WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:05.280 Now, this morning, as Amy also mentioned, we're beginning a six-week series on the book of Jonah. 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:11.919 Our focus is going to be the question: what does Jonah teach us about God's heart for the nations? 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:17.839 I also want to point out, I did put together a study guide that's in the back where the outlines and the small group questions are. 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:22.320 If you'd like to pick that up, if you'd like to go deeper in your study on Jonah, there's resources. 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:25.679 There's also a reading plan for the uh the series. 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:30.719 If you want to uh use that for your devotional time, that is part of this packet in the back. 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:35.039 Also, I will say Jonah has has a little bit of a special place in my heart. 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:39.920 We uh we preached Jonah about 10 years ago in the fall of uh 2016. 00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:51.359 It was during the time that uh my wife was pregnant with our first daughter, and uh I was gonna preach on Jonah 2 uh on one October morning when uh Amanda went into labor and I had to call Ed Williams out of the bullpen. 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:51.759 Is Ed here? 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:52.479 Ed's not here. 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:56.719 Ed stepped in and preached uh Jonah 2 back the first the first time we went through it. 00:00:56.799 --> 00:01:04.560 Uh but Jonah is just a wonderful book, and the challenge with preaching Jonah is that everybody knows the story. 00:01:04.799 --> 00:01:07.439 Everybody knows about Jonah, what it's about. 00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:11.920 They've seen the Veggie Tales movie, they've watched the flannel graphs. 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:14.079 And I want to challenge you this morning. 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:17.840 Maybe you think you know about Jonah, or do you? 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:18.319 Right? 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:21.200 See, when I say Jonah, most people think about what? 00:01:21.519 --> 00:01:23.519 They think about the big fish, right? 00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:25.519 That's what Jonah is about. 00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:28.000 But what is it about, really? 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:38.000 Well, throughout this series, we're gonna see Jonah is not primarily about a big fish, but about a big God with a heart to reach those furthest from him. 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:44.560 He is a God who sends his followers all over the globe to reach the least, the last, and the lost. 00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:52.159 And that is what compelled Peter and Rebecca Stafford to move their four children to Africa in the fall of 2019. 00:01:52.400 --> 00:01:59.840 Uh, Peter is a doctor, Rebecca is a doctor, they're serving as missionaries with the group Surge in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 00:01:59.920 --> 00:02:09.680 Now you may know their names because Peter is one of the first Americans to test positive for the Ebola virus in the latest epidemic that's happening over there. 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:14.240 While he was operating on a patient, he unknowingly contracted the virus. 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:17.199 Once he developed symptoms, he quarantined himself. 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:20.800 They evacuated him to Germany for specialized treatment. 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:29.599 And as he was getting on the plane, barely able to stand, his wife and his children watched him as he left them behind. 00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:34.639 Now, I want you to imagine this morning that you're Peter's wife and children. 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:42.479 You watch your husband, you watch your father board a plane with a deadly virus, uncertain if you'll see him alive again. 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:45.599 That's the risk of Ebola in this part of Africa. 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:47.840 And that current outbreak is growing. 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:52.080 Now, why would a family, you might ask, why would a family take this risk? 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:56.159 And the answer is for the sake of the gospel. 00:02:56.479 --> 00:02:58.960 For the sake of the gospel. 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:04.080 Would you be willing to risk your life for the sake of the gospel? 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:13.520 Now, by God's grace, on June 6th, Peter was released from the hospital in Berlin after recovering from the virus, but he could have easily died. 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:16.560 Ebola is no joke. 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:20.240 Now, as I share this story, I imagine some of the room are divided. 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:26.240 Some of you right here might be thinking, well, that man has had and his family, they have incredible faith. 00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:29.840 They have incredible faith to do that, trust in God. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:34.319 But then others might be skeptical and you say, well, that's reckless. 00:03:34.479 --> 00:03:40.639 You know, why would he risk his life, let alone his wife and children, for missions? 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:43.039 I mean, isn't that a bit extreme? 