Jonah chapter 4. There's only four chapters in Jonah and today we're on the last chapter.
We're preaching through the gospel according to John. We finished all the way through John 16,
but once a month or so we pop back to the Old Testament and we've worked through the book of
Ruth. Now we're working through the book of Jonah. And it's been a delight and it's also amazing to
see the same gospel, the same message throughout all of God's word. So we're going to read all of
Jonah chapter 4 as our sermon text today. We'll really begin one verse before that.
As I read God's word today and as you follow along, remember this is God's inspired, inerrant,
infallible, clear, and sufficient word. This is God's very own word for you who are his people.
If you receive his word today in that way, then when I'm done with the reading of the word, I'll say
this is the word of the God and we'll respond, thanks be to God.
Jonah chapter 4, but let's start one verse prior. So Jonah chapter 3 verse 10.
When God saw what they did, that's the repentance of the Ninevites, 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.
Jonah 4 verse 1.
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 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.
Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.
And the Lord said, do you do well to be angry?
Verse 5.
Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east of the city and made a booth for himself there.
He sat under it in the shade till he should see what would become of the city.
Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it grow up over Jonah that it might be a shade over his head to save him from his discomfort.
So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.
But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant so that it withered.
When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind.
And the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint.
And he asked that he might die and said, it is better for me to die than to live.
But God said to Jonah, do you do well to be angry for the plant?
And he said, yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.
And the Lord said, you pity the plant for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow.
Which came into being in a night and perished in a night.
And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left.
And also much cattle.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
You may be seated.
The Bible says that the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, how do you see God?
How do you see God?
As I pray for illumination that the Lord would speak through his word, ponder that question.
How do you see God?
Let's pray.
Oh God, you are the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything.
You are eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in your power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice and truth.
And nothing happens except through you and by your will, as the catechism says.
I pray, Lord, today that by the power of your spirit through the ministry of the word, you will open our eyes to see you, God, for who you truly are.
That you will be glorified in our lives, we pray.
Amen.
In the Chronicles of Narnia, Lucy is learning who Aslan is.
Lucy is the little girl.
Aslan is the great lion, the creator, and the king over Narnia and over the whole world.
And Mr. and Mrs. Beaver are the ones who get to introduce Lucy to the idea of who Aslan is.
Lucy is curious, so she asks, is he safe?
The beaver says, of course he isn't safe.
He's wild, you know, not like a tame lion, but he's good.
He's the king, I tell you.
Great literature has two types of characters.
One is called a flat character.
The other is called a round character.
They're set up to be contrasts one with the other.
A flat character can be summed up in one to two sentences.
A flat character has traits that are consistent.
And a flat character is stable and more predictable.
The flat character serves to point a flashlight or a spotlight at a different character.
And that's the round or the complex character.
So with Narnia, you have Lucy who's a flat character.
She's spotlighting Aslan.
Lucy is consistently kind toward her siblings.
Lucy consistently rests, putting her hope in Aslan to come and save them.
But Aslan is not a tame lion, you see.
But he is the king and he's good.
We know from all of scripture that God is unchanging.
All of his attributes are unified in his essence.
But God does not reveal himself in a flat way.
Jonah seems to want a flat God.
The book of Jonah shows us God is so much bigger, Jonah.
God cannot be summed up in one to two sentences, can he?
Many of God's attributes are paradoxical.
And God often surprises you.
How do you see God, dear Christian?
How do you see God?
I believe as we walk through this last chapter of Jonah,
when you see God for who he truly is,
something will happen to you and to me.
As we see God for who he truly is,
the true condition of our heart gets exposed.
This was true for Jonah.
When God shows you who he truly is,
the true condition of your heart is exposed.
When God shows you who he truly is,
the true condition of your heart is exposed.
A couple observations on this.
The Lord revealed to Jonah,
in redemptive history,
these events actually happened in a real city,
a real capital of the Assyrian Empire.
