for me and that His mercy is great, because I want you to know Him, trust in Him, and receive mercy from Him too.”

Did Jonah ever have a conversation like this?  Was his heart changed after God's lesson on mercy? Did he go out in search of the captain and other sailors so they too could know of God's mercy?  I don't know, but even if Jonah didn't, we can share the good news of His mercy and love, sharing the good news of the story of the greater Jonah who wasn't in the belly of a fish for three days, but in the tomb, the story of the one who didn't come for vengeance, but to extend mercy.