Reservoir Presbyterian Sermons
Salvation through Judgment and Mercy (Jonah 1)
Today's reading is going to come from Jonah chapter 1, and it can be found on page 1323 of the Church Bible. Jonah chapter 1, "The word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amatai. Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because this wickedness has come up before me. But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed to Fortaschish. He went down to the Jopa, where he found a ship bound for the port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Taschish to flee from the Lord. Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own god, and the crew, and they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone to the load deck, where he laid down and fell asleep into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god. Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish." And the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots, and a lot fell on Jonah, so they asked him. "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?" He answered, "I am a Hebrew, and I worship the god of heaven who made the sea and the dry land. This terrified them, and they asked." "What have you done?" They knew he was running away from the lord, because he had already told them so. The sea was getting rougher and rougher, so they asked him. "What should we do to make the sea calm down for us?" "Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied. "And it will become calm. I know that this is my fault, and I have brought this great storm upon you." Instead, the men did their best to row back land, but they could not, for the sea grew even louder than before. Then they cried out to the lord. "Please, lord, do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man. For you, lord, have done us as you pleased." Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this, the men greatly feared the lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the lord and made vows to him. Good morning, everyone. Lovely to see you this morning. Everyone's awake. Good morning. Yes, that's good. Lovely. And thank you for those readers. Wonderful. Thanks, Sam, Emmanuel, Jeff and Rachel appreciate that. That's great. "Can I encourage you, please, to keep your Bibles open as we work through the text together? I thought I emailed the PowerPoint, so we might not have PowerPoints. We'll see how we go. So you'll definitely need your Bible open to follow along. So please do that. There's some transcripts up the back of the hall as well. So if you want to follow along with one of those, that would be a good idea as well. If I haven't met you yet, my name's Travis. I'm visiting this week. I'm from Bandura Presbyterian Church. I live in Eltham here with my wife, Iris. So come and say hello to us afterwards. It'd be nice to have a chat with you too. Let me encourage you too to test all things, what you hear from what you read in God's Word today. I'm going to pray for us, and then we'll open up this little passage in the Bible. Let's pray. Gracious God, we give thanks to you today for the privilege and opportunity to come and hear your Word, and have it explained to us too. Father in Heaven, thank you that you have spoken and not left us in the dark about who you are and your purposes. Thank you, Father, that we can learn in your Word about you and about ourselves as well. And we pray as we continue to explore through the Book of Jonah in the coming weeks that you'd help us to know more of both. Please help me to speak your Word truthfully and clearly with boldness and help us all have ears to hear and listen. Amen. Well, the year was about 800 BC. It was a beautiful sunny morning in the small Israelite town of Gath Hephar. The typical sounds of the hustle and bustle of life could be heard, the cattle moving, the sheep barring, the kids playing, the ordinary delightful smells of a farming industry could be smelt wafting through the air. There was a normalness to the day. That predictable feeling that this day was going to be much like yesterday. Just another day for Jonah, son of Amatai. But then, verse one, we read, "The word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amatai." Like a lightning bolt from heaven, God once again broke in, suddenly to human history and interrupted the normality of life and spoke. God spoke a word to His mouthpiece, Jonah. Verse two, "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it because its wickedness has come up before me." God commands three actions of Jonah. Get up demands God. Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it. Jonah's been entrusted with a mission from God. He's to call the capital city of that superpower Assyria to account. Why? God tells him and us because their wickedness has come up before me. Nineveh might not be God's chosen people, but they aren't off God's moral radar. No sin misses his eye, no sin too small, no sinner too far as the one true God. He calls all peoples, all nations to account. Maybe Jonah's supposed to tell that great city to stop their great sinning. They were, after all, the epitome of evil. Maybe Jonah's supposed to deliver news of God's judgment. They were, after all, enemies of God's people. Either way, the city of Nineveh as a whole was ripe for judgment. As the Canaanites had been and as the Egyptians were, so now the Ninevehites' time had arrived. They are deserving objects of God's wrath. The prophets would be just itching to be given such a job. What a privilege to be the agent of divine destruction. Yes, finally, they no doubt thought. Those people that have been bullying us around have got it coming to tell your enemies end of their world, news, what a joy and delight. Much to our surprise, we read in verse three, Jonah ran away from the Lord and heathered 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. Nineveh drifts into the background and is replaced by another super villain. Jonah, God's mouthpiece, can you believe it? Jonah, whose name means dove, begins to comply with God's request, he gets up. But we're rudely shocked to find that the reason why is to fly away. Twice at the beginning and the end of the verse, we're told Jonah ran away from