God used those events in redemptive history
to reveal to Jonah who he truly is.
So God acts in history to reveal himself.
So we read in Jonah 4, verse 1,
it displeased Jonah exceedingly,
and he was very angry.
The verb displeased,
it displeased Jonah exceedingly.
That verb is used in the Bible in connection to the eyes.
One example is Proverbs 15, 3,
the eyes of the Lord are in every place,
keeping watch on the evil and the good.
So you're seeing it,
you're taking it in,
and you're determining,
is this pleasing or not?
We see here two things that Jonah saw
that displeased him greatly.
Number one,
Jonah saw the Ninevites turn
and repent.
Number two,
Jonah saw God show mercy
by withholding punishment.
So what displeased Jonah
is really a reference to chapter 3, verse 10.
Take your eyes there in your Bible.
Jonah 3, 10,
when God saw what the Ninevites did,
how they turned from their evil way,
God relented of the disaster
that he said he would do to them,
and he did not do it.
And so we get the reaction of Jonah
in response.
In the Hebrew,
the literal translation,
according to the experts I learned from,
is this.
Jonah determined that it was evil,
and it burned in him.
That's his response.
That's what God revealed
was inside of Jonah.
God forgave the Ninevites.
Jonah could not.
God displeased Jonah.
From Jonah's perspective,
Nineveh is evil, God.
And if you are just,
how could you not punish evil?
So Jonah thinks that God's mercy is evil.
Now this little story has so much irony.
Irony is another literary device.
So kids,
irony is when a character's contradiction
or you could say in this case,
their hypocrisy,
it's very obvious to us,
the reader,
but the character himself is blind to it.
It's ironic to everyone else.
We see it.
God put the right words
in the mouth of Jonah,
even though he's angry at God.
Look at what Jonah says in verse 2.
God says the right things about God.
God is a God that is merciful,
slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love,
and relenting from disaster.
So Jonah's words are the correct theology,
and Jonah is quoting what God has told his people in numerous places.
One of those is Exodus 34,
verses 6 and 7.
But Jonah does not like who God truly is.
That's the real problem here.
Jonah is displeased with who God truly is.
How do you see God?
It doesn't get any easier for us
in the New Testament, does it?
One example is Romans 9, verse 18,
which says that the Lord has mercy
on whomever he wills,
and he hardens whomever he wills.
How do you see God?
The Lord revealed to Jonah in redemptive history
who God truly is.
The Lord reveals to you and me
in redemptive history
who he truly is.
Second observation is that
Jonah's response to who God truly
reveals himself to be,
it exposes the condition of Jonah's heart.
So Jonah's response
exposes the condition of his heart.
In verse 2,
Jonah prayed unto the Lord
and he complained, saying,
this is what I said
when I was back in my country.
It's why I fled earlier to Tarshish.
Verse 3 says,
I beseech you now, O Lord,
take my life from me,
for it is better for me to die
than to live.
Well, in Jonah chapter 2,
Jonah prayed,
thanking God for sparing his own life.
Now in chapter 4,
Jonah prays,
asking for God to take his life.
God, if you're a God
who tolerates the sin
of this wicked people,
how can you be just?
Jonah can't handle
what God has revealed himself
to truly be.
Well, we have to ask the question now,
who has the right to be angry?
whose honor is so great
to show wrath
and whose judgment
is so perfect
to be able to be displeased
in this way
with what they see.
I searched the prophets
and I searched this time period
in the Old Testament
for the words angry
and anger.
And it's very limited to God,
the Lord seeing sin
and having a response of anger.
And it's also limited to kings.
The kings get angry.
So you see what Jonah is doing.
He's putting himself
in the place of a sovereign king.
He's making himself God.
One example is Isaiah 57, 15.
Who is it that can be angry?
In Isaiah's words,
it's the one who is high
and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity,
whose name is holy.
