As we do come to the word, let's take the word
and open it. And open it to Jonah chapter three.
We're simply picking up where we left off. Having
looked at Jonah two last time, and we noted in
Jonah two that Jonah finally did. the thing that
he should have been doing the whole time. He
finally, in the belly of the fish, he prays,
doesn't he? God speaks to the fish and the fish
spits him out onto dry land. And so we see that
God is not finished with the prophet Jonah. And
this is very important for us to understand because
Maybe you've felt like this before. Have you
ever, have you ever struggled with a sin that
just, it just seems to never go away. You continually
fall into temptation, right? And you begin to
wonder, maybe you have, does God still love me?
Does God, can he still use me? What will he do
with me? Surely he won't do anything with me.
I continue to sin daily and thoughtward indeed.
God doesn't love me anymore. God can't use me
anymore. Well, friends, Jonah, the prophet, is
here to show you something different than that.
Because God, our God, is the God of second chances
and third chances and fourth and fifth and on
up. And so God's not finished with Jonah and
Christian. God's not finished with you either.
Let's read the text Jonah 3 Then the word of
the Lord came to Jonah the second time saying
arise Go to Nineveh that great city and call
out against it the message that I tell you and
so Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according
to the word of the Lord now Nineveh was an exceedingly
great city, three days journey in breadth. Jonah
began to go into the city, going a day's journey.
And he called out, yet 40 days and Nineveh shall
be overthrown. And the people of Nineveh believed
God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth
from the greatest of them to the least of them.
The word reached the king of Nineveh. And he
arose from his throne. He removed his robe, covered
himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And
he issued a proclamation and published through
Nineveh. By the decree of the king and his nobles,
let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste
anything. Let them not feed or drink water. But
let man and beast be covered with sackcloth.
and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone
turn from his evil way and from the violence
that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn
and relent and turn from his fierce anger so
that we may not perish. When God saw what they
did, how they turned from their evil way, God
relented of the disaster that he had said he
would do to them. And he did not. The grass withers
and the flower fades, but God's word stands forever.
Let's pray. Oh, Father, we do thank you for this
word. It is such an encouraging word to us that
even as we see the faults of Jonah, we recognize
that you are still at work and this is how you
operate. You operate through people who do struggle
with sin. Lord today as we look at this we realize
how desperately we need your help We need your
help to understand this and we need your help
to apply it And so would you give us all of that
we pray for Christ's sake amen. I Said a week
or two ago That the most miraculous miracle in
the book of Jonah is not that a prophet survived
in the belly of a fish. That's not the greatest
miracle here. Chapter 3 shows us the greatest
miracle here. The changing of the hearts of all
of the people in a very large city and not just
the people here. Even the animals are mentioned
as well. Jonah goes to the city of Nineveh. And
he proclaims what the Lord has him to proclaim.
And I'm calling this the most efficient and the
most effective sermon ever, because again, we're
looking at the repentance of an entire city and
a city that was known for its cruelty, a city
known for its violence, a city known for worshiping
idols. But God is merciful and he turns them
from these things. Today I want to look at Jonah's
commission, Nineveh's repentance, and God's compassion.
Let's look at the commission first there. Go
to verse two. Arise, go to Nineveh. Perhaps at
this point you're having some deja vu going on.
You're like, I've read these words before. Well,
if you look in chapter one, you do see these
words. Chapter one, verse two. Arise, go to Nineveh,
that great city. And so we have heard this before.
And so what we recognize is that, yes, Jonah
was saved from drowning, but Jonah is not saved
from the mission that God has for him. And so
arise, go to Nineveh. Now, we don't exactly know
where the fish spat the prophet out. It could
have been somewhere near Joppa. It could have
been anywhere along the coast. But either way,
we recognize then that Jonah has a ways to go
to get to Nineveh, no doubt. He had a lot of
thinking to do on his journey there. And we've
already seen this in chapter one, how Jonah did
not want to go, right? And we also mentioned
how it's not very common in the Bible for these
Old Testament prophets to be sent to these wicked
nations. Most of the work of the prophets against
the nations is done from home. Think of it as
early remote work, right? Working from home.
