WEBVTT 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:05.419 Today's scripture reading is taken from Jonah chapter 4 verses 1 to 11. 00:00:05.940 --> 00:00:07.480 ! Please follow along your Bible. 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:13.839 ! If you don't have a Bible, please do still grab them from the front of the stage or at the back near the door. 00:00:14.359 --> 00:00:16.839 Our passage is on page 727. 00:00:19.179 --> 00:00:21.640 Jonah's anger and the Lord's compassion. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:26.140 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 00:00:26.679 --> 00:00:28.420 And he prayed to the Lord and said, 00:00:28.420 --> 00:00:33.359 O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? 00:00:34.039 --> 00:00:37.400 This is what I made haste to flee to Tarshish. 00:00:37.980 --> 00:00:41.560 For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, 00:00:42.260 --> 00:00:45.420 slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, 00:00:45.939 --> 00:00:47.680 and relenting from disaster. 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:51.980 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, 00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:54.960 for it is better for me to die than to live. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:56.460 Then the Lord said, 00:00:56.899 --> 00:00:58.520 Do you do well to be angry? 00:00:59.579 --> 00:01:04.620 Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. 00:01:05.060 --> 00:01:07.120 He sat under it in the shade, 00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:10.200 till he should see what would become of the city. 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:15.260 Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, 00:01:15.579 --> 00:01:20.120 that it might be a shade over his head to save him from his discomfort. 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:23.800 So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. 00:01:24.540 --> 00:01:26.680 But when dawn came up the next day, 00:01:26.880 --> 00:01:30.320 God appointed a worm that attacked the plant so that it withered. 00:01:30.880 --> 00:01:34.480 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, 00:01:34.660 --> 00:01:38.420 and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. 00:01:39.140 --> 00:01:41.460 And he asked that he might die and said, 00:01:41.880 --> 00:01:44.200 It is better for me to die than to live. 00:01:44.200 --> 00:01:46.000 But God said to Jonah, 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:48.939 Do you do well to be angry for the plant? 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:49.939 And he said, 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:52.180 Yes, I do well to be angry, 00:01:52.500 --> 00:01:53.620 angry enough to die. 00:01:54.040 --> 00:01:54.920 And the Lord said, 00:01:55.180 --> 00:01:57.859 You pity the plant for which you did not labor, 00:01:58.299 --> 00:01:59.540 nor did you make it grow, 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:03.760 which came into being in the night and perished in the night. 00:02:04.140 --> 00:02:06.000 And should I not pity Nineveh, 00:02:06.200 --> 00:02:10.140 the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons 00:02:10.139 --> 00:02:13.099 who do not know their right hand from their left, 00:02:13.259 --> 00:02:14.439 and also much cattle. 00:02:15.819 --> 00:02:17.039 This is the word of God. 00:02:19.119 --> 00:02:19.559 Great. 00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:20.639 Thank you, Betty. 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:25.439 Let's pray together and ask God to speak to us from his word. 00:02:25.539 --> 00:02:27.039 Father, thank you for your word. 00:02:27.119 --> 00:02:28.519 Your word is so beautiful. 00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:30.119 It's so challenging. 00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:31.699 It's dynamic. 00:02:32.799 --> 00:02:33.319 It's amazing. 00:02:33.419 --> 00:02:35.859 It was written thousands of years ago and still speaks to us today. 00:02:36.339 --> 00:02:38.079 God, come and speak to us from your word. 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:39.760 Lord, not from my words. 00:02:39.940 --> 00:02:41.540 My words are not important, but your word. 00:02:41.600 --> 00:02:44.480 God, help us to see what are you saying in your word 00:02:44.480 --> 00:02:48.020 and help us to receive it and to change because of it. 00:02:48.100 --> 00:02:49.640 Lord, we want to meet you in your grace. 00:02:49.939 --> 00:02:51.620 Help us, I pray in your wonderful name. 00:02:52.180 --> 00:02:52.460 Amen. 00:02:53.460 --> 00:02:53.780 Amen. 00:02:55.160 --> 00:02:59.620 I wonder what is your favorite book or story that has ever been written. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:03.320 My favorite book that has ever been written is Les Miserables, 00:03:03.320 --> 00:03:06.000 the great classic by Victor Hugo. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:09.300 If you don't know the story, I'm going to give it away for you. 00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:11.439 So, sorry, spoiler alert. 00:03:11.860 --> 00:03:13.460 But it's written about a man. 00:03:13.639 --> 00:03:17.840 It's the story of these two guys, one called Jean Valjean. 00:03:18.199 --> 00:03:24.300 He is an escaped criminal during the French Revolution in France. 00:03:24.300 --> 00:03:31.400 He runs away from, or he escapes from prison, and he's a petty criminal, 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:33.740 and he's trying to make life work. 00:03:34.300 --> 00:03:38.900 And he encounters amazing, amazing grace, unbelievable grace, 00:03:38.900 --> 00:03:41.080 that completely turns his whole life around. 00:03:41.720 --> 00:03:48.200 And Jean Valjean goes from this petty criminal to now somebody who wants to give his life away. 00:03:48.199 --> 00:03:53.659 And every moment he can, he wants to give grace and mercy to those in his midst. 00:03:54.079 --> 00:03:57.799 This encounter with grace turns his life around, changes him very, very deeply. 00:03:58.199 --> 00:04:00.799 But his arch nemesis is a guy called Javert. 00:04:01.359 --> 00:04:06.079 And Javert is a rigid law-keeping officer of the law. 00:04:06.539 --> 00:04:08.679 He's a merciless policeman. 00:04:08.680 --> 00:04:14.020 And Javert is convinced that people fundamentally do not change. 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:16.500 Once a criminal, always a criminal. 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:19.340 And he's on to Jean Valjean's case. 00:04:20.220 --> 00:04:25.280 And so he spends about 20 or 30 years searching this guy down, looking for him, 00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:30.199 hounding him, looking in every nook and cranny that he can to find Jean Valjean, 00:04:30.300 --> 00:04:35.060 to have him arrested and put back in jail and taken away. 00:04:35.060 --> 00:04:42.540 And so the story climaxes when Jean Valjean spends his whole life kind of this new person. 