Jonah undertook what we could call an urban mission. He went to a city that was one of the largest in the world at that time. When God is arguing about why he should be deeply concerned for Nineveh, he cites its population figure as a reason for the city's significance to him and uses the term adam-the word for humankind: "120,000 of humanity." It is as if God was saying, "I care about human beings, and so how much more should I be concerned to reach a place where so much humanity is amassed?" This simple logic is powerful. Many people simply do not like cities, but if we care about people, and if we believe that the deepest human need is to be reconciled to God, then all Christians must be concerned for and supportive of urban Christian ministry in one way or another. If anything, God's appeal to sheer size as an indicator of spiritual need comes home to us today with greater force.
( Timothy J. Keller )
[ The Prodigal Prophet: Jonah ]
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