That's what usually happens, but not so with
Jonah. He gets spat out of the fish and then
he receives the exact same mission. Don't go
to some other place. I'm still intending for
you to go. to Nineveh. And we've said that this
is a cruel place, so no judgment from us, right?
We're like, I don't want to go there either.
But also notice something with this commissioning
here. It is a little bit different from chapter
one. Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and
call out against it the message that I tell you.
That second part of the verse there is not present
in the first. So this tells us here that God's
going to give Jonah the exact words to say. In
effect, Jonah has everything he needs. He's got
the where, Nineveh. He's got the when, right
now. And he's got the what. He's got the message.
And so he goes there to proclaim the word of
God. verse 4. Yet 40 days in Nineveh shall be
overthrown. Now I don't know if the people of
Nineveh would have understand the 40 -day motif,
but Israelites would and Christians who know
their Bibles would. We see this motif of 40 days
several other places in Scripture. For instance,
you remember the Great Flood. You remember Noah
in the boat, right? Genesis six through nine.
And how long is that flood? It's going on for
40 days. You also may remember the Israelites
with the golden calf. After Moses learns about
this, he is with the Lord interceding for the
Israelites for 40 days. You can find that in
Deuteronomy. Chapter nine. And so both of those
events involve judgment. They both involve 40
days and they both involve great populations
of people and even animals. And so we see some
significance here in some relation to other scripture.
Also, look at this word, though, for overthrow
at the end of verse four. That word overthrow
is very significant. It's the same word that
is used in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
And so the message there was of judgment. And
here within the book of Jonah, for Nineveh, it's
destruction or it's repentance. What's it gonna
be? What do you want? To be destroyed or to repent?
And so we see what happens here. The people of
Nineveh do turn from their sin. and they turn
to the Lord. So let's look at point two, Nineveh's
confession. We see what happens in verse five.
And the people of Nineveh believed God. They
believed God and their actions show it, which
shows us something that is essential for preaching
and teaching the Bible. Preaching of the word
must connect with the heart. Preaching of the
Word must connect with the heart. That's what's
happening now in this sanctuary. That's what's
happening now in sanctuaries all across the world.
That as preachers preach, they're not just sharing
information. This is not just head knowledge.
This is not a TED Talk. This is not a lecture,
right? It's a sermon. And the Holy Spirit works
through the preaching of God's Word. You perhaps
remember Romans 10, 17. Faith comes by hearing
and hearing by the word of Christ. And so do
not just receive this message with your head.
It must resonate within your heart. It must be
received with faith. And if you were to examine
the sermons throughout scripture, you would see
this. you would see that there's not power in
the preacher. It's not about his greatness. If
it was, you'd need a new preacher. Instead, the
Holy Spirit works faith into the hearts of people.
The Holy Spirit is the one encouraging and convicting
and comforting and equipping. The Holy Spirit
works through the preaching of the word. Years
ago, I worked for a Christian camp and I've...
told many of you about this place that I love.
But one time working there, I was asked to preach
kind of a last minute chapel service, not to
campers, but to counselors, staff members. Again,
it was very last minute. I hadn't had any preaching
courses in seminary. I didn't know what I was
doing, but they needed somebody to step up and
perhaps foolishly I said, yes. And as I got into
the pulpit that day, and again, this is a very
small gathering in a chapel up in the mountains,
as I was behind that lectern and I started to
preach, and I couldn't even tell you what the
text was or anything about the sermon, but I
just knew this is the worst sermon anybody's
ever preached ever. All I wanted was for it to
be done. All I wanted was to get out of the chapel
and for nobody to say anything ever about this
sermon. As I concluded the sermon with prayer
and singing, I made a beeline for the door. Just
when I was about to step outside the door, a
staff member caught me and said, can we talk?
And she said, that really helped me. That really
helped me. I'm dealing with some stuff right
now I'm dealing with some serious sin issues
some serious family issues your sermon helped,
but but can we keep talking? Of course I said
sure You see the Holy Spirit works Even when
the preacher doesn't want to do the work, right?
