Jonah 4 Sermon
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Good morning Family. I also want to say Good morning to our Fairhaven Venue, Cafe Venue, and our Rockford rescue mission venue and to those of you listening online. We are so glad that you are joining us this morning.
Review - We saw that God’s heart is for his creation not a specific nation. That Jonah thought his nation and the KOG were the same thing. It wasn’t Jonah’s love for his country that got him in trouble. It was his hatred for his countries enemies.
Could talk about how fairness matters.
Here is what we are going to see today. Jonah wants to be a king. He wants to sit on the throne. He wants to render judgement. The reason why is because Jonah believes that Justice has failed. Jonah’s question is how can God be just and let all these people go? ()
How can God be just and let all these people go? (Isaiah 61:8)
Jonah believes that Justice has failed.
I’m going to propose though that Jonah doesn’t actually want justice. What Jonah wants is vengeance.
It’s important to remember that this story isn’t really a story about a prophet, it’s really a picture of the overall heart of Israel at the time and it’s an example to us by extension of now being a part of that kingdom, that this is a story about you and me.
And if you and I are completely real and honest, what I think we actually want in life isn’t justice. We say we want justice, but hat we want in life is mercy & grace for ourselves and vengeance for everyone else. And if you don’t believe me, how about we simply take movies, a small snapshot into a representation of how the movies we love actually show us who we are.
I love the movie Taken. Any taken fans out there? Liam Neeson’s daughter get’s stolen and he is chasing after her and he tells the bad guy this: "I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom I can tell you I don't have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you, but if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you."
And we love that! Your in the theater going oh yeah it’s on! We love it!
Why? Because we love justice? No! Because we love vengeance. We don’t want our movies whether it is Liam Neeson, star wars, super hero movies, James bond or any of those movies we are not watching on a Friday night with our large popcorn going man, I really hope this movie ends with this character who seems to have had a hard life having grown up in an unstable home gets a fair and legal process. That will be riveting to see how this all plays out in an honest and open court where everyone tells the truth. Like hello, no body wants to watch that movie! We don’t want justice, we want vengeance and violence.
Why? Because we love justice? No! Because we love vengeance. We don’t want our movies weather it is Liam Neeson, star wars, super hero movies, James bond or any of those movies we are not watching on a Friday night with our large popcorn going man, I really hope this movie ends with this character who seems to have had a hard life having grown up in an unstable home gets the jurisdiction process that is fair and it will be riveting to see how this all plays out in an honest and open court where everyone tells the truth. Like hello, no body wants to watch that movie! We don’t want justice, we want vengeance and violence.
While we want vengeance and violence for our perceived enemies, we also want mercy for who we perceive to be good. So I was thinking about this and we actually say we want justice, but we also want mercy. Think of Robin Hood. The theme is to rob from the rich and give to the poor. He would go after the evil sheriff of Nottingham who was taxing all the people and robin hood and his merry man, and little john would steal from the rich and give to the poor. In the end he gets caught (robin hood is the one breaking all the rules, robbing people) but none the less, we want robin hood to receive mercy. No don’t do that to him. He’s the good guy, give him mercy.
And so what happens is we get caught in our lives between these two. We get caught thinking we are the king who should be administrating either Mercy or Justice and that they are at odds. And so we are quite happy when we realize that we ourselves our messed up but we get to receive God’s grace. We are however, quite displeased when the person I despise is counted as just as worthy in the kingdom as I am. An unadressed result of us thinking we should be the king, is that we begin to be the ones that determine the value of a life. That’s Jonah’s problem right? He think that his life, his people should receive God’s grace and mercy, but the people of Nineveh should suffer because what they have done is worse than what I have done.
So let’s jump into the text this morning
When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.
But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.
Jonah 3:10-4:
Jonah is mad. To him it says, this seemed very wrong and he became angry. So again, remember we said week 1 when we have a problem with God’s character, the issue isn’t God, it’s our misunderstanding of who he is. It’s a mis-representation. So we see that Jonah is angry with God. Why? Because he doesn’t understand how a God of justice can give this kind of mercy. In fact it is so conflicting for him that he says, I wish I would have just stayed home. For think he now is at a point where he is beginning to understands where God is coming from. he understands that God loves these people and he is going to offer grace and compassion.
Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
He is so distraught by it that he says just take my life. It’s better that I don’t have to be a part of this. But then God says, is it right for you to be angry? Do you think this is okay? And I don’t get the sense that God is asking with a biting tone....It’s not “well who is going to do the dishes then?” Or are you right to be angry? I think what is happening here is that God is continuing to work on his heart. He is continuing to show him where he really is. He is trying to bring about transformation to him…but notice what happens...
Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city.
He is so distraught by it that he says just take my life.
So Jonah notice....didn’t respond to God. He just ignored him. It’s totally the moment when you were a kid and your mom or dad made a great point about something you were angry about, and they asked you a question, and you just walked away. That is what is happening. And Jonah, ever the runaway from what God is doing, goes even further! By going to the east of the city and sitting down, here is what he is doing. If you remember back in chapter 3 the prophecy was that Nineveh would be destroyed in 40 days.
And so for Jonah, what is happening here is that he is hoping that this is his Friday night movie that he is waiting to see not justice, but vengeance poured out on Nineveh. Like I’m just imagining that Jonah is sitting there going, man this is the sequel to Sodom & Gomorrah. This is going to be incredible. Do you think he will use burning sulphur again, last time he used a pillar of salt? What will he do for an encore? And so he is getting comfortable and it get’s better....
Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant.
only time Jonah is happy. The only time he thinks of something other than himself. Think about that.God has sent him on a mission to bring revival and he has been living in opposition, complaining, pulling this whole Woah is me routine but the second he gets a temporary little plant to distract him, he is pleased. He is the most successful missionary ever. Preached a 5 word sermon in Hebrew and everyone repented. and yet the only time he is happy is when there is a plant. Again, Jonah has a heart problem.
But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”
But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”
But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”
Jonah 4:
Jonah 4:7-9
vs 6. - only time Jonah is happy. No buddy knows what kind of a plant. Huge storm, huge fish, medium fish, tiny worm. The only time he thinks of something other than himself.
So God has provided 3 things for Jonah. he provided a plant, a worm and a scorching east wind. Jonah is only concerned with himself. And so when the plant withers because the worm has come and the east winds arrive Jonah is again distraught! Jonah again is angry. And the reason why Jonah is angry, is because he has this view of what Justice and Mercy are supposed to look like. And what he is completely missing here, is that the plant, the worm, and the wind are all hear to show him again that his heart is the problem. God tried to have this moment with him in verse 5 and Jonah left and went and set up his little shelter.
So what does God do, well true to his nature, he again begins to provide opportunities to have character transformational conversations with Jonah.
Think about this
God provided a plant for him- Jonah was a runaway and rebellious and his attitude was the worst, but God still blessed him. Blessings are not given on the basis of our deserving them. They are always given on the basis of God's grace. Unmerited, undeserved favor. That is grace.
This is our problem. We don't actually think that is how it works. We say it. We say it's god's grace. But when things go wrong, when the plant dies, Jonah lashes out! Why? Because he believes he deserves better! He believes that he is deserving of more.
God provided a worm (vs 7) - What worm has come to your life? Your boss, that worm come and tell you your job is no longer necessary. Why would that worm of a boyfriend break up with me. But God provided the worm. He provided the plant and provided the worm. Jonah was attached to the plant.
God provided a scorching east wind(8)
Jonah should have been in the city discipling them. Teaching them, training, showing them the ways of God. Instead, he is sitting on the sideline. He has his arms crossed and he doesn't get it....He doesn't get that the opportunity to be a part of the revival, instead he is red in the face, angry with God. Don't be a spectator be a minister. Is the wind and plant withering a last call for Jonah to seek shelter in Nineveh? Why wouldn't he. Everyone would go into a shelter. This is profound. God has provided 3 things all with the hopes of showing Jonah the true depths of his heart. He is peeling back the layers.
