5. When God Loves Your Enemy - Amazing Jonah - Tim Mackie (The Bible Project)

00:50:04
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IUwsfZdT3E

Résumé

TLDRThe video delves into Jonah's resentment towards God's mercy shown to Nineveh, illustrating deeper themes of grace, hypocrisy, and the struggle with forgiveness. Initially, Jonah runs from God's command, fearing the Ninevites would receive mercy. His anger escalates when they repent, revealing his self-centeredness. A plant that provides him shade symbolizes temporary comfort, highlighting his selfish nature. God uses the plant's fate to teach Jonah about compassion, challenging him to consider the value of human lives over petty grievances. The discussion extends to contemporary issues of loving one's enemies and recognizing our shared humanity.

A retenir

  • 😡 Jonah's anger reveals human hypocrisy.
  • 🌱 The plant symbolizes Jonah's self-centeredness.
  • 🙏 God's mercy extends to all, even enemies.
  • ⚖️ The balance of grace vs. judgment in faith.
  • 🤔 Reflect on personal biases towards those we dislike.
  • ❤️ True compassion challenges our prejudices.
  • 📖 Jonah's story teaches about divine character.
  • 💔 God's grace can be scandalous and hard to accept.
  • 💬 Enemies can help us identify our flaws.
  • 🛤️ The road to forgiveness often begins with self-reflection.

Chronologie

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    Jonah becomes angry after God shows mercy to Nineveh, as he knows God is gracious and compassionate, and he feels it is unjust that they are spared.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Despite Jonah's fury, God questions him about his anger, highlighting Jonah's lack of understanding of mercy and compassion he is so quick to demand for himself but rejects for others.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    Jonah builds a shelter outside Nineveh and waits to see if God will destroy the city; God provides a leafy plant for shade, momentarily making Jonah happy.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    The next day, God sends a worm to destroy the plant, leaving Jonah feeling faint and angry again, prompting another question from God about the legitimacy of his anger regarding the plant.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    God uses the plant as a lesson to Jonah, contrasting his concern for a mere plant with God's profound concern for the people of Nineveh, highlighting the absurdity of Jonah's self-centeredness.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:30:00

    Gordon Wilson's story of forgiveness serves as an example of the challenge of extending grace to those we see as enemies, paralleling Jonah's refusal to accept Nineveh's repentance.

  • 00:30:00 - 00:35:00

    Jonah's story illustrates the hypocrisy within religious beliefs and the human tendency to feel superior over others, forgetting our shared fallibility and breaking of divine laws.

  • 00:35:00 - 00:40:00

    Ultimately, God shows that He cares for everyone - even the lost and misguided - using Jonah's self-interest to challenge him into recognizing the broader scope of divine compassion.

  • 00:40:00 - 00:45:00

    The message encapsulates that true spirituality involves loving our enemies and recognizing our shared humanity rather than retreating into self-righteous anger and despair.

  • 00:45:00 - 00:50:04

    The overarching theme challenges individuals to confront their prejudices against those they despise, indicating that through confronting our own issues, we grow as people and learn to extend grace.

Afficher plus

Carte mentale

Vidéo Q&R

  • What is Jonah's reaction to God's mercy towards Nineveh?

    He becomes angry and feels it's wrong that God forgives the city.

  • Why does Jonah flee to Tarshish?

    He tries to avoid prophesying against Nineveh, knowing God is merciful.

  • What does the plant symbolize in the story?

    It represents Jonah's selfishness and temporary comfort.

  • How does God respond to Jonah's anger?

    He questions Jonah's right to be angry, highlighting Jonah's hypocrisy.

  • What is the main lesson of Jonah 4?

    It teaches about the scandal of God's grace and the importance of compassion.

  • Who is central to the story of Jonah?

    The story reveals God's character, focusing on His grace and compassion towards everyone.

  • How does the story relate to contemporary issues of forgiveness?

    It challenges viewers to reflect on their own prejudices and the broader implications of loving one's enemies.

  • What does the speaker suggest about our 'enemies'?

    He proposes that our enemies may serve as tools for personal growth and self-reflection.

  • What is meant by the phrase 'the dark side of God's mercy'?

    It refers to the challenge in accepting that God's grace applies to those we may consider undeserving.

  • What does the concept of 'the gift of the enemy' signify?

    It indicates that enemies can reveal our flaws and offer opportunities for growth.

