Connecting the Dots

I've been reading from the Old Testament lately and have noticed some things that are helping me to better understand why Jesus said certain things and why they would have resonated with the Jews He was mostly talking to. Here are two examples that may have been obvious to everyone else:

- His reference to "our daily bread" in the Lord's prayer would have invoked their memory of God providing manna in the desert that they had to gather daily. It was a lesson in daily dependence on God and in the prayer a request for that continued provision - though not necessarily in the form of bread showing up on the ground each morning.

- We always tell the story of Jonah and the big fish, but you don't hear much about what happens post-vomit - or at least I don't remember that being taught much in Sunday School as a kid. Jonah reluctantly goes and preaches to Nineveh, they repent, God spares them, and Jonah pouts. God comes along and teaches Jonah a lesson with a vine and a worm and then explains to Jonah that the people of that city needed mercy and to be taught (didn't know their right hand from their left). That (according to my NIV Study Bible notes) was an expression of God's desire to show fatherly compassion on them (even though they did not deserve it). This incident reminds me of the story Jesus told about the Prodigal Son. Remember, he runs away, parties till the the money is gone and then comes home. Everyone rejoices except the brother (who pouts). Finally the father explains to the brother that he will always love both his sons - even when one of them is doing something stupid. Jonah's attitude and that of some Jews in Jesus' day was that the Gentiles were not worthy of God's mercy and they preferred that the Gentiles be punished for their sin - without the opportunity to repent. In both cases God lets it be known that He doesn't usually work that way. I wonder if those hearing Jesus tell the story of the Prodigal Son were reminded of Jonah?

The more I study the Bible the more I realize that understanding context and culture really are key to understanding what the writers were trying to communicate.