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:46.400 He could make a lot of money being a surgeon here in the U.S. 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:52.240 In fact, as a missionary, he probably had to raise his own support, and he almost died. 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:56.960 See, many of us think that when it comes to missions, I could never do that. 00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:10.000 And underneath that skepticism is sometimes a darker thought, a quiet feeling that those people over there, that that place isn't worth an American surgeon's life. 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:16.879 And that's not caution, that's rather an offense at that which God has aimed his mercy. 00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:22.639 And so, church, I would argue today that we live in a missions skeptical world. 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:24.319 Now, what do I mean by that? 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:28.160 Well, the second half of the 20th century saw a surge in U.S. 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:30.319 based mission agency. 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:39.920 In fact, uh, once our services are done today, I'll be hopping on a plane to Colorado to attend a board of directors meeting for our primary mission agency, World Venture. 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:54.720 Now, World Venture, originally Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Society, was uh founded in 1943, later changing their name to World Venture, and they send missionaries all around the globe to share the life-changing power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:04:54.959 --> 00:04:59.040 Now, I've only been on the board for a year, but one message has been clear. 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:01.199 Missions is changing. 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:01.600 Right? 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:11.439 Younger generations see global missions differently, and organizations like World Venture are trying to discern and adapt and recruit new missionaries. 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:14.959 Now, what is the attitude shift that's going on? 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:26.319 Well, research shows that many millennials in Gen Z increasingly view global missions negatively and would argue that missions causes cultural harm to the people we're trying to reach. 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:36.079 So the research group, Barna, discovered that one-third of younger Christians are uncomfortable with words like convert and winning souls. 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:45.920 The demographic is open, yes, to traveling on short-term trips, but for long-term efforts, they question whether missions are ethical or necessary. 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:47.360 I'll say that again. 00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:50.800 They question whether missions is ethical. 00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:54.240 Now, here's the tension with all this. 00:05:54.399 --> 00:06:03.600 If you talk to missiologists, they would estimate that roughly 40% of the world's population still has little or no access to the gospel. 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:14.800 And that is billions with a B of men and women and children who don't have access to churches or online sermons or Bibles in their language. 00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:28.639 And so I want to be clear, we live in a cultural moment when an American doctor is willing to risk Ebola in the Congo, while at the same time many Christians wonder if his choice was ethical or necessary. 00:06:30.079 --> 00:06:31.759 There's a disconnect there. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:35.040 And almost half the world's population doesn't know Jesus. 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:36.879 Now, what do we do with this? 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:43.680 Well, in the World Venture headquarters, there is a statement on the wall, and it's this billions of people don't know Jesus. 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:45.680 We're not okay with that. 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:53.040 So, church, my question for you this morning and throughout this series is are you okay with that? 00:06:53.360 --> 00:07:01.759 Well, now you might say, and you might disagree, that you think this is a problematic statement, but what does your life show? 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:06.000 You see, if God called you to a dangerous mission field, would you go? 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:14.480 It's into this tension that I just described that the magnificent story of Jonah speaks. 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:18.800 Yes, the great fish is an integral part, but don't miss the bigger picture. 00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:23.600 That Jonah is a story about God doing something bigger in the world. 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:32.800 A story of God telling the nations, the central message of Jonah, chapter 2, verse 9, salvation belongs to the Lord. 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:37.360 And it's that message that's not just for us, but for the nations. 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:41.920 Would you risk your life for the sake of the gospel? 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:45.759 That's the topic of Jonah 1, 1 through 4A. 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:47.680 I invite you to join me there this morning. 00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:50.319 We're going to look at just those first three and a half verses. 00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:56.560 And I want to challenge you as we go through this book to read this book as if you've never read it before. 