WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:06.879 So if you keep your Bibles open there at the book of Jonah, we're going to begin to think 00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:19.019 about the mercy mission of our God. But before we get there, some missionary fails of a different 00:00:19.019 --> 00:00:25.379 kind. So a number of you will be familiar with the mission agency OMF. They work in 00:00:25.379 --> 00:00:31.679 Southeast Asia. They work in Japan. And in the beginning of the year, they had a series of 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:37.939 kind of social media posts, basically making the point that missionaries have to be people who 00:00:37.939 --> 00:00:46.820 are prepared to be humbled. And in the context of these Japanese missionaries, it was humbled in the 00:00:46.820 --> 00:00:52.399 context of some rather chronic language fails. And so they were willing to share some of these. So 00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:56.420 there was one missionary who shared the time that he was trying to preach a sermon 00:00:56.420 --> 00:01:03.000 in Japanese. And he got halfway through his manuscript, and then he completely forgot 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:07.840 all language competency. And somebody from the congregation had to finish his sermon. 00:01:08.719 --> 00:01:14.879 Another missionary was meeting a new Christian. He wanted to find out more about him for the 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:19.319 purpose of discipleship, trying to ask him what his favorite hobby is. Instead, asked him what his 00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:26.179 favorite sin was. It's never a good way to start. Another was visiting a new church. He tried to 00:01:26.179 --> 00:01:33.179 introduce his wife, but he introduced his horse. Let's hope she didn't hold it against him. And he 00:01:33.179 --> 00:01:39.339 invited the church after that to a time of prayer, and he told them, please crush your eyelids in prayer. 00:01:40.119 --> 00:01:45.539 To be a missionary, OMF was telling us, was to be ready to prepare to be humbled. 00:01:45.540 --> 00:01:52.880 Now, the story of Jonah is a very different kind of missionary failure. Here is a man who deliberately 00:01:52.880 --> 00:01:59.500 runs away from God. Here is a man who seems very reluctant to share a message that would bring good 00:01:59.500 --> 00:02:08.580 news and mercy. He wrestles with ideas of obedience and struggles with this idea of a God of justice and 00:02:08.580 --> 00:02:15.960 mercy. He is someone with a sense of pride, the pride of an Israel. I am part of the people of God. 00:02:16.880 --> 00:02:22.640 Somebody who seems to operate with a prejudice towards outsiders. Certainly, God should not want 00:02:22.640 --> 00:02:29.200 anything good for these enemy Assyrians. They deserve judgment and not mercy. But the missionary story 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:38.000 of Jonah is one in which he too will be humbled. And he'll be humbled as he comes to, in different ways, 00:02:38.119 --> 00:02:47.500 encounter the mercy of God. Sometimes it's for pagan sailors. It's going to climax with mercy for a pagan 00:02:47.500 --> 00:02:53.739 city. But all the way along, he's going to be encountering God's mercy that he needs for himself. 00:02:53.740 --> 00:03:02.760 So, let's jump into our story, beginning with Jonah and God's Word. So, verses 1 to 3. 00:03:03.580 --> 00:03:11.280 The story of Jonah begins like so many of the stories of the prophets. God's Word comes, 00:03:12.040 --> 00:03:18.560 and the prophet is to be given a task. A prophet is called so that he will be a spokesman. 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:26.740 But where things begin to get different is in the reality that God's Word is going to send Jonah. 00:03:27.939 --> 00:03:33.060 This is something Jonah wouldn't have expected. This is something the audience listening to the 00:03:33.060 --> 00:03:38.120 story of Jonah would have been shocked about. The first word that comes to Jonah is the word, 00:03:39.099 --> 00:03:46.680 go. So, we meet in our Bibles other prophets, and sometimes they are called to speak to other 00:03:46.680 --> 00:03:53.580 nations or even to speak against other nations. But typically, they're going to stay and speak 00:03:53.580 --> 00:03:58.500 from a distance. But Jonah is different because you're going to have to go right into the heart 00:03:58.500 --> 00:04:07.460 of the Assyrian Empire to the city of Nineveh. The next thing that's absolutely shocking is simply that, 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:15.060 that Jonah is to go to Nineveh. Okay, so we maybe don't know very much about the Assyrian Empire. 