the Lord. Take a look at the map, thanks, guys, up the back. Instead of heading northeast for Nineveh, Jonah sets his sights on bolting as far southwest as possible. Tarshish, Jonah flies down to Joppa, a coastal trading port, finds a boat heading for Tarshish, pays the fare and flies down onto the boat. Jonah's people are land dwellers. They're suspicious of the ocean, but he's even prepared to go to sea. If you're not shocked, then you should be. Be shocked at the blatant, confusing, and I suppose disobedience of God's men. He didn't protest like Moses or King Saul. There's no, do I have to, why me? Since I'm one else, no, Jonah was absolutely 100% determined and committed. The moment he started to get up to put as much space as possible between God and, sorry, between God who apparently is confined to the temple in Jerusalem and himself. As much distance as possible from Nineveh. We're not told why at this stage. We could speculate. Maybe it was too far. Nineveh was after all 600 miles away. Maybe it was too big and too bad and Jonah feared for his safety. Maybe they were all just too far gone and he doubted the mission's success, but they would all be speculations. All we know is that Jonah did the exact opposite of what he was told to do. Jonah acts out a defiant and definite, no God. Surely, having made it onto the ship, his plan was a success and secure. Surely Jonah had gotten away and made it impossible to fulfill his mission. We read in verse four. Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break apart. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own God. They threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship, but Jonah had gone below deck where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? "Get up and call on your God. "Maybe he'll take notice of us "so that we won't perish." Well, the Lord's not going to let Jonah get away with it, is he? He doesn't ignore such blatant acts of defiance. He intervenes. God responds to Jonah's disobedience by sending or better hurling a great wind on the sea. So great was this wind that it produced a great storm, a violent storm which almost tore the ship apart and its crew. Even these veteran sailors freaked out at its ferocity. Firstly, each one, everyone cried out to his own God. They could see this was no ordinary storm and so resorted to SOS prayers. This is one of those moments that brings grown men cowering to their knees. Secondly, because God hurled this great wind, they threw or hurled the cargo into the sea in the hope that maybe lightening its load, the ship could be saved. Meanwhile, despite their busyness, in contrast to their terror, the same violence sea which had caused them such grief had in fact rocked Jonah to sleep. Jonah, you see, confident of his escape or tired of his journey had once again gone down below deck down into a deep sleep. Can you feel the urgency and the panic of the captain in verse six when he enters the cargo hold to find Jonah sleeping? How can you sleep at a time like this? Get up, call on your God, he says. Maybe he'll take notice of us and we won't perish. At first, it must have sounded like a bad dream for Jonah. The captain echoes two of the exact same words that God spoke to Jonah, get up, call. The captain isn't stupid, he can put two and two together. Storms like this are caused by the gods. Like a cosmic equation, what's needed is to find the right God and ask him or her to make the storm stop. That means that everyone must be engaged in the task of finding the right God, including Jonah, with a small glimmer of hope. Perhaps maybe, just maybe, someone will hear and do something to save these sailors. But no prayer of Jonah is heard. Instead, when praying doesn't work, the sailors fall back to casting lots to narrow down what the problem is or rather, whose fault it is. Verse seven, they said to each other, come, let's cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity. They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. So they asked him, tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country from what people are you? Well, it's someone's fault. It's always someone's fault, isn't it? As one voice, these sailors know that one of them is responsible for this wickedness. The chapter started out by focusing on Nineveh's wickedness, but now Jonah's wickedness is the object of God's attention. Casting lots involved the throwing of stones to determine the guilty person. The idea behind it was that the gods controlled the lot and so pointed out the way forward. Without any shadow of doubt, Jonah is found out by his peers. Like a magnet, he's the one who's been attracting this demonstration of divine anger. Jonah won the lot. Or maybe he lost it. Either way, they grill him with question after question about his identity and more specifically, which God he worships. Jonah answers their last question first in verse nine and gets right to the heart of the matter. I'm a Hebrew, I worship the Lord, the God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land. A race in those days was closely tied with religion and Jonah identifies himself to these foreigners as a Hebrew. The Lord, the God of heaven was the one he worshipped or more literally, feared. "He is the ultimate sovereign deity, whom all can look to," says Jonah. And he further shares with these sailors a timely message of who God is. He made the sea and the land. He is its creator and everything in between. The God they've been searching for, the God who's responsible for such a violent, life-threatening storm is Jonah's God, the capital Al O R D. He has the whole world, especially the seas, in his hands and he uses them to achieve his will. Understandably so, we read in verse 10 that this terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" They knew he was running away from the Lord because he'd already told them so. The sea was getting rougher and rougher, so they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?" The men had been previously afraid of the sea, but now, having heard about the God whom Jonah fears, we're told they're terrified. Jonah's just told them that he's running from the Lord. By the midst of the chaos, they pause to