00:07:56.800 --> 00:07:57.120 Right? 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:09.680 These four opening verses, if you knew nothing about Jonah's story, would both shock and challenge you at the same time with God's, what I'll call offensive mercy. 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:12.720 So the opening section unfolds in three scenes. 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:15.439 Number one, we're going to see the word that sends. 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:21.360 Number two, we're going to see the prophet who runs, and then finally, the God who pursues. 00:08:21.519 --> 00:08:23.839 So let's pray and then we'll look at each of those today. 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:31.920 Heavenly Father, thank you for your grace, for your mercy, Lord, which many times doesn't make sense. 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:36.480 It doesn't make sense that you would show mercy to somebody like me, a sinner. 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:48.399 It doesn't make sense that you would show mercy to a people who can be so evil that they've turned away from you and done atrocities, and yet your mercy can still come to a people like that. 00:08:48.559 --> 00:08:54.799 It doesn't make sense that your mercy might come to somebody in this room who's been running from you for their entire lives. 00:08:55.519 --> 00:09:10.480 And yet, Lord, I pray that you would help us today to lean into your offensive mercy, that you would show us through the story of Jonah, that you are a sovereign God who reaches all people to the ends of the earth. 00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:15.919 Help us to answer that call today, and may you get the glory for it in Jesus' name. 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:16.879 Amen. 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:17.759 Amen. 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:20.240 So Jonah opens with a statement. 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:22.960 A statement about God's sending word. 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:27.120 Now let's pretend again that you've never read this book and you don't know the ending. 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:28.320 You know nothing about Jonah. 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:33.600 You're picking this up for the first time, you start to read this book, like a really good short story. 00:09:33.759 --> 00:09:36.159 What are the questions that would arise in your mind? 00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:38.159 Jonah 1.1 says this. 00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:44.399 It says, Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amitai. 00:09:45.039 --> 00:09:49.440 Now, naturally, if you've never read this before, you're going to probably ask yourself, well, who's Jonah? 00:09:49.600 --> 00:09:50.080 Right? 00:09:50.480 --> 00:09:52.879 And what is this word from the Lord? 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:56.080 And why is it coming to Jonah specifically? 00:09:56.480 --> 00:09:57.519 His dad is mentioned. 00:09:57.600 --> 00:09:58.879 Is his lineage important? 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:04.960 Well, we'll get a quick answer to the word from God in verse 2, but let's answer the first question. 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:09.759 Who exactly is Jonah and why does this book bear his name? 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:23.840 Well, Jonah, son of Amitai, is a real historical figure mentioned in 2 Kings chapter 14, verse 25, during the reign of King Jeroboam, the second in the northern kingdom of Israel. 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:28.159 Jonah's name means dove, and Amitai means faithfulness. 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:31.679 So he's the dove of faithfulness, I guess if you put them together. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:40.480 You may remember from our study of Isaiah last fall that the northern kingdom of Israel was wiped out by the powerful Assyrian Empire. 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:44.799 Remember that because it will be very important in Jonah's story. 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:51.279 Now, most conservative scholars believe the book was written by Jonah in the mid-eighth century BC. 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:53.679 Now, what was the context of his ministry? 00:10:53.840 --> 00:11:01.120 Well, it's worth exploring 2 Kings chapter 14 for just a moment to give you some background on Jonah 1 and the whole book. 00:11:01.360 --> 00:11:06.159 So we read this in 2 Kings chapter 14, starting at verse 23. 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:18.960 In the 15th year of Amaziah, king of Judah, that's the southern kingdom, Jeroboam, king of Israel, the northern kingdom, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned 41 years. 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:23.679 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:30.000 Now again, at this point, Israel's been divided into that northern kingdom of Israel, that southern kingdom of Judah. 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:36.080 And while Judah, if you remember, produced some good kings, every king in the north was really, really bad. 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:40.639 They all did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, including Jeroboam II. 00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:48.240 Now his reign was marked by simultaneous military expansion and spiritual decline. 00:11:48.720 --> 00:12:03.200 It was a favorable time, economically and culturally speaking for the northern kingdom because surrounding nations like Egypt were very weak, and Assyria, the main, the big guy on the block, they were very distracted during this 40-year period. 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:14.720 Because these stronger nations left Israel alone, Jeroboam was able to expand, to restore Israel's borders, to fulfill a prophecy that we read about in verse 25. 