00:04:15.060 --> 00:04:23.480 Perhaps we do. But I have read scholars describing the ancient Assyrian Empire as a kind of terrorist 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:34.120 state. They were notorious in their day for the torture that they perpetrated, young and old. 00:04:34.600 --> 00:04:42.480 No one was spared. I read another who said that if the empire was carrying out these kind of acts today, 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:48.759 we would talk again about crimes against humanity. There would be war crime upon war crime committed by 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:56.120 the Assyrians. And they are, of course, an enemy to Israel, threatening Israel, invading Israel from time 00:04:56.120 --> 00:05:06.340 to time. The next shocking thing for Jonah is that he is called to go and preach. Preach against it because 00:05:06.339 --> 00:05:13.599 its wickedness has come up before me. And we might instinctively think, well, this is perhaps good news for 00:05:13.599 --> 00:05:20.560 Jonah. He's going to announce comeuppance for the Assyrians. But Jonah knows something about his God, something 00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:31.259 that he wrestles with about his God. Just to fast forward to chapter 4, he's very angry at the Lord's compassion. 00:05:31.259 --> 00:06:01.240 And he says, 00:06:01.259 --> 00:06:09.539 And so Jonah's response, verse 3, is to run away from the Lord. He receives the word of God. His 00:06:09.539 --> 00:06:15.800 instinct is, I want to try and ignore it and its call. If God says east, I'm going west. If God says, 00:06:15.899 --> 00:06:23.740 go to Assyria by land, I'm going to go to Tarshish by sea. I think it's important and helpful for us to 00:06:23.740 --> 00:06:29.019 know that this isn't the first time Jonah has been called into God's service. You can go to 2 Kings 00:06:29.019 --> 00:06:38.459 chapter 14, verse 25, and you will discover God speaking and Jonah obeying. But not this type. 00:06:39.740 --> 00:06:48.259 So why did he disobey? Why did he choose to run from God's mission? Why does he resist the mission of 00:06:48.259 --> 00:06:58.099 mercy? Three suggestions probably suggest themselves to us? The first, I imagine we can relate to this, 00:06:58.339 --> 00:07:06.219 is fear. And Tim Keller kind of helpfully sort of captures it. He said, picture a Jewish rabbi 00:07:06.220 --> 00:07:16.840 in the 1940s, going into central Berlin, proclaiming on the city streets, repent or face judgment. 00:07:17.940 --> 00:07:26.000 Imagine the fear. Anticipate how long that rabbi would last in Nazi Germany. So fear is likely there. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:34.079 I think we can absolutely say that pride and prejudice lurks in Jonah's mind. His instinct is that God 00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:41.959 blesses the good, and Israel is the good, and God judges the bad, and Nineveh belongs to the bad. 00:07:43.100 --> 00:07:49.259 That he is part of the covenant people. Blessings come to God's people, and he anticipates curse 00:07:49.259 --> 00:07:55.139 should come to those who are not like him. So there is pride and prejudice that will feature throughout 00:07:55.139 --> 00:08:03.779 his story. And I wonder too whether there's a sense of doubt and confusion. So there was another prophet 00:08:03.779 --> 00:08:11.139 called Nahum. And Nahum's message was a very clear message that God would judge Nineveh. 00:08:12.439 --> 00:08:21.019 And so we might perhaps imagine Jonah wondering, well, how does my new message fit? Perhaps he had 00:08:21.019 --> 00:08:29.500 questions and doubts. How can a God of justice also be a God who offers mercy? And it's an interesting 00:08:29.500 --> 00:08:35.259 tension that you can follow all through the Old Testament. How is it possible that God can be both 00:08:35.259 --> 00:08:43.340 just and merciful? And of course, that tension is only fully resolved at the cross of Christ, 00:08:43.340 --> 00:08:51.200 where we see both God's justice against sin and his mercy towards sinners as his son becomes the 00:08:51.200 --> 00:09:00.060 substitute and the sacrifice. So in applying Jonah's response to ourselves, I wonder whether some of 00:09:00.060 --> 00:09:06.080 those emotions, whether those responses kind of resonate. Do we ever have a sense of fear when it 00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:14.360 comes to the mercy mission of God? Do we ever find ourselves tongue-tied, reluctant to go and share? 