Episodes

  • The God Who Turns | Jonah Beyond the Whale 23
    Jan 15 2026

    Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply)

    In which John and David consider Jonah 3:10–4:1 and the unsettling language of turning, repentance, and evil. They trace shuv and ra’ah through Jeremiah and Exodus, explore God’s predictable mercy, and wrestle with Jonah’s anger at a God who turns from judgment when people turn toward him.

    Episode 227 of the Two Texts Podcast | Jonah Beyond the Whale 23

    If you want to get in touch about something in the podcast you can reach out on podcast@twotexts.com or by liking and following the Two Texts podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you enjoy the podcast, we’d love it if you left a review or comment where you’re listening from – and if you really enjoyed it, why not share it with a friend?

    Music by Woodford Music (c) 2021
    ________
    Help us keep Two Texts free for everyone by becoming a supporter of the show

    John and David want to ensure that Two Texts always remains free content for everyone. We don't want to create a paywall or have premium content that would exclude others.

    However, Two Texts costs us around £60 per month (US$75; CAD$100) to make. If you'd like to support the show with even just a small monthly donation it would help ensure we can continue to produce the content that you love.

    Thank you so much.

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    33 mins
  • From Throne to Ashes | Jonah Beyond the Whale 22
    Jan 13 2026

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    In which John and David return to Jonah 3 and ponder the king of Nineveh’s response. They trace the force of the word that strikes the king, explore sackcloth, fasting, and the language of turning (shuv), and reflect on a repentance that draws in people, animals, and even God’s own merciful turning.

    Episode 226 of the Two Texts Podcast | Jonah Beyond the Whale 22

    If you want to get in touch about something in the podcast you can reach out on podcast@twotexts.com or by liking and following the Two Texts podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you enjoy the podcast, we’d love it if you left a review or comment where you’re listening from – and if you really enjoyed it, why not share it with a friend?

    Music by Woodford Music (c) 2021
    ________
    Help us keep Two Texts free for everyone by becoming a supporter of the show

    John and David want to ensure that Two Texts always remains free content for everyone. We don't want to create a paywall or have premium content that would exclude others.

    However, Two Texts costs us around £60 per month (US$75; CAD$100) to make. If you'd like to support the show with even just a small monthly donation it would help ensure we can continue to produce the content that you love.

    Thank you so much.

    Support the show

    Show More Show Less
    37 mins
  • The Spirit Makes The Sermon | Jonah Beyond the Whale 21
    Dec 11 2025

    Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply)

    In which John and David reflect some more on Jonah’s bewildering sermon, its response, and the mysterious work of the Spirit in both preaching and hearing. We explore humility in proclamation, the difference between talking and true preaching, sackcloth and repentance, memory as yearning, and why Nineveh’s response reveals far more about God than about Jonah.

    Episode 225 of the Two Texts Podcast | Jonah Beyond the Whale 21

    If you want to get in touch about something in the podcast you can reach out on podcast@twotexts.com or by liking and following the Two Texts podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you enjoy the podcast, we’d love it if you left a review or comment where you’re listening from – and if you really enjoyed it, why not share it with a friend?

    Music by Woodford Music (c) 2021
    ________
    Help us keep Two Texts free for everyone by becoming a supporter of the show

    John and David want to ensure that Two Texts always remains free content for everyone. We don't want to create a paywall or have premium content that would exclude others.

    However, Two Texts costs us around £60 per month (US$75; CAD$100) to make. If you'd like to support the show with even just a small monthly donation it would help ensure we can continue to produce the content that you love.

    Thank you so much.

    Support the show

    Show More Show Less
    34 mins
  • Frogs, Towers, and a Grumpy Prophet | Jonah Beyond the Whale 20
    Dec 9 2025

    Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply)

    In which John and David explore the startling response to Jonah’s five-word sermon and consider how belief arises in surprising places. We ponder the mystery at the heart of Jonah 3, the unseen work of God, Tolkien’s tower, frogs in biology class, and why faith often exceeds the logic of its parts.

    Episode 224 of the Two Texts Podcast | Jonah Beyond the Whale 20

    If you want to get in touch about something in the podcast you can reach out on podcast@twotexts.com or by liking and following the Two Texts podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you enjoy the podcast, we’d love it if you left a review or comment where you’re listening from – and if you really enjoyed it, why not share it with a friend?

    Music by Woodford Music (c) 2021
    ________
    Help us keep Two Texts free for everyone by becoming a supporter of the show

    John and David want to ensure that Two Texts always remains free content for everyone. We don't want to create a paywall or have premium content that would exclude others.

    However, Two Texts costs us around £60 per month (US$75; CAD$100) to make. If you'd like to support the show with even just a small monthly donation it would help ensure we can continue to produce the content that you love.

    Thank you so much.