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:34.000 He, Jeroboam II, restored the border of Israel to Lebohameth as far as the Sea of Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant, Jonah, the son of Amitai, the prophet, who was from Gath Hefer. 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:43.440 Now the inclusion of Jonah's name confirms that he was the same prophet during Jeroboam's reign, and God spoke through him. 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:52.559 Now we don't get much information about his family, but we do find out that he's from this area, Kathhefer, which is located in the region of Galilee. 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:58.559 Now, interesting fact that God might be foreshadowing something later in redemptive history. 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:08.720 So Jeroboam's reign was a time of wealth and prosperity for Israel, a type of golden age, if you will, but it's masked by deep corruption. 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:13.840 Because it's only the privileged people who benefited, and the poor people were denied justice. 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:16.720 And the worship, the worship was corrupt. 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:22.159 It was syncretized with worshiping Baal, the false gods in the time. 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:29.840 So you might ask, why does Yahweh God allow this prosperity in the northern kingdom if everything is so corrupt and wicked? 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:32.080 Look at verse 26 and 27. 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:37.200 For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter. 00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:42.799 For there was none left, bond or free, and there was none to help Israel. 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:54.559 But the Lord had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam, the son of Joash. 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:58.320 So it says the Lord saw their affliction. 00:13:58.399 --> 00:13:59.759 Now what affliction? 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:08.879 Well, prior to this time, God had allowed punishment to come to the northern kingdom for their disobedience through foreign invaders like the Assyrian Empire. 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:11.039 In fact, they were almost annihilated. 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:13.759 But Yahweh God graciously intervened. 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:23.600 And so this was not a reward for Jeroboam's faithfulness to God, but it was God's mercy delivering them from oppression for a period of time. 00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:29.679 And if you notice, Jonah later on, or even here, never filed a complaint about this mercy. 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:32.159 God, how dare you show us mercy. 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:36.799 This undeserved grace for his own people, his own king, his nation. 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:38.559 No objection from Jonah. 00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:42.559 And I want you to remember that because later on it's going to be pretty important. 00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:43.919 So let's recap. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:45.600 Jonah chapter 1, verse 1. 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:47.440 God's word comes to Jonah. 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:55.519 We know from the history that Jonah was a prophet who spoke to the northern kingdom of Israel during a time of gracious prosperity. 00:14:56.159 --> 00:15:00.240 God showed mercy to his people during their time of need. 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:05.279 Now, what is this word of the Lord that comes to Jonah? 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:06.320 Look at verse 2. 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:10.720 We read, the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amitai, saying what? 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:23.440 Saying, Arise, go, get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me. 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:27.600 Alright, so God has given Jonah a mission. 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:31.120 You can cue that mission impossible theme song right now. 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:34.159 Now again, pretend, again, you've never read this book before. 00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:35.840 What are the questions you start to ask? 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:38.399 You say, Well, okay, now I get who Jonah is. 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:40.320 Well, what is Nineveh? 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:41.279 Where is it? 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:42.639 Why is it evil? 00:15:42.879 --> 00:15:46.480 And why is Jonah the one going to it? 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:47.919 Great questions. 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:50.000 You all are Bible scholars. 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:52.240 That's the way you should be asking the question. 00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:57.679 Now, Nineveh, of course, was a very influential city in the Assyrian Empire. 00:15:57.919 --> 00:16:04.399 Later during the reign of King Sennacherib, the king from Isaiah's time, if you remember, the one who surrounded the city. 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:07.840 Nineveh became the capital of Assyria. 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:14.960 And while it was not the capital during Jonah's time, the book uses it to represent the growing Assyrian Empire. 