Jonah
Notes
Transcript
Life on Mission
Life on Mission
Where would you go for the sake of the gospel? Would you go overseas - to Iran or China or North Korea or Russia? Would you go to the north or to the south? Would you go to Europe? Would you go next door?
I alluded to this in the Dear Family message this week, but I thought I’d reiterate and explain it a bit more. When Danielle and I were in high school, her church had a youth choir. I liked spending time with Danielle and I liked singing so they invited me to join in. One season, they were doing a musical about evangelism called “Surrender”. They asked me to play one of the main roles. I don’t remember the character’s name - but he was a high school athlete and a Christian. The main song that I had went something like this....
“I’d rather go to Africa, than Lakewood high, and give my testimony, just like a fool. Dear Lord please send me anywhere, but Lakewood high------. ‘Cause bein’ a believer isn’t cool.”
The message of the musical centered around the worth of evangelism. Is it more important to be cool, or liked, than it is to be obedient to what God calls us to do?
Today, as we continue our look at God’s Story in Scripture - we are going to dive into the book of Jonah. If you have your copy of God’s Word, let me encourage you to open to Jonah. Jonah is the last portion of the Old Testament.
Introducing Jonah
Introducing Jonah
The story of Jonah is one of those stories that is very familiar. Whether or not you’ve grown up in church or studying scripture, you are probably familiar with a man who ended up in the belly of a fish and then came out a few days later. No - this story did not originate with Pinocchio - it started in scripture.
Jonah was a prophet who ministered during the reign of Jeroboam II - somewhere between 782 and 753 BC among the northern kingdom of Israel. According to 2 Kings 14, Jonah was from Gath-Hepher - which is west of the Sea of Galilee.
The book of Jonah is unique among the prophets. While Jonah is considered a prophet - his book has very little prophecy. In fact, the message of his prophecy really is really contained in one verse:
Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
That’s it. Isaiah’s teachings cover some 66 chapters. Jeremiah’s cover 52 chapters. As we saw last week, Obadiah was only 1 chapter or 21 verses of text. But the actual prophecy of Jonah - one verse.
Which sort of makes us ask the question, why? What is the purpose of Jonah? Why did God include this in His Bible if the actual prophecy is rather small?
The book as a whole is beautifully and masterfully written. It is full of language that is ironic and satirical. It uses humor, tragedy and rhetorical questions as powerful tools for teaching.
With the actual prophecy being such a little part of the book, it forces us to take notice of the other elements and the deeper and more profound lessons that we learn from this experience of Jonah.
In case you are not familiar with the story of Jonah, here is a brief summary.
Chapter 1 - God gives Jonah three simple commands - get up, go to Ninevah, and call out against their sin. Jonah gets up, but instead of going to Ninevah (which is a multiple day land-journey), Jonah goes to the shore and boards a boat for Tarshish - a city in the exact opposite direction. While on board, God “hurls” a great storm. Out of fear the sailors “hurl” the cargo overboard. Eventually, they cast lots and find that Jonah is the reason for the storm so they “hurl” Jonah into the sea - where a great fish swallows him. In many ways the pagan sailors act more righteous than Jonah. They were unwilling to throw Jonah overboard and only did so as a last resort. It seems Jonah assumed if they threw him, they would be guilty of his murder and he would still get to avoid going to Nineveh.
Chapter 2 - recognizing that God has saved him miraculously, Jonah offers a prayer of thanksgiving for his own salvation. After a few days the fish vomited Jonah out onto the shore.
Chapter 3 - God reiterates his call for Jonah to “arise” “go to Nineveh” and “call” - the same words, the same message, the same messenger. This time Jonah obeys. When he gets to the city, he prophesies the destruction of the city because of their sin. The people do what most preachers would love for people to do - they respond. They repent and God “relents” of the destruction that he had planned.
Chapter 4 - Jonah became angry with God because he knew God to be a grace God who is merciful and slow to anger (4:2). In his anger and distress, God asked that he die. Jonah sets up a tent in order to watch the destruction of Nineveh. God sends a plant to give him some shade from the scorching heat - so Jonah was glad. God then sent a worm to eat the plant, causing the shade to go away. Jonah again becomes angry. So God and Jonah have this conversation:
Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?” “Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”
Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly.
But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”
So that’s it, that’s roughly the story of Jonah. It ends with a question.
So often, people want to get hung up on the reality of the fish and the historicity of Jonah and the fact of the story. But I think in getting hung up on these issues, people miss the point.