    Support the show

    Show More Show Less
    36 mins
  • Jonah’s Unclear Sermon | Jonah Beyond the Whale 19
    Nov 28 2025

    Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply)

    In which John and David explore Jonah’s five-word sermon, noticing how its brevity holds layers of meaning and ambiguity. We reflect on the tension between judgment and invitation, the dual possibilities within the word “overturned,” and the surprising breadth of compassion revealed in God’s dealings with Nineveh. We trace how the sermon’s grammar, its echoes across scripture, and Jonah’s own desires shape the message, and how Nineveh’s response becomes a lesson in hearing God rightly. Together we consider the complexity of prophecy, the nature of repentance, and the character of a God who overturns in order to restore.

    Episode 223 of the Two Texts Podcast | Jonah Beyond the Whale 19

    If you want to get in touch about something in the podcast you can reach out on podcast@twotexts.com or by liking and following the Two Texts podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you enjoy the podcast, we’d love it if you left a review or comment where you’re listening from – and if you really enjoyed it, why not share it with a friend?

    Music by Woodford Music (c) 2021
    ________
    Help us keep Two Texts free for everyone by becoming a supporter of the show

    John and David want to ensure that Two Texts always remains free content for everyone. We don't want to create a paywall or have premium content that would exclude others.

    However, Two Texts costs us around £60 per month (US$75; CAD$100) to make. If you'd like to support the show with even just a small monthly donation it would help ensure we can continue to produce the content that you love.

    Thank you so much.

    Support the show

    Show More Show Less
    37 mins
  • A Sermon of Five Words | Jonah Beyond the Whale 18
    Nov 25 2025

    Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply)

    In which John and David reflect on Jonah’s five-word sermon, the prophet’s half-hearted obedience, and the surprising repentance of Nineveh. We explore how the narrative exposes Israel’s own reluctance to hear God, and how—even through flawed preaching—God’s word still brings life. Along the way we draw Bonhoeffer into the conversation on faithful proclamation.

    Episode 222 of the Two Texts Podcast | Jonah Beyond the Whale 18

    If you want to get in touch about something in the podcast you can reach out on podcast@twotexts.com or by liking and following the Two Texts podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you enjoy the podcast, we’d love it if you left a review or comment where you’re listening from – and if you really enjoyed it, why not share it with a friend?

    Music by Woodford Music (c) 2021
    ________
    Help us keep Two Texts free for everyone by becoming a supporter of the show

    John and David want to ensure that Two Texts always remains free content for everyone. We don't want to create a paywall or have premium content that would exclude others.

    However, Two Texts costs us around £60 per month (US$75; CAD$100) to make. If you'd like to support the show with even just a small monthly donation it would help ensure we can continue to produce the content that you love.

    Thank you so much.

    Support the show

    Show More Show Less
    40 mins
  • Nineveh and the God Who Comes Near | Jonah Beyond the Whale 17
    Nov 13 2025

    Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply)

    In which John and David trace the divine symmetry between the great fish and the great city of Nineveh. Together they uncover how Jonah’s story reveals a God both cosmic and near — one who commands creation yet longs for relationship. They reflect on the city “great to God,” the paradox of divine judgement and mercy, and how the incarnation embodies the mystery of a Creator who chooses to become a guest at our table.

    Episode 220 of the Two Texts Podcast | Jonah Beyond the Whale 17

    If you want to get in touch about something in the podcast you can reach out on podcast@twotexts.com or by liking and following the Two Texts podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you enjoy the podcast, we’d love it if you left a review or comment where you’re listening from – and if you really enjoyed it, why not share it with a friend?

    Music by Woodford Music (c) 2021
    ________
    Help us keep Two Texts free for everyone by becoming a supporter of the show

    John and David want to ensure that Two Texts always remains free content for everyone. We don't want to create a paywall or have premium content that would exclude others.

    However, Two Texts costs us around £60 per month (US$75; CAD$100) to make. If you'd like to support the show with even just a small monthly donation it would help ensure we can continue to produce the content that you love.

    Thank you so much.

    Support the show

    Show More Show Less
    31 mins
  • A Story Truer than it Seems | Jonah Beyond the Whale 16
    Nov 11 2025

    Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply)

    In which John and David explore Jonah’s second calling and the grace woven into the story’s repetition. They reflect on Buechner’s and Tolkien’s ideas of myth, Hebrew wordplay that shifts God’s tone from 'against' to 'toward', and the layered symbolism of Nineveh’s name—revealing a God who commands even the 'gods' of the world.

    Episode 219 of the Two Texts Podcast | Jonah Beyond the Whale 16

    If you want to get in touch about something in the podcast you can reach out on podcast@twotexts.com or by liking and following the Two Texts podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you enjoy the podcast, we’d love it if you left a review or comment where you’re listening from – and if you really enjoyed it, why not share it with a friend?

    Music by Woodford Music (c) 2021
    ________
    Help us keep Two Texts free for everyone by becoming a supporter of the show

    John and David want to ensure that Two Texts always remains free content for everyone. We don't want to create a paywall or have premium content that would exclude others.

    However, Two Texts costs us around £60 per month (US$75; CAD$100) to make. If you'd like to support the show with even just a small monthly donation it would help ensure we can continue to produce the content that you love.

    Thank you so much.

    Support the show

    Show More Show Less
    32 mins