00:09:15.020 --> 00:09:21.160 Because we're not sure how the other person will react. Perhaps we think about the cost to ourselves. 00:09:21.300 --> 00:09:29.800 Will this mean exclusion? Will this mean I will seem foolish for my Christian views? How will this place me 00:09:29.799 --> 00:09:37.159 in my peer group if I share? And so fear can be something that can halt us in our mission? 00:09:38.539 --> 00:09:43.059 Sometimes, I think, if we're honest, pride and prejudice also probably plays a part. 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:51.659 There does seem to be something about our sort of fallen humanity that limits grace and mercy, 00:09:52.179 --> 00:09:58.559 that we tend to include some and exclude others, that where we're called to build bridges 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:03.859 so that we might extend grace. We can be very good at building walls and barriers instead. 00:10:05.779 --> 00:10:08.259 Sometimes in our attitudes and our perceptions. 00:10:11.339 --> 00:10:18.000 Not for that kind of person. Or we place limits on God's ability to say that person is too far gone, 00:10:18.079 --> 00:10:24.500 or they seem so utterly disinterested. Have you ever stopped sharing the gospel because you thought 00:10:24.500 --> 00:10:31.720 that person will never care in a million years? Maybe for us as well, it's doubts that stop us 00:10:31.720 --> 00:10:37.240 from really being active in our mission. Nagging questions, perhaps about the character of God, 00:10:37.659 --> 00:10:43.720 perhaps unresolved questions about how to understand aspects of God's Word. And we find it hard to simply 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:49.899 trust the wisdom, the goodness, the power, and the love of God. And so we're so busy thinking and 00:10:49.899 --> 00:10:58.819 contemplating and wrestling that we stop acting. But I think below all that, and certainly the underlying 00:10:58.819 --> 00:11:06.720 problem with Jonah is that he struggles with the mercy of God. He's reached that point in his life where 00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:15.439 he's not appreciating that it's God's mercy that has saved him, and that he stands constantly in 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:22.700 desperate need of the mercy of God. He doesn't see that the God of justice is a God of mercy, 00:11:23.140 --> 00:11:29.340 and that this God of mercy loves to turn enemies into friends. He doesn't see what we see in the gospel. 00:11:30.740 --> 00:11:38.520 He doesn't have the cross of Christ. Let me read Romans chapter 3 verse 22 to 24 for us. 00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:42.600 Speaking about the righteousness of God. 00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:49.899 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference 00:11:49.899 --> 00:11:58.100 between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified 00:11:58.100 --> 00:12:09.920 freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. It's that word of mercy and grace 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:17.259 freely extended to all in Christ that fuels the engine of Christian mission, but when we lose sight of it, 00:12:18.659 --> 00:12:25.639 by contrast, it halts Christian mission. So that's Jonah and God's word. Now as the story moves on, 00:12:25.699 --> 00:12:32.620 let's think about Jonah and God's storm, which really takes up the bulk of the rest of the chapter. 