Many times when we think of fish stories, we think of tall tales that men like to tell about their fishing exploits. They are usually quite humorous. Sometimes they are about the fish they caught that was this big, but in reality was only this big. Sometimes the fish grows with each telling. Many times it’s about the “big one” that got away. This morning we do have a fish story. I was thinking of titling the sermon “Jonah: A Whale of a Story” but that would not be accurate. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

When we usually think of a prophet, we think of a man of God, who tells of the impending danger to a group of people for not following God. Some good examples of this would be the Major Prophets, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Even the Minor Prophets warn God’s people of impending judgment. That is part of a prophet’s job. The other part is to speak the Word of God. Prophets received their messages directly from God. We are fortunate that they wrote their messages down. The entire second half of the Old Testament is what the prophets, major and minor, received from God to tell the people of Israel.

The book of Jonah opens up with a message from the Lord. He tells Jonah to “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” The Israelite prophets usually spoke the word of God on behalf of their own people. Here the prophet is to speak the word of God to “enemies.” Nineveh was the capital of Assyria which had been a dominant political-economic force in the ancient Near East. The Assyrians were hated by most of the surrounding nations because of their brutal and oppressive tactics. There was no love lost between the Israelites and the Assyrians. When this narrative comes into play there is an uneasy peace between the nations.

Instead of obeying God’s word and going to Nineveh, Jonah gets up and heads east to the seaport of Joppa. There’s no way that Jonah was going to go to Nineveh and proclaim God’s judgment to those wicked people. I’m sure Jonah was thinking, what if they repent and God changes His mind. Then this trip would all be a waste of time. I’m not going to Nineveh. When Jonah arrives in Joppa, he purchases passage to Tarshish. Tarshish was about as far in the opposite direction from Nineveh as you could go. Many believe Tarshish was in present day Spain. Ninevah was located along the Tigris River and situated in present day Iraq. Jonah purchases this ticket hoping to escape from God.

Before long the ship was on its way to Tarshish. The crew was multi-cultural, and each worshiped his own god. It wasn’t long before God brought on a huge storm. It was a sailor’s worst nightmare. They cried out to their gods to save them, but that didn’t work. The ship was on the verge of breaking apart from the waves and the storm. What could they do? Then the sailors started throwing cargo off the ship, lightening its load. Where was Jonah in all this? He was fast asleep in the cargo hold. The captain was assisting the sailors in getting cargo and found Jonah asleep. He asked Jonah, “How can you sleep at a time like this? Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”

The crew gets together with Jonah and casts lots, similar to us drawing straws. Jonah’s number comes up and everyone looks at him. “Why has this terrible storm come on us? Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?” The sailors were obviously upset at Jonah.

Jonah replies, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven and who made the sea and the land.” This caused the sailors great distress. Even though the worship many gods, in most cases the god of the sea and land was the most powerful. What made it even worse was that Jonah had told them he was running from God. They asked him why he did it and what could be done to stop it.

Jonah replies, “Throw me overboard and the sea will become silent again. I know this storm is my fault.”

Not wanting to throw a man overboard in a terrible storm the sailors tried rowing for shore. The original language tells us they literally were “digging” deeper. This was all to no avail. So, finally they pray to Jonah’s God

“Oh Lord, don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for you own good reasons.” And then the sailors threw Jonah overboard and the storm stopped at once!

This so impressed the sailors that they offered Jonah’s God a sacrifice and vowed to serve him. Meanwhile God arranges ride for Jonah in the form of a big fish. How would you like to be in the stomach of a big fish for three days and nights? I’m sure it wasn’t pretty. Jonah now has some time to think it over. After some time he prays.

“I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble. and he answered me.
I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me!
You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea.
The mighty waters engulfed me;
I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves.
Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’
I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped itself around my head.
I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever.
But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death!
As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord.
And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple.
Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies.
But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise,
And I will fulfill all my vows.
For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”

With that, God had the fish plop Jonah back on the dry ground. God speaks to Jonah a second time, “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.” Not wanting to repeat the fish encounter, Jonah obeys. Nineveh was so large, it took Jonah three days to deliver the message. This was his message, “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed.” Wow! And what’s even more amazing, the people listened. They put on burlap and ashes as a sign of repentance. The king heard of all this, he himself put on burlap and ashes and made this command to the people of Nineveh.

