The Character of Compassion

Well, good morning, everyone. My name's Steve. I've never met you before. I'm the pastor here at St. Paul's, and it's my privilege to preach my first sermon in Jonah in this series, but to actually wrap up the series for us.

We come to this end of this great story, God's prophet. If you've just joined us, kind of a summary of it, if you like, is that God's prophet Jonah was sent to Nineveh, to the capital city of Assyria, which in Jonah's time were basically the schoolyard bullies.

They picked on everyone, and Assyria was the greatest imperial power in the world at that time. They were known for their brutality, and so God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, preach to them that I'm going to hold them accountable, and that they are to repent of their evil and violence, because I'm going to bring my wrath on them.

And Jonah's message was God was going to send calamity if they didn't turn from their evil. And Nineveh, the city, hears that message from Jonah, responds, they said sorry, they stopped being brutal in the hope that they would be able to appease God, and as a result of that, they are spared.

And so in the meantime, in chapter 4, which we're up to now, Jonah goes to the left of the city, takes up a vantage point to see whether or not the city that he hated so much was actually going to have the wrath of God pour out on him and be destroyed.

So he doesn't just go and preach. He kind of goes to the hill, gets a vantage point, has a look, and to see what's going to happen to Nineveh.

And so he's sitting up there outside the east of the city. He's got his popcorn and his chock top, and he's waiting for the curtain to be drawn on the blockbuster, and for the judgment of God to send upon his enemies.

But God withholds his wrath and his justice on Nineveh. And Jonah is furious. He is furious. That's the beginning of chapter 4.

And so what we're going to do today is pull together the threads of this book and try and land on what is the main point of Jonah.

What's the main lesson? Why was Jonah sent to Nineveh if Nineveh was not going to get held accountable for their evil?

It's got three points up there on the screen. It's the Paul's app. You can follow along as we cruise along here as well.

First of all, the compassion of God. These verses are telling us three things about God's compassion.

Firstly, it means, God's compassion means that he has voluntarily attached his heart to our heart.

In verse 6, Jonah is sitting, hoping for judgment to come, and we are told that God provides a shady plant

to grow for the purpose of easing his discomfort.

God provided the plant to ease his discomfort.

In the same way that God provided a great wind in chapter 1,

God provided a great fish in chapter 2,

and so now he provides a plant.

Verse 6 says, Jonah was very happy about the plant.

I'm not that much into gardening to love plants that much, but he was very happy.

In fact, the original wording in the Hebrew language is very strong.

He rejoiced with great rejoicing.

And it's a statement in the Hebrew, a wordplay in the Hebrew,

that is contrasted with Jonah's language in verse 1,

where his response to God withholding his judgment upon Nineveh,

Jonah in his heart says,

So he looks at what God does with Nineveh, and he says,

That is not justice.

That's evil.

But give me a plant.

Oh, thank you, God.

This is the greatest thing that's happened to me in the last three chapters.

God's provision of the plant for his comfort brought him so much joy,

but God's gracious provision for Nineveh brought him so much anger.

And then the plant died.

The next day, verse 10, God said to him,

The word that is used for compassion,

Jonah uses the word compassion to describe God in verses 1 and 2 at the beginning.

And the word that is used in the second half of chapter 4,

the word for compassion is the word concern.

In verses 9 and 10,

Jonah's delight, his anger, his disappointment, his frustration,

and every other emotion that he has here is attached to this plant.

And it's all aspects of concern.

The word concern that is used here is a word to grieve.

And it's a word that means to be deeply moved, to mourn, to grieve over the death

of something your heart is attached to,

something you love deeply.

The deeper the love, the greater the grief,

when it is not there.

It's a very strong word.

It effectively means that your heart has been broken.

Your heart has been broken.

You have lost your great love.

All of us need many things, if you like.

We get emotionally attached to things,

especially we have an inordinate love for things

that we think that we need the most in life.

John talked about this last week.

Those things that will give us the deepest sense of worth,

security, meaning, joy, love in life,

our hearts become deeply attached to those things.

Jonah's joy in the plant

is like the joy of a person

with all the comforts and the possessions of this world

and thinking all of the comforts and the possessions of this world

is the thing that makes them who they are.

Their identity is wrapped up in those things

and so they love them so much.

Things which, just like this plant,

are so fleeting, not secure,

and it's never enough.

His heart here was attached to this plant

in such a way that what happened to it happened to him.

And so when the plant died,

the very next thing he says is,

kill me.

I am dead too.

Jonah is furious at God

for sending a worm to take away

what his heart was attached to.

Ancient philosophers used to say

that there were kind of two kinds of loves.

There was the,

you could do good things

and helpful things for people,

but you didn't actually have to like them

or love them in any way.

