The Prodigal Prophet

Tim Keller

Viking, 2018

Reviewed by Bill Reimer

EVERY YEAR hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to Christ Church College, Oxford in order to see the location of scenes from the Harry Potter movies. But what is usually overlooked, no doubt, is a remarkable stained glass window, created in 1631, that is tucked away in the chapel at Christ Church. In this striking work of art the biblical character of Jonah is portrayed, under the plant, looking out at the vast city of Nineveh, painted in fine detail.

In The Prodigal Prophet it is this city of Nineveh, often overlooked in the telling of the story of Jonah, that author Tim Keller chooses to focus on. Keller’s own story has some resemblance to that of the prophet Jonah in that in the late 1980s he actively tried to avoid a calling to minister in the city of New York. Fortunately he and his wife Kathy did go on to found Redeemer Presbyterian Church in that great city. It took Keller 20 years before Reason for God, his first bestselling book, was published and today his books are found prominently displayed in the large chain bookstores in the heart of the Ninevehs of our world and on the Amazon bestseller list. The New York Times op-ed writer David Brooks is an avid Keller reader, judging by the frequency of references to his books. 

Keller identifies Jonah who lived in eight century B.C. as a highly patriotic nationalist and supporter of King Jeroboam. Called by God to leave Israel and go preach repentance to Nineveh, a Gentile city and capital of the cruel Assyrian empire, Jonah instead fled in the opposite direction. In this flight of Jonah there is a resemblance to the parable of the Prodigal Son. In the second half of the book, when God takes Jonah from the belly of the fish and deposits him on dry ground, the resemblance is to the “older brother” who has obeyed the father but resents the grace that he extends to sinners. A shocked Jonah, who had looked forward to a display of God’s wrath, resented that the people of Nineveh repented and turned from their violent ways thereby avoiding destruction. 

Keller, in telling the story of Jonah, focuses on how God’s love for society goes far beyond the community of believers.  This love counters a “toxic nationalism” and a disdain for other races that marked Jonah at the beginning of the story. As Christians we are called to “mission” in our world despite our constant propensity for idolatry.  When we grasp these insights we can become bridge builders, peacemakers and agents of reconciliation.

How can God be merciful and just? Who is my neigbour? To ask, Who are you? is really to ask, Whose are you?  Our spiritual identities are often more shallow than we care to admit. “Heart storms” mark our inner beings. The Prodigal Prophet is above all the story of God’s grace that we desperately need. It is a bracing read. With Jonah, the reader is taken down into the sea. Our self-righteousness is exposed but an “amazing grace,” as shown in the gospel of Jesus Christ, conveys to us the ability to rest in God’s grace alone. 

Keller ends by pointing out the increasing urbanization of the world’s population and making a plea for Christians “to seek the peace and prosperity of the city.”  The Book of Jonah itself ends with God’s question to Jonah, Should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city? There is no record of how the prophet responded. Keller suggests that it is in the telling of the biblical narrative that we know that Jonah eventually found rest in God’s loving grace.   TAP

Bill Reimer is Manager of Regent College Bookstore in Vancouver.