That God says,
I was angry
and hid my face
at sin.
But you can almost picture
that serpent,
just like the worm
that slithers to eat the plant
as it did in the garden.
The enemy,
God's accuser,
slithers in and says,
Jonah,
how could you love
a God like that?
How could you want to live
as a prophet
for that type of a God?
The accuser
wants to always put God
in the defendant's seat.
And to puff Jonah up
as the judge.
A creature
angry
at the creator.
See,
from the outside,
there's no judgment coming.
There's not going to be
a great show.
Jonah goes up to the hill
to watch this happen.
There's nothing to see
on the outside.
What God is revealing
is something
on the inside
of Jonah.
He has a sickness
of the heart.
And God
saved Jonah's life
physically.
Now he needs to save
his soul
spiritually.
And maybe that's the case
for you and I.
Maybe it takes
discomfort
or an unmet expectation
for God to show
that we have
some internal
bleeding going on.
That the great physician,
God himself,
needs to operate
and to restore
and heal you
on the inside.
Charles Spurgeon said,
Many a man
has died
from internal
bleeding
and yet there has
been no wound
whatsoever
to be seen
by the eye.
We know that God
doesn't look at
the outward appearance
like man.
God looks at
the condition
of my heart,
the condition
of your heart.
So this is gracious
of our Lord.
When God shows you
who he truly is,
he's revealing to you
the condition
of your heart
so that he can
operate on it,
so that he can
heal you.
We've seen how
when God shows you
who he truly is,
the true condition
of your heart
is exposed.
Next,
I want to show
how God reveals
the true condition
of your heart
for a purpose.
He does that
in order to minister
to you.
That's what he does
with Jonah
the rest of the chapter.
So God shows you
the true condition
of your heart
in order
to minister
to you.
Notice how God
responds in turn
to Jonah.
Jonah's there angry
as if he were the God.
But God is not
angry at Jonah.
The Lord meets
Jonah with patience
and with fatherly
instruction.
I've got four
observations on how
God ministers
to angry Jonah.
Number one,
God ministered to
Jonah through
personal counsel
with a soul-searching
question.
Isn't this God's
pattern?
He comes to his
people and he
asks you the
questions that make
you search in your
soul.
Look at verse 4.
The Lord said,
Doest thou well
to be angry?
Jonah,
you're determining
what is good
and bad.
You're determining
what should be
pleasing or
displeasing.
Now look at your
heart, Jonah.
Is this good?
Is this pleasing?
There's no response.
There's just
followed by action.
The action shows
the stubbornness
of Jonah's heart.
Look at verse 5.
So Jonah went
out of the city
and sat on the
east side
of the city.
That's the far
side of the city.
He made his way
all the way across
all of Nineveh.
And there's nothing
to buffer him
from the elements
that lie in the
desert beyond.
And there Jonah
made for himself
a booth
and he sat
under it
in the shadow
till he might
see what would
become of the city.
One person
described Jonah's
condition as he
sits under this
little tent he
made for himself
to watch
as sulky
despair.
Jonah's
negotiating
with his own
life before
the Lord.
Destroy them
or destroy me.
He's pouting
in protest.
He thinks
maybe my anger
will stir up
some anger
in God
to do what
I think
is right
for God
to act
justly.
The beauty
of God's
word is
we have
even more
situational
irony here.
His hypocrisy
is just
exposed
and set up
as the main
theme here.
He goes up
to the hill
and what does
your Bible say
he builds
for himself?
What's it
called?
A booth.
He builds
himself a booth.
That's a temporary
dwelling,
a little
tabernacle.
What we saw
in the Gospel
of John,
do you remember
what we saw?
The Feast
of the Booths.
And this is
what God has
told his people
to do.
Booths were
these temporary
little tabernacles
that God had
instructed his
people to build
on one of
their annual
feasts.
And it was
to symbolize
how God
dwells with
his people
and how his
people are
sojourners.
