Jonah and Jesus

Morning all. If you don't know me, I'm John Lau. I've been here a long time.

Over the last seven weeks, we have been studying the Old Testament Book of Jonah.

! Do you have a chance to reveal those sermons? Did you miss any one of them?

Let me encourage you to go to our church website or our YouTube channel to hear or watch Jonah again.

As Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, why do we spend two months reading a book from the Old Testament?

What does the Book of Jonah or his story have to do with Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of the Christian faith, as it says in Hebrews chapter 12?

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

The Book of Jonah set out to help us to understand who we are as God's creation,

especially about the situation and conditions that humans are in,

and who God, our day creator, is,

to understand his grace and compassion through the treatment and interaction between the characters of the Book,

the sailors, the Ninevites, Jonah, and God.

The Book of Jonah teaches that God's grace and compassion,

His love, extend beyond Israel to the other nations into the whole creation.

Grace is for everyone.

The Book of Jonah demonstrates God's grace and compassion through his unrelenting pursuits towards his prophet Jonah

to draw to attention the inconsistency of his claims of being a follower and worshiper of God.

And in turn, it's also written for us to reflect on our relationship with God.

Instead of accepting that they are calling to help others come to know the true God,

to know about his grace and compassion,

many believers like Jonah pick and choose who they share God's love with.

If someone has wronged or hurt them,

they will expect God to lay out retribution.

They are willing to step towards those people.

Many Christians consider people of certain ethnicity are more dangerous or barbaric.

They look at people holding different belief systems to them as enemy of God,

or people with certain practice in life as outcasts.

But in fact, they cause God more grief than those unbelievers.

To treat others with contempt is not acceptable to God.

To show conformity of action on the outside,

but harbor bitterness and curses in your heart,

is as wicked as those deliberately rebels against God.

Let's revisit how God pursued Jonah

through Jonah's interaction with the sailors, the Ninevites, and God.

And how Jesus used Jonah in his teaching.

So if you turn to me back to Jonah,

in chapter 1,

it tells us that after the word of the Lord come to Jonah,

sending him to go to Nineveh

and preach against his wickedness,

Jonah went away to the opposite direction

to flee.

In verse 4 of chapter 1,

it tells us that

the Lord sent a great wind on the sea,

and such a violent storm arose

that the ship threatened to be broken up.

The sailors each cried out to their own God

and was doing everything to save their life.

And the captains found Jonah

in deep sleep under deck.

What the captains say to Jonah

revealed something common

about how people treat their gods.

He tells Jonah to get up

and call on your God,

maybe take notice of us

so that we will not perish.

To many people,

their God is at a distance.

They only approach their God

when they want something.

They do not have an ongoing relationship

with their God.

Looking at Jonah,

even though he understands

his God is of heaven

who made the sea and dry land,

do you agree that

he tried to flee from God

so that he thinks like those sailors

and other people too?

He saw no difference to the unbeliever.

He does not understand

the uniqueness of the Lord

that he came to worship,

and he misses the heart of grace

and compassion of the Lord.

A typical case of familiarity

breeds contempt.

He came to worship or feed the Lord,

but in his heart of hearts,

there is another God

that takes the center place.

The sailors pray and ask the Lord

not to hold them accountable

for the killing of an innocent man.

For you, Lord,

have done all you please

just before they threw Jonah

into the sea.

They believe the divine being

always do as they please.

Isn't that what a lot of people

believe too?

Or maybe you also believe that.

We can see all through

the book of Jonah,

he did exactly that.

He did only what pleases him.

And what takes place

in Jonah's heart

is himself.

He, in fact,

is his own God.

Such as they want to save themselves,

the sailors were not willing

to sacrifice someone

to achieve their salvation,

especially an innocent man.

Repeatedly,

the sailors did their best

to save each other,

but in the end,

they have no choice

but to rely on the word

of the Lord

through his wayward prophet.

We will come back

to this sacrifice

of the innocent later.

After throwing Jonah overboard

and a raging sea

climbed down,

the sailors realized

that the Lord

has answered

this desperate plea

to save them.

The sailor

saw what genuine faith

and worship looks like.

In verse 16,

at this,

the men greatly

feared the Lord

and they offered

a sacrifice to the Lord

and made vows to him.

The God-appointed prophet,

the man who think

he is all right with God,

ran away

and tried to flee from God.

Where the pagan sailors

became a true believer,

understood that they have saved

by God's grace

and compassion

when they understand

that salvation

was only from the Lord.

They entered

into a confident relationship

with God

by vows.

What a contrast

between Jonah

and the sailors.

To Jonah,

the Lord

is only another mean

for him

to get what he wants.

This fact

about Jonah's heart

shows up more

in his interaction

with the Ninevites.

With the word

of the Lord

come to him

a second time

after the fish

vomited him

out on dry land.

In chapter 3 of Jonah,

it tells us that

the great city

of Nineveh

was so large

that it takes

three days

to go across it.

And Jonah

didn't even go

into the heart

of the city.