00:12:32.620 --> 00:12:42.700 Hugh Martin, 19th century free church minister and professor of theology, has a book full of sermons 00:12:42.700 --> 00:12:49.139 on Jonah, and in these middle verses, I think from verse 7 onwards, he has a sermon called, 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:56.440 When the World Rebukes the Church. And it's a great title, because it gets to the heart of this 00:12:56.440 --> 00:13:05.220 section. We see in a sense things turned upside down, because we meet a group of pagans in these 00:13:05.220 --> 00:13:13.760 sailors who are far more admirable than God's man Jonah. We meet a bunch of pagan sailors who are far 00:13:13.760 --> 00:13:22.480 more spiritually awake than God's prophet Jonah. We meet a pagan captain who positively points a prophet 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:31.019 back towards his God. So there's a great reversal, and things seem backwards. And what we need to do is we 00:13:31.019 --> 00:13:38.659 need to think about God's storm as it comes, and see how it affects both the sailors and Jonah. 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:48.060 In verse 4, the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship 00:13:48.059 --> 00:13:54.639 threatened to threaten to break up. The word there is the Lord hurled, like a javelin or a spear. You know, 00:13:54.659 --> 00:14:03.539 here is God's deliberate sending of a storm. And it's interesting that the sailors, they understand. 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:11.559 All the sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his God. They know this is no ordinary storm. 00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:19.339 They don't as yet know the true God of Israel, but they know a God is active, and a God is angry, and so 00:14:19.339 --> 00:14:25.719 they respond. But just before we get to the response, just to think about this for a moment, 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:33.500 for Jonah, as he finds himself in the storm, he is discovering that sin has a storm attached to it. 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:40.359 Because for Jonah, he is receiving the consequences of going against God's Word. 00:14:41.559 --> 00:14:45.739 And in going against God's Word, he's going against the design for the universe. 00:14:47.459 --> 00:14:55.139 Derek Kidner says, sin sets up strains in the structure of life, which can only end in breakdown. 00:14:56.339 --> 00:15:04.899 And we see that typified in the story of Jonah, that there are storms that come as a consequence 00:15:04.899 --> 00:15:07.939 to our sin and rebellion. But for the sailors, it's quite different. 00:15:07.940 --> 00:15:13.900 Their experience of the storm is simply a consequence for them of living in a fallen world. 00:15:14.580 --> 00:15:18.480 They are not guilty of a particular sin, but they are just in the same boat. 00:15:20.980 --> 00:15:28.820 So two very different experiences. But the amazing mercy of God is such that this storm will draw both 00:15:28.820 --> 00:15:38.560 the sailors and Jonah towards God. Because the sailors, their instinct of fear and their appreciation 00:15:38.560 --> 00:15:46.820 of the works of God will ultimately lead them to faith and worship. And Jonah, God's work in him is 00:15:46.820 --> 00:15:54.620 somewhat slower, but he too learns mercy, and he has shown mercy. He has shown mercy by the sailors, 00:15:54.620 --> 00:16:01.320 but he especially has shown mercy by God. But let's think about the two different responses. Let's 00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:07.539 think, first of all, about the response of these, I'm going to call them the sensitive sailors, because 00:16:07.539 --> 00:16:14.899 they're really admirable in that they're sensitive to what's going on. A number of things stand out, 00:16:14.899 --> 00:16:23.079 I think. In verse 5, we see them working together for the good of them all. We see them in verse 5, 00:16:23.199 --> 00:16:31.500 alert and praying. In verse 6, we have the captain's wonderful question, how can you sleep? Get up and 00:16:31.500 --> 00:16:40.759 call on your God. Maybe he will take notice of us so that he will not perish. So it's understanding 00:16:40.759 --> 00:16:48.840 that there is some supernatural act, and so there needs to be prayer to connect with God to seek 00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:58.559 mercy. In verse 7, we find them casting lots to find out who's responsible. They believe that the God 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:06.740 will work in providence to show who has been responsible. I think another thing that's striking, 00:17:06.740 --> 00:17:12.440 I don't know if you've thought about this, when it's discovered that Jonah is the cause of the trouble, 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:19.400 they don't get angry with him. They're at the point of death because of this man's disobedience, 00:17:19.500 --> 00:17:27.000 but they seem respectful. They ask lots of questions, but there's a respect, and there's a care for Jonah. 