They should be
nimble.
They should be
able to stay
on the move.
And it was
a symbol
of God's
gracious
covenant
coming to
a people
who were
slaves
and now
he dwells
with them.
He tabernacles
among his
people.
Now there's
more to the
Feast of Booths.
It actually
got a second
name.
And this
comes from
Zechariah 14,
16 and other
places.
Listen to
this.
All the
nations
that have
come up
against
Jerusalem
shall go
up year
after year
to worship
the king
who?
The Lord
of hosts
and to
keep
the feast
of booths.
All the
nations were
to gather
and worship
the God
the Lord
of hosts.
It was
the feast
of the
nations.
Do you
see the
irony?
God's
heart for
the Ninevites,
the Assyrians,
the bad
guys.
That's what
God is
showing Jonah
with his
little booth
that he set
up.
Jonah,
I'm speaking
with you.
I am with
you.
Those who
you view
as your
enemies,
the feast
of booths
is for
them to
come and
worship
me.
The second
observation
is that not
only did
God minister
to Jonah
through this
personal
counsel of
a question,
the Lord
also ministered
to Jonah
through his
providence.
God
appointed
physical
means to
teach Jonah.
Notice
how back
in chapter
1,
Jonah 1
verse 17,
the Lord
appointed
a great
fish.
And now
in chapter
4,
we get
three other
things that
the Lord
appointed.
In chapter
4,
verse 6,
the Lord
appointed a
plant.
In verse
7,
the Lord
appointed the
worm.
And in
verse 8,
the Lord
appointed that
vehement
east wind.
A couple
insights to
really paint
this picture
for us.
What was
this plant
perhaps?
Well,
Jerome in the
300s
thought most
likely this
is a
castor oil
plant.
He wrote
that it's
still cultivated
in our
gardens today.
It is
quick-growing,
beautiful,
tall,
with broad
leaves and
a soft,
succulent
stalk,
and only a
slight injury
of which
will cause
the plant
to die.
And the
Lord
appoints
this
vehement
east
wind.
The
Hebrew
word is
hiroko.
It's a
hot wind
coming out
of those
deserts,
and it
can get
up to
60
miles
per hour.
And this
is northern
Iran.
It's
similar to
those winds
that many
of you have
come from
California or
Nevada.
You know
those winds
that have
caused those
wildfires
to spread
almost exactly
the same
conditions.
In the
book of
Nahum,
who was a
contemporary
of Jonah,
that
Sirocco
east wind,
it was
used as
an image
of God
and his
coming
judgment
upon the
people
of Israel.
In Nahum
chapter 2
verses 1
through 8.
Do you see
the situational
irony?
And do you
see how
the Lord
is appointing
all the
means to
show Jonah,
Jonah,
I'm the
one who
is bringing
judgment on
all who
rebel against
me.
Just like
I brought
this wind
upon you,
I can bring
my judgment
to Nineveh.
I can bring
my judgment
to Israel.
Just as
you had
comfort because
of a plant
that I made
to grow,
I can remove
your comfort
and I remove
the comfort
of Israel.
I am God,
I will save
whom I will
save.
Salvation
belongs to
the Lord.
Is this
how you
see God?
The songwriter
got it so
right when he
said,
What e'er my
God ordains
is right.
He never
will deceive
me.
He leads
me by the
proper path.
I know
he will not
leave me.
I take
content
what he
has sent.
His hand
can turn
my griefs
away.
So patiently
I wake
his day.
The Lord
appointed
all of these
physical things
to teach
Jonah a
spiritual
reality.
Before we
move to the
next point
of ministry,
I want to
point out
that the
Lord has
given us
physical
appointed
means by
which he
shows us
grace as
well.
He has
given us
his word.
Our Bible
translator last
week challenged
us we need
to read
God's word.
And he
prays God
that we
are a
congregation
that loves
to read
God's word.