God cares about those who are far from Him - no matter who they are
God cares about those who are far from Him - no matter who they are
The ESV Study Bible puts it this way:
The ESV Study Bible Theme
The Lord is a God of boundless compassion not just for “us” (Jonah and the Israelites) but also for “them” (the pagan sailors and Ninevites).
You see, for Jonah and the people of Israel - Nineveh was the enemy. In some ways, it would have been unheard of for the people of Israel to even give the people of Nineveh any thought and consideration. You see, Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire. This was a pagan nation. Nineveh was a pagan town, filled with people who were worshiping all sorts of false deities. They were lost in their sin and ignorant in their behavior.
They were wicked and in many ways, they didn’t know any better.
Here is the initial call that God gives to Jonah:
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”
Did they know that they were a sinful people? Probably. It seems like God has gifted us with a sort of innate understanding of right and wrong. So often though, that understanding is tainted by what we learn in society. That understanding is stained by our own evil desires.
But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Nineveh is mentioned several times throughout scripture. Here in Jonah - they are warned of their destruction and they repent. Many years later, in the book of Nahum, they are warned again, but this time it seems like destruction is their sure outcome. Jesus condemned his listeners because they refused to repent like Nineveh did (Mt. 12:41; Lk. 11:30,32).
The point that we need to understand is that God does care for those who are far from Him.
I think it’s so easy for us to get bent out of shape when we consider the actions of other people who are far from God. We look at the way that they live or how they act and immediately want to condemn them.
Are they worthy of being condemned? Yes - but so are we.
Are their actions sinful? Yes - but so are ours.
Consider how many people live in the nation of India - roughly 1.2 Billion. Most of them are caught up into the lie of Hinduism. The millions of gods that they worship and the myriad of ways that they are enslaved to rituals and superstitions leaves this people in bondage. God - the one true God - our God - cares about them.
Or what about the people who are caught up in the mire between the godlessness of communism and ancestor worship. There are generations of people who are enslaved in the atheism of communism. For those in China, this is also mixed with their deification of ancestors and the way that one generation serves their predecessors. God loves and cares for them.
Or what about the people who are wrapped up in their own materialism and the temporal view of a consumeristic society? Those who think that the one who dies with the most toys wins or those whose motto is “YOLO - you only live once” - so do it all. God cares about them. He hates their sinful behavior, but cares for them.
God cares about Muslims, Jews, Agnostics, animists, atheists, buddhists and so much more.
God cares about politicians and actors, businessmen and women, farmers, prostitutes, scientists, doctors, nurses, military personnel, drug dealers, and addicts.
God cares.
God loves.
This would be a perfect place to quote John 3:16-17 - but you likely already know it.
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
God cares about people who are far from him - and he did something about it. For the people of Nineveh - he sent Jonah. For us - he sent his son Jesus.
Another thing that we learn from the message of Jonah is that since God cares about people who are far from Him...
We should care about the people God cares about - which is everyone.
We should care about the people God cares about - which is everyone.
It seems that although Jonah finally went to Nineveh - he did not want to. The attitude of his heart was hatred toward Nineveh. He seemed to be more concerned about his reputation than he was about their salvation.
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.
He knew and had experienced God’s grace, and yet his hatred for Nineveh ran deep. He did not want to see their salvation. He wanted to see their destruction.
Jonah prayed a beautiful and thankful prayer in chapter 2 - expressing gratitude for all that God had done for him by saving him from destruction in the water and yet when God relented in His destruction of Nineveh - Jonah was furious.
In God’s grace, God allowed a plant to grow providing shade - a plant that Jonah neither planted nor cultivated. In God’s discipline, God appointed a worm to eat the plant, causing it to wither, and Jonah was furious - again - to the point of death.
Jonah felt justified in his hatred of the Ninevites. Jonah felt entitled to the shade of the tree - even though he did not deserve it.
Oh, how often are we - am I - like Jonah? How often do we hate those who are far from God, stuck in sin, blinded by a religious system? How often do we expect righteousness from the unrighteous? How often do we think we deserve God’s favor and think that others don’t?
The truth is that none of us deserve God grace or mercy or forgiveness or favor.
Because we don’t deserve it, we should look at outsiders the way that God looks at us. We should look at outsiders the way that God looks at them.
We are so often blinded by our own cares and concerns.
What did Jonah care about? - it seems like his reputation. As a Prophet - his reputation was something to uphold. Because he knew of God’s character - being merciful and forgiving - he seemed to feel that he would prophesy their destruction and God would forgive them and Jonah would look like a fool. Fulfillment for a prophet was important.