00:17:29.380 --> 00:17:34.759 You know, when eventually it comes, Jonah realizes he's to blame, he says, throw me overboard, 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:40.420 they don't instinctively say, of course. They're not trying to preserve themselves. Rather, 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:49.299 they do their best to roll back to land. They want to save Jonah, and when eventually they realize 00:17:49.299 --> 00:17:54.640 this is all they've got to throw him overboard, they pray to God for forgiveness. Please, Lord, 00:17:54.720 --> 00:18:01.019 do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, 00:18:01.019 --> 00:18:06.400 for you, Lord, have done as you please. They see God's hand at work in all of this. 00:18:07.700 --> 00:18:13.680 And their attitudes and their actions stand as a rebuke for the prophet Jonah. 00:18:15.099 --> 00:18:22.579 To go back to Hugh Martin, stand as a rebuke often to the church in this sense. Here are a group of 00:18:22.579 --> 00:18:33.519 pagans who are showing genuine care, mercy, and kindness towards Jonah, who is an outsider to them, 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:39.480 who has brought trouble on them, who worships a different God from them. 00:18:42.419 --> 00:18:49.279 Let's flip to think about Jonah. We hear Jonah describing himself. Remember, Jonah is very honestly 00:18:49.279 --> 00:18:56.119 reflecting on his own experience, and he talks about himself, making clear he is a reluctant prophet. 00:18:57.720 --> 00:19:04.500 So again, he's on the run. Verse 5, while everyone else is busy trying to deal with a storm and busy 00:19:04.500 --> 00:19:10.720 praying, we discover Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:13.899 Again, Hugh Martin talks about the sleep of sorrow. 00:19:13.900 --> 00:19:25.340 Maybe sometimes we've had that experience of a sense of guilt and anxiety, being such an emotional drain 00:19:25.340 --> 00:19:32.940 that we find ourselves exhausted. Perhaps that's where Jonah finds himself. Certainly, we recognize 00:19:32.940 --> 00:19:41.800 he's not praying. He is slow to call on his God, and he's slow to share care for these men. 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:48.859 We get the sense that he's not proactive. He's reactive. He only speaks when he's questioned. 00:19:50.599 --> 00:19:55.200 What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What's your country? From what people are you? 00:19:57.519 --> 00:19:59.899 His response is interesting. Look at verse 9. 00:20:02.740 --> 00:20:10.740 As he explains who he is, here's my identity. What comes first? I am a Hebrew. 00:20:10.740 --> 00:20:19.120 It seems like his national identity comes ahead of, I worship the Lord, the God of heaven who made the sea 00:20:19.120 --> 00:20:25.440 and the dry land. Again, this explains, I think, his reluctance to show mercy. National identity. 00:20:26.380 --> 00:20:31.440 Pagans are outsiders. Ninevites are enemies. Let me run. 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:41.539 So instead of that mercy mission that he was sent on, he's risking them all, experiencing the effects of God's judgment. 00:20:42.820 --> 00:20:48.759 Verse 10. They are terrified because they discover he's been running away from the Lord. 00:20:51.080 --> 00:20:53.200 Things are not looking good at this stage. 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:58.460 Before we see how the tension resolves at this point, a couple of lessons from the storm. 00:20:59.220 --> 00:21:01.200 This one's largely from the sailors, I think. 00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:05.980 That invitation to seek the common good. 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:12.980 Again, that's where Hugh Martin talked about the world rebuking the church. 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:18.900 In the picture that we have in the book of Jonah, you know, we are all in the same boat. 00:21:19.779 --> 00:21:22.480 You know, in society, we're all in the same boat. 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:26.299 It can be very easy for Christians to point our fingers out there, can't it? 00:21:26.339 --> 00:21:28.660 Oh, look at society. We're part of society. 