By Pastor Steve Tompkins

What comes to mind for you when someone mentions the book of Jonah? My guess is that from the back of our minds some cartoonish kids-bible/Sunday school type of image of “Jonah and the Whale” comes floating to the surface. What also might come to mind is the memory of some professor we heard, or book we read mocking the Bible because it contains the supposedly ridiculous story of someone being swallowed by a whale and living to tell about it. Beyond that many of us may know little about this book, and wonder how it could possibly be relevant in the 21^st century. Well for the next four Sundays we are going to unpack the four short chapters of this book at all our campuses while Pastor Mark is out of town. In Shoreline I will preach the first two weeks, and Pastor Jamie Munson will preach the last two Sundays. I believe we will see that the message of this book is deeply relevant to all of our lives in multiple ways. Let me briefly outline the story and then comment on its meaning.

Jonah was a prophet living in Israel around 800 years before Christ. God called him to go and preach to the great city of Nineveh, but instead he ran from God. He got on a ship heading the opposite direction. God allowed him to run, but pursued him by sending a great storm. Jonah ended up in the drink, and then in the belly of a great fish (as the text says). From there, at his lowest point Jonah begins to repent, and God miraculously preserves his life causing the fish to vomit him out on dry land. Jonah then obeys and goes to Nineveh to preach, and the whole city responds in repentance and God shows them mercy. At this Jonah becomes very angry revealing that what he really wanted was God to judge Nineveh rather than forgive them! As the book closes Jonah is still exceedingly angry, and God is still merciful and compassionate.

This begins to reveal the heart of the story. It is not the story of “Jonah and the Whale” but rather the story of a gracious, merciful, compassionate God who pursues rebellious sinners even when they run from him. This certainly includes the Ninevites who were among the most wicked people of their day, but it especially includes Jonah the prophet of God of the chosen people of God. Jonah was rebellious. We are rebellious. Jonah had the Word of God. We have the Word of God. Jonah ran from God. We run from God. We are Jonah. We are all Jonah. Jonah’s only hope was a compassionate, sovereign God who would pursue Jonah with love and grace. Our only hope is that God will not give us up in our rebellion and hardness of heart, but that in Jesus he will pursue us with grace and compassion that our hearts would be transformed to love and live for Jesus. God, ultimately Jesus, is the only hero of the book of Jonah.

Therefore, the message of Jonah is very hopeful and indeed deeply relevant to each of our lives in the 21^st century. As we dig into this book we will see the glory of the character and heart of the King of the universe, and by his grace we will be moved to worship him with the whole of our lives, expressing his grace and compassion through the gospel to those around us who are lost and wandering in darkness.