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:43.139 He's changed. 00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:44.000 He's a different man. 00:04:44.220 --> 00:04:47.720 But he's always looking over his shoulder because he knows that Javert is on to him. 00:04:48.019 --> 00:04:52.560 And he spends his life looking out for the merciless officer of the law, Javert. 00:04:53.459 --> 00:04:57.399 But then the story climaxes when it comes to a point where they face each other face to face. 00:04:57.459 --> 00:04:59.079 And there's this wrestle and there's this fight. 00:04:59.980 --> 00:05:04.879 And Jean Valjean, the escaped criminal, has a chance to kill Javert. 00:05:05.060 --> 00:05:06.759 To get rid of him for good. 00:05:07.300 --> 00:05:13.439 To get him off his back and to finally be free from the terror of this merciless officer of the law. 00:05:14.420 --> 00:05:16.199 But he doesn't do it. 00:05:16.699 --> 00:05:19.300 Rather than killing him, he saves his life. 00:05:19.959 --> 00:05:22.259 And he saves him. 00:05:22.600 --> 00:05:24.579 Rather than getting rid of him, he restores him. 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:29.939 And for Javert, this act of grace, of mercy, is too much. 00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:31.519 It rocks his world. 00:05:32.019 --> 00:05:34.240 And he cannot be the same person. 00:05:34.979 --> 00:05:37.139 This forgiveness throws his whole world off balance. 00:05:37.659 --> 00:05:40.639 And he's no longer certain what is true and what is false. 00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:43.399 What's right in the world, what's wrong in the world. 00:05:44.379 --> 00:05:47.319 Whether justice or mercy are at the heart of the universe. 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:49.699 He's always believed justice is at the heart of the universe. 00:05:49.819 --> 00:05:52.479 But here he discovers mercy and it throws his world off balance. 00:05:52.859 --> 00:05:54.219 And he doesn't know how to respond. 00:05:54.220 --> 00:05:57.580 And so he says this as he stands on the bridge one night. 00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:00.680 My heart is stone and yet it still trembles. 00:06:00.860 --> 00:06:04.200 The world I've known is lost in the shadows. 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:07.240 And with that he jumps off the bridge into the river Seine. 00:06:07.500 --> 00:06:09.080 And he's never seen again. 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:14.259 It's an amazing story about the power of grace and mercy. 00:06:14.979 --> 00:06:19.339 That grace and mercy can change one man's life so deeply and so profoundly. 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:23.579 But another man, it can offend so deeply and so profoundly. 00:06:24.120 --> 00:06:25.620 One man is changed by it. 00:06:25.699 --> 00:06:27.219 One man is offended by it. 00:06:27.719 --> 00:06:31.919 What's up with this idea, this notion of grace, of mercy, of forgiveness? 00:06:32.060 --> 00:06:35.759 What's so powerful about it that it can have such an effect on our lives? 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:39.639 Now, if you have been coming for the last few weeks, we're in the book of Jonah. 00:06:39.939 --> 00:06:42.219 And we are in Jonah chapter 4. 00:06:42.860 --> 00:06:46.620 Jonah is an intriguing book about this rogue prophet who runs away from God. 00:06:46.839 --> 00:06:48.839 But Jonah is an interesting character, right? 00:06:48.899 --> 00:06:49.939 He's emotional. 00:06:50.279 --> 00:06:51.219 He's unstable. 00:06:51.659 --> 00:06:52.939 He's difficult. 00:06:53.139 --> 00:06:53.800 He's impulsive. 00:06:54.139 --> 00:06:56.740 And the book raises all kinds of questions. 00:06:57.120 --> 00:06:57.959 Questions about God. 00:06:58.120 --> 00:06:58.899 Questions about Jonah. 00:06:59.319 --> 00:07:00.219 Questions about ourselves. 00:07:00.740 --> 00:07:04.680 But it's also a book about the surprising power of God's love. 00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:06.240 And the mystery of mercy. 00:07:06.860 --> 00:07:07.759 And the mystery of grace. 00:07:08.280 --> 00:07:09.860 And so by now, you probably know the story. 00:07:10.040 --> 00:07:11.079 Okay, Jonah is this prophet. 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:15.120 He's called by the Lord to go to Nineveh and preach to the people there. 00:07:15.259 --> 00:07:16.900 But he runs away to Tarshish. 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:18.939 And he gets on a boat to go to Tarshish. 00:07:19.019 --> 00:07:19.900 And a storm comes. 00:07:20.019 --> 00:07:20.960 And he says to the people, 00:07:21.060 --> 00:07:24.120 The only way you can save yourselves from the storm, throw me off. 00:07:24.319 --> 00:07:26.540 So he's thrown off and he drowns. 00:07:26.860 --> 00:07:30.120 But God rescues him with this fish. 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:34.079 And God saves him not because Jonah is good, but because God is kind. 00:07:34.699 --> 00:07:38.939 And God calls Jonah a second time to go to Nineveh and tell them of God's coming judgment. 00:07:39.620 --> 00:07:40.639 And that they are doomed. 00:07:40.860 --> 00:07:42.879 In 40 days, Nineveh will be destroyed. 00:07:43.740 --> 00:07:46.720 And as one person said, this is the world's worst preacher. 00:07:47.300 --> 00:07:50.560 This preacher is the world's worst sermon to the world's worst people. 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:52.680 And amazingly, it works. 00:07:52.819 --> 00:07:53.620 They respond. 00:07:53.899 --> 00:07:55.079 And they believe him. 00:07:55.220 --> 00:07:56.079 And they say, okay. 00:07:56.079 --> 00:07:56.899 And they respond. 00:07:57.019 --> 00:07:57.459 They repent. 00:07:57.560 --> 00:07:58.479 And they turn to God. 00:07:58.979 --> 00:08:00.419 And they turn from their ways. 00:08:00.539 --> 00:08:01.620 And God spares them. 00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:04.120 And Jonah is obviously over the moon. 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:07.219 He's exceedingly happy and thankful that this has happened. 00:08:07.939 --> 00:08:09.120 No, that's what you'd think. 00:08:09.180 --> 00:08:10.180 But that's not what happens. 00:08:10.300 --> 00:08:12.019 And so look at your Bibles with me. 00:08:12.299 --> 00:08:14.379 Let's read from chapter 3, verse 8. 00:08:14.459 --> 00:08:15.259 The last few verses. 00:08:15.979 --> 00:08:16.459 It says this. 00:08:16.459 --> 00:08:17.039 The king said, 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:20.560 Let everyone turn from his evil ways, from the violence in his hands. 00:08:20.919 --> 00:08:21.560 Who knows? 00:08:21.740 --> 00:08:25.120 God may turn from his fierce anger, that we may not perish. 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:28.360 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways. 00:08:28.860 --> 00:08:32.139 God relented from the disaster that he had said he would do to them. 00:08:32.340 --> 00:08:33.600 And he did not do it. 00:08:34.580 --> 00:08:35.600 Verse 4, verse 1. 