ask, "Why, why are you fleeing?" It's almost as if they're thinking, "How could you be so stupid, Jonah?" The very instrument of your escape, the sea, is made by God and takes his orders from him and is now his instrument of punishment. But there's no time to stop for a reply from Jonah. The sea's becoming more and more violent by the minute and lives are at stake. So, they shout out, sorry, they shout to one another a question. Since it's Jonah's God, maybe he knows what to do. What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us? The sailors can already see that something needs to happen to Jonah, the one who is responsible for such a calamity. Jonah is the key, not only to its beginning, but now to the storm's stealing. And for the first time in verse 12, Jonah gets on board, sorry with the pun, with what God wants and speaks. Pick me up, throw me into the sea, and it will become calm. I know it's my fault that this great storm has come upon you. God hurled the wind, the sailors hurled the cargo. But now Jonah says that the only way forward is for him to be hurled into the sea. With all that's tossing and crashing, the sea craves for Jonah. For once and finally, Jonah fesses up. Acknowledges his guilt, accepts his punishment. These hearth and sailors have been caught in the crossfire of a battle between God and his man. The captain previously charged Jonah with the ultimatum, pray, or we perish. But the cruel irony is that now Jonah must perish. Instead of Jonah's reluctance, we read of the sailors' reluctance in verse 13. Instead, the men did their best to row back to the land, but they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried out to the Lord, "Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man for you, Lord, have done as you pleased." Not far from shore and to our surprise, the sailors make out for dry land in an attempt to avoid throwing Jonah overboard. But their efforts are once again labeled as futile along God's sovereign power. Instead of Jonah as the agent of divine punishment, these sailors have been entrusted with the task of delivering God's punishment to Jonah. Knowing that throwing Jonah overboard was sure death, these men now cry out to the Lord that they be pardoned. The sailors, as one voice, cry out again this time to the Lord. They pray the prayer that Jonah perhaps should have prayed. The sailors acknowledge that there are no other options. God doesn't want Jonah returned to land. God wants Jonah overboard in the water. For his disobedience, Jonah says God in the waves, deserves to die. He knows it, the sailors know it, that nothing less than death will be sufficient to soothe the ferocious and foaming sea, a fitting image of God's just anger at Jonah. And so as instantaneous as Jonah ran, verse 15, then they took Jonah through him overboard and the raging sea grew calm. At this, the men greatly feared the Lord and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him. Down, down, down to his watery grave, Jonah sunk. The sea finally stood still, a clear indicator to the sailors that the Lord's anger was appeased, that the Lord had delighted in what happens, that their prayer had been answered, that they would not be held responsible, that they would not perish, that the Lord is the God of heaven who made the sea and the land. The captains hope in verse six, maybe perhaps had come true. And so only now did the sailors do what Jonah supposedly did, they greatly feared the Lord. Earlier, they were afraid of the storm. Then they were terrified of Jonah's God. Now, God's power and justice commands their healthy reverence and awe, they greatly feared the Lord himself. And they demonstrated it with two typical acts of Israelite worship, sacrificing and making vows. Who knows if this story is their conversion story? One thing is for sure, their lives had changed forever. Whether it's the sailors being lifted up or Jonah being brought down, the one resounding note, which is to be heard throughout the chapter and left ringing in the ears of those reading it, is that God is the hero. God is the boss of every part of this world and everything and everyone in it. He does as he pleases and none can resist his will and what he is pleased to do always comes to completion. As we move to apply such a passage, let's think for a minute about who each of the characters point us to. Despite all of their differences, Jonah's actions at some level look forward to Jesus. He is a man who has been selected and entrusted with a mission from God. His task is to call wicked humanity to account. Instead of illustrating not my will, but yours be done, Jonah does the exact opposite. Both men are found sleeping on a boat during a storm, one exhausted from opposing God's will, the other, exhausted from fulfilling it. But for the sake of his fellow sailors, Jonah eventually comes around. Sure, Jonah might be dying for his own sin, but nevertheless, his death saves the life of the other men. Jonah's sacrifice removes God's wrath from the ship so that peace was restored between men and God. God pursues in Jonah, one man to the death so that he might save many. What is in Jonah as a snippet becomes a full picture in Jesus. Humanity is all in the same boat as deserving recipients of God's right anger. And only when one of us jumps out and dies on the cross, enduring God's wrath for our sins are the rest of us saved. The calm waters of peace with God, first envisioned by the sailors and then more fully experienced by us as believers, only come through the sacrifice of the one man, Jesus Christ. Jonah points us to Jesus. The sailors in a similar way point us forward to Jesus as well. The sailors are clearly described as outsiders to God's chosen people. With the words of Ephesians, they are separated from the life of God, excluded as citizens of Israel without God, without hope in the world. Amidst all the craziness of the storm, they are gradually and progressively bought to finally worship God in such a way that would suggest they are one of God's people. God promised Abraham back in Genesis that he would bless him and his descendants. And that all peoples on earth would be blessed through him. Just as a volcano spurts out here and there, so