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:23.840 Nineveh frequently represented Assyria's imperial expansion, its national pride, its indiscriminate use of power. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:27.679 That's what Nineveh just, people thought of Nineveh, that's what they thought of. 00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:36.399 Now the reason I gave you the background on 2 Kings 14 was to make clear that Assyria was the sworn enemy of Israel. 00:16:36.559 --> 00:16:41.919 In fact, they had done horrific things to Israel as they were trying to conquer the nation. 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:53.600 And so to understand Jonah's reaction to this call, you have to understand how horrific the reputation of the Assyrians was. 00:16:54.080 --> 00:17:10.160 Once they captured their enemies of any nation, and I'm going to be deliberately graphic, what they would do is they would take their enemies and they would cut off one arm and both legs, and they would leave one arm left so they could shake the hand of their enemy as they mocked them during their death. 00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:17.440 They would force friends and family members to parade around with the decapitated heads of their loved ones on poles. 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:23.279 They would flay open the bodies of their enemies and they would drape them over city walls. 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:25.279 They would burn adolescents alive. 00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:27.839 So even the front row, you're going to be burned alive. 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:29.759 Horrible. 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:30.559 Horrible. 00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:32.000 Horrific stuff. 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:34.480 They were brutal. 00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:38.079 They were considered the terrorist state of the ancient world. 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:48.640 And so it's not shocking that Nineveh was located near the current city of Mosul in northern Iraq, where recently ISIS terrorized infidels. 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:56.559 Nineveh was a great city, an important city, and it was indeed the epitome of evil in the ancient world. 00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:01.039 Those two words are going to be repeated throughout the narrative of Jonah. 00:18:01.759 --> 00:18:05.759 So I'll ask you again: would you be willing to risk your life for the sake of the gospel? 00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:13.680 Now, if you were Jonah and this word of God came to you, would you start packing your bags, buying the first ticket to go to Nineveh? 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:23.119 And by the way, Yahweh God is not asking Jonah to go to Nineveh discreetly, under cover, putting something else on his visa. 00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:27.440 No, he is saying, he's not saying, go and wear a cloak and disguise yourself. 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:38.720 He is saying, go to that great city, stand in the equivalent of their time square, cry out against it with a bullhorn, and tell them to repent because they're evil. 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:40.240 That's what he's saying. 00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:43.759 That phrase, call out against it, means to condemn. 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:47.680 In fact, commentator Kevin Youngblood puts Jonah's commission this way. 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:59.599 He says, the trip to Nineveh is merely prerequisite to the main task of publicly and unequivocally expressing Yahweh's holy wrath against the ancient city. 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:02.640 So the Assyrians would know he's there. 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:04.880 They would know who this guy is. 00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:14.960 But this city is so evil, it's so wicked, it's so breathtakingly bad that God has taken notice and divine intervention is now required. 00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:17.599 The evil it says has risen up to him. 00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:24.559 Now we'll see what happens with that in Jonah chapter 3, but for now, just ask yourself, what would you do? 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:28.480 Would you go if you were Jonah? 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:33.359 Now it's worth noting that Jonah's call is rather remarkable. 00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:38.960 From a New Testament perspective, we're used to assuming that missionaries go to dangerous areas. 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:49.759 But in Hebrew prophecy, commissioning a prophet to visit and preach to a foreign nation, let alone an adversarial one, was really unprecedented. 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:53.039 And that's why I think Jonah is so fascinating. 00:19:53.279 --> 00:19:54.400 It's a fascinating book. 00:19:54.559 --> 00:20:02.240 Not because of this big fish, I mean that's kind of cool too, but God calls him to do something so dangerous it had never been attempted before. 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:10.240 And just imagine how earth-shattering it would have been if Nineveh repented of their ways. 00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:18.400 How would that have changed the ancient world, this evil city, if all of them had turned their hearts to Yahweh God, the true God? 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:20.880 That would be something. 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:29.680 And so Jonah's teaching us here that missions, global missions, even missions local, can can transform societies. 