What preachers really need to do and I would
say this applies to teachers whether you're teaching
adult Sunday school or maybe you're with the
kids What the preacher the teacher needs to do
is preach the word and then get out of the way
Preach the word and get out of the way and that's
what Jonah does. He preaches what the Lord says
We have only this just sentence to go on I don't
know if he added anything to this I kind of think
what's here in the text is all he preached all
he said So this is not a carefully crafted sermon.
There is no scintillating illustration here.
There's no joke There's no three points. There's
no alliteration. Jonah simply speaks what the
Lord would have him to speak. He is obedient
to the Lord because there's power in the word.
And friends, this is how the Bible teaches preachers
to preach. Perhaps you know this text from Second
Timothy four, verse two. It says, preach the
word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove,
rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and
teaching. We are to preach the word. You are
to teach the word. And you see the response of
the people of Nineveh when that happens. They
respond in repentance. In effect, the very thing
that Jonah didn't really want to happen does
happen because God works through the Word, even
when the preacher doesn't want to preach it,
because God's Word will not return void. It produces
the effect that God wants it to produce. And
so you see the response of the people here. There's
the calling for the fast. There's the putting
on of the sackcloth, right? And this happens
from everybody, from the greatest to the least,
even all the way up to the very king. And you
see that the king is brought to humility, right?
He exchanges his throne for a seat in ashes.
He exchanges his robe for sackcloth. And then
he makes this proclamation, nobody, no man, no
beast, you are not to taste anything. Some of
you have animals. Some of you work on a bit of
a farm. How difficult must it be to keep the
animals from tasting anything? Think about how
this would disrupt the entire economy for animals
to not be allowed to eat or to drink. They are
taking this so seriously. And you might even
say, well, why? The animals... They're not the
ones who sinned here. They're not responsible
for the immorality. Well, they may not be responsible,
but the animals surely are affected by it. And
yet, as we have said before in the book of Jonah,
we see all of creation responding positively
to the Lord, right? We have mentioned that. With
the fish, we've mentioned that as God brings
up this great windstorm. We're gonna see that
in chapter four with this plant and this worm.
Everything complies with what the Lord wants.
And now Jonah finally is two. And so you see
what happens in verse eight. They are responding
to this proclamation and the king is saying,
Let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and
let them call out mightily to God. Once again,
we see the importance of prayer within the book
of Jonah. But I also think it's interesting within
Jonah's words, the words that the Lord gives
him to say, he doesn't have to say what is wrong
with the people of Nineveh. He doesn't say what
their sin is. How come he doesn't have to? They
know it they know what their problem is and so
rather than the prophet saying what their problem
is the king does that let everyone turn from
his evil way it says and from the violence that
is in his hand and so they are to leave that
sin that violence that cruelty in the past and
They are to turn to God and that's what they
do Friends, we know, because we've discussed
it, what their problem was, what their sins were.
What about us? What are the sins that you are
battling today? What's going on in your hearts?
Is it envy? Is it deceit? Is it lust? Is it gossip?
Is it disobeying parents? Is that idolatry? What
is it, friends? I don't know, but I can tell
you the solution to these things. If you would,
go to James chapter 4. Turn to James chapter
4. James is in the New Testament. It's right
after Hebrews. This is going to tell us whatever
sin you are battling against, this tells you
what to do about it. James chapter four, verses
eight through 10. And I would encourage you to
take time on this Lord's Day to further consider
these words. It says, draw near to God, and he
will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you
sinners, and purify your hearts, you double -minded.
Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter
be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom Humble
yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt
you And so even as maybe most of that doesn't
sound so positive doesn't sound so fun. We see
the hope of that passage Draw near to God and
he'll draw near to you And so you see, this is
what Nineveh is doing. Even the king here, he
doesn't seem to have assurance that God will
relent, but he knows that they in this city,
they must do everything to turn from sin. And
this tells us that sometimes, even when we do
repent, which we must do, we still sometimes
have to face the music, don't we? There can still
be consequences for sin even after we turn from
it But there is hope here Because you can be
sure That when you draw near to God in faith
in Christ When you truly repent of your sin,
you can know that God really does forgive you
because he sent his one and only begotten son
for this This is why Jesus came. And so today,
if you're listening, maybe you're online, maybe
you're here. If you don't know Jesus, if you
have not turned in faith to Jesus, be a Ninevite.