I wander, if God were to manifest himself in a conversation right now, and he would peel back our layers, what would be the plant that we are concerned with? Could it be that we are more concerned with the temporary things that are fleeting and constantly changing? Are we more worried with our own provision of what job we have, the salary we make, the education we have, the amount or extravagance of our vacations?
I’m not even saying those are bad things. They are important things, but what is happening here is God is showing Jonah that he is placing those temporary things in a higher place than the permanent things. The lives of thousands of people are at stake and Jonah is worried about a withering plant. God’s inviting him to have a heart check.
But again, we see Jonah's heart, he isn't doubling down on his hatred for them, he is all in on his position.
and so
But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”
Is it right for you? Jonah, is this legitimate? Jonah is being incredibly irrational. He claims he wants to die. He is not in his right mind. He is so distraught his thinking is…oh so you have grace on all those wretched people but you kill my plant! Forget this, I’d rather be dead! God continues to work it out with Jonah.
vs. 9 Is it right for you? Jonah, is this legitimate? Jonah is being incredibly irrational. He claims he wants to die. He is not in his right mind. God continues to work it out with Jonah.
But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”
And that is it…that is how the story ends. There is no closure.
1. Inconvenience is the rhythm of transformation. Convenience is the rhythm of stagnation. Inconvenience allows/enables transformation. Convenience encourages stagnation. Inconvenience is about an agitator and convenience is about being agitated or aggravated. We completely miss this, and I honestly think we have a harder time with this than most people who have gone before us, because everything in our world is convenient. And if it isn’t convenient, we don’t view it as a time to be transformed, but a time to get angry, complain, and tell others what trauma and unfairness we have experienced.
It shows us our heart, our motives, it is an agitator to show Jonah what is actually happening in his heart.
As American’s when our schedule gets interupted, when we experience pain, we try so hard to avoid the pain, and we miss the spiritual development if we don’t sit with God.
God is trying to do surgery on Jonah’s heart. He is trying to remake him, give him a new lens, a new heart.
In what place is God trying to give you heart surgery? You see friends, God loves Jonah enough to interrupt him. And God loves us enough, he loves you enough, that he may just be using the circumstances of your life, the inconveniences to interrupt you. To grab your heart! To bring the opportunity for transformation to you.
2. Justice and Mercy are not in opposition to each other but harmony to each other. Perfect Justice and perfect Mercy come from the cross.
Now to answer the question how do Justice & Mercy coexist. How can they work together if they are opposite? How can God be fully just and fully merciful? The answer to that question is found in Jesus. You see at the cross is where all of the sins of the world are justly paid for. And at the cross, is where all of the mercy is given. The cross is what brings these competing characteristics to be a beautiful representation of who our God is.
The challenge for us is the cross. The cross is where I receive my mercy and grace. It’s where you receive your mercy and grace. But like God called Jonah to his paradigm for loving his enemy, God calls us to pick up our cross daily. The cross is the great equalizer. The cross reminds me that I am no better than anyone else, in fact, I’m probably worst than most.
But my temptation, and your temptation and what Jonah did was to think that he was of more worth. That he had more value. That his people, the Israelites were more important than his enemies. We have all these little things that we do and say to feel superior about ourselves
I drive this car, I live in this neighborhood, I attended that school
I went on this vacation, I know this person, I accomplished this feat
We do it as Christians…oh they go to that church, oh they think this way theologically. When we say those things are we honestly doing them out of the concern for others or because we actually like being superior. We are a pretentious people!
But the cross, it right sizes me for daily living. There are things that are unjust that clearly upset God. And we can call out the unjust.
But the cross is also our example for treating others. You see the cross I would say is what continues the story of Jonah. Did you notice how abrupt the ending was. Like we have no idea what happens. We have no idea what Jonah did. Did he finally agree with God. Did he walk away? And what the cross does is it shows us what we should do. It invites us to every time we have an enemy, every time we think we are better than someone else, every time we have to interact with the people we hate, we start with the cross. We form ourselves to the cross.