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:38.860 But this displeased Jonah exceedingly. 00:08:39.220 --> 00:08:42.080 The Hebrew says it was exceedingly evil to Jonah. 00:08:42.620 --> 00:08:44.120 And he was angry. 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:47.580 The Ninevites turn from their evil. 00:08:48.179 --> 00:08:49.759 And this is an evil thing to Jonah. 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:52.259 God turns from his anger. 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:55.439 And this makes Jonah very angry himself. 00:08:56.600 --> 00:08:59.879 Now, chapter 3 ends on this amazing high, right? 00:09:00.379 --> 00:09:02.120 Jonah eventually obeys God. 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:03.500 The message is received. 00:09:03.740 --> 00:09:04.939 All is put right again. 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:08.299 And in most religious cultures, that would be the end of the story. 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:09.720 End of the story. 00:09:09.899 --> 00:09:12.279 And the moral of the story would be something like, 00:09:12.580 --> 00:09:15.740 Good things happen to those people who do good things themselves. 00:09:16.039 --> 00:09:16.700 Jonah goes. 00:09:16.700 --> 00:09:17.379 He obeys. 00:09:17.800 --> 00:09:19.280 And all is well and ends well. 00:09:20.040 --> 00:09:21.500 But that's not how the Bible works. 00:09:22.100 --> 00:09:23.660 The Bible is not that simplistic. 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:26.800 And so the Bible doesn't end that way. 00:09:27.660 --> 00:09:31.820 In fact, think about the story of the prodigal sons, right? 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:33.320 It kind of ends in the same way. 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:36.020 The younger brother comes home. 00:09:36.019 --> 00:09:41.519 And yet the story ends with God asking, the father asking the older brother, the older son, 00:09:41.939 --> 00:09:43.600 this penetrating difficult question. 00:09:43.740 --> 00:09:45.980 And the story of Jonah, chapter 4, ends in the same way, 00:09:46.039 --> 00:09:48.819 with this provocative question challenging us. 00:09:49.720 --> 00:09:52.220 In fact, many commentators, some commentators have pointed out 00:09:52.220 --> 00:09:57.819 that the story of Jonah is the Old Testament version of the parable of the prodigal sons. 00:09:58.460 --> 00:10:01.579 In Jonah, chapter 1 and 2, Jonah is like the younger brother. 00:10:01.779 --> 00:10:02.659 He runs away. 00:10:02.740 --> 00:10:03.600 He's disobedient. 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:05.180 He's going to go do things his way. 00:10:06.040 --> 00:10:08.800 And in Jonah, chapter 3 and 4, he's like the older brother. 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:10.019 He's dutiful. 00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:10.879 He's obedient. 00:10:11.159 --> 00:10:12.159 He does the right things. 00:10:12.500 --> 00:10:14.460 But he is resentful. 00:10:14.560 --> 00:10:15.279 He's angry. 00:10:15.500 --> 00:10:16.259 He's annoyed. 00:10:17.060 --> 00:10:19.220 But God is not just interested in Jonah's work. 00:10:19.700 --> 00:10:21.080 He's interested in Jonah himself. 00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:25.500 God doesn't just use Jonah like a widget in his machine to produce the results. 00:10:26.279 --> 00:10:29.759 God wants to get hold of Jonah's heart after Jonah himself. 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:33.700 And so the book ends with God after the Ninevites have repented. 00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:37.139 God now goes after Jonah and says, Jonah, I want you. 00:10:37.779 --> 00:10:38.960 I want your heart. 00:10:39.639 --> 00:10:40.620 Come, let's talk. 00:10:41.299 --> 00:10:43.899 And Jonah is very angry by what he's seen. 00:10:44.019 --> 00:10:45.340 Now, why is Jonah angry? 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:50.059 I mean, again, this is like someone said this is like, you know, 00:10:50.059 --> 00:10:54.039 someone getting a standing ovation at the National Theater right after a performance. 00:10:54.039 --> 00:10:56.039 And they are angry about it. 00:10:56.099 --> 00:10:58.860 This is like an author writing a best-selling book. 00:10:58.959 --> 00:11:01.059 And they are angry about the fact that they've done so well. 00:11:01.500 --> 00:11:02.240 Jonah is the preacher. 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:03.120 People respond. 00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:03.819 And he's angry. 00:11:03.939 --> 00:11:04.799 Why is Jonah angry? 00:11:05.399 --> 00:11:06.759 Well, look what he says in verse 2. 00:11:07.539 --> 00:11:08.039 He says, 00:11:08.039 --> 00:11:33.719 Jonah's first prayer was prayed from the belly of the whale. 00:11:34.459 --> 00:11:37.139 The second prayer is prayed from the belly of burning anger. 00:11:38.139 --> 00:11:39.659 Now we see the heart of Jonah. 00:11:40.379 --> 00:11:45.439 Remember, in chapter 1, we spoke about how the Assyrians are this wicked and evil nation. 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:45.659 Right? 00:11:45.699 --> 00:11:46.799 They do terrible things. 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:47.620 They're violent. 00:11:48.039 --> 00:11:48.819 They're aggressive. 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:55.220 And for anybody to be told to go to Assyria and tell them about their wickedness, 00:11:55.299 --> 00:11:57.519 confront their wickedness, was a suicide mission. 00:11:58.019 --> 00:12:01.220 I mean, these guys are going to just take your head off without any questions. 00:12:01.419 --> 00:12:03.159 It's a deadly, deadly mission. 00:12:03.159 --> 00:12:08.719 And it seems like Jonah's, at the beginning of chapter 1, it feels like there's an element of fear. 00:12:09.639 --> 00:12:11.980 Certainly for his own life, but also for his nation. 00:12:12.539 --> 00:12:16.399 If God doesn't destroy Israel's enemies, maybe they'll rise up and destroy Israel. 00:12:17.019 --> 00:12:20.039 And so it seems in chapter 1, maybe his motivation is fear. 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:21.419 He's scared of this. 00:12:22.059 --> 00:12:25.199 But actually here we see in chapter 4, that's not the problem. 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:30.020 It's not the Ninevites that Jonah is bothered by. 00:12:30.160 --> 00:12:31.300 It's God himself. 00:12:32.379 --> 00:12:34.560 Jonah says, this is exactly what I thought you would do. 00:12:35.320 --> 00:12:38.240 The problem isn't that Jonah is scared of the Ninevites. 00:12:38.460 --> 00:12:39.460 It's that he hates them. 00:12:40.160 --> 00:12:41.300 He's not afraid of them. 00:12:41.379 --> 00:12:42.560 He despises them. 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:46.740 And what Jonah really fears is that God will be forgiving. 00:12:47.259 --> 00:12:48.379 That's his worst nightmare. 00:12:49.240 --> 00:12:51.200 So let's look at Jonah's problems. 00:12:51.340 --> 00:12:52.379 Jonah's got a couple of problems here. 00:12:52.420 --> 00:12:53.560 What are Jonah's problems? 