Doug Foltz: The Anti-Prophet Jonah
Anti-Prophet: Jonah
“It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me…”
Jonah would’ve hummed along.
Jonah is a prophet, but not what you’d expect. He runs from his calling, resents God’s mercy, and prays for death when people come to God. Hmm… He’s more concerned with self-preservation than truth, more interested in national pride than God’s compassion. He reluctantly preaches an 8-word sermon and then sulks when it works. He’ll “stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror.”
Jonah is the anti-prophet. And yet, God uses him to bring about God’s purposes. That’s the part that surprises me or maybe more honestly is irritating. Not just that Jonah is a mess, but that God still sends him, still speaks through him, still shows mercy to everyone in the story, including Jonah.
It’s also the part that feels uncomfortably familiar.
Many of us were shaped by pastors, teachers, or church leaders who turned out to be more like Jonah than Jesus:
• Obsessed with who’s in and who’s out.
• Fearful of anything that threatened their system.
• Speaking truth, but not as much about love.
Some protected their image instead of the vulnerable. Some preached grace but refused to live it. Some imploded publicly. Others just quietly did damage. “It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-prophet.”
And understandably that has left many wondering if anything they said about God was ever real. Perhaps wondering if you’re the problem for questioning it all. Wondering if you can keep faith when the anti-prophet who led you shows up as a fake.
Jesus once said: “This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” — Luke 11:29 NRSV
It wasn’t just about spending three days in a tomb like Jonah in a fish. It was a contrast. A critique. A call to open your eyes.
Jonah delivered a half-hearted message and walked away. Jesus wept over the city that would kill him. Jonah wanted judgment. Jesus took judgment on himself. Jonah sat under a plant and waited for fire. Jesus rose from the grave and started a movement of healing. Jesus is not like the anti-prophets. He’s what they were supposed to be.
There’s one more thread that ties Jonah and Jesus together: descent. Both stories go through the depths. Jonah sinks into the sea. Jesus descends into death. And in both cases, God brings life from the pit.
“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.” Jonah 2:2 NRSV
“He is not here; he has risen…” Luke 24:5 NRSV
If your faith feels buried under pain, questions, or betrayal, you’re not alone. God meets people in Sheol, in the pit. And brings them out. I love this resurrection icon (cover image) because it reminds me of this. Jesus descends into death and we see the devil bound, the gates of hell collapsed and Jesus grabbing the hands of Adam and Eve (symbols of humanity) to rescue them from death.
You may have been shaped by an anti-prophet. You may have walked away because their life distracted you from Jesus. But don’t confuse Jonah with the One who sent him. You don’t have to be exhausted rooting for the anti-prophet. There’s a true prophet who will go to hell to grab your hand and bring you out. That’s a prophet worth rooting for.