It was,

it's the love

which is an act of the will.

It's a determination.

It's similar to the statement

that I've heard so many times,

ironically from Christian people,

I might have to love that person,

but I don't have to like them.

That's Greek stoicism.

It's not in the Bible anywhere.

The ancients used to distinguish

that kind of love

as an act of the will

with what they called

the love of attachment.

This is where your heart

is bound

to another's.

And the ancients

actually thought

that it was impossible

for a divine being

to have a heart attachment

to anything

that they had created,

including

mere mortal human beings.

How is it possible?

They think it's illogical

for the great divines

in any kind of way

to have a sense

that they needed

to have their heart

attached to something

which is fundamentally

less than them.

And so that makes

the language of God

at the end of Jonah

absolutely shocking.

The whole book

ends with a question

that is yet

another assault

on Jonah

and his self-righteousness.

Verse 11,

this is the end.

Should I not have

concern?

There's that word again.

Concern

for the great city

of Nineveh

in which there are

more than

120,000 people

who cannot tell

their right hand

from their left

and also

animals.

The God

who has

made everything,

who has

everything,

who needs

nothing,

whose joy

is complete

and dependent

upon no one

or anything

has chosen

voluntarily

to attach

his heart

to humanity.

Including Nineveh.

He has

voluntarily

attached

his heart

to humanity.

He is concerned

compassion

for Nineveh.

Yes,

he is angry

at Nineveh

and has

compassion

for Nineveh.

What happens

to Nineveh

impacts him.

It moves

him.

What happens

to Jonah

impacts him

and moves

him.

What happens

to you

impacts him

and moves

him.

God's

compassion

is that

he voluntarily

attaches

his heart

to house.

He doesn't

need to

do it.

He's not

dependent

upon it.

He chooses

to do it.

I think

Hosea 11

Hosea 11:7

verses 7

and 8

is a great

couple of

verses.

It records

there God

looking at

his own

people Israel

sinking

into

sin

and evil

and he

speaks

of his

heart

being

turned

within

him.

My

people

are

determined

to turn

from me.

Even

though they

call me

God

most

high

I

will

by no

means

exalt

them.

How

can I

give you

up

Ephraim?

Another

word for

Israel.

How

can I

hand

you

over

Israel?

My

heart

is

changed

within

me.

All

of my

compassion

is

aroused.

I

am

concerned

for

you.

The

second

thing

to know

about

God's

compassion

here

is

that

his

heart

is

particularly

moved

because

of

our

condition.

In

verse

11

it

isn't

just

the

Ninevites

in some

general

senses

people

that

bring

out

God's

compassion

but

a city

of

people

who

cannot

tell

their

right

hand

from

their

left.

Here

is a

city

full

of

people

who

have

entirely

lost

their

way.

They

are

spiritually

blind.

They

don't

know

what

they're

doing,

how

they have

gone

wrong,

how to

live

well,

how to

fix

it,

and

God

has

compassion

on

them.

He

is

moved

and

grieved

by their

condition.

Jonah

looks

at

them

and

sees

a

bunch

of

evil

people

deserving

of

judgment

and

God's

words

here

to

them

is

how

much

grace

does

he

show

them?

Of

all the

things

he could

have

said,

they

can't

tell

their

left

hand

from

their

right

hand.

Their

way

would

have

lost.

They're

blind.

They're

spiritually

blind.

The

third

characteristic

of

God's

compassion

is

he

forgives

readily.

This

is what

has

got

Jonah

all

completely

bent

out of

shape.

Jonah

goes to

Nineveh,

the great

enemy of

the nation

of Israel.

They are

brutal.

They're

an evil

city.

He

has a

message

of

judgment.

Frankly,

as much

as he

resisted

getting

there,

this would

have been

a message

knowing

Jonah's

heart

would

have

been

one

that

he

would

have

been

happy

to

say.

He

is

hoping

for their

judgment.

He

wants

God

to

bring

justice.

He

wants

God

to

obliterate

them.

And

what does

he

get?

He

gets

Nineveh,

the city,

saying

sorry and

promising to

be good.

Now,

the response

of Nineveh

here is

quite

different

than the

response

of the

pagan

sailors

at the

end of

chapter

one,

where

they

pray

to

God

using

the

covenant

name

for

God.

They

pray

and

ask

to

God

for

forgiveness

for

what

they're

about

to

do

with

Jonah.

They

feared

the

Lord,

they

offered

sacrifices

and

they

vowed

to

follow

him.

It's

like

these

pagan

sailors

became

Israelites

in that

moment,

became

part

of

the

covenant

people

of

God.

Nineveh

doesn't

do

that.