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  • 00:00:03
    but to Jonah this seemed very wrong and
  • 00:00:06
    he became angry he prayed to the Lord
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    isn't this what I said Lord when I was
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    still at home this is what I tried to
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    foretell forestall by fleeing to
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    Tarshish I knew that you are a gracious
  • 00:00:19
    and compassionate God slow to anger and
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    abounding and love a God who relents
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    from sending calamity now Lord take away
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    my life for it is better for me to die
  • 00:00:31
    than to live but the Lord replied is it
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    right for you to be angry Jonah had gone
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    out and sat down at a place east of the
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    city there he made himself a shelter sat
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    in its shade and waited to see what what
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    would happen to the city then the Lord
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    God provided a leafy plan and made it
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    grow up over Jonah to give shade for his
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    head and to ease his discomfort and
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    Jonah was very happy about the plant but
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    at John the next day God provided a worm
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    which chewed the plant so that it
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    withered when the Sun rose God provided
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    a scorching east wind and the Sun blazed
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    on Jonah's head so that he grew faint he
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    wanted to die and he said it would be
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    better for me to die than to live but
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    God said to Jonah is it right for you to
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    be angry about this about the plant it
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    is he said I'm so angry I wish I were
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    dead but the Lord said you have been
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    concerned about this plant though you
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    did not tend it or make it grow it
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    sprang up overnight and died overnight
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    and should I not have concern for the
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    great city of Nineveh in which there are
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    more than a hundred and twenty thousand
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    people who cannot tell their right hand
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    from their left and also have many
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    animals all right what's up you guys
  • 00:01:58
    you done these front rows look so
  • 00:02:02
    comfortable look at you you have arm
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    rest some of you what this is great
  • 00:02:07
    anyway we usually avoid the front row
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    because I sometimes bit
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    I was bit anyway so I'm sorry I first
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    bit on you guys but at least you're
  • 00:02:15
    comfortable while I do it so anyway good
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    to have you guys here and here we go so
  • 00:02:20
    our final week in the Book of Jonah yeah
  • 00:02:22
    that's that's rock and roll that's what
  • 00:02:24
    that is
  • 00:02:25
    so we we've been heading out to what I
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    called the VeggieTales factor rights
  • 00:02:32
    this this this mediation of the Bible
  • 00:02:36
    stories to us through children's media
  • 00:02:38
    as it tends to kind of make them all
  • 00:02:41
    bland and about being a nice person
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    something like that and so what we've
  • 00:02:45
    been discovering which I know at least
  • 00:02:47
    myself have been rediscovering kind of
  • 00:02:49
    studying and working through the book
  • 00:02:50
    again is this is not a children's story
  • 00:02:52
    by any means of course children could
  • 00:02:54
    grasp the basic outline of the story but
  • 00:02:57
    the themes of the story are so profound
  • 00:03:01
    you very much have to be an adult to get
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    them dealing with themes about religious
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    hypocrisy and exposing spiritual apathy
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    and the devastating effects it has on us
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    and other people and about the the ways
  • 00:03:15
    that God can use pain and suffering in
  • 00:03:18
    our lives as a severe mercy to wake us
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    up themes of judgment divine judgment
  • 00:03:25
    and divine repentance he explained that
  • 00:03:27
    to your three-year-old you know I mean
  • 00:03:28
    so there's very much these are themes
  • 00:03:30
    that are meant for adults and that's
  • 00:03:32
    because this this story as all of the
  • 00:03:35
    scriptures it's aimed at revealing God's
  • 00:03:37
    character to his people that's the
  • 00:03:39
    purpose of Scripture not to entertain
  • 00:03:40
    kids but to reveal who God is his
  • 00:03:44
    character and his purposes and what he's
  • 00:03:45
    up to
  • 00:03:46
    in the world and so today I will Joan at
  • 00:03:48
    chapter 4 we we conclude the story with
  • 00:03:51
    this ridiculous apparently sunburned man
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    sitting at the east of Nineveh who wants
  • 00:04:00
    to die he would rather die than live
  • 00:04:02
    with a god like Yahweh and how does this
  • 00:04:06
    speak God's Word to us tonight let's uh
  • 00:04:09
    let's let's dive in so remember the big
  • 00:04:11
    the big storyline you have his prophet
  • 00:04:13
    religious man of God who run who hates
  • 00:04:15
    his God and runs from his God in the
  • 00:04:17
    opposite direction it leads him to hit