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:41.279 That when people give their lives to Jesus, they they go back to their families, they go back to their jobs, they go back to their communities with a transformed mind, with a heart aligned with Jesus Christ. 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:43.599 And notice how God commissions Jonah. 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:45.119 He says, Arise, go. 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:49.680 In other words, lift up your eyes to me, trust me, obey me. 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:56.640 In fact, Jesus himself offers us the same command in what we call the Great Commission in Matthew 28. 00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:57.839 What do we read? 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:12.480 Jesus says, Go, therefore, arise, go, Christian, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:20.799 And I'm gonna be with you always to the ends of the earth and to the end of the age until I come back. 00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:27.599 See, Jonah was really before his time, but his reaction, as we're about to see, often mirrors our reaction. 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:29.680 I don't want to go to those people. 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:31.119 Conversion? 00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:32.480 Winning souls? 00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:34.000 Oh, that's unethical. 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:41.200 See, maybe you're a parent right here, and the thought of your child going to serve Jesus overseas is terrifying. 00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:43.759 And then Jesus tells us, go. 00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:45.519 Make disciples of who? 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:46.799 All nations. 00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:50.480 Not just the people we like, but the people God loves. 00:21:51.599 --> 00:21:56.240 Friends, God has offered the same word to us as He did to Jonah. 00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:57.920 Arise and go. 00:21:58.160 --> 00:21:59.759 But our reaction is the same as. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:00.640 Jonah. 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:03.279 We run and not in the right direction. 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:06.240 So, second, we see now the prophet who runs. 00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:08.880 The word that sends, the prophet who runs. 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:14.559 So, after all that background, perhaps you could understand why Jonah is not chomping at the bit to get to Nineveh. 00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:18.960 Well, verse three is an extremely interesting verse. 00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:19.759 A lot in it. 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:23.119 I'm gonna read it in chunks and break it down for you. 00:22:23.200 --> 00:22:28.000 So Jonah, the first part of Jonah 3, we read, but Jonah rose, right? 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:31.200 So God says, Arise, go, Jonah rises up. 00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:37.680 And it says, he arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:39.359 Jonah rose. 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:41.519 It's almost intended as a bait and switch right here. 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:43.359 Again, you're reading this for the first time. 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:48.480 When God gives a command, especially to a prophet, you expect him to get up and what? 00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:50.000 And obey, right? 00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:53.519 Instead, Jonah flees to Tarshish. 00:22:53.759 --> 00:23:00.160 Now, to make it clear how intentional this statement is, let me just show you a map right here. 00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:02.319 So Jonah is most likely in Jerusalem. 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:04.079 He's about to go down to Jappa. 00:23:04.400 --> 00:23:07.119 Nineveh is 500 miles to the east. 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:09.599 Again, current day Mosul, Iraq. 00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:22.640 Tarshish is most likely the area of Tartesos in southern Spain, and that's about 2,500 miles to the west, the complete opposite direction of where God is calling him to go. 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:26.240 Now let me show you another map to bring it to the U.S. 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:28.160 So let me just put it in our terms. 00:23:28.400 --> 00:23:33.680 The distances I'm going to show you are accurate are pretty accurate here from where we're sitting. 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:38.000 It's about 500 miles west to go to Detroit, Michigan. 00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:40.880 So imagine God says to you, get up, go to Detroit, right? 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:51.440 Metro Detroit, where an area called Dearborn, Michigan is, and it's the home of the uh one of the largest Muslim populations in the U in the north in North America. 00:23:51.680 --> 00:24:03.680 Hundreds of thousands of men and women and children, our neighbors 500 miles down the road, most of whom have never heard the gospel, who are probably resistant to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:06.160 They're our mission field, right? 00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:07.039 Image bearers. 00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:09.599 God loves them, near enough to drive to. 00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:11.359 Maybe what, eight hours? 00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:12.720 Ten hours? 