I Am Jonah
Sermon Notes
Introduction:
Today we’re continuing our teaching series called The Story, where we’re going through the biblical narrative from the very beginning in Genesis 1 to the last amen in Revelation 22, and today we’re studying the story of Jonah. It’s a story about God’s desire to extend grace to the undeserving. It’s about God’s desire to extend grace to those who are far from God. But it’s also about the hypocrisy of believers refusing to extend that grace to others. Sometimes as believers, as Christians we fail to extend the grace we’ve received from God to others. If somebody wrongs us, angers us, offends us, sometimes we’re quick to stonewall, hold grudges, retaliate with wrath instead of with grace. If you’re a skeptic, if you believe Christians are hypocrites, you’re right... We are hypocrites...But the reality is you’re a hypocrite too. The reality is there’s times you fail to practice what you preach too. There’s times you fail to live some of the things you believe, which makes you a hypocrite too. So both skeptics and believers are hypocrites, both fail to live the very things we say we believe, and this is what the story of Jonah’s about. It’s about God’s desire to extend grace to those who are far from God, including those who are skeptics, and it’s about the hypocrisy of believers refusing to extend that grace to others. So let’s turn to Jonah ch 1 and get into it. If you open your bible to the middle and keep turning right, you’ll find Jonah. We’ll start in Jonah 1:1 and work our way to Jonah ch 4. Title of today’s message is I Am Jonah, and here’s the big idea. It’s hypocritical to receive grace, but then refuse to extend grace...It’s hypocritical to receive grace, but then refuse to extend grace...I’ll give some context as we go.
The Word:
Jonah 1:1-2, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 ‘Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because their evil has come up before me.’” Jonah was a prophet for the North Kingdom of Israel in the 8th Century B.C., during a time when Israel was a prosperous nation. Unfortunately they started declining morally, declining politically, and their King Jeroboam started doing some evil things, but Jonah remains a faithful patriot through it all. He’s more loyal to Israel than he is to God. He’s like some American Christians who are more loyal to their political parties than their faith. Jonah was a prophet who was more loyal to his country than to God, which we’ll see later when he refuses to go to Nineveh like the Lord asks.
Now historically we know Nineveh was located close to Syria in the Northern parts of Iraq, and it was the capital city of the Assyrian Empire. It was a great city like the text states, because of its size, strength, and prosperity. It was considered one of the greatest capital cities in ancient civilizations, but also one of the cruelest. In fact archaeologists have discovered Assyrian artwork with images of war, execution, impalement, even the skinning of enemies. They also discovered an ancient Assyrian library with Ninevite kings writing things like, “I pierced a conquered king’s chin with my keen hand dagger. Through his jaw I passed a rope, put a dog chain upon him, and made him occupy a kennel.” There’s even reports of them skinning their enemies, burying them alive up to their heads in sand, then driving a stake through their tongues to thirst in pain until they died. They were very brutal people, and this is the city the Lord’s telling Jonah to preach to. The Lord tells Jonah to warn them, to preach against the evil they’re doing, or else they’ll be destroyed. This is like walking into ISIS headquarters, telling ISIS to repent and turn to Jesus, or else they’ll be destroyed. Anybody want that job? 1-2-3 not it...But it’s the job the Lord’s called Jonah to do. He’s called Jonah to preach against these brutal Ninevites.
Again vs. 2, “‘Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because their evil has come up before me.’ 3 Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the Lord’s presence.” Jonah flees to Tarshish, which is roughly 2500 miles west of Nineveh. God tells him to go East, but he goes 2500 miles West. Jonah’s the only prophet in the bible who’s given a message from God, and he tries concealing it instead of preaching it. In ch 4 we’ll learn it isn’t because he’s afraid of the Ninevites, it’s because he’s afraid of God’s grace. It isn’t because he’s afraid of being persecuted by the Ninevites, it’s because he’s afraid God will forgive the Ninevites. He hates the Ninevites so much, he doesn’t want them having the slightest chance of repenting and being forgiven. Jonah is a hypocrite of grace. He’s received grace from the Lord, but he’s refusing to extend that grace to others. He’s a hypocrite of grace who’s trying to flee to Tarshish.