The sound
of God's
word in
our language
coming in
through our
ears ministers
to our
mind and
our soul
in ways
that we
can't even
explain.
It is a
means that
God has
appointed and
he ministers
grace.
When we
pray,
we're told
in the
Bible to
pray for
one another.
These are
physical
things we
do.
We
actually
go into
one another's
living rooms
or front
porches and
we pray for
one another.
This is a
physical action
we do in
response to
our covenant
God and
he ministers
as we pray
for one
another.
When we
take the
Lord's
supper or
we get to
see a
baptism,
these are
physical
means he's
appointed that
proclaim a
spiritual
truth.
We're going
to eat
these with
our bodies,
with our
tongues,
we're going
to taste
and smell
and be
reminded of
the spiritual
reality.
You see how
God has
always
appointed
means to
teach his
people and
to minister
to us.
So what's on
us is to
make the
most of
what God
has appointed
and provided.
Make the
most of
that.
Well,
number three,
not only did
God minister
through those
appointed means,
but God
ministered to
Jonah with
a lesson
from the
lesser to
the greater.
God's
glory as
the biggest
heavy thing
we can
possibly
conceive of.
God
used this
plant to
teach
Jonah,
who God
truly is as
well,
to open
his eyes
to a
clearer
picture of
the true
God.
The Lord
basically
says,
Jonah,
these people
have an
eternal soul.
This plant,
I made it
grow and I
can take it
away.
Now these
souls are
eternal.
This plant
grew up and
died in the
night.
These souls,
they will be
condemned
unless I
bring my
salvation to
them,
Jonah.
So your
response,
Jonah,
take your
eyes off
the lesser.
Put your
eyes on
that which
is greater.
That's what
he's calling
his people
to do
through the
lessons.
And Jonah
remains
hard-hearted.
We see
that in
every response
that Jonah
gives.
He pushes
himself lower
and lower
again and
that's how
the book
ends.
But it's
revealing to
us that
what God
is looking
for is the
heart response.
In chapter
two,
Jonah was
thrown into
the troubled
seas,
the waters
were what
were troubled.
Now in
chapter four,
it's his
heart that
is troubled.
As someone
wrote,
look on
thyself as
in a mirror
and you
will see
what a
boisterous
sea the
soul is.
And God's
word, it
does that for
us.
It becomes
like a
mirror, as
James wrote.
When we
see our
reflection in
the mirror,
we see how
troubled we
are.
And only the
presence of
the Lord can
steady our
souls and
bring that
peace that
we need.
Notice how
the Lord
applies this
lesson to
reveal himself
to Jonah in
verse 11.
The Lord
says,
should not I
spare Nineveh,
that great
city, wherein
there are more
than 120,000
persons.
What's more is
that these
persons cannot
discern their
right hand from
their left,
and also much
cattle.
see these
people, God
said in
verse 11,
they can't
discern.
That term
means to
distinguish or
to discriminate.
That term is
used in
Ezekiel 22
and also
44 to
describe one
of the
tasks of
priests,
which was to
teach the
people to
discriminate
between clean
and unclean.
These people
need the law
of God.
They are
lost.
It doesn't
mean the
Ninevites are
morally guiltless
before a just
God.
Judgment is
threatened to
them unless
they repent.
But it does
mean that they
are trapped
in their sin.
They are
helpless unless
God will
initiate their
salvation.
The Lord is
telling him,
Jonah, in
this great
city there are
souls.
These souls
don't know what
they're doing.
Don't you
see my
heart for
these souls?
And even
the cattle,
I'm the
great creator,
God says,
and I
desire that
none should
perish.
How do you
see God?
Well, one
last way that
God is
ministering is
to the
people of
Israel by
giving them
this book
of Jonah.
God
ministers
through the
life of the
prophet Jonah.
God taught
Jonah through
the plant.
The plant was
a little
picture lesson.
But Jonah's
life was like
the plant.