00:12:53.559 --> 00:12:56.099 I think Jonah's first problem, he's got two main problems. 00:12:56.199 --> 00:12:57.259 His first problem is this. 00:12:57.879 --> 00:13:01.000 Jonah cannot reconcile God's grace and justice. 00:13:01.319 --> 00:13:02.759 Mercy and justice. 00:13:03.719 --> 00:13:06.139 And God has evidently been merciful to the Ninevites. 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:08.379 He's turned from the disaster that he threatened. 00:13:08.959 --> 00:13:10.159 He turns his anger away. 00:13:10.599 --> 00:13:12.839 But how does that reconcile with God's justice? 00:13:13.419 --> 00:13:14.639 With the rightness of God? 00:13:15.359 --> 00:13:17.079 Does God suddenly not care about sin? 00:13:17.899 --> 00:13:19.500 Does God not care about wickedness? 00:13:20.299 --> 00:13:23.079 Does God just turn a blind eye to all the evil in the world? 00:13:23.559 --> 00:13:27.279 As a leader in Israel, Jonah knows about the temple system. 00:13:27.379 --> 00:13:29.119 He's gone to the temple thousands of times. 00:13:29.219 --> 00:13:33.219 He's seen the goats and the bulls and the lambs that are sacrificed and slaughtered. 00:13:33.339 --> 00:13:37.359 He knows that sin can't just be turned a blind eye to it. 00:13:37.639 --> 00:13:43.099 He knows that somehow some living being, some living creature must pay the penalty for sin. 00:13:43.100 --> 00:13:50.820 And he goes to the temple and he knows that some bull, some goat, some lamb is going to take upon itself the sins of the people and there's going to be an exchange. 00:13:50.980 --> 00:13:53.519 They are going to die so that God's people can be free. 00:13:54.060 --> 00:13:56.320 He knows the price of sin, right? 00:13:56.500 --> 00:13:58.940 That justice requires a penalty to be paid. 00:13:58.940 --> 00:14:03.480 The problem is that in Nineveh's case, no sacrifice is made. 00:14:03.800 --> 00:14:05.280 No animals are slaughtered. 00:14:05.580 --> 00:14:06.900 No bulls are killed. 00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:09.060 No sacrifice is made. 00:14:09.220 --> 00:14:11.000 God just seems to let them go scot-free. 00:14:11.920 --> 00:14:16.780 And Jonah's wondering, will God simply wave a magic wand and all will be forgiven? 00:14:17.260 --> 00:14:18.400 Is that how God works? 00:14:19.400 --> 00:14:23.960 So Jonah's wondering, how does the mercy of God and the justice of God come together? 00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:25.980 This seems wrong. 00:14:26.420 --> 00:14:27.200 It seems unjust. 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:32.940 But actually what we see in this passage is not so much an intellectual problem, it's a heart problem. 00:14:33.900 --> 00:14:36.480 It's not that Jonah can't wrap his head around the problem. 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:38.860 It's that his heart is not open to the solution. 00:14:39.100 --> 00:14:41.520 He doesn't want to see what God wants to show him. 00:14:42.200 --> 00:14:46.560 When God doesn't destroy Nineveh, it doesn't just confuse him, it angers him. 00:14:47.480 --> 00:14:48.280 It angers him. 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:50.500 And why does it anger him? 00:14:50.680 --> 00:14:52.220 Why is Jonah so angry? 00:14:52.980 --> 00:14:54.660 Friends, why do any of us get angry? 00:14:54.659 --> 00:14:57.219 What is anger in our lives? 00:14:58.019 --> 00:15:00.139 I think anger reveals two things about us. 00:15:00.459 --> 00:15:03.419 Anger reveals what we love and cherish the most. 00:15:04.019 --> 00:15:08.679 Think about that child whose toy is taken away from them, right? 00:15:09.500 --> 00:15:11.699 How do your parents sitting at the back? 00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:15.120 How do your children respond when a toy is taken away? 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:16.560 They say, please just give it back. 00:15:16.779 --> 00:15:19.340 I'd really appreciate it if you could return my toy dinosaur. 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:20.700 No, right? 00:15:20.759 --> 00:15:21.740 They're angry, right? 00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:26.679 How does a parent respond when their child is bullied or abused at school? 00:15:27.539 --> 00:15:33.139 Friends, how do you respond when you face injustice at work, when corruption takes something away from you? 00:15:33.139 --> 00:15:40.159 When something we love is threatened, ridiculed, or taken from us, don't we all feel the sense of righteous anger? 00:15:40.299 --> 00:15:42.639 Well, righteous in our own eyes anyway, right? 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:48.659 Because that which is precious from us, when it's taken or threatened or ridiculed, anger is what rises up. 00:15:48.659 --> 00:15:50.799 What's most precious to Jonah? 00:15:51.819 --> 00:15:54.860 Well, maybe his name and reputation, right? 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:55.799 He's just gone to Nineveh. 00:15:55.919 --> 00:15:57.620 Forty days, you will be destroyed. 00:15:57.759 --> 00:15:58.819 And now they're not destroyed. 00:15:58.899 --> 00:15:59.919 He's going to look like a fool. 00:16:00.620 --> 00:16:02.419 Another religious lunatic, okay? 00:16:02.500 --> 00:16:05.079 Maybe it's his reputation, his name, a false prophet. 00:16:05.959 --> 00:16:08.339 Obviously, Jonah loves his comfort and convenience. 00:16:08.959 --> 00:16:12.419 In verses five to nine, there's this episode where he's in the sun. 00:16:12.740 --> 00:16:15.220 God causes this plant to grow in a shade over him. 00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:16.839 He's exceedingly happy. 00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:24.160 But his happiness only lasts a day because when the plant dies, he is angry and bitter all over again. 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:26.680 Maybe it's his comfort and convenience. 00:16:27.560 --> 00:16:32.139 But actually, I think what Jonah seems to love and cherish the most is his superiority. 00:16:33.160 --> 00:16:36.980 The fact that he is not like those dirty Ninevites. 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:38.840 He's not perfect. 00:16:38.980 --> 00:16:40.840 He had a bit of a false start with running away. 00:16:41.340 --> 00:16:42.460 Fish had to rescue him. 00:16:42.860 --> 00:16:45.740 But at least he's not like those awful Assyrians. 00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:51.080 And what offends Jonah is the fact that God is being gracious to them. 00:16:51.899 --> 00:16:55.680 God is treating these terrible, horrible, sorry, not you guys. 00:16:55.840 --> 00:17:03.639 These terrible people here, God is treating them the same way that he's treating Jonah? 00:17:03.639 --> 00:17:03.720 Jonah. 00:17:05.420 --> 00:17:07.539 And this offends his superiority. 00:17:07.779 --> 00:17:12.259 Offends his sense of righteous and religious self-importance. 00:17:13.059 --> 00:17:15.819 I wonder if Jonah is wondering, may I have to accept them? 00:17:16.759 --> 00:17:18.420 Might I have to love them? 