Perfect example is Corrie Ten Boom.
Corrie’s example is extreme but it’s the perfect picture for us. She could have walked away, she could have held a grudge, she could have avoided, but she pressed in. She chose to let the justice that needed to paid for his sins, even though they affected her greatly, to die on the cross. She chose extend the mercy she received from the cross to NAME.
The invitation for us is here.
Dying to yourself creates space for God’s creation.
The story ends with God asking Jonah, shouldn’t I care more about these people than you do about a plant? It leaves us with this stinging, permeating question. Jonah, do you care more about a temporary plant than you do about my creation? Dying to yourself with friendships, with coworkers, with your family. When I wrestle because this person rubs me the wrong way and I would rather avoid the inconvenience than embrace the transformation.
Corrie chose that day to die at the cross. To allow Justice and mercy to be administrated by her father. Here is what Corrie did, and it was incredibly brave…she decided that because God refuses to regard people as his enemies, she as a christ follower, cannot regard others as her enemies. It is a powerful example of the cross.
We don’t know what happened with the end of Jonah’s life. The story seems unfinished and unsettled. But as we said at the beginning of this series…it’s not actually a story about Jonah, it’s actually a story about you and me. The question we have to ask ourselves is, are we concerned with the people God has placed in our lives.
How do I respond. Jonah is a caricature of people who grasp the scandal of God's grace. And when that sinks in to your core...like I'm talking at a heart level....when you understand that God loves your enemy...Josh Pardee's enemy.... as much as he loves me....well it is much harder to hold people at arms length. It's impossible to think that I am the one who distributes grace on my standards. It forces me to pursue everyone. And I think what ticks Jonah off the most at the end of this story, I think it’s not that he has a problem with who god is anymore, he is still upset, he is still angry that God would allow them to repent. I think that the thing that Jonah is most upset about is that God keeps trying to get Jonah to understand. It’s not that God loves his enemy, it’s that God expects Jonah to love his enemy.
Read verse 11.
our story begin where Jonah’s ends.
As American’s when our schedule gets interupted, when we experience pain, we try so hard to avoid the pain, and we miss the spiritual development if we don’t sit with God. There are things that are unjust that clearly upset God. And we can call out the unjust.
What if Jonah had done that? Do we long for mercy and grace more than Justice? God is trying to do heart surgery.
Transformation comes through hardship/inconvenience/being stretched/uncomfortable, convenience comes through
vs. 11 God is showing Jonah, you care for a plant, can't I care for a city of people? ...It ends. He is showing him like you would a child or a student.
God is showing Jonah, you care for a plant, can't I care for a city of people? ...It ends. He is showing him like you would a child or a student.
Them not knowing their left from right is an idiom. They know right and wrong because God expects them to know when he tells them to repent.
We want to know how Jonah responds....but the story isn't about Jonah...it's a story about you. The real point of the book is this...how am I responding to God's question. How do I respond. He is a caricature of people who grasp the scandal of God's grace. And when that sinks in to your core...like I'm talking at a heart level....when you understand that God loves your enemy...Josh Pardee's enemy.... as much as he loves me....well it is much harder to hold people at arms length. It's impossible to think that I am the one who distributes grace on my standards. It forces me to pursue everyone. And I think what ticks Jonah off the most at the end of this story, I think it’s not that he has a problem with who god is anymore, he is still upset, he is still angry that God would allow them to repent. I think that the thing that Jonah is most upset about is that God keeps trying to get Jonah to understand. It’s not that God loves his enemy, it’s that God expects Jonah to love his enemy.
And If we are completely honest, we have a hard time coming to terms with this. You see I can eventually get to okay, God loves my enemies. But it seems to hard to say, it seems impossible to want to try to do the same. But that is exactly what Christ, the god man told us to do. To love our enemies.