Nineveh

doesn't

enter

into a

covenant

relationship

with

God.

There's

no

circumcision,

there's

no

sacrifices,

there's

no

vows,

they

don't

even

use

the

covenant

name

of

God.

They

don't

come

under

the

law

of

God,

they

don't

convert

and

become

Israelites

in

any

way.

And

throughout

the

history

books,

there

is

no

evidence

of

Nineveh

changing

in

any

way

whatsoever.

What

we

have

here

with

Nineveh

is

the

response

of

someone,

a

calamity

comes

into

their

life,

they

get a

cancer

diagnosis

and

they

go,

better

get off

to

church

and

get

God

on

my

side.

And

hopefully

the

cancer

will

be

solved.

And

yet

despite

that,

and

despite

God

knowing

their

hearts

and

knowing

what

their

history

will

be,

he

relents

from

bringing

calamity

on them.

And

Jonah

sees

this

and

goes,

that

is

an

evil

above

all

evils.

God,

can't

you

see

what

they're

doing

here?

Can't

you

see

their

pretense?

Can't

you

see

the

falseness

of

what

is

going

on

here?

There's

not

true

repentance

here.

Can't

you

see

the

hypocrisy

in

their

heart?

Can't

you

see,

God,

that

this

city

is

still

a

threat

to

your

people

Israel?

God,

make

them

grovel,

put some

conditions

around

them,

take

their

military

away

from

them.

He

could

not

accept

that

God's

compassion

and grace

should

work in

favour

of his

enemies,

but

neither

could he

accept

life

without

it

himself.

God's

compassion

for

Nineveh

was

unacceptable,

but so

was the

redrawal

of his

compassion

to Jonah

in the

plant,

unacceptable.

Jonah

longed

for a

God

who was

just

like

him,

who

met

his

needs,

supported

his

plans,

the

sort

of God

that I

mentioned

before

previously,

the

God

who

is

the

great

divine

vending

machine.

If I

put

stuff

in

in a

particular

kind

of

way,

he'll

spit

out

what

I

want

at

the

bottom.

Jonah

did

not

want

the

God

who

had

made

the

heavens

and

the

earth,

the

sea

and

the

land.

The

God

that

he

confessed

that

the

God

that

he

believed

in.

It

was

up

here,

but

operationally

not

in

his

life

and

in

his

heart.

A

God

who

is

gracious

and

compassionate,

slow to

anger and

abounding in

love.

A

God

who

relents

from

sending

calamity.

God's

gentle

and

persistent

questioning

here in

chapter 4

was in

fact an

expression

of God's

concern and

compassion

on

Jonah.

The

saving

of the

pagan

sailors,

the

response

of the

city

of

Nineveh

to

the

word

of

God

are

all

of

God

laboring

and

laboring

and

laboring

in

this

book

for

one

purpose

to

bring

Jonah

to

repentance

and

faith

in

the

God

that

he

said

that

he

believed

in.

That's

what

it's

all

about.

As

he

sat

over

the

city

condemning

the

city

of

Nineveh

God

was

showing

him

Jonah

are

you

not

exactly

like

them?

Are

you

not

exactly

like

them?

So

Jonah

four

ends

with

the

big

question

which

is a

question

that

is on

the

mind

of

Jonah

and

in

his

heart

and

it

leaves

us

with

this

big

tension.

Well,

what about

the

justice

of

Nineveh?

What

about

Jonah's

own

self

righteousness

and the

justice

that he

deserved?

why

didn't

God

punish

such

an

evil

nation

as

Nineveh

in

that

moment?

And

you end

the book

with this

tension

and

we

don't

ever

find

the

answer

until

we

look

centuries

later

to the

compassion

of God

in

Jesus

Christ.

You see,

Jonah

four

points

us

forward

to

a

much

greater

one

sent

by

God

to

a

city

with

another

message.

Not

to a

pagan

city

but

this

time

to

God's

own

people

in

Jerusalem

to

his

own

people.