00:21:29.740 --> 00:21:32.500 Better to seek the common good. 00:21:33.460 --> 00:21:38.759 Better to remember that message that Jeremiah was delivering to the exiles. 00:21:38.759 --> 00:21:43.740 In a different place where they were refusing to settle in Babylon. 00:21:44.019 --> 00:21:47.079 They were captives and they wanted to keep their distance. 00:21:47.660 --> 00:21:55.220 And the message came, seek the welfare of the city because as it prospers, you will prosper. 00:21:56.759 --> 00:22:03.559 There is a call from God to seek the welfare of the places where we live. 00:22:03.559 --> 00:22:09.679 To be a positive blessing on our communities. 00:22:09.859 --> 00:22:12.539 To care about our local community. 00:22:12.819 --> 00:22:18.940 To find ways that we can, whatever our context, whether that's school or university, the workplace, 00:22:19.539 --> 00:22:21.740 or the local area where we live. 00:22:22.359 --> 00:22:23.980 To seek to be a blessing. 00:22:25.639 --> 00:22:28.819 Remember the story of the Good Samaritan. 00:22:29.720 --> 00:22:32.099 Again, there was the world rebuking the church. 00:22:32.099 --> 00:22:37.699 There was the Samaritan going out of his way to show care and mercy at great risk. 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:43.959 That call from Jesus to the church to learn to move from who is my neighbor, 00:22:44.099 --> 00:22:46.240 who are those who are like me and who like me, 00:22:46.579 --> 00:22:52.039 to ask the question, how can I be a neighbor to whoever needs mercy? 00:22:52.799 --> 00:22:55.079 When we do that, we're following the pattern of Jesus. 00:22:56.099 --> 00:22:58.759 So the storm invites us to seek the common good. 00:22:58.759 --> 00:23:03.299 And I think it also invites us to call on God in prayer. 00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:07.819 The sailors have that instinct. 00:23:08.779 --> 00:23:11.379 The pagan captain, he gets it. 00:23:12.259 --> 00:23:15.839 And the Bible reminds us in so many ways that our God, 00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:17.980 the God who made the heavens and the earth, 00:23:18.379 --> 00:23:20.720 is a God who listens to prayer. 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:27.100 A God who invites us to pray for mercy for others. 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:33.740 A God who builds into his way of establishing his kingdom, 00:23:34.299 --> 00:23:35.920 the prayers of his people. 00:23:35.920 --> 00:23:39.900 And so we're always being called, 00:23:40.039 --> 00:23:47.140 as we see kind of the storm of confusion and doubt and the urgency, 00:23:47.800 --> 00:23:49.940 as we recognize there are so many people, 00:23:50.019 --> 00:23:50.980 as Ian was praying, 00:23:51.060 --> 00:23:53.240 even our own nation who know nothing of God, 00:23:53.300 --> 00:23:54.440 who think nothing of God, 00:23:54.519 --> 00:23:56.640 the urgency to pray, 00:23:57.580 --> 00:23:58.740 to seek mercy, 00:23:59.400 --> 00:24:01.759 to pray for those miracles of mercy, 00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:04.200 to pray for our own opportunities, 00:24:04.420 --> 00:24:05.240 for openings, 00:24:05.660 --> 00:24:07.720 to share what we believe, 00:24:07.819 --> 00:24:09.240 and to pray that people would listen. 00:24:11.379 --> 00:24:13.819 Well, that's the story of Jonah and God's storm. 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:19.220 The last thing we need to think about is Jonah and God's mercy. 00:24:19.500 --> 00:24:22.119 God's mercy is really a theme that kind of runs through 00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:24.940 all the chapters of the book of Jonah. 00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:26.180 It's a wonderful story, 00:24:26.259 --> 00:24:27.140 really simple story, 00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:28.079 dramatic story, 00:24:28.079 --> 00:24:30.759 but it's got lots of complex truths, 00:24:31.119 --> 00:24:33.339 and it shows God's mercy in different ways, 00:24:33.439 --> 00:24:37.240 because Jonah experiences what we might call the severe mercy of God. 00:24:37.960 --> 00:24:39.859 God disciplines those he loves. 00:24:40.259 --> 00:24:41.379 Jonah is being disciplined, 00:24:41.699 --> 00:24:43.079 because he's running from God. 00:24:43.720 --> 00:24:45.839 And we also see surprising mercy, 00:24:46.500 --> 00:24:50.359 as these pagan sailors become God-fearing worshippers. 