too, the fulfillment of this promise spurts out at various points in the Old Testament, like Jonah chapter one. But it isn't until the death and resurrection of Jesus that the idea of the Gentiles, outsiders, being included as equals, spews everywhere. What happened to the sailors was rare, but through Christ, Gentiles being portrayed as God's people becomes a common occurrence. The sailors point forward to Jesus. And lastly, we see God's character as one also which points us to Christ. Jonah one ultimately tells us about a God who cares. God cares when people who claim to be his people like Jonah sin. God takes sin deadly seriously. He is holy. His holiness demands an accounting for sin. He cannot, will not, ignore sinners that ignore him. Running from God is futile. His wrath will always find its object. As Ezekiel 184 says, the soul that sins will die. The wages of sin is death. Sinners must die if God is to be holy. That's why Jesus died. On the cross of Christ and by the vindication of his resurrection, the violent storm caused by sin subsides. God's holy anger at us has been consumed. God's character in Jonah one points us to Jesus. So who are you most like? Who do you most closely identify with in this story? Are you most like God? Do you possess that healthy zeal for holiness? Are you angered with a righteous anger in the face of sin? Maybe some of you are, but I suspect probably not. I know if I was to be angry at sin the way God was, I'd be angry at myself most of the time. But there is a place when we look into our society, into our world to get angry when governments or people act in a way that opposes God when they sin. I'm not talking about taking matters into your own hands with violent retaliation, but it is not a healthy righteousness, a healthy righteous anger for God's will to be done that will move us to pray. That will stir us to promote the gospel amongst the lost and even have a purifying effect on our culture and society. Maybe you're more like the sailors. Maybe you're a typical outsider of God's people, engaged in worshiping a variety of God's depending on the current flavor of the month. When turmoil comes in life, maybe you like them, pray SOS prayers. After all, God is much like a magic genie waiting to grant our wish. Maybe you're more closely identified with the sailors who when trouble comes their way, do everything humanly possible in their own resources to bail themselves out. The sailors boycotted their treasured possessions, their costly cargo by their own efforts was discarded and consumed by God's anger. They even by their own might attempted to row against God to avoid doing his will. Those sailors might have been caught in the crossfire, but they too were worthy of God's wrath. Sinners, just like Jonah. If that's you, then take warning from today's story, worshiping idols takes you nowhere fast. False religion is utterly helpless when it comes to surviving the waves of life which God heals. Thinking which presses you to rely on your own efforts is just as futile. No, it's clear from Jonah chapter one that salvation is only possible from God. When God's will is done and Jonah is thrown overboard. Sin is removed and salvation can be received only by humble dependence on God. Only through trusting Jesus alone can sin be done away with once and for all. Jesus said, remember, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by me. To the sailors out there who are depending on themselves, trust in Jesus alone. Or maybe finally, you're more like Jonah. And I suspect there could be a few donors here this morning. Maybe you claim to belong to God's people. You may believe and confess all the right ideas like Jonah. You might have great knowledge in the Bible and theology, but in fact, God has spoken a word to you and for some reason you don't like it and are running in the opposite direction. God said to submit to your authorities, but you don't want to obey the road rules. God said, love your enemies, but you think your case is an exception. God said, cast all your cares on him, but you'd rather stick to yourself. God said not to look lustfully at a woman, but you think it's an outdated word. God said, make disciples of all nations, but you think society is too far gone and have written them off. One point should be obvious from Jonah's story. Running is a waste of time. What does the Psalmist say? Remember, where can I go from your spirits? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you're there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Your life, rather than escape from God's sight, is instead played out before the eyes of your creator. Persistent living in a manner that is inconsistent with your identity as God's people takes us away from God, away from communication with God. Jonah's story reminds us that there's only one place persistent, deliberate sin takes those who claim to be God's people. Down, down, down, down, down. Down to the grave and then eventually down to the eternal depths of hell. As the saying goes for clergy, the streets of hell are paved with the skulls of clergy. So maybe you are, sorry, I've got the wrong page there. Be wary when heading down the wrong path, the doors always seem wide open. Sin always takes us farther than we imagined we'd go and faster than we ever intended. God might even use it points outsiders to show you up and model how you should be behaving, just like he did to Jonah. God could even challenge your own preconceived assumptions about outsiders. Embrace such teaching moments as God's will. Well, the sailors moved closer to God and lived, while Jonah escaped the source of life and plunged himself into death. I wonder what will happen next. I wonder which way you're heading. Let's pray. Gracious God, thanks that in your kindness, you recorded this story of what happened to Jonah and what happened to the sailors. Father, thank you that in the one active judgment, you can bring salvation and judgment. Father, thank you that you are drawing people to yourself. Thank you that you are holy and just that you have provided your son as a substitute for us to rescue us and not just Jewish people, but all nations. Thank you that you're calling all people to yourself.