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:26.180 Might it be that God is wanting these Assyrians, these Ninevites, to become my brothers and sisters that I receive? 00:17:26.879 --> 00:17:28.839 May I have to even worship with them? 00:17:28.839 --> 00:17:33.480 Jonah's sense of superiority is under threat. 00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:35.079 And he feels threatened. 00:17:35.199 --> 00:17:35.779 He feels angry. 00:17:35.899 --> 00:17:37.679 But I think there's a second thing that anger does. 00:17:38.379 --> 00:17:42.379 Anger reveals our fear at being out of control, doesn't it? 00:17:43.059 --> 00:17:45.519 Again, just ask any parent, right? 00:17:46.579 --> 00:17:48.379 You think you're not an angry person. 00:17:48.380 --> 00:17:50.440 And then you have young kids. 00:17:51.100 --> 00:17:55.300 And all sense of being in control of your world goes out the window. 00:17:56.080 --> 00:18:03.160 And if most parents, if you're anything like me, having young kids, you find there's this anger in your heart that comes out that you didn't know was there. 00:18:03.640 --> 00:18:04.900 Where does it come from? 00:18:05.280 --> 00:18:10.280 Well, there's nothing like young children to show you that you are not in control of the world, right? 00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:17.039 And actually, on a serious note, this is what's behind so much aggression, male aggression, and even domestic violence. 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:20.960 Ed Welch says this, anger is rarely just anger. 00:18:21.700 --> 00:18:26.440 It is often a shield for underlying insecurities, fears, a desire for control. 00:18:26.859 --> 00:18:34.879 When a person feels weak or threatened, they tend to use fake strength, as anger, to reassert dominance, to gain control. 00:18:35.619 --> 00:18:37.299 And I think this is what's going on with Jonah. 00:18:37.299 --> 00:18:44.740 Jonah has been confronted with the uncomfortable fact that he is not God, that he is not in control. 00:18:45.299 --> 00:18:49.220 And as Psalm 115 says, the Lord is in the heavens, and he does what he pleases. 00:18:49.659 --> 00:18:54.419 And if he pleases to show mercy to the Ninevites, that is not in Jonah's control. 00:18:54.419 --> 00:19:03.619 And as much as Jonah wants to manipulate circumstances, control circumstances, to determine who is right and who is wrong, who deserves to be forgiven, he is not God. 00:19:03.980 --> 00:19:04.839 He is not in control. 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:06.359 The Lord is in the heavens. 00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:07.639 He does all that he pleases. 00:19:07.799 --> 00:19:11.219 And therefore, he has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy. 00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:19.299 He has compassion on whom he wants to have compassion, even on his enemies, even on those that Jonah doesn't think deserve it. 00:19:20.179 --> 00:19:24.659 Now, friends, before we move on, I want us to just think about something here in Jonah. 00:19:24.740 --> 00:19:26.359 I think it's very pertinent to many of us. 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:30.619 Jonah's theology here is spot on, right? 00:19:31.339 --> 00:19:34.179 Jonah gets 100% on the theology class test. 00:19:34.180 --> 00:19:38.779 But in verse 2, Jonah quotes Exodus 34. 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:42.299 Remember, Exodus 34, the Lord reveals himself to Moses, and he says, 00:19:42.299 --> 00:19:49.500 The Lord, the Lord of God, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. 00:19:49.500 --> 00:19:55.720 This is the quintessential creed that describes who God is in the Old Testament. 00:19:56.220 --> 00:19:57.380 You know the Apostles' Creed? 00:19:57.500 --> 00:19:59.980 This is like the Old Testament version of the Apostles' Creed. 00:20:00.220 --> 00:20:01.220 You know the Apostles' Creed? 00:20:01.619 --> 00:20:06.880 It says, I believe in God, Father Almighty, creator of the heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his Son. 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:13.420 And this is kind of the thing that Christians have said for hundreds, thousands of years to describe the most fundamental thing, what they believe. 00:20:14.020 --> 00:20:18.500 In the Old Testament, the most fundamental thing that you can believe about God is Exodus 34. 00:20:18.940 --> 00:20:23.480 The Lord, the Lord, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 00:20:23.980 --> 00:20:26.280 And Jonah says, this is what I believe. 00:20:26.600 --> 00:20:27.260 It's true. 00:20:27.720 --> 00:20:28.820 This is who you are. 00:20:29.620 --> 00:20:32.240 Jonah gets top marks, spot on for his theology. 00:20:32.860 --> 00:20:33.280 Brilliant. 00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:33.440 Brilliant. 00:20:34.059 --> 00:20:37.740 And in addition to that, Jonah does pretty good things for God. 00:20:38.299 --> 00:20:39.559 He's a prophet of the Lord. 00:20:39.819 --> 00:20:40.960 He goes to Nineveh. 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:44.440 He preaches probably the greatest revival in the history of the world. 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.599 In 2 Kings, I think it's chapter 14, he gives counsel to the king of Israel. 00:20:49.859 --> 00:20:54.539 And the king expands the kingdom because of his advice, his counsel, his prophecy. 00:20:55.220 --> 00:20:57.000 Jonah does great things for God. 00:20:57.000 --> 00:21:02.619 And so here you have a man who knows the right stuff and serves God and has got a pretty decent ministry. 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:06.759 And yet, his inner world is broken. 00:21:08.299 --> 00:21:09.740 Jonah is not a healthy person. 00:21:11.079 --> 00:21:13.480 There's deep brokenness in his soul, isn't there? 00:21:14.099 --> 00:21:16.859 There's something profoundly wrong, something off balance. 00:21:17.660 --> 00:21:27.160 And for all Jonah's doctrinal accuracy and for all his ministry success, his character, the condition of his heart, is not healthy. 00:21:27.160 --> 00:21:32.200 Like there's a contradiction between what he believes in his head and what he believes in his heart. 00:21:32.980 --> 00:21:34.820 Friends, I think this is profoundly challenging. 00:21:35.620 --> 00:21:41.700 Because what it tells us is that Christian faith is not about what you believe with your head only, even though that's important. 00:21:41.700 --> 00:21:46.519 And it's certainly not about all the things that you do for God, all the ways that you serve. 00:21:47.319 --> 00:21:49.360 Christian faith is about what's going on in your heart. 00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:50.660 Do you know God? 00:21:50.940 --> 00:21:52.180 Do you love him? 00:21:52.779 --> 00:21:54.039 Do you trust him? 00:21:54.660 --> 00:21:58.440 Is your relationship with God vibrant and real and alive? 00:21:58.440 --> 00:22:02.019 Do we delight in God himself at a deep heart level? 