Jonah himself
was the
picture lesson
for all of
Israel.
Jonah stands
as a
representative of
the people of
Israel in this
story.
It's to get
their attention.
Do you
remember how
Ezekiel had
to do all
the different
sign acts?
Like dig
holes in his
walls of his
house?
Like we're
trying to
escape exile?
You know,
shave your
head because
you're going
to be kicked
out of the
land?
Well,
Jonah's
life is a
sign act
for the
people of
Israel.
Why does
the book of
Jonah end
this way?
It's
purposeful.
The Holy
Spirit did
this for a
purpose.
Why do we
end on this
click finger
which is,
I don't know
how Jonah
responded.
And it's to
teach us.
But what's
the lesson?
Before I tell
you what I
think, let me
tell you this
other insight.
Yom Kippur
is the name
of the great
day of
atonement.
The great
day of
atonement,
it ends
with the
reading of
all things
the book
of Jonah.
And the
lesson is
this, people
of Israel,
God has
provided through
the scapegoat,
through the
sacrificial goat,
he's provided a
picture of your
atonement.
But finish with
the book of
Jonah, which
calls you to
respond with
the heart of
God, not only
to save you,
but to save
all the nations.
From those
fishermen on the
coastlands, to
the Ninevites,
the most wicked,
despicable people.
This is who
atonement is
truly for.
There are only
two books that
end with a
question that
just hangs
there.
And it's
interesting how
both of those
have to do
with the
Ninevites.
It's Jonah,
and the second
one is Nahum.
Nahum ends
with a note of
judgment.
For example,
the Lord is
slow to anger
and great in
power, and the
Lord will by
no means
clear the
guilty.
Nahum's a
contemporary of
Jonah, and he's
calling God's
judgment on the
Ninevites.
And though God
spares the
Ninevites in
this story with
Jonah about
40 years later,
so not 40 days,
but 40 years
later, the
Ninevites are
conquered by the
Medes and the
Babylonians.
So God is
just, and his
justice never
fails.
But Jonah ends
with a note of
compassion upon
this great
worldly city.
And so you,
the reader,
and I, we
must ponder the
meaning.
We must decide
now what action
to take.
We don't get
Jonah's response
to be able to
sit at a distance
and analyze him.
We are the
ones who are
called upon to
respond.
How do you
see God?
We want to
know, did Jonah
learn this mercy
from God?
Brian Estelle,
who helped me
so much through
this book, a
Hebrew scholar,
he wrote,
quote, in some
respects, that
question is moot
because it puts
you and me, the
current readers,
as well as Jonah
and Israel of
old, in the
position of having
to respond to
God.
Will you, my
people, learn
my mercy?
This lack of
closure teaches
us that I am
Jonah, and
you are Jonah.
The question
lingers for you
and me today,
will you learn
God's mercy?
Not only does
the Lord minister
to Israel through
this wonderful
little book of
Jonah, and not
only was Jonah a
representative of
hypocritical Israel
whose judgment was
coming soon,
Jonah is also a
contrast or a
foil for the
great prophet, the
Lord Jesus
Christ.
How do you see
God?
If we go back to
Narnia, one year
of time passes in
London time, which
is 130 years in
Narnia time.
Lucy's back in
Narnia now, a year
older, and when she
sees Aslan, she
says, Aslan, you
seem bigger.
Is it because you
have gotten older?
And Aslan says, no,
because I don't age,
but it's because you
have aged.
Aslan tells Lucy,
every year you
grow, you will
find me bigger.
The book of Jonah
reveals to you and
me that God is so
much bigger, and it
points us to the
biggest, greatest,
most clear
revelation of who
God truly is.
We saw in the
book of Jonah how
God appointed a
great fish.
The Lord appointed
a plant.
The Lord appointed
a worm.
The Lord appointed
a vehement east
wind.
And we read in
Hebrews 1, verse
1, how at many
times and in many
ways God spoke by
the prophets, but
now he has spoken
to us by his
son.