00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:18.799 So imagine God says to you right now, it says, Arise, so-and-so, and and go to Detroit. 00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:20.160 I got people there. 00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:25.599 And you prayerfully consider it, you say, okay, all right. 00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:31.200 I heard that call from God, and then you go and buy a one-way ticket to the southern tip of Greenland. 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:36.720 Which is, and I checked, about 2,500 miles the other way. 00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:39.920 Population, about 56,000. 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:43.440 Polar bears outnumbering gospel conversions. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:47.599 And when the airline agent asks you, Are you going for business or pleasure? 00:24:47.759 --> 00:24:51.039 you say, I'm going for theological exploration. 00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:57.359 Friends, this is exactly what Jonah did. 00:24:57.680 --> 00:24:58.160 Right? 00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:03.119 God said, Go 500 miles to the east to people who need to hear my word. 00:25:03.279 --> 00:25:14.400 And Jonah, and we're gonna see, he spent some serious money going 2,500 miles the opposite way to the edge of the map, where nobody knew God and nobody would ask questions. 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:16.319 So that's Tarshish. 00:25:16.480 --> 00:25:22.319 It was at the time the edge of the known world, a place where Yahweh had not revealed his glory. 00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:25.599 We read that in Isaiah 66, it's named. 00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:30.799 Jonah isn't just fleeing the assignment, he's fleeing the assigner. 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:35.920 He's going to a place nobody would ever ask him, hey, aren't you supposed to be in Nineveh? 00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:38.319 Nobody's going to ask him that there. 00:25:39.759 --> 00:25:48.400 So, church, if if God gave you a command that you did not want to obey, where is the most logical place you would want to go? 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:58.319 I would submit that it's a place where people don't know God and nobody knows anything about his commands, right? 00:25:58.880 --> 00:26:05.119 Or put it another way, you would want to go to a place where nobody is going to challenge you or question your actions. 00:26:05.359 --> 00:26:07.359 And that's exactly what Jonah does. 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:11.279 He's not just getting away from the call that God has on his life. 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:12.960 He wants to escape God Himself. 00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:14.799 He wants to get away from his presence. 00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:17.119 It's going to be repeated for emphasis. 00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:20.640 Jonah forgot what David wrote in Psalm 139. 00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:22.000 What does David write? 00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:24.400 Where shall I flee from your presence? 00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:25.200 Right? 00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:33.119 He says, If I dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, haha, even there your hand shall lead me. 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:36.720 That might have something to do with the fish, right? 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:41.200 Friends, you can run, but you cannot hide. 00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:45.119 Even the uttermost parts of the sea belong to God. 00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:47.599 And Jonah's about to find that out. 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:49.519 So Jonah runs from God. 00:26:49.680 --> 00:26:56.319 He runs from the mercy he offers, not just to Nineveh, but to get away from God. 00:26:56.480 --> 00:26:57.440 So let's keep reading. 00:26:57.519 --> 00:26:58.559 Look, verse 3. 00:26:58.880 --> 00:27:02.400 Jonah rose, he fled to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. 00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:02.960 Where did he go? 00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:06.799 He went down to Joppah and he found a ship going to Tarshish. 00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:12.640 Okay, now there's an interesting word play in this chapter between up and down, up and down, right? 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:14.559 So when God calls Jonah, what does he say? 00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:16.720 He says, get up, right? 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:18.079 Get up, Jonah. 00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:23.039 And then Jonah rose, he responded, he got up, but then he went where? 00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:24.160 He went down. 00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:31.200 He went down and down and down and down until he was almost at the bottom of the sea in this narrative. 00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:34.640 So again, Jonah does the opposite of what God wants. 00:27:34.880 --> 00:27:38.400 Now, we don't fully know Jonah's motivation from these verses. 00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:45.119 You know, we're speculating right here that after I told you all that stuff about Assyria, he's probably afraid. 00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:48.880 And I'm sure he's got to have some fear to some extent. 00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:53.279 But he's also offended at God's mercy. 00:27:53.759 --> 00:27:57.119 And we pick up on this at the end of the narrative in chapter four. 00:27:57.200 --> 00:28:02.000 After Jonah goes to Nineveh, after the people repent, we read this in chapter four, verse two. 00:28:02.319 --> 00:28:07.839 Jonah's praying to the Lord, and he says, Oh Lord, is not this what I said? 