00:22:02.759 --> 00:22:04.380 Which is what Jonah struggles to do. 00:22:05.759 --> 00:22:07.700 Friends, might this be true of you? 00:22:08.539 --> 00:22:11.220 Do you know a lot of stuff in your head and serve in a lot of ways? 00:22:11.840 --> 00:22:13.259 But your heart is disconnected? 00:22:14.259 --> 00:22:15.460 It's a dangerous place to be. 00:22:15.460 --> 00:22:21.500 And so Jonah, angry as he is, he goes out of the city to the east of the city. 00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:25.779 By the way, in the Old Testament, to go east is always a sign of fleeing God's presence. 00:22:25.940 --> 00:22:31.340 Remember in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden, east out of Eden. 00:22:32.039 --> 00:22:34.640 Jonah goes east out of the city, away from God, up on a hill. 00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:37.000 And he's looking over the city to see what will happen. 00:22:37.799 --> 00:22:40.880 And there he makes himself a booth, a kind of shelter from palm branches. 00:22:41.299 --> 00:22:43.180 But God decides he needs more shade. 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:45.180 And so God causes this plant to grow. 00:22:45.460 --> 00:22:47.220 And relieves him of his discomfort. 00:22:47.380 --> 00:22:50.319 And verse 6 says, Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. 00:22:50.840 --> 00:22:52.400 But his gladness is short-lived. 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:56.460 Because the next day God sends a worm to destroy the plant. 00:22:56.519 --> 00:22:57.259 And then the sun. 00:22:57.620 --> 00:22:58.640 And then the wind. 00:22:59.140 --> 00:23:00.960 And Jonah is very uncomfortable. 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:05.180 And so verse 8 says, Jonah says, it is better for me to die than to live. 00:23:05.740 --> 00:23:07.980 God said, do you do well to be angry for the plant? 00:23:08.180 --> 00:23:09.519 Jonah says, yes, I do well. 00:23:10.039 --> 00:23:11.140 Well to be angry. 00:23:11.500 --> 00:23:13.160 Angry enough to die. 00:23:13.160 --> 00:23:20.360 Now, as we said, God doesn't want to leave Jonah in this place. 00:23:21.720 --> 00:23:22.880 God wants to help him. 00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:23.860 He wants to change him. 00:23:24.460 --> 00:23:27.600 And this is very pertinent because we live in a very angry world. 00:23:28.380 --> 00:23:33.220 In our world, anger and resentment, bitterness is tearing societies apart. 00:23:33.600 --> 00:23:35.019 It's tearing families apart. 00:23:35.180 --> 00:23:36.820 It's tearing individuals' lives apart. 00:23:37.819 --> 00:23:39.359 God doesn't want to leave us in our anger. 00:23:39.480 --> 00:23:41.500 He wants to heal our anger and change us. 00:23:41.559 --> 00:23:42.700 And so look what God does here. 00:23:43.579 --> 00:23:44.899 God does three things for Jonah. 00:23:45.859 --> 00:23:48.579 Firstly, he brings suffering into his life. 00:23:49.379 --> 00:23:50.819 Now that sounds cruel, right? 00:23:50.879 --> 00:23:53.720 Because Jonah's life's not going well for him. 00:23:53.779 --> 00:23:55.359 And you'd think that God would bring comfort. 00:23:55.500 --> 00:23:56.799 But God brings suffering. 00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:02.079 We see this in the way that God first produces a plant to shade him from the sun. 00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:03.559 Gives him some comfort and relief. 00:24:03.659 --> 00:24:05.319 And then God causes the plant to die. 00:24:05.720 --> 00:24:06.980 The sun to bake down upon him. 00:24:07.059 --> 00:24:09.159 And brings a desert sandstorm into his life. 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:10.639 Until Jonah can't take it anymore. 00:24:11.500 --> 00:24:15.119 And God deliberately brings suffering and heartache upon him. 00:24:15.919 --> 00:24:17.419 Now why would God do that? 00:24:17.420 --> 00:24:23.539 In Watermark, we often say, if you're going to grow spiritually, you need three things. 00:24:24.180 --> 00:24:28.660 You need to be in God's word regularly, daily, engaging with God's word. 00:24:28.800 --> 00:24:30.660 God's word must be speaking to you. 00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:32.759 You also need community. 00:24:33.100 --> 00:24:34.400 You need people around you. 00:24:34.600 --> 00:24:37.180 Friends that can challenge you, that can encourage you. 00:24:37.340 --> 00:24:40.860 Friends that can point you to Jesus in the storms and the trials of life. 00:24:41.360 --> 00:24:44.100 But the third thing you need is you need storms. 00:24:44.820 --> 00:24:45.720 You need a crisis. 00:24:45.720 --> 00:24:49.220 You need a trial or a challenge to come your way. 00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:54.559 Friends, you'll never grow deeply unless you grow through the storms. 00:24:54.900 --> 00:24:57.180 You need suffering to come your way. 00:24:57.759 --> 00:25:03.440 You need a couple of crises and storms that will bring you to your knees and show you that you are not in control of the world. 00:25:04.039 --> 00:25:05.200 And that you are not God. 00:25:05.900 --> 00:25:08.720 And God doesn't speak to Jonah in the comfort of a jacuzzi. 00:25:09.740 --> 00:25:12.460 He doesn't address him in a massage parlor. 00:25:13.059 --> 00:25:15.120 He doesn't speak to him lying on the beach. 00:25:15.119 --> 00:25:19.039 God meets with Jonah in the storm of life. 00:25:19.119 --> 00:25:22.619 When Jonah cannot take it anymore, that's where he meets God. 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:27.519 In some ways, as a Christian, you must die in order to live, right? 00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:28.919 Following the pattern of Jesus. 00:25:29.919 --> 00:25:38.279 Crises, storms, trials, and difficulties cause something of us to die and get on our knees in order to live and find God's grace again. 00:25:38.279 --> 00:25:40.960 God brings suffering to Jonah. 00:25:41.399 --> 00:25:44.720 But secondly, God also shows Jonah what Jonah is really like. 00:25:45.099 --> 00:25:49.819 He holds up a mirror to Jonah and he says, he lets Jonah see who he really is. 00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:52.160 In some ways, that's what suffering does for us. 00:25:52.460 --> 00:25:53.779 It strips away the facade. 00:25:53.920 --> 00:25:55.200 It strips away the politeness. 00:25:55.500 --> 00:25:57.319 And it helps us see what's really going on. 00:25:57.660 --> 00:25:59.240 But look at how God does this to Jonah. 00:25:59.240 --> 00:26:01.720 He asks him the same question twice, right? 00:26:01.799 --> 00:26:03.420 In verse 4 and I think it's in verse 9. 00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:07.039 He says, do you do well to be angry, Jonah? 00:26:07.940 --> 00:26:12.779 Twice God is asking Jonah to look into his soul and to reflect on what's going on. 00:26:13.620 --> 00:26:23.059 You know, I think for me, if I think of the last 15 or 20 years, the thing that has grown me the most as a Christian, apart from the word community and suffering. 00:26:23.059 --> 00:26:24.519 Okay, so here's the fourth thing. 00:26:25.319 --> 00:26:29.200 Is probably about 15 years ago, I started listening to teachings of a guy called Tim Keller. 