Listen, whom he
has appointed, the
heir of all
things.
He, the Lord
Jesus Christ, is the
radiance of the
glory of God.
He is the exact
imprint of God's
nature.
How do you see
God?
God.
Acts 22, verse 14
says that God
appointed you,
believer.
God appointed you
to know his will
and to see the
righteous one
and to hear his
voice.
The Lord revealed
to Jonah in
history who he
truly is.
God.
And the Lord
reveals to you
who he truly
is by sending
his own son,
God the son,
in the flesh,
into human
history so that
you can see
God in Christ.
Jonah was to
take the word of
God to the wicked
world, but instead
he traveled far
away.
But our Lord Jesus
Christ, who is the
word of God,
he traveled into
the wicked world
to dwell close
by among you.
See God in
Christ.
Jonah felt no
pity, we're
told.
But over and
over and over,
nine times I
counted in the
Gospels, when
Jesus saw the
people, he had
compassion.
And the word
is to be moved
from the depths
of his being,
with deep
compassion for
those souls.
Jonah's
disobedience
earned death
for himself
in deep
hellish darkness
at the bottom
of the sea.
But Christ's
obedience earned
for his elect
from all the
nations, eternal
life in his
kingdom of life.
See God
in Christ.
God's
justice.
Jonah went
outside the
city to watch
the condemnation
of the wicked.
Jesus went
outside the
city to be
condemned in
the place of
the wicked.
See God
in Christ.
Jonah was
unsubmissive to
God's showing
grace.
Jesus submitted
himself as the
substitute to show
God's justice.
Jonah,
whose name
again ironically
means dove
or peace,
he prayed
death
for enemies.
Jesus,
whose name
means God
saves,
he prayed,
Father,
please forgive
them.
See God
in Christ.
God's
Jonah did
not remember
God's
mercy to
him.
Jesus
remembers
your sins
no more.
Hebrews 8,
12.
See God
in Christ.
Jonah
dishonored
God
as though
the just
and merciful
creator did
not know
what he was
doing.
Jesus
honored his
father to
save you
and me,
his killers,
praying,
Father,
they don't
know what
they are
doing.
Jonah
said,
God,
if you
don't
destroy
these
sinners,
then let
me die.
Jesus
said,
let me
die that
these
sinners
may live.
love.
I love
the hymn.
I was
listening to
it this
morning and
the connection
is perfect.
Jesus,
I am
resting,
resting.
You are
the brightness
of my
father's
glory,
sunshine
of my
father's
face.
I am
finding out
the greatness
of thy
loving
grace
more
each
year.
God
reveals
your
great
need
and
his
great
grace
so that
you will
see God
in Christ.
Respond
to who
God truly
is by
confessing
what
Jonah
prayed
from the
belly
of the
fish.
Salvation
belongs
to you,
Lord,
alone.
God
will
save
whom
he
will
save
and
see
the
depth
of
God's
mercy
to
save
you
and
me.
Ask
him
to
put
more
of
that
same
mercy,
compassion,
pity
inside
of you.
We need
it.
We can
only love
if he
first
loves
us
and
fills
us
with
that
kind
of
love.
Our
Lord
Jesus
Christ,
he
is
the
full
revelation
of
the
true
God.
Respond
to
God's
mercy
today.
See
God
in
Christ.
Let's
pray.
From
Acts
14
38.
Lord,
we trust
the promise
that as
many as
were appointed
to eternal
life will
believe.
And when we
believe,
we will
rejoice and
we will
glorify you,
God.
You alone
are worthy.
Thank you,
Father,
for sending
your Son that
we can see
who you
truly are,
to see
your grace
and your
love
lavished
on sinners
like us.
Help us
to receive,
Lord,
once again
today,
your great
gift of
love,
through Jesus
Christ,
our Lord,
we pray.
Amen.