In

the

last

week

of

his

life

Jesus

came

to

Jerusalem

and

as

he

came

to

Jerusalem

he

is

hailed

by

those

who

recognise

him

as

being

God

the

rescuer

come

to

his

people

the

great

divine

now

dwelling

with

his

people

and

Luke

19

puts

it

like

this

as

Jesus

approached

Jerusalem

and

saw

the

city

he

wept

he

wept

over

it

and

he

said

if

you

even

you

had

only

known

on

this

day

what

would

bring

you

peace

but

now

it

is

hidden

from

your

eyes

Jesus

the

king

from

heaven

is

coming

to

a

city

full

of

people

who

are

blind

they're

blind

to the

spiritual

reality

of who

Jesus

is

they

don't

know

their

left

hand

from

their

right

but

unlike

Jonah

he knew

that he

would

suffer

and die

at the

hands

of

the

Jonahs

of

Jerusalem

the

religious

elite

the

corrupt

politicians

the

mob

rule

but

instead

of

anger

and

instead

of

being

absorbed

with

self

pity

he

weeps

Jesus

weeps

and on

the cross

he cries

out

father

forgive

them

for

they

don't

know

what

they

are

doing

they

are

brutally

torturing

and

killing

and

denying

and

betraying

him

but

none

of

them

not

even

the

teachers

of

the

law

really

understood

what

they

were

doing

in

that

moment

now

he

doesn't

say

that

they're

innocent

any

more

than

God

says

that

Nineveh

is

innocent

they

are

completely

guilty

which

is

why

they

need

forgiveness

so

how

can

God

be

merciful

patient

gracious

to

evil

Nineveh

and

Jesus

to

his

murderers

and

his

betrayers

how

do

you

get

both

of

those

things

colliding

together

and

the

clue

I

wasn't

here

and

I'm

assuming

this

has

already

been

preached

on

so

let

me

just

revise

it

the

clue

is

in

Jonah

Jonah 2:2–4

2

verses

2

to

4

where

Jonah

says

from

inside

the

fish

from

deep

in

the

realm

of

the

dead

I

called

for

help

and

you

listened

to

my

cry

you

hurled

me

into

the

depths

all

of

your

waves

and

breakers

swept

over

me

I

said

I

have

been

banished

from

your

sight

yet

I

will

look

again

toward

your

holy

temple

the

words

the

statement

there

the

realm

of

the

dead

is a

reference

to the

world

of

divine

punishment

and

death

in

here

it's

the word

sheol

such

was

Jonah's

anguish

and despair

inside

the fish

and

in

Matthew

12

Jesus

calls

himself

one

greater

than

Jonah

is

now

here

and

it's

a

reference

to

Jonah's

three

days

inside

the

fish

three

days

and

nights

in

the

fish

and

when

Jesus

went

to

the

cross

he

repeats

the

suffering

of

Jonah

but

to

an

infinitely

greater

degree

and

he

cries

out

from

the

cross

my

God

my

God

why

have

you

forsaken

me

why

have

you

forsaken

me

Jonah

went

into

the

depths

of

the

sea

to

save

the

sailors

Jesus

went

into

the

depths

of

death

and

separation

from

God

into

sheol

itself

into

hell

into

the

depths

of

divine

judgment

which

washed

over

him

like

wave

after

wave

to

save

self

righteous

Jonah

evil

Nineveh

and

you

and

me

Jesus

willingly

came

under

the

judgment

of

God

for

all

of

our

sin

for

all

of

our

rebellion

from

running

from

God

for

refusal

to

obey

refusal

to

allow

him

to

be

God

and

for

all

of

our

self

righteous

religious

morality

that

looks

down

at

the

rebellion

of

others

and

failing

to

see

our

own

ourselves

he

died

for

both

the

bad

and

those

who

think

they're

good

as

2

Corinthians

21

puts

it

God

made

him

who

had

no

sin

to

be

sin

for

us

so

that

in

him

we

might

become

the

righteousness

of

God

salvation

completely

belongs

to

Jesus

where

both

justice

and

mercy

meet

such

is

the

wonder

of

the

heart

of

Christ

theologian

B.B.

Warfield

wrote

an article

it's actually

probably more

of a book

really

called

The Emotional

Life

of Our

Lord

he wrote

it

well over

100

years

ago

and

he

made

the

point

that

by

far

the

most

typical

statement

in the

New

Testament

to

describe

the

emotional

life

of

Jesus

is

the

phrase

he

was

moved

with

compassion

he

was

moved

with

compassion

a

phrase

that

means

that

he

was

moved

from

the

very

center

of

his

being

from

the

driving

center

of

his

heart

his

life

in

fact

Warfield

that

the

New

Testament

records

Jesus

weeping

20

times

for

every

time

he

laughs

he

was

a

man

of

sorrows

not

because

he

was

depressive

but

because

his

compassion

connects

his

heart

with

ours

and

he

sees

our

sadness

and

it

makes

him

sad

he

sees

our

pain

and

it

brings

him

pain

he

sees

our

sin

and

the

destruction

that

we

are

bringing

on

our

life

and

it

breaks

his

heart

Jonah

went

outside

of

Nineveh

climbed

a

hill

to

wait

and

hope

for

the

destruction

of

the

city

Jesus

up

the

hill

outside

the

city

of

Jerusalem

and

died

to

bring

it

and

us

salvation

nothing

is

more

important

for

anyone

than

to

know

the

heart

of

Jesus