But notice it says he’s also trying to flee from the Lord’s presence, which is ridiculous because how do you outrun God? I mean God’s faster than Usain Bolt and the Flash combined. God’s omnipresent, he’s everywhere, so he can try running from God all he wants, but that’s a race he can’t win. Running from God is like running on a treadmill, it’ll get you nowhere. You can run a lot of miles, but it’ll get you nowhere. It’s run, run, run, run, run “I think I lost him.” God’s like “Nope, still here. You’re out of breath from running life without me. But I’m still here and willing to help.” Jonah’s trying to run from God, but it’ll get him nowhere. Jonah is a runner... Jonah is a runner, who runs from the Lord when things don’t go his way. Everybody’s a runner like Jonah...Everybody has moments when things don’t go their way, and we try running from the Lord. It’s why every year the Jews gather on Yom Kippur to read the book of Jonah, and after reading it the entire congregation says “We’re Jonah.” Every year they say “We’re Jonah.” It's because they know everybody’s a runner like Jonah. Everybody’s running a race called life, and sometimes we run life with God, but sometimes we run life without God like Jonah.
Again vs. 3, “Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the Lord’s presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish.” City Awakening if you want to run from God, there will always be a ship ready to take you...If you want to run from God, if you want to try living life apart from God, there will always be a ship ready to take you...Satan will always have a ship ready to take you into deeper disobedience like Jonah...If you flirt with lust, he’ll have a ship ready to take you into deeper lust. If you flirt with greed, he’ll have a ship ready to take you into deeper greed. If you flirt with hatred and unforgiveness toward somebody like Jonah did, he’ll have a ship ready to take you into deeper hatred and unforgiveness. Satan will always have a ship ready to take you into deeper disobedience like Jonah. But if you climb aboard that ship, it’ll lead to a shipwreck. Jonah climbs aboard, and it leads to a shipwreck.
Vs. 4, “But the Lord threw a great wind onto the sea, and such a great storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart.” There’s the shipwreck starting to happen. The ship Jonah’s sailing on is leading to a shipwreck, it’s threatening to break up like the text states. But notice who causes the storm. Notice who causes the storm that’s threatening to break up Jonah’s ship. The text says it’s the Lord who caused a great wind to come. It’s the Lord who caused the storm to bust up Jonah’s ship. We tend to think a loving God should allow us to live a storm free, trial free life, but what we’re learning is sometimes God sends us a storm. Sometimes God sends us a storm to get us to wake up and realize we’re headed the wrong way in life. If you’re sailing on a ship headed for destruction, sometimes God will intervene by sending a storm to bust that ship up a bit. It’s his way of giving you a chance to repent, to get off that ship, and be saved from the destructive direction you’re headed in. The storm Jonah’s facing isn’t a punishment, it’s an intervention. It’s an intervention to save Jonah from self-destruction, to save Jonah from Jonah.
Vs. 5, “The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god.” You know it’s a bad storm if the sailors, the people living on boats are afraid. You know it’s a bad storm, if the Deadliest Catch guys are freaking out. It’s a massive storm and the captain’s like “We can’t survive this storm. So we need everybody to pray to their own gods, and hopefully one of them will save us. You get Poseidon, you get Allah, you get Krishna, you get Buddha.” It’s amazing how spiritual people can get when a storm comes into their life. Mark Twain was like that. Near the end of his life he said this in his autobiography, “I prayed. I prayed like a coward. I prayed like a dog.” Twain was a skeptic, he had strong beliefs against God, but he admits he prayed, he cried out to God in a storm. It’s because there’s some storms in life you can’t survive without God’s help. You can try to heave-ho your way through life saying “I control my life, I control the situation, I control the outcome of the storm.” It’s heave-ho! Heave-ho! Heave...ho...Heave...ho... Until eventually you don’t have any energy to row anymore, and your heave-ho’s turn into an oh no saying, “I can’t do it anymore. I can’t hold it together anymore. I’ve tried being in control, but my life’s out of control and I don’t know what to do.” You can lay down your paddles...You can lay down your paddles and submit to God, instead of fighting against God like Jonah.