00:26:29.359 --> 00:26:38.099 And one of the things Tim Keller taught me to do was to look underneath the surface of both my behavior and my emotions to ask, why am I doing the things I'm doing? 00:26:38.500 --> 00:26:39.919 Why am I feeling what I'm feeling? 00:26:40.819 --> 00:26:44.200 And so underneath my behavior and my emotions, there's something going on in my heart. 00:26:44.319 --> 00:26:45.259 What's going on in my heart? 00:26:45.379 --> 00:26:49.500 And Tim Keller taught me to ask questions like, why am I feeling angry? 00:26:50.200 --> 00:26:51.419 Why am I feeling offended? 00:26:51.420 --> 00:26:54.820 Why am I being so defensive in this moment right now? 00:26:55.480 --> 00:26:56.880 Why do I feel despair? 00:26:57.640 --> 00:26:59.060 What's going on in my heart? 00:26:59.220 --> 00:27:03.980 What do I believe that's causing me to feel this way or behave this way or speak this way? 00:27:05.560 --> 00:27:07.320 Friends, this is what God is doing to Jonah. 00:27:07.700 --> 00:27:10.380 He's asking me, saying, Jonah, what's going on behind the anger? 00:27:10.600 --> 00:27:11.700 Why are you angry? 00:27:12.380 --> 00:27:14.000 Do you do well to be angry, Jonah? 00:27:14.600 --> 00:27:15.840 What's going on in your heart? 00:27:15.940 --> 00:27:17.220 Why are you behaving like this? 00:27:17.800 --> 00:27:21.400 Jonah, what do you believe that's causing this anger and angst in your heart? 00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:24.980 So God brings suffering and then he shows Jonah what he's like. 00:27:25.460 --> 00:27:31.900 But the last thing God does, and this is the most important thing in some ways, God shows Jonah what God is like. 00:27:32.700 --> 00:27:36.820 And specifically, he shows Jonah how much God is not like him. 00:27:37.820 --> 00:27:39.940 In some ways, that's what the whole chapter has been about, isn't it? 00:27:39.940 --> 00:27:45.180 Just how unlike Jonah God is and how unlike God Jonah is. 00:27:45.900 --> 00:27:50.160 I'm sure you noticed this, but what's one of the most dominant words in this whole chapter? 00:27:50.600 --> 00:27:52.660 The word that repeats itself many times. 00:27:52.660 --> 00:27:54.680 The word anger, right? 00:27:55.080 --> 00:27:57.259 Five times we're told that Jonah is angry. 00:27:57.580 --> 00:28:00.080 Four verse one, Jonah was exceedingly angry. 00:28:00.540 --> 00:28:03.080 Four verse four, the Lord said, do you do well to be angry? 00:28:03.460 --> 00:28:04.920 Yes, I do well to be angry. 00:28:05.320 --> 00:28:08.540 Four verse nine, do you do well to be angry for the plot? 00:28:08.840 --> 00:28:10.700 Yes, I'm angry, angry enough to die. 00:28:11.120 --> 00:28:13.279 And Jonah is an angry, angry person. 00:28:13.279 --> 00:28:17.039 But how is God described in four verse two? 00:28:18.200 --> 00:28:24.240 The Lord, the Lord, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 00:28:24.759 --> 00:28:32.960 Friends, while Jonah is slow to love and abounding in anger, God is abounding in love and slow to anger. 00:28:33.579 --> 00:28:35.819 And God is saying, you see how you are like? 00:28:35.899 --> 00:28:36.879 I'm the exact opposite. 00:28:37.299 --> 00:28:39.299 Jonah, I am so unlike you. 00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:41.240 And that's a good thing. 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:45.599 And that brings us to the final paragraph in the final chapter of the book. 00:28:45.720 --> 00:28:51.099 It ends with God not only showing Jonah what he is like, but also showing us how much God is unlike him. 00:28:51.140 --> 00:28:52.779 Look at verse 10 to 11. 00:28:53.599 --> 00:29:01.779 The Lord said, you pity the plant for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in the night and perished in the night. 00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:10.579 Should I not pity Nineveh, that great city with 120,000 people who do not know their right hand from the left and many cattle as well? 00:29:11.240 --> 00:29:13.059 The word pity means to weep. 00:29:13.140 --> 00:29:15.180 It literally means to have tears in your eyes. 00:29:15.279 --> 00:29:22.380 God says, Jonah, should I not have tears in my eyes for all those people that do not know a thing about me? 00:29:23.039 --> 00:29:25.039 God says, I am nothing like you, Jonah. 00:29:25.099 --> 00:29:26.019 And that's a good thing. 00:29:26.660 --> 00:29:30.099 God is not like Jonah because Jonah is not sovereign over all of life. 00:29:30.099 --> 00:29:49.679 You notice here that God appoints the plant to grow and God appoints the worm to destroy it. 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:55.019 God appoints the sun to beat down on him and God appoints the wind to blow against him. 00:29:55.019 --> 00:29:58.200 In chapter 1, God appointed the fish to save Jonah. 00:29:59.059 --> 00:30:06.900 Everything, every breath we breathe, every morning we wake up and face another day, our lives in the hands of the sovereign God. 00:30:07.920 --> 00:30:11.440 But God wants to show Jonah something else, that he's unlike him. 00:30:11.960 --> 00:30:14.079 He's unlike him in tenderness and compassion. 00:30:14.900 --> 00:30:17.779 His tender and his compassion and his strong love. 00:30:17.779 --> 00:30:23.519 God says, Jonah, this plant, you care about it so much, but you don't care about people. 00:30:24.259 --> 00:30:26.879 You care about this plant because it serves your needs. 00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:30.160 I care about these people because they're made in my image. 00:30:30.680 --> 00:30:37.220 I made them to know me and to love me, to find life in my name, to be rescued by me. 00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:45.299 Rosemary Nixon says, God's gentle and persistent questioning was an expression of the divine pity and compassion God had for Jonah. 00:30:45.299 --> 00:30:50.919 Just as God had labored over Nineveh, so now God laboring over Jonah. 00:30:51.740 --> 00:30:54.139 Do you hear the tenderness, the compassion of God? 00:30:54.980 --> 00:31:00.319 Jonah, you pity this plant that you never made or created, raised in a day and died in a day. 00:31:00.919 --> 00:31:06.779 Should I not have tears in my eyes for the people that are lost and do not know me? 00:31:07.579 --> 00:31:10.759 Friends, God is not like Jonah and God is not like us. 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:12.359 And that's very good news indeed. 00:31:12.359 --> 00:31:17.799 Jesus Christ is unlike Jonah and unlike us because he really does rule over all creation. 00:31:18.619 --> 00:31:20.019 Not a hair from your head will fall. 00:31:20.419 --> 00:31:22.859 Not a sparrow from the sky will die. 00:31:23.319 --> 00:31:27.099 Not a flower of the field will pass away without the sovereign God allowing it. 00:31:27.979 --> 00:31:31.919 Jesus Christ is unlike Jonah and unlike us in his mercy and his compassion. 00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:37.899 Many years later, Jesus would stand also on the hill outside of Jerusalem, look over the city and weep. 00:31:37.900 --> 00:31:45.100 Of the city of Jerusalem because they did not know who it was that stood before him and his offer of amazing grace. 