Jonah - The Lesson of Grace

Jonah - The Lesson of Grace

a. Introduction

Matthew 12:40-42

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁴⁰ For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.

⁴¹ “The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent. ⁴² The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen.

As usual, the New Testament is the Old Testament unveiled. According to scripture, Nineveh was a great city (Jonah 1:1-2). To Jonah it was a city whose people do not deserve mercy but wrath. Nineveh was an Assyrian city that constantly tormented and troubled Israel. Jonah knew that in being sent to Nineveh, if by any chance the people “repented” , God would relent and spare this “irritant” of a nation. Jonah was a man of  God…but his heart was Loyally attached to Israel. So Jonah would have nothing to do with this.

B. Jonah Ran from God

1. Instead of going to Nineveh, he ran towards Tarshish. His goal, was to run from the presence of the Lord – Jonah 1:3. Can one run from God and God is omnipresent?

Through the storm, Casting Lot and eventually being thrown overboard, God responded in grace and kindness to those around him..something that Jonah could not see..why ? He was blinded by his “traditions”, “culture”, “fears” and “people”. He failed to see that God’s might and fame was not just limited to Israel, but “others” have come to know of God too !

Jonah also failed to see also how God would not relent at wanting to move through Jonah…to the point when Jonah was being swallowed up by the seas, God prepared a fish to be Jonah’s home for  3 days and 3 Nights !

Jonah relented not because he wanted to go willingly, but he wanted to get out of the fish’s belly !

Jonah gave up on Nineveh because of his hatred towards them and the "sins" Nineveh have commited against Israel. God instead "saved" the sailors by stopping the storm when Jonah was thrown into the ocean. God moved through Jonah even though he was an unwilling servant. If we were God, we would have been pleased the "difficult" servant would have been swallowed by the ocean and eaten by the fish. Good riddance to an annoying person. 

But no God reacted differently..He DID NOT JUDGE Jonah nor the Sailors !

C. THE NUMBER 3

3 Always always represents the purpose and will of God. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit ..they are 3 in person..but 1 in existence, in will, in purpose, in everything…so right here…the person on the stage, the focus of this is not Jonah, the fish …but God Himself and His plan to Save mankind !

Salvation is of the Lord and never the best intentions of man !

 D. JESUS BETTER THAN JONAH

Why did Jesus say in Mt 12:40, that someone better than Jonah is here...Someone better than Solomon is here ? 

Jonah represented the Law and people who live to perform their way to righteousness and heaven. The Law will always place demands on us...whereas Grace will supply the righteousness and save us ! God brings us to repentance by His word and His love for us..not through demands.

Hebrews 10 –Tells us how in the Old Testament, even if the priest offers the sacrifices, it can never take away the guilt of the errors.

Jonah represented the OLD COVENANT – THE LAW – Demands, Kills..because it has no power o save nor help man fulfill anything…Its like our roads having speed limits..without enforcement, education..it is just words that warn us..tell us what is right to do..but no power to help us do it..in the end ..speeding will kill.

God on the other hand Jonah shows the greatness of His heart by what He said to Jonah  at the end …

 ¹⁰ Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. ¹¹ But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” Jonah 4:10

God’s grace always qualifies the unworthy…God is not angry with people, He is furious with Sin.

⁶ He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life. (2 Cor 3:5)

So what does Jesus mean when He told the Israelites looking for a sign to think to Jonah..and then instead of leaving his audience at Jonah, He tells them..just like Jonah..God has someone better for you ! – Jesus

Jonah was an unwilling servant. Jesus came as a willing sacrifice in sacrifice He loved you first. Jonah wanted judgment on the people, Jesus wanted grace and forgiveness on the people. Solomon could give the best wisdom but no life. Jesus is your wisdom and in His word is Spirit and Life !Jonah spent 3 days and 3 nights as an unwilling servant in the belly of the whale..Jesus spent 3 days and 3 nights in the depths of hell, as a willing servant who sacrifice Himself because He loved YOU and I.

Hebrews 10 –Tells us when Jesus paid the price, He sat down ! When someone sits down from, it means the WORK IS DONE..It is finished !  Jesus is the Perfect Sacrifice ! Jesus paid the price for you to be reconciled back to God and forever will you be accepted. Jesus took your sin and on the cross cried out "MY GOD MY GOD..what have you forsaken me"...So that we can cry out "ABBA FATHER, why have you so bless us !".

E. THE PRODIGAL SON – Luke 15:13

In the story of the prodigal son, when the lost son came back to His dad, the dad never judged Him but clothe him and restored him. It was the lost son's older brother that felt left out and that his younger brother do not deserve this (the Jonah mentality). Can you see the difference between how humanity views errors and Sin ?..and how God views not sin but the Person who does not know what is right or wrong ? God never judge..so we should not too !

F. THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN YOU !

The best act of God in showing He has accepted us is giving us the Holy Spirit. If you read the account of Peter's experience at Conelius household in Acts 10, you will realised that Peter could testify of God accepting the gentiles is because God gave the gentiles the same "Pentecost" experience as God had given them in Acts 2:4. 

Acts 10, Acts 15.

⁷ At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: “Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles so that they could hear the Good News and believe. ⁸ God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. ⁹ He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith. ¹⁰ So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers^[ with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? ¹¹ We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.” (ACTS 15:7-10)

CONCLUSION 

Jesus is the seal of the new covenant..in this covenant is the promise of life..Not just the promise but the grace to live in it and inherit all that God has for His children, we are His children. You see friends, God has not judged you. Scripture tells us God loved us first. God love us and knew us while we were in the womb. God loves You !.

Friends, Jesus can to destroy all the works of evil on our lives. He has done it by dealing a final blow to the root of it - SIN. Sin is turning ourselves away from GOd. When we walk in darkness, we open the door to sin. Sin will produce its fruits - lying, cheating, murder, jealousy etc.  But when we turn back to God, and yield our lives to God, it is God that keeps us. Stay in His presence, stay in Him !

-----END----Edwin Koh