Again vs. 5, “The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god. They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep. 6 The captain approached him and said, ‘What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god. Maybe this god will consider us, and we won’t perish.” Notice the pagans are praying, but the prophet is sleeping... The pagans are praying, but the prophet who’s supposed to be the one praying is sleeping. I also want you to notice the reason the captain asks Jonah to cry out to the God of the bible, is because the other gods they’re praying to aren’t working. Poseidon, Allah, Krishna, Buddha, whatever gods they’re praying to aren’t able to save them. So the captain asks Jonah to pray, but Jonah tells the captain and sailors the storm is happening because he’s running from the Lord. He tells them to throw him overboard, and they try saving him at first. But eventually they pray to the Lord and throw Jonah overboard like Jonah said. The storm calms, but Jonah’s left drowning at sea.
Vs. 17, “The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” It’s safe to say Jonah isn’t having a good day, he isn’t having a whale of a time...He’s sailed through a cat 5 hurricane, he’s been thrown overboard, and now he’s being swallowed up by Shamu...But just like the Lord caused the storm to redirect Jonah’s life, it says the Lord appointed this great fish to save Jonah’s life. He appointed this great fish to swallow up Jonah and save him from drowning. God’s provision doesn’t always come wrapped up in comfort...God’s provision doesn’t always come wrapped up in our preferences... But this great fish, is an act of God’s great grace. It’s an act of grace to save Jonah’s life.
Ch. 2:1, “Jonah prayed to the Lord, from the belly of the fish…” Vs. 6, “Then you raised my life from the Pit!”Jonah was literally drowning, but the Lord saved him, the Lord raised his life from the pit. Like the sailors, like Mark Twain, Jonah realized he can’t survive without the Lord. So he prayed and the Lord’s grace met him in the rock bottom pit of his life. The Lord’s grace is always ready to meet us in the rock bottom pit of our lives, if we turn to him in prayer.
Vs. 10, “Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” The fish obeys God better than Jonah! The fish obeys God better than the prophet! The Lord commands the fish, the fish obeys, and vomits Jonah out of its mouth which is nasty. Only thing worse than throwing up, is being thrown up. It’s just nasty! But scholars say the reason the Lord has the fish vomit him out, is because Jonah’s heart is still hardened toward the Ninevites. He’s received so much grace from the Lord, but he still isn’t willing to extend grace to the Ninevites. He still isn’t willing to preach to the Ninevites. So the disgusting vomit expresses God’s disgust with Jonah’s hardened heart. In fact Jonah’s heart is so hardened, that in ch’s 3-4 he finally goes to Nineveh, the people repent of their sins and turn to the Lord, but Jonah’s furious over it!
Ch. 4:1, “Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious.” Several thousand people, possibly 120,000 Ninevites come to faith in the Lord, and he’s furious over it. He’s a recipient of grace, but he has a heart of wrath, which isn’t the Lord’s heart. The Lord wants their salvation, not their destruction. The Lord wants our salvation not our destruction. But Jonah’s a hypocrite of grace. The Lord gave him salvation, and he wants the Ninevites destruction.
Vs. 5, “Jonah left the city and found a place east of it. He made himself a shelter there and sat in its shade to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God appointed a plant, and it grew over Jonah to provide shade for his head...Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant. 7 When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, and it withered. 8 As the sun was rising God appointed a scorching east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head so much that he almost fainted, and he wanted to die...” The Lord’s teaching Jonah a lesson here, which is that the Lord’s in control not Jonah. The word appointed appears 3 times in ch 4, and it appears 4 times in the entire book. It’s to show Jonah that the Lord’s in control not him.
