Jonah 3
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Intro
Jon 1.1-2 “1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.””
Jon 3.1-2 “1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.””
Jon 1.6 “6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.””
Jon 3.9 “9 Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.””
Jon 1.14-16 “14 Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” … 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.”
Jon 3.5 “5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.”
Jonah’s Report
Jonah’s Report
His Message.
His Message.
4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
His Mission.
His Mission.
1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.”
His Method.
His Method.
3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
Nineveh’s Repentance
Nineveh’s Repentance
Their Faith.
Their Faith.
5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. 6 The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
Their Fasting.
Their Fasting.
7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, 8 but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”
Their Forgiveness.
Their Forgiveness.
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
Our Responsibility
Our Responsibility
His Message.
His Message.
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
God created us for His glory.
Isa 43.6-7 “6 I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.””
Every human should live for His glory.
1 Cor 10.31 “31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
Matt 22.37 “37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Matt 5.16 “16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.
Rom 3.23 “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Rom 1.21-23 “21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”
We all therefore deserve eternal punishment.
Rom 6.23 “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
1 Thes 1.9 “9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,”
Matt 25.46 “46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.””
In His great mercy God sent forth His only Son Jesus Christ to provide for sinners the way of eternal life.
John 3.16 “16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Gal 3.13 “13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—”
1 Pet 3.18 “18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,”
Our Mission.
Our Mission.
Jon 3.1 “1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying,”
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Your Method.
Your Method.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
1 Cor 12.4 “4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;”
1 Pet 4.10 “10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:”
Group Questions
Donald Whitney says, “I think the seriousness of evangelism is the main reason it frightens us. We realize that in talking with someone about Christ, heaven and hell are at stake. The eternal destiny of the person looms before us. And even when we rightly believe that the results of this encounter rest in God’s hands and that we bear no accountability for the person’s response to the gospel, we still sense a solemn duty to communicate the message faithfully, as well as the holy dread of saying or doing anything that might rise as a stumbling block to this person’s salvation” (Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines, 123).
Give reasons why you think someone might sense a concern about being a stumbling block even when he understands the Lord must provide power for a saving response to the gospel.
Consider the last time you failed to respond faithfully to an opportunity or prompting to share the gospel with an unbeliever. What do you need to do to be prepared to share immediately the next time a similar situation arises?
Jonah’s message was simple; it was five words long in the Hebrew text. What is the most simple way you can share the gospel message without omitting its necessary aspects?
Think of the last evangelistic sermon you heard that included a call to repentance from sin. How did the congregation respond?
What were you hoping would be the response of people and why?
What does this tell you about how you feel about preaching the need for repentance?
Based on Jonah 1–3, what sort of attitude do you think Jonah should have had toward both God and the Ninevites when the Lord gave him the command a second time?
Why do you feel he should have had such an attitude?
What emotions do you think he should be feeling and why?
Jonah’s preaching of the Lord’s message brings a contrast between two kings—the king of Nineveh and Christ the King. How is Christ exalted as the true King by Jonah’s preaching and the king’s response?
What might this tell you about how God is glorified through our proclamation of the gospel?
In place of courageously, verbally proclaiming the gospel of Christ, it is common for modern believers to bring an unbelieving friend to church to hear the gospel, hoping the sermon will do the work of evangelism instead. Based on your reading of Jonah 3, in tandem with Matthew 28:19-20 how is this idea slightly wrong-headed?
In a modern setting, how might a group of evangelical churches proclaim the gospel to every resident within a city?
How might a group of believers contribute to an effort to see the gospel proclaimed to their city and state leaders?
What might these efforts mean for any one church’s traditional ministry programming and yearly budget?
Consider the following passages: Acts 2:36–41; 4:13–22; 5:27–42; 7:51–58; 13:42–46; 17:32–34. What types of responses do people give to the apostles’ preaching of Christ?
What might these varied responses tell you about the type of response Nineveh gave to Jonah’s preaching?
What might it tell you about the type of response you may receive if you make it a habit to share your faith with unbelievers regularly, courageously, zealously, and boldly?
What confidence do you gain from knowing the Lord is immutable (unchangeable)? How does His immutability strengthen your hope for the salvation of your lost friends and relatives?
How might this truth also affect your thinking about sharing the gospel without shame or fear?