00:24:50.519 --> 00:24:56.000 So let's see together how mercy comes to dominate in the storm. 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:57.440 First in verse 12, 00:24:58.960 --> 00:25:02.640 we begin to sense mercy in Jonah's heart, 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:04.460 as he takes responsibility. 00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:06.960 This is a big moment, 00:25:07.019 --> 00:25:07.480 when he says, 00:25:07.579 --> 00:25:10.619 pick me up and throw me into the sea, 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:11.240 he replied, 00:25:11.319 --> 00:25:12.279 and it will become calm. 00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:16.559 I know that it's my fault that this great storm has come upon you. 00:25:17.779 --> 00:25:18.539 So remember, 00:25:18.660 --> 00:25:20.160 why is Jonah here in this boat? 00:25:21.279 --> 00:25:25.380 He's here because he does not want people who are not like him to receive mercy. 00:25:26.660 --> 00:25:27.359 But now, 00:25:28.079 --> 00:25:30.079 as he's looked into the eyes of these sailors, 00:25:30.319 --> 00:25:32.640 as he has experienced their kindness, 00:25:32.799 --> 00:25:33.660 their compassion, 00:25:34.279 --> 00:25:36.200 their determination to save him, 00:25:37.460 --> 00:25:39.099 his heart begins to change. 00:25:40.539 --> 00:25:41.559 And we see this, 00:25:41.680 --> 00:25:42.619 in a sense, 00:25:43.019 --> 00:25:45.740 a preparation for the pattern of substitution. 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:47.480 In effect, 00:25:47.539 --> 00:25:48.019 he says to him, 00:25:48.059 --> 00:25:48.160 listen, 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:49.299 I know I deserve it, 00:25:49.319 --> 00:25:50.240 and I know you don't, 00:25:50.299 --> 00:25:51.519 so throw me in. 00:25:51.519 --> 00:25:54.940 When we think about Jesus, 00:25:55.079 --> 00:25:55.879 the greater Jonah, 00:25:55.940 --> 00:25:56.720 it's quite different. 00:25:57.220 --> 00:25:58.200 I don't deserve it, 00:25:58.240 --> 00:25:58.579 you do, 00:25:58.660 --> 00:26:00.279 but I'm going to stand in your place. 00:26:01.480 --> 00:26:02.879 God's loving sacrifice, 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:04.180 and the salvation of Jesus. 00:26:05.379 --> 00:26:08.019 So we see that Jonah begins to show mercy 00:26:08.019 --> 00:26:10.759 to the sailors. 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:12.319 Then we see mercy, 00:26:13.160 --> 00:26:14.559 both from and then for, 00:26:14.639 --> 00:26:15.799 the sailors as well. 00:26:15.799 --> 00:26:17.599 As we said in verse 13, 00:26:18.659 --> 00:26:21.139 when Jonah's solution is revealed, 00:26:21.819 --> 00:26:24.299 the men do their best to roll back to land. 00:26:26.139 --> 00:26:29.180 They want the best for Jonah, 00:26:29.419 --> 00:26:31.399 and so they try and fight this plan, 00:26:31.879 --> 00:26:32.839 and when they can't, 00:26:32.879 --> 00:26:33.740 they pray forgiveness. 00:26:34.599 --> 00:26:35.619 And then in verse 15, 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:36.700 they have this experience, 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:39.139 as they throw Jonah overboard, 00:26:39.140 --> 00:26:43.600 the raging sea grew calm. 00:26:44.500 --> 00:26:47.020 When Jesus stopped the storm, 00:26:47.480 --> 00:26:48.780 and there was flat calm. 00:26:49.540 --> 00:26:50.480 Remember the disciples, 00:26:51.140 --> 00:26:52.560 their fear was even greater, 00:26:52.680 --> 00:26:53.660 because they realize, 00:26:54.080 --> 00:26:56.000 the one in the boat has the power of God. 00:26:56.759 --> 00:26:59.360 There is a new fear from the sailors. 00:27:00.259 --> 00:27:01.620 It's the fear of the Lord. 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:02.560 Verse 16, 00:27:02.640 --> 00:27:05.320 at this the men greatly feared the Lord, 00:27:06.340 --> 00:27:07.380 and they offered a sacrifice, 00:27:07.480 --> 00:27:08.140 and made vows. 00:27:08.140 --> 00:27:11.780 Now they know the God of covenant faithfulness. 00:27:12.759 --> 00:27:14.200 Mercy for them. 00:27:15.860 --> 00:27:17.220 And this isn't simply, 00:27:17.620 --> 00:27:18.160 you know, 00:27:18.360 --> 00:27:19.400 that phrase, 00:27:19.520 --> 00:27:20.980 there's no atheists in a foxhole, 00:27:21.040 --> 00:27:22.340 there's no atheists in the trenches. 