Vs. 9, “Then God asked Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?’ ‘Yes, it’s right!’ he replied. ‘I’m angry enough to die!’ 10 And the Lord said, ‘You cared about the plant... 11 So may I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than a hundred twenty thousand people?” That’s it, that’s the end of the book of Jonah. The Lord’s saying “Jonah you care more about a plant perishing than people perishing. You pity a plant more than you pity people. But shouldn’t I pity people more than a plant? Shouldn’t I pity the people of Nineveh more than a plant?” It’s a genius way to end the book of Jonah, because the question the Lord’s asking Jonah is the question he wants us to ask ourselves. It’s “Do you care more about your plants perishing in your yard, or people perishing in your city?” If you truly care about people perishing, then show it by living out our code to love the few so we can love the many. Show it by loving a few people so well they can’t ignore the love of Jesus for their lives. Show it by praying for them, serving them, inviting them in your home and church, showing them love like Jesus showed you love. Show it by not being a hypocrite of grace like Jonah, instead be a giver of grace like Jesus. When Jesus came into this world 800 yrs later, he came with a very different heart than the heart of Jonah. He came with a heart of grace. Jesus said in Matthew 12, “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth...behold, something greater than Jonah is here.” Jesus said something greater than Jonah is here,meaning he’s the greater Jonah...Jesus is saying he’s the greater Jonah, with a greater power, and a greater heart of grace than Jonah.
· Jonah didn’t want to forgive his enemies, but Jesus offers forgiveness to his enemies.
· Jonah was a sinner who ran from God, but Jesus is the God who runs after sinners.
· Jonah ran from the presence of God, but Jesus came to bring us the presence of God.
· Jonah went in the sea to save a few, but Jesus went on the cross to save many.
· Jonah spent 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the fish for his own sins. But Jesus spent 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the earth to die for our sins.
· Jonah needed the Lord to raise his life from the pit on the 3rd day, but Jesus had the power to raise himself from the pit on the 3rd day.
· Jonah cried out to the Lord, but Jesus actually is the Lord.
· Jonah was a sinner, but Jesus is a sinless savior.
Jesus is the greater Jonah!...Jesus is the greater Jonah, and in Revelation ch 7 it promises when Jesus returns there will be people worshiping him from every nation, tribe, and tongue. Yet here we are nearly 2000 yrs later and roughly 10,000 of the world’s 17,000 nations, tribes, and tongues are filled with people worshiping Jesus! Jonah was sent to Nineveh to save a few people from one nation, but Jesus came to save many people from every nation and it’s happening! City Awakening Jesus is the greater Jonah!...Jonah needed a savior, Jesus is that savior. The Ninevites needed a savior, Jesus is that savior. We need a savior, Jesus is that savior. Jesus is the greater savior who came to save us from the rock bottom pit of our sinful depravity. He came to give us grace and he sends us to share that grace with others, instead of being hypocrites of grace like Jonah.
The Big Idea:
The big idea of the message is that it’s hypocritical to receive grace, but then refuse to extend grace. We need to grow in being quicker at extending the very grace we’ve received from Jesus to others...But what about Jonah?...Did he finally change from having a heart of wrath, to having a heart of grace for the Ninevites?...Yes he did change, and here’s how we know. He’s the one telling the story...Jonah’s the one telling the story, and the reason he tells us this story is to point us to the very God who changed is heart. What Jonah’s saying is “If God can forgive me of my sins, he can forgive you of your sins. If God can change my heart and the hearts of the people in the great city of Nineveh, then he can change your heart and the hearts of the people in the great city of Orlando.” The message of Jonah is for us to lay our paddles down, it’s to submit our lives to Jesus, because he’s a sovereign God who loves, saves, and can change our sinful hearts. So let’s receive his grace today, and let’s extend his grace to others in this great city of ours.