“…Everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”

The prophet’s words had worked. The people of Nineveh stopped their evil ways…and yes, God did change his mind…He had compassion on the people and did not punish the people of Nineveh the way he had threatened.

So, how did Jonah feel about all of this? He wasn’t too sure. Matter of fact, he was angry at God. He even complained to God about it. He said, “You know God, this is why I ran away to Tarshish in the first place. I told you God, before I ran away. I knew you were a compassionate and merciful God, slow to anger and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people.” Wow! God really struck a nerve with Jonah. Did Jonah even realize what he was saying? Jonah didn’t want to go in the first place, because he knew God was going to change his mind???? Jonah claims to know that God is compassionate and merciful and yet he forgets. He even forgot that God was merciful to him. Is this the same man who was saved from the depths of the sea? Yes, it is. Even here in the Old Testament we realize that God’s intent is to save all people. Jonah could really be considered the first missionary; taking the message of God’s love, compassion, and mercy to the nations. You would think that since Jonah knew that God was compassionate and merciful and that he himself had received that compassion and mercy, he would have expected the outcome.

How many times do we act like Jonah? We as Wesleyans believe that God does not desire that any man, woman, or child should die without Christ. We believe the scriptures when it says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Christ, will have eternal life.” We don’t believe that God picks and chooses who goes to heaven, but that salvation for humankind has been his plan all along.

Sometimes, we don’t act that way. Sometimes as Christians, we feel like God’s chosen people. We are chosen and “they” are not. We make judgments on people like Jonah did. Jonah didn’t think the people of Nineveh were worth saving. We have to be very careful here, because if we aren’t we ourselves can be guilty of spiritual elitism. We think of ourselves more highly than we ought.

Are we guilty of determining who should be saved and who shouldn’t like Jonah did? We are called to go to a world and present the Gospel of Jesus Christ – the Good News that Jesus came as a human – in the flesh – that he lived here on earth – that he died on a cross – that he was buried – and on the third day, he rose from the grave – that He ascended to heaven – and one day He is coming back for His church (the holy, apostolic, universal church.)

I don’t believe there is one person on this earth who is too far gone to experience the love of God. Jonah’s God was compassionate, merciful, slow to anger and filled with love. We serve the same God Jonah served. He is compassionate, merciful, slow to anger and filled with love. He does not desire any should perish.

Jonah’s response to God saving Nineveh, was to ask God to kill him if God did not execute his wrath on Nineveh. God asked, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”
It didn’t matter, Jonah had his mind made up. He went outside the city, to avoid the coming wrath…He went out and waited…and waited…and waited…in the hot…hot…hot…dry…desert…heat, with the sun shining on him. Yes, he had a little shelter – on the outside he was getting no relief – but inside Jonah was burning up with anger and getting no relief there either.
God arranged for a plant to grow up and comfort Jonah while he was on his wrath-watch. The next day, God killed it. Jonah asked God why he did it. God said, “You are more concerned about that plant that you didn’t even nurture, than my people.” (Remember, the Jews considered themselves God’s people.) I told you the Old Testament had many role reversals. Here God was reminding Israel that he was the God of all nations. God rebukes Jonah saying, “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?”

God cares about all of his creation. He is the Lord of all the nations. We are called to build His Kingdom. Christ commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations. Not just the people we desire to make disciples of, but of all nations. Come to think of it, here in Martinsville and Henry County, we have representatives from many cultures (or many nations.) Christ has commanded us to reach all of them not just those we think are deserving of discipleship. Think about this – there are people living in spiritual darkness – not knowing their left from their right – right here, right where we live – not only people from our culture but from others – If there ever was a time we could easily make disciples of all nations, it is now. Can you think of people you think cannot be saved (or discipled?) God desires us to make disciples of all people not just those we think are deserving. In today’s story, Jonah is a good bad example. We should not sulk when sinners come to Christ – we should rejoice as heaven rejoices. Are you ready to make a difference in our corner of the world?