00:31:45.900 --> 00:31:51.920 Friends, Jesus Christ is unlike Jonah and unlike us because in him justice and mercy really do meet. 00:31:52.600 --> 00:31:58.560 For thousands of years, lambs and bulls and goats would be slaughtered at the temple and killed to pay for the sins of God's people. 00:31:58.559 --> 00:32:04.980 Jesus Christ is described as the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. 00:32:05.500 --> 00:32:11.740 Jesus demonstrates God's great passion for justice, for sin to be dealt with, for evil to be judged. 00:32:12.359 --> 00:32:22.019 Jesus demonstrates God's great mercy that he will allow himself to be judged, dealt with, killed and destroyed so that his people can be set free. 00:32:22.700 --> 00:32:25.859 Friends, Jesus didn't wave a magic wand so that all could be forgiven. 00:32:25.859 --> 00:32:27.619 He went to the cross. 00:32:28.159 --> 00:32:32.679 He died in your place and my place so that we can receive grace and mercy. 00:32:33.179 --> 00:32:38.079 Friends, Jesus Christ is unlike Jonah and unlike us because he didn't give up on his people. 00:32:38.979 --> 00:32:43.619 Even those who had made themselves his enemies, he gave his life to save us. 00:32:44.459 --> 00:32:53.500 Truly, Jesus Christ is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, forgiving iniquity, transgressions and sin. 00:32:53.500 --> 00:32:56.380 So the book of Jonah concludes. 00:32:56.779 --> 00:32:58.440 And it concludes with a question. 00:32:58.579 --> 00:33:01.319 God challenging Jonah with this question. 00:33:01.839 --> 00:33:06.039 The book of Jonah doesn't end with God's booming voice, God's decree. 00:33:06.380 --> 00:33:08.140 It ends with an open-ended question. 00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:10.759 And the reason is because God is asking us that question. 00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:14.900 Should I not have compassion and mercy on my people? 00:33:15.480 --> 00:33:18.039 Friends, maybe we can end today with a couple of questions. 00:33:18.099 --> 00:33:20.259 And I think this passage asks us three questions. 00:33:20.259 --> 00:33:22.799 So, here's three questions for us to end off with. 00:33:23.640 --> 00:33:24.759 Friends, what makes you angry? 00:33:26.339 --> 00:33:28.420 How would, friends, are you an angry person? 00:33:29.640 --> 00:33:32.480 How would those people around you describe you? 00:33:33.680 --> 00:33:35.099 What makes you angry? 00:33:35.099 --> 00:33:38.779 What does it tell you about what's most important to you? 00:33:39.639 --> 00:33:43.019 What does it tell you about your need to be in control of life? 00:33:44.059 --> 00:33:47.199 Friends, what might your anger say about what you believe about God? 00:33:48.039 --> 00:33:53.779 And how might the God who is so different from you, so unlike you, want to help you overcome your anger? 00:33:55.679 --> 00:33:57.819 Friends, who do you find hard to love? 00:33:57.819 --> 00:34:16.119 Friends, how much do you love the people that God has sent into your life? 00:34:16.119 --> 00:34:17.940 Family members? 00:34:18.679 --> 00:34:19.159 Colleagues? 00:34:20.119 --> 00:34:20.559 Neighbors? 00:34:21.259 --> 00:34:22.960 Who do you find difficult to love? 00:34:23.859 --> 00:34:25.839 Friends, is there anyone that you've refused to love? 00:34:25.940 --> 00:34:27.000 Anyone you've cut off? 00:34:27.599 --> 00:34:29.400 Anyone you've frozen out of your life? 00:34:30.259 --> 00:34:35.519 How might the God who is so different from you, want to help you to love those you find hard to love? 00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:43.400 Thirdly, most importantly, how personal, how vulnerable, how deep and intimate is your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ? 00:34:44.200 --> 00:34:45.760 Jonah's theology was top rate. 00:34:46.440 --> 00:34:51.500 Jonah had done a lot of great things for God, but Jonah's personal walk with the Lord was very broken. 00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:54.139 Friends, how much do we truly love God? 00:34:54.800 --> 00:34:55.960 How much do we trust Him? 00:34:56.920 --> 00:34:59.000 Where are we running from the Lord our God? 00:34:59.820 --> 00:35:02.340 Friends, are any of us angrily accusing God? 00:35:03.500 --> 00:35:06.220 Where might there be more of Jonah in us than we like to admit? 00:35:07.079 --> 00:35:12.180 How might the God who is so unlike you, want to help you to know, love, and trust Him? 00:35:12.179 --> 00:35:15.119 Friends, do any of us need to change deeply? 00:35:15.619 --> 00:35:16.839 I know I certainly do. 00:35:18.159 --> 00:35:22.219 I know you probably don't think this, but some people think, oh, pastors, they've got it all together, right? 00:35:22.519 --> 00:35:23.239 No, no, no. 00:35:23.579 --> 00:35:25.699 There's more of Jonah in me than I like to admit. 00:35:26.639 --> 00:35:32.639 Jonah shows us even the most religious people in the world are still in profound need of grace, in profound need of change. 00:35:33.099 --> 00:35:35.000 There's too much of Jonah inside of me. 00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:38.119 And it's not going to happen through rigid law keeping. 00:35:38.440 --> 00:35:43.380 It's not going to happen by meeting people like Javert, the merciless officer of the law. 00:35:43.739 --> 00:35:47.840 It's going to happen as we encounter the surprising, arresting love of God. 00:35:48.440 --> 00:35:50.539 The grace of God is not just an idea. 00:35:51.019 --> 00:35:52.679 The grace of God is a person. 00:35:53.219 --> 00:35:55.039 It's a person of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:35:55.599 --> 00:35:58.820 The Lord Jesus Christ who went to the cross for me and you. 00:35:59.219 --> 00:36:01.000 Let's come to Him now in prayer. 00:36:01.000 --> 00:36:07.639 Lord Jesus, it is true that you are grace, mercy personified. 00:36:08.420 --> 00:36:10.400 The Bible talks a lot about grace and mercy. 00:36:10.940 --> 00:36:12.920 But as we said, that's not just a concept. 00:36:13.059 --> 00:36:13.679 That's a person. 00:36:13.840 --> 00:36:14.119 It's you. 00:36:14.900 --> 00:36:17.480 You, Jesus, are grace and mercy and flesh and blood. 00:36:17.599 --> 00:36:18.420 You came to a world. 00:36:18.539 --> 00:36:19.739 You died and you rose again. 00:36:20.179 --> 00:36:22.619 That we do not need to die, but can live. 00:36:22.739 --> 00:36:25.340 God, I pray, let your grace and mercy change us. 00:36:25.639 --> 00:36:29.539 Just like in Victor Hugo's novel, it changed Jean Valjean. 00:36:29.539 --> 00:36:32.699 Just like a changed soul of Tarsus into Paul. 00:36:33.239 --> 00:36:34.880 Just like it's changed so many of us. 00:36:34.980 --> 00:36:37.000 God, I pray for every one of us in the room. 00:36:37.099 --> 00:36:38.039 Start with me. 00:36:38.779 --> 00:36:40.519 Lord, let your mercy change me. 00:36:40.579 --> 00:36:41.960 Let it continue to change me. 00:36:42.539 --> 00:36:43.619 And make me more like you. 00:36:44.300 --> 00:36:46.539 God, I pray in your gracious and wonderful name. 00:36:47.239 --> 00:36:47.519 Amen.