The guys at the Bible Project note that in Jonah’s short sermon to the Ninevites, he says that the city will be “overthrown” or more literally “overturned.” In their repentance, the Ninevites “turn” from their wickedness and sin. So, in a sense, Jonah’s prophecy came true - their hearts were turned over to God.
What do we care about? - position, power, prestige, money, stuff, etc. What populates our Internet search histories or our pocketbooks? Do we really give any thought or time or energy to the things that God cares about? When we do, do we do so willingly or begrudgingly?
We are also blinded by our own comforts.
What brought Jonah comfort? - A shady plant that he did not plant. A judgmental perch in view of the destruction of others.
Where are we blinded by our own comforts? - When you think about the luxuries that we have - we are truly blessed - a comfortable home and bed, more clothes than we can wear, more gadgets than we can use. God doesn’t need to allow us to have all that we have - and yet so often we care more about the comforts of our lives than we do about the eternal comforter!
(possible stories - Samina)
God has called us to do something about their lostness.
God has called us to do something about their lostness.
Jonah was called to go to Nineveh - twice.
He rebelled the first time.
God gave him a second chance.
Jonah was sent to call them to repentance and they did!
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.
The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
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,
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.
Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”
It’s easy to sit in judgment of people who are stuck in sin. It’s easy to look with a condescending eye toward those who are far from God. I believe, that like Jonah, we have been given a call to reach those who are lost.
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,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
How are we doing at going? How are we doing at sharing the Gospel - the Good News of what God has done?
But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?
Our world desperately needs people to share the gospel with them.
Consider, for example, the racial tension and strife. In many ways it’s well-founded. There are systemic problems. Those problems are gradually getting addressed, but it is taking time. Fixing the system really doesn’t fix the problem - fixing hearts does.
What do we believe about the Gospel? The Apostle Paul believed that it was powerful.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
The gospel demonstrates God’s power to save everyone who believes.
It’s this same powerful Gospel that brought unity between people groups. In the early church there was a tension between the Jewish believers and Gentiles or Greeks. The Apostle Paul addresses this tension and helps believers see that there is healing and unity among different groups of people because of the power of the Gospel.
But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.
He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups.
Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.
The racial divide that exists in our nation won’t be healed by reparations or police reform; the injustice of looting and violence doesn’t turn back the clocks on hundreds of years of oppression.
I believe that the racial divide will be healed when the people of God live out and preach the reconciling work of the Gospel. You see, in the Gospel, not only are we who are far from God brought near to him, but now our whole identity is changed - We are identified in Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
God has saved us by the power of the Gospel.
In this same Gospel - he has unified humanity under the cross.
Beloved - our world, our nation, our state, our town, our church - needs us to walk in the reality of the unity that we have in Christ. For those who are far from God, we need not be ashamed of the Gospel. It is offensive because it points to people’s sin, but it is also healing because it reconciles us with each other.
The most powerful tool that God has given us is the healing power of the gospel. Do we believe it? Do we preach it? Do we discuss it with our family and neighbors? Do we deliver it to those who need to hear it?
One of the big challenges that has arisen in this racially charged season is that we are all looking for solutions. We look to articles, podcasts, books, talking heads - for answers and solutions. We have the solution in the gospel and it’s best communicated person to person.
Vodie Baucham - a pastor, speaker, and also Dean of a Christian college talked about the fact that when he and his wife have a problem, he doesn’t turn to a book or magazine or blog to try to understand his wife. He turns to her to be reconciled. In much the same way, we need to do the same. We need to reach out to those who are different from us in order to be reconciled.
Who are you or I spending time with on the phone or at a physically appropriate distance to seek to understand? Consider what healing there is when we understand the hurts, pain, disappointments, and injustices felt by others - and then speak the truth and power of the Gospel into those hurts, pains, disappointments, and injustices!
God has called us to do something about the lostness of people around us. He has given us the tools in the gospel.
Other tools:
Cooperative program and specific missionaries - are we giving, are we praying
Closing Thoughts
Closing Thoughts
God does care about those who are far from him - which is why he sent Jonah to preach to the 120,000 people of Nineveh.
Because God cares - so should we. We should be concerned about their lostness, their hurts, their pains.
God has called us do do something. He gave Jonah two commissions to go. He has given us the great commission - and the power of the Gospel. Are we doing all that we can, by the power of the Spirit, share with those who are far from God - bringing peace to our world?
Communion
Communion
Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.
You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,
that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
Benediction
Benediction
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.