Jonah Flees

When you flee God will turn you around

Jonah 1, Matthew 12:38–41

Focus: God turns us around by Jesus

Function: That my hearers will give thanks to God for repentance and Baptism

Structure: Image Based (Single Image) Fish/Man

1. Refusal to Rescue

Jonah 1

Jonah's initial refusal and the reason why (terrorists/ rejecting the call/ leaves the ministry)

Jonah refuses on the boat (Hires non-Israelites/ won’t pray/ would rather die)

Refuse to believe that it was a whale (God likes to use weak and small things to shame to wise/ foolish things to shame the strong)

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

Jonah thought he was being dragged to hell

Cries out to God for mercy

God turns Jonah around and puts him back on track

his reluctant obedience is so much like our resistance to God’s call

Think of the famous evangelist Billy Graham, who turned away from his earlier pursuits and dedicated his life to spreading the message of Christ. His transformation serves as a powerful example of someone who left behind a life of worldly success to live for Christ.

our resistance to God’s call , and how God's persistence turns us back around even when we don’t want to and it leads us toward repentance and transformation.

Teaching on Passive Righteousness

Lamentations 5:21 “Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old—”

(Getting in the car)

This mirrors our experience of baptism as a means by which God brings us (Just like Jonah) from death to life, and though we bring nothing but rejection and hatred of God he still graciously repents us and gives us life and work in His kingdom.

2. Baptism turns you around and connects you to Christ

Matthew 12:38-41

Jesus' reference to the sign of Jonah as a prophetic symbol of His death and resurrection, emphasizing that being baptized is into Christ's death and resurrection, saves us and send us on His mission.

God brings from death to life

He uses means

He repents us when we don’t even want to repent Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

It saves 1 Peter 3:21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

How because we did something… no because it connects you to Jesus Romans 6:3-5 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

Jesus is your real big fish

He is the means by which you are turned around and sent out into the world with a message to bring

3. Baptized people have a message to bring

Jonah 1; Matthew 12:38-41

But why did Nineveh listen Him

Dagon/Veggie Tales

Dagon and the fish connection (Fish God/man) Connection to 1 Samuel 5:1-7 and the destruction of Dagon in the Temple when the Ark was there and also Judges 16:23 when Sampson killed all those Dagon worshippers in the temple as his final act of judgment from God. If a man came from a fish… and He was a Hebrew we better listen carefully. Because their God is the God who defeated our God and brought great judgement on Dagon’s worshippers

Not the rhetorical force: 8 words in english six in hebrew

Jonah Flees from Nineveh they way we flee from sharing the Gospel with people. We have the same reaction to witnessing as Jonah did to preaching to Nineveh

You don’t have to be good at it or even powerful. Because what makes the message good and powerful and effective is that GOD IS THE ONE WORKING THROUGH THIS WORD to make it effective. Isaiah 55:11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Everybody needs to be turned around. That is what the message of the Gospel proclaims (Repent and believe in the good news for the kingdom of God is near Mark 1:15)

The stories of Jonah and Jesus' teachings to show that through God’s act of repenting us in the water through means (baptism), we are experiencing God’s narrative of redemption because we are connected to Jesus and sent to speak his word to everyone (even enemies) who does not yet know him. we are invitng people to meet our God, our real big fish, Jesus, the greatest catch who after taking our deadly sins, rose again to give us life free from the fear of death and hell, a life with God who cares so much that he gave us the word of the prophets made more perfect because of Jesus, not just the greatest prophet, but also your personal savior, God is drawing us closer to Him and calling others to join us.