Jonah - Mercy for the Undeserving

Jonah was a Jewish Prophet lived 8th Century BC, also referenced in 2 Kings 14.

God told him to preach to people in city called Ninevah (ancient city in Iraq, across the river from the modern city of Mosul). Jonah didn’t want to so ran away from God. He ends up in in a boat, in a storm, and is thrown overboard.

He is swallowed up by a large fish, spends three days and nights in the belly of that fish until the fish vomits Jonah onto dry land.

He preaches to the city of Ninevah, the Ninevites respond, there’s revival in Ninevah, and Jonah isn’t happy about it because he disagrees with God’s kindness to the Ninevites.

Jonah 1:1–3
Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.

This was shocking on several levels. It was shocking because it was a call for a Hebrew prophet to leave Israel and go to a Gentile city. It was even more shocking that the God of Israel would want to warn Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire, of impending doom.

Assyria was one of the cruellest and most violent empires of ancient times. Assyrian history is “as gory and bloodcurdling a history as we know.” So, when God tells Jonah preach in Ninevah “because their wickedness has come up before Him,” Jonah doesn’t want a bar of it.

Jonah‬ ‭1:3‬ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
“But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.”

Two reasons Jonah thought going to Ninevah was a bad idea. Firstly, he didn’t want to die. Secondly, Jonah knew what God was doing, and he didn’t like it. God was giving the Assyrians an opportunity to repent and be spared from divine punishment, and Jonah didn’t want that.

Jonah 4:2
And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.

Jonah flees to Tarshish because he didn’t want to die AND because he was offended by God’s offer of mercy to the undeserving.

Mercy is defined as “Compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.”

As we read further into the Bible, we find it wasn’t just Jonah who took issue with God’s mercy. Jonah’s aversion was echoed by the Pharisees, the religious “insiders” of Jesus’ day.

Luke 19:1–7
[Jesus] entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

Mark 2:15-17
And as he [Jesus] reclined at table in his [Matthew’s] house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jonah believes he’s “well” and the Ninevites are “sick”. The Pharisees believe they’re “well” and the tax collectors are “sick”. And both are missing God’s heart by a mile.

Luke 18:9-14
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Four problems with self-righteousness

1. We end up thinking we are something that we’re not

The Pharisee assumed he was righteous based on:
•Comparison
•Accomplishment
•The absence of evil

He had a type of self-constructed righteousness, but Jesus said he did not go home justified.

2. We end up distancing ourselves from people God loves

The Pharisee stood by himself, just like Jonah kept his distance from the Ninevites. Jesus calls us to “Go into all the world”, but self-righteousness has us looking down on the world and keeping it at a safe distance.

3. We end up in a place of moral superiority

Because of his perceived “moral superiority” the Pharisee looked down on everyone else in judgement. Be careful setting yourself in the seat of God as the arbiter of who is and isn’t worthy of redemption.

4. We end up blind to our own need for mercy

The story of Jonah is not simply a story about Ninevah’s rebellion. Ninevah’s was an ignorant rebellion (they didn’t know better!) Jonah’s was a purposeful rebellion (he knew, but wanted God on his own terms).

The same God has mercy for rebellious Ninevites, and runaway believers.

Unless we can see our own sin and realise that we ourselves are living wholly by the mercy of God, we will never understand how God can be merciful to people we deem as “undeserving”.

Two reminders for every person:

Firstly, we are more dependent on the mercy of God than we realise.

Titus 3:3–7
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Jonah saw the Ninevites as enemies, so ran from them. Jesus saw us as enemies of God and ran toward us.

Jesus wasn’t reluctant, He was willing. Instead of judgement, He chose mercy. In spite of how undeserving we are, He came to use with a word of mercy and grace.

Richard Sibbes
“There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us.”

Charles Spurgeon
“God’s mercy is so great that you may sooner drain the sea of its water than diminish the great mercy of God.”

Secondly, every person (even Ninevites) are more loved by God than we imagine.

Jonah tells us that God’s eyes are on all people – even the “outsiders”. Jonah thought those Ninevites afar off were unseen by God.

John 3:16
For God so loved … the Ninevites!

God sees the world with mercy – both those within the church and those outside the church. We must see the world the same way.