Be a Ninevite and not one of the cruel ones,
not a violent one, but a repentant one. Whether
you're among the least or you're among the greatest,
whether you're a man or a beast today, know that
Jesus came to forgive sin. And be assured of
it. Look in verse 10. Look in verse 10 for God's
compassion here. When God saw what they did,
how they turned from their evil way, God relented
of the disaster that he had said he would do
to them. And he did not do it. Repent and relent.
This is clearly the work of God's mercy. These
people were cruel. They were idolaters. And Jonah
was a complete stranger, right? Why should they
listen to Jonah? This should not be the recipe
for repentance. Cruel, violent people, stranger
walks in, says repent, and they do it. That doesn't
make any sense by the world's standards, does
it? But God works by his word, and he is compassionate
to forgive those who repent. And God is trustworthy
here, because as he said, he would relent. That's
exactly what he does. When they turned from sin,
he did not destroy them. I was thinking a lot
about this this week, and I want to put a question
into your head. How would the story of Jonah
be different if you didn't have the first two
chapters? How would the story of Jonah be different
without the first two chapters? Suppose Jonah
had immediate obedience. that as soon as the
Lord told him, arise and go to Nineveh, he was
like, yep, okay, here I go. What if we didn't
have those first two chapters? Why do we even
need those first two chapters? Friends, we need
these chapters because we learn so much about
the compassion of God. We learn so much about
the compassion of God for Nineveh and for those
pagan sailors on the boat. And even for Jonah
himself, God has so much Patience with Jonah,
doesn't he? He does. He does. And so today, if
perhaps you're thinking, well, I did that sin
again. And I really blew it. And this surely
has to be the last time. God's done with me.
He doesn't love me. He doesn't want me. He doesn't
work through me. Today, know this. God doesn't
cast off his people. when they sin. God's not
finished with Jonah, and God's not finished with
you yet either. And the entirety of scripture
shows this, right? That God works through messed
up people to bring glory to himself. Look at
the lineage of Jesus, right? The lineage of Jesus
is a who's who of seriously faulty people. Or
look at Hebrews chapter 11, the hall of faith.
Or for those of you who have been studying the
book of Judges, right? God works through those
judges. God works through David, and his sins
are very transparent, aren't they? God works
through Paul, who called himself the chief of
sinners, and so, yes, God can still work through
you. He is not done with you. He is not. What
we know from Scripture, the phrase that's said
throughout Scripture is that God is merciful
and gracious, slow to anger and abounding and
steadfast love. The book of Jonah proves that
to be true. And so what do we gain by including
the faults of the prophet, his disobedience,
his prayerlessness, and his near -death experience?
We gain everything by that. For we are encouraged
to know that Jesus loses none of those the Father
has given to him and that God can do mighty and
wonderful things through his people. And that's
what he does. And all of this shows us what God
was really doing in the book of Jonah. He was
readying the world for his full display of his
mercy in Christ. In Christ, the whole world is
not destroyed due to sin. In Christ, you do not
perish but have everlasting life. In Christ,
there is a disaster transfer where the disaster
that should have fallen upon you and upon me
instead falls upon Christ as Christ is our substitute
and our perfect substitute at that. God is at
work, friends. He is. And as I begin to conclude,
I want to point out one more thing to you. I
mentioned the 40, 40 day example. that we see
throughout scripture. There's another one. You
remember that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness
for 40 days, and yet he never sinned. Jesus is
victorious over sin. He's victorious over the
grave. And in doing so, he has secured salvation
for all, for all who trust in him. And so today,
keep trusting in Jesus. Keep looking to him in
faith. and repent and walk in new obedience.
Let's pray.