Jonah wants to be the administrator of Justice and Mercy. And the problem is, he can’t because he is imperfect. But that still raises an interesting question for us. How do mercy and justice resolve themselves? How do we rectify the fact that God is fully just and fully merciful. I mean it seems impossible doesn’t it? Because to have absolute justice is to show now mercy. And the very definition of mercy is that you withhold what should be given. So where do we find our answer?
The answer is in the greater Jonah. Jesus you see is the greater Jonah.
The whole story of Jonah is showing us two things. 1 we are Jonah. Second, we need a better Jonah.
The people who are far from God are actually closer to God and the people who think they are close to God actually show themselves to be far from God. It’s how the kingdom works. Jonah a prophet of God thinks that the worst people are the Ninevites....but in the story, who is the worst person? It's Jonah! So God is continually trying to show Jonah his mercy and grace. Not for one second does it dismiss Jonah's religious superiority. You see that's his problem. He thinks he is superior. That he is of higher value. Repenting Nineveh is proving herself more worthy of God's favor than apostate Israel: The children of the covenant have not only fallen down to, but actually below, the level of a heathen people. Israel, therefore, must go down and the heathen rise above her.
Jonah think that the worst people are the Ninevites....but in the story, who is the worst person? It's Jonah! So God is continually trying to show Jonah his mercy and grace. Not for one second does it dismiss Jonah's religious superiority. You see that's his problem. He thinks he is superior. That he is of higher value.
See here is the key idea that Jonah doesn't like. It's not that God loves his enemy...it's that God expects jonah to love his enemy. See some of us are sitting here saying, okay, I can come to terms with that. I can come to terms with God loving my enemy....but it might be too much to say, but we are called to do the same! Jesus said to love your enemy!
Jonah is finding problems with who God actually is, not who he thought he was.
Repenting Nineveh is proving herself more worthy of God's favor than apostate Israel: The children of the covenant have not only fallen down to, but actually below, the level of a heathen people. Israel, therefore, must go down and the heathen rise above her.
The challenge for us is the cross. The cross is where I receive my mercy and grace. It’s where you receive your mercy and grace. But like God called Jonah to his paradigm for loving his enemy, God calls us to pick up our cross daily. The cross is the great equalizer. The cross reminds me that I am no better than anyone else, in fact, I’m probably worst than most. It right sizes me for daily living.
But the cross is also our example for treating others. You see the cross I would say is what continues the story of Jonah. Did you notice how abrupt the ending was. Like we have no idea what happens. We have no idea what Jonah did. Did he finally agree with God. Did he walk away? And what the cross does is it shows us what we should do. It invites us to every time we have an enemy, every time we think we are better than someone else, every time we have to interact with the people we hate, we start with the cross (cruciform).
Perfect example is Corrie Ten Boom.
Dying to yourself with friendships, with coworkers, with your family. When I wrestle because this person rubs me the wrong way and I would rather avoid the inconvenience than embrace the transformation.
Corrie chose that day to die at the cross. To allow Justice and mercy to be administrated by her father. Here is what Corrie did, and it was incredibly brave…she decided that because God refuses to regard people as his enemies, she as a christ follower, cannot regard others as her enemies. It is a powerful example of the cross.
We don’t know what happened with the end of Jonah’s life. The story seems unfinished and unsettled. But as we said at the beginning of this series…it’s not actually a story about Jonah, it’s actually a story about you and me. The question we have to ask ourselves is, are we concerned with the people God has placed in our lives.
Read verse 11.
When is it that I fall into a place of feeling better than? When Do I feel like I am superior? What does Justice & Mercy look like.
As American’s when our schedule gets interupted, when we experience pain, we try so hard to avoid the pain, and we miss the spiritual development if we don’t sit with God. There are things that are unjust that clearly upset God. And we can call out the unjust.
What if Jonah had done that? Do we long for mercy and grace more than Justice? God is trying to do heart surgery.
Transformation comes through hardship/inconvenience/being stretched/uncomfortable, convenience comes through
It shows us our heart, our motives, it is an agitator to show Jonah what is actually happening in his heart. Jonah wo