00:27:22.340 --> 00:27:23.120 This isn't just, 00:27:23.460 --> 00:27:24.160 let me pray, 00:27:24.280 --> 00:27:25.780 and then if things turn out well, 00:27:25.820 --> 00:27:26.820 I'll forget this God. 00:27:27.200 --> 00:27:29.000 These sacrifices are made, 00:27:29.120 --> 00:27:30.240 these vows are made, 00:27:30.300 --> 00:27:31.680 after they've been delivered. 00:27:34.380 --> 00:27:37.600 Seems like there's been a genuine change of heart here. 00:27:38.140 --> 00:27:40.759 And think about God's amazing mercy. 00:27:41.060 --> 00:27:41.060 00:27:41.220 --> 00:27:41.520 so, 00:27:41.860 --> 00:27:42.220 Jonah, 00:27:42.320 --> 00:27:43.140 the runaway prophet, 00:27:43.200 --> 00:27:45.100 is supposed to go east, 00:27:45.600 --> 00:27:47.940 and instead he goes west. 00:27:47.980 --> 00:27:49.840 He's never supposed to be on this boat. 00:27:50.860 --> 00:27:52.240 But God's able, 00:27:52.360 --> 00:27:53.380 even to use that, 00:27:53.480 --> 00:27:54.920 even that disobedience, 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:57.340 becomes a way for God's mission to continue. 00:27:57.339 --> 00:28:00.720 He is so determined to show mercy, 00:28:01.299 --> 00:28:02.339 that he'll show mercy 00:28:02.339 --> 00:28:04.659 through this reluctant prophet, 00:28:05.079 --> 00:28:06.699 for the sake of the pagan sailors. 00:28:07.559 --> 00:28:08.319 And of course, 00:28:08.459 --> 00:28:09.500 Jonah himself 00:28:09.500 --> 00:28:12.119 finds amazing mercy, 00:28:13.039 --> 00:28:14.099 surprising mercy, 00:28:14.220 --> 00:28:15.119 in verse 17, 00:28:15.220 --> 00:28:17.459 the Lord provided a huge fish 00:28:17.459 --> 00:28:19.339 to swallow Jonah. 00:28:19.339 --> 00:28:19.899 Jonah. 00:28:22.579 --> 00:28:23.740 And what we discover, 00:28:23.919 --> 00:28:24.679 is that the mercy, 00:28:24.879 --> 00:28:26.839 Jonah has been struggling with, 00:28:27.579 --> 00:28:28.559 is the mercy, 00:28:29.139 --> 00:28:30.139 that saves him. 00:28:31.339 --> 00:28:32.799 And now he's going to have this, 00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:34.759 first hand experience, 00:28:35.439 --> 00:28:36.939 without God's mercy, 00:28:37.939 --> 00:28:39.379 I would be dead. 00:28:40.500 --> 00:28:42.199 The God of mercy, 00:28:42.199 --> 00:28:44.179 that he has run from, 00:28:45.259 --> 00:28:46.619 is the God of mercy, 00:28:46.619 --> 00:28:49.219 who has lovingly pursued him. 00:28:50.939 --> 00:28:52.919 Controlling even this great fish, 00:28:53.359 --> 00:28:54.379 to swallow him. 00:28:55.279 --> 00:28:56.879 And in this little moment, 00:28:57.000 --> 00:28:58.959 it prepares us to look forward, 00:29:00.039 --> 00:29:02.239 to see the gospel of God's mercy. 00:29:03.539 --> 00:29:05.119 To think of Jesus, 00:29:06.599 --> 00:29:07.819 the ultimate Jonah, 00:29:08.819 --> 00:29:11.359 who willingly hurled himself, 00:29:11.459 --> 00:29:13.599 into the storm of God's judgment, 00:29:13.599 --> 00:29:17.399 for the salvation of others. 00:29:18.719 --> 00:29:20.219 That what looked like death, 00:29:20.319 --> 00:29:21.019 and defeat, 00:29:21.579 --> 00:29:22.919 there on the cross, 00:29:23.019 --> 00:29:24.399 turns out to bring pardon, 00:29:24.599 --> 00:29:25.019 forgiveness, 00:29:25.299 --> 00:29:25.679 life, 00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:27.319 and victory. 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:30.319 And Jesus will do that, 00:29:30.379 --> 00:29:31.319 for people like Jonah, 00:29:32.279 --> 00:29:33.619 who think that they're very religious, 00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:34.599 but actually need, 00:29:34.599 --> 00:29:36.259 the mercy of God desperately. 00:29:37.480 --> 00:29:38.500 And he will do it, 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:39.659 for people like these sailors, 00:29:39.799 --> 00:29:40.859 who are far from God, 00:29:40.919 --> 00:29:41.719 but yet are invited, 00:29:41.859 --> 00:29:42.519 by his grace, 00:29:42.599 --> 00:29:43.279 to draw near. 00:29:43.599 --> 00:29:45.899 It's a mercy, 00:29:45.899 --> 00:29:47.679 that's available to all of us. 00:29:47.699 --> 00:29:49.519 And as we understand, 00:29:50.179 --> 00:29:52.159 as Jonah comes to understand, 00:29:52.879 --> 00:29:54.119 that I would drown, 00:29:55.099 --> 00:29:56.399 without God's mercy, 00:29:57.539 --> 00:29:59.139 then we have the fuel, 00:29:59.679 --> 00:30:00.579 of gratitude, 00:30:01.240 --> 00:30:03.459 to drive our mission of mercy, 00:30:03.980 --> 00:30:05.519 for the sake of others.