He only walked

one journey.

And he proclaimed

the dooming message,

40 more days

and Nineveh

will be overthrown.

He delivered

the Lord's message

with accuracy

but without

any compassion

or grace.

The fact that

he went out

of the city

and sat down

and waited to see

God's place

judgment on Nineveh

after the whole city

has already shown

signs of repentance,

so even more

about his heart.

Further on,

he became angry

at God

when God relented

and did not bring

the destruction

on the city.

He had threatened.

Jonah's reaction

reveals again

how far

his heart

is from the Lord.

He is so blinded

towards God's grace

and compassion

for all people.

The king of Nineveh

in chapter 3,

verse 9

was betting on

the possibility

that maybe God

will relent

and with compassion

turned from

his fearsome

anger

so that they

will not perish.

He is willing

to stop

and give up

all their evil

ways

and their violence

and physically

show signs

of remorse

to exchange

for God's mercy.

They are willing

to untrust

their life

into the mercy

of God

and respond

to God's correction.

Historically,

we know that

the change

by the Nineveh

was very short-lived.

We might even

question

the generiveness

of their repentance.

But their quick

response

to repent

in repentance

was praised

by Jesus

as we have

just read out.

Saying both

Matthew 12,

41

and Luke 11,

32

that the man

of Nineveh

will stand up

at the judgment

with this

generation.

and condemn it

for they repent

at the preaching

of Jonah

and now something

greater than Jonah

is here.

The speediness

of the Nineveh

in responding

to Jonah's message

is a great contrast

towards Jonah's

lowness

in coming to terms

of God's grace

and compassion

of the idols

of his own heart.

God uses sailors

to show Jonah

what it means

to truly fear

and worship him.

is to honor

the relationship

you have

with God.

Submit

and commit

to him.

God used

the Nineveh

to show

the slowest

of hearts

and the idols

in Jonah's heart.

What has God

shown you

over the last

seven weeks?

What is the lesson

that you have been

taking on your heart?

looking at Jonah's heart,

it got me thinking

about his prayer,

especially

with this hindsight

of what happened

in the interaction

between God

and Jonah

in chapter 4.

Going back

through this

just a short

four chapters

of Jonah,

I would say

the sinister side

of me

do wonder

about the state

of mind

of Jonah

when he say

those prayers

in chapter 2.

I do not think

Jonah's prayer

in chapter 2

is a confession

and repentance prayer.

It sounds more like

he was glad

that even though

it was dark

and fishy,

disgusting,

smelly,

at least

he's not

in the lake of fire.

As he sat around

in the dark

in the belly

of the fish,

he was still alive,

maybe even

gaining some strength.

I wonder

in chapter 2

his prayer

is it just

a thanks

thinking that

God somehow

is still alright

with me.

God had kept me

to race again

in the resurrection

that last day

because that's

what the Jews

believe.

That's what Martha

tell Jesus

when Jesus

told her

that Lazarus

will rise again

in John 11.

I'm thinking

that because

just as Jonah

thinks that

he's still alright

with God,

maybe he's thinking

that him

offering himself

as a sacrifice

to save the sailor

have,

even now

he's running

away from God

and he's less guilty

because of

selfish act.

As he cries,

salvation comes

of the Lord!

I'm ready to stay

here until the last

day!

And God

commanded the fish

to back him out.

It's like God

said,

rightio,

go to the great

city,

to Nineveh

and proclaim

the message

I gave you

and make good

on your vow

to serve me.

Jonah's anger

towards God

for relenting

from destruction

and his

tension

sped about

the plans

show me

that he still

has many,

many

things to God

and that's

why I do not

think his

prayer in the

belly of fish

is a sign

of repentance.

Last week,

look at the

compassion of God

from chapter 4.

God's compassion

manifests

by his

concern about

Jonah

by providing

a plan

to ease

his discomfort

and sending

him to the

great city

with 120,000

Ninevites

who cannot

tell the right

from the left.

I can't tell

my left.

But he said

right from the left.

God voluntarily

attached himself

with Jonah

and Ninevites.

He patiently

guided,

provided

for his

wayward prophet

to lead him

to repentance.

for someone

who has

all the right

to be angry

with Jonah,

God gently

asks with

great restraint,

is it right

for you to be

angry?

Is it right

for you to be

angry about

the plant?

To provoke

Jonah into

a deeper

self-reflection.

God relentlessly

pursued Jonah

to turn him

away from the

idol that will

eventually

destroy him

and turn him

back towards

God himself.

God used

a plant

to sprung up

overnight

and die

overnight

to show

to Jonah

the inconsistency

of his worship

towards him.

There was no

rebuke,

no harsh

words.

The way

that God

dealt with

Ninevites

and Jonah

truly support

Jonah's

understanding

about God

that he is

a generous,

gracious,

compassionate God,

slow to anger

and abandoning

enough.

God has all

the time

he has

and he'll

use all

the time

they need

to get

to repent

and turn

to him.