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:11.119 I told you, God, when I was in my country. 00:28:11.279 --> 00:28:12.799 I knew better than you, God. 00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:17.519 That is why, that is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish. 00:28:17.839 --> 00:28:18.720 That's why I went. 00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:20.880 That's why I went and got on the boat. 00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:33.920 For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in hexed, it's steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:37.599 I didn't want any of that stuff, and so I ran, Jonah says. 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:42.400 I was offended at the fact that you wanted to show mercy to these evil Assyrians. 00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:56.079 Now, what's fascinating about this line of thinking is that when you read, again, when you read 2 Kings chapter 14, 23 to 27, God showed mercy to the people of Israel when they didn't deserve mercy. 00:28:57.119 --> 00:29:00.799 They disobeyed God, they forgot about him, they did evil in his sight. 00:29:00.960 --> 00:29:02.880 Now, Jonah was there for that, right? 00:29:03.119 --> 00:29:10.000 And he had no problem accepting the mercy that God gave to him, but then he was offended at the mercy when it was given to his enemies. 00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:14.640 So he doesn't want to go to Nineveh because he knows. 00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:18.240 He knows God's merciful character. 00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:19.759 He knows who he is. 00:29:20.559 --> 00:29:21.839 Instead, where does he go? 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:24.240 He goes down to Joppa. 00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:25.680 Now, another city. 00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:30.319 Now, Joppa is a very important port on the Mediterranean coast at the time. 00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:38.799 In modern day, it's part of Tel Aviv, so if you sign up for that learn the land tour, you're gonna fly into Tel Aviv, right where Joppa was. 00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:46.000 And Joppa has great biblical significance in the story of redemption and missiology. 00:29:46.160 --> 00:29:51.200 So God gives Jonah this missional call to the nation of Assyria, and he runs to Joppa. 00:29:51.279 --> 00:29:56.240 He runs from God's mercy and the mercy that God wants to show his enemies. 00:29:57.279 --> 00:30:00.720 Can you relate to Jonah as I'm describing this story? 00:30:01.359 --> 00:30:02.720 Even in these first couple verses. 00:30:03.759 --> 00:30:08.799 Maybe right now you got an enemy that needs forgiveness and you're withholding it. 00:30:09.119 --> 00:30:10.720 They don't deserve it. 00:30:12.160 --> 00:30:23.440 Or maybe God wants you to share the message of salvation through Jesus Christ with an enemy or a person or a people group, and instead of lovingly presenting Jesus, you say, ah, they can go to hell. 00:30:23.680 --> 00:30:24.160 Right? 00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:26.799 They don't deserve salvation. 00:30:29.279 --> 00:30:41.519 What Jonah shows us though, and what is happening in the story of redemption in the Bible, is that nobody, nobody, nobody is beyond God's mercy and forgiveness. 00:30:42.240 --> 00:30:51.920 That like Jonah, we don't follow God's mission because we, at some level, find God's mercy offensive for some people. 00:30:52.640 --> 00:30:57.519 Now we too run to Joppa in our hearts, ready to board the ship to go to Tarshish. 00:30:58.640 --> 00:31:02.559 Now, in the New Testament, there's somebody else with that same attitude. 00:31:02.960 --> 00:31:04.720 You probably know who he is. 00:31:05.759 --> 00:31:07.359 The Apostle Peter. 00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:07.920 Right? 00:31:08.079 --> 00:31:11.920 Peter thought the gospel message was only for the Jewish people. 00:31:12.160 --> 00:31:14.880 Everybody else, those Gentiles, right? 00:31:15.279 --> 00:31:16.880 He looked down upon them. 00:31:17.119 --> 00:31:18.799 They're not worthy of the gospel. 00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:23.279 But then if you go and you read the book of Acts and you come to chapter 10, where do you find Peter? 00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:26.559 Where do you find Peter? 00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:28.799 Joppa, right? 00:31:28.880 --> 00:31:30.640 He had a house there right on the sea. 00:31:30.799 --> 00:31:39.920 And it's in Acts chapter 10 that Peter receives this vision that challenged all his assumptions about what God was doing in the story of redemption. 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:47.599 God makes it clear in that vision that the message about salvation through Jesus Christ is not just for the Jews, but for who? 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:49.359 For the nations, right? 00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:50.799 For the Gentiles too. 00:31:50.880 --> 00:31:53.920 And Peter with conviction says what at the end of chapter 10. 00:31:54.240 --> 00:31:59.839 He says, Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in what? 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:05.200 In every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 00:32:06.640 --> 00:32:12.000 In every nation, anyone who fears God is acceptable. 00:32:12.240 --> 00:32:12.559 What? 00:32:13.119 --> 00:32:16.720 Like that's as mind-blowing in Peter's day as it was in Jonah's day. 00:32:16.799 --> 00:32:18.720 And then you read through Acts chapter 11. 00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:24.799 And what Peter does is he goes to the rest of the church in Jerusalem and he gives this report about this vision he got. 00:32:25.119 --> 00:32:29.359