Let me say

that again.

God has all

the time

he has

and he'll

use all

the time

needed

to turn

us

and repent

back to him.

it's like

what Peter

teaches

in his

second letter

in chapter 3

verse 8 to 9.

Do not

forgive

anything,

dear friends.

With the Lord

a day is like

a thousand years

and a thousand years

is like a day.

The Lord

is not slow

in keeping

his promise

as some

are slowest.

Instead

he's patient

with you

not wanting

anyone to perish

but everyone

to come to repentance.

if God's

grace

and compassion

can change

someone like

Jonah

who also

changed you

and bring you

into a new life

alive under

our Lord

Jesus Christ.

In Jesus'

time

both

Luke

told us

that Jesus

referred to

Jonah

in his

teaching

especially

when

the religious

leader

come to

see him.

Matthew

Matthew 12:38

12

verse 38

which have

read out

for us

before.

Then some

of the Pharisees

and teachers

of the Lord

said to him

we want

to see

a sign

from you.

He answered

a wicked

and dangerous

generation

asked for

a sign

but none

will be

given it

except the

signs of

the prophet

Jonah.

For as

Jonah

was three

days

and three

nights

in the

belly

of the

hill

fresh

so the

son of

man

will be

three days

and three

nights

in the

heart

of the

earth.

Again

in Luke

11

starting

verse 29

it reads

as the

crowds

increased

Jesus

said

this is

a wicked

generation

they

asked

for

signs

but

none

will

be

given

it

except

the

sign

of

Jonah

as

Jonah

was

a

sign

to

the

Nine

so

also

will

the

son

of

man

be

to

this

generation

Jesus

has

very

strong

word

for

the

religious

leader

because

they

think

they're

good

enough

to

be

accepted

by

God

but

they

could

not

recognize

who

Jesus

is

and

reject

the

one

only

true

son

of

God

when

they

question

Jesus

authority

and

demand

a

sign

from

him

none

will

be

given

it

except

the

sign

of

the

prophet

Jonah

Jesus

mentioned

two

things

in

these

two

passages

firstly

he

creates

the

experience

Jonah

has

in

the

belly

of

the

hills

fish

to

his

experience

of

the

three

days

and

three

nights

in

the

heart

of

the

earth

Jonah

will

not

to

be

thrown

into

the

depth

of

the

sea

to

save

the

sailor

even

the

pagan

sailors

would

not

accept

that

killing

the

innocent

man

is

forgivable

but

Jesus

who

is

innocent

without

sin

has

made

to

be

sin

offerings

for

us

so

that

in

him

we

might

become

the

righteousness

of

God

when

Jesus

went

to

the

cross

he

repeats

the

suffering

of

Jonah

but

in

an

infinite

greater

degree

when

he

cries

out

on

the

cross

my

God

my

God

why

have

you

forsaken

me

for

he

went

into

the

death

of

the

death

and

separation

from

God

into

the

death

of

divine

judgment

to

save

Jonah

and

us

secondly

as

Jesus

was

assigned

as

Jonah

was

assigned

to

the

most

wicked

people

of

his

time

the

Ninevites

so

also

Jesus

the

son

of

man

is

assigned

to

this

generation

I love

this line

from

John's

preaching

this is

I'm just

quoting you

again

let me

say it

again

if God

can save

both

Ninevites

and

Jonah

if God

can cause

them to

change

there's

no man

or woman

too

sinful

that God's

grace

and compassion

cannot

touch

or save

and there's

no man

or woman

that's so

good

that do not

need God's

grace and

compassion

groan

if

you

are

a

Christian

no

matter

how

you

only

recently

come to

submit

your

life

to

Jesus

or

you

have

been

one

for

almost

your

whole

life

when

you

hear

about

the

gospel

of

Jesus

every

Sunday

or

doing

your

own

reading

of

God's

word

has

it

driven

you

to

deeper

levels

of

humanity

grace

compassion

and

forgiveness

towards

others

especially

those who

have

groan

will hurt you. Is Jesus your true joy and treasure? Don't get caught up with earthly things that

spun up overnight and die overnight. Praise God when suffering and hardship comes into your life,

for they are God pursuing you, like how he pursued Jonah, to make you holy and helping you become

worthy of the calling you have received. Remember Jesus your Lord and the things they have done for

you to be right with your Creator, your Father in heaven. We are saved not because of what any

righteous things we have done, but purely because of the grace and compassion of our God, of his mercy.

If our gracious and compassionate God can change the Ninevites and Jonah,

he will save and change you too.

Come, let's sing for joy to the Lord. Let's shout aloud to the rock of our salvation.

Let's come before him with thanksgiving and instill him with music and song, for the Lord is the great

God, the great kings above all gods. In his hands are the death of the earth, and the mountain peaks

belong to him. The sea is his, for he has made it, and his hands form the dry land.

Come, let's bow down in worship. Let's kneel before the Lord, our maker, for he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice,

do not harden your heart. Repent and believe the good news.