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    bottom it brings ruin on himself and all
  • 00:04:21
    these other people his spiritual apathy
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    but gods
  • 00:04:25
    makes this brush with death that all
  • 00:04:28
    this seemed like it was the worst thing
  • 00:04:30
    that ever happened to him but actually
  • 00:04:31
    becomes a severe mercy that's the best
  • 00:04:33
    thing that's ever happened to him and it
  • 00:04:34
    wakes him up at least for a moment and
  • 00:04:37
    he physically then obeys and goes on
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    this commission to confront the
  • 00:04:42
    wickedness of city of Nineveh and last
  • 00:04:45
    week we talked about all of that and xog
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    cool archaeological pictures you know
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    depicting how horrible the the Assyrians
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    in the Ninevites were and so he preached
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    this five word sermon in Hebrew yeah so
  • 00:04:57
    it's eight words in English five words
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    sermon in Hebrew and the whole city
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    turned repents and turns to God and and
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    you would think if you're a prop from
  • 00:05:05
    Israel this is a great line on your
  • 00:05:08
    resume like notorious is like Sin City
  • 00:05:11
    you know and and you can you know you're
  • 00:05:15
    a days preaching in and five words in
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    and the whole city you know has this
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    radical transformation and you would
  • 00:05:20
    think most any of the other prophets of
  • 00:05:22
    Israel would be like work yeah that's
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    right
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    dope and well how does Jonas feel about
  • 00:05:27
    this how does Jonah look at the last
  • 00:05:29
    sentence of chapter three it's verse ten
  • 00:05:32
    God saw the the repentance and the soft
  • 00:05:36
    hearts of the Ninevites and so chapter
  • 00:05:38
    three verse ten God saw what they did
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    how they turned from their evil ways and
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    he he relented he forgives them and he
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    didn't bring on them the destruction
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    that he'd threatened any other prophet
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    of Israel would be like mission
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    accomplished
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    God's shows grace his reputation is
  • 00:05:57
    honored and so and what does Jonah's
  • 00:05:59
    response to all of this he is ticked he
  • 00:06:03
    is he's livid with anger look at his
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    response but to Jonah this all seemed
  • 00:06:08
    very wrong no what no no no this is not
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    what's supposed to happen this is so
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    very wrong he became angry and he prayed
  • 00:06:19
    to the Lord and when you see Lord there
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    in all capital letters its Yahweh in
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    Hebrew he prayed to Yahweh and he
  • 00:06:26
    proceeds to to to to God out big time
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    now this might be a new category of
  • 00:06:31
    Prayer for some of us apparently you can
  • 00:06:33
    pray and just let God have it and but we
  • 00:06:36
    did series in the Psalms over the summer
  • 00:06:37
    and you saw lots of people letting
  • 00:06:39
    Sabbath and vending and it was a form of
  • 00:06:41
    Prayer so look at what he says he you
  • 00:06:44
    can just imagine he has clenched teeth
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    you know he's hot with anger he prayed
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    to Yahweh isn't this what I said
  • 00:06:50
    Yahweh when I was still back at home
  • 00:06:53
    this is why I was so quick to flee to
  • 00:06:58
    Tarshish
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    so you remember Israel as vital
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    Mediterranean Sea what direction is
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    Nineveh East
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    so on my backwards map it's over here do
  • 00:07:08
    I have that right for you guys yes okay
  • 00:07:09
    swap it up here so is this and what
  • 00:07:13
    weighs tarnish the Far West as you could
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    humanly go right it's the edge of the
  • 00:07:18
    known world it's heard for ancient
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    people and the far coast of Spain way
  • 00:07:21
    across the Mediterranean now why did he
  • 00:07:24
    flee did he flee because he's scared
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    that the Ninevites might kill him though
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    he's scared because he hates minifides
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    excuse me how scared he runs because he
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    hates he hates identified he knew that
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    this is what was good so he says he says
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    I knew that you're gracious and
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    compassionate God
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    I knew that you're slow to anger I knew
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    you're abounding in love
  • 00:07:45
    I knew that you're a God who relents
  • 00:07:47
    from sending calamity
  • 00:07:49
    now Yahweh take away my life it'd be
  • 00:07:52
    better for me to die than live her so
  • 00:07:56
    you can just see the the heat of his
  • 00:08:00
    other's anger I mean this seems
  • 00:08:02
    ridiculous to us and the levels of irony
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    go away way deeper look at verse 2 do
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    you see these descriptions here the
  • 00:08:10
    words it uses to describe God so he says
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    your gracious compassionate slow to
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    anger abounding and love you see sound
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    familiar to anybody you kind of heard
  • 00:08:20
    these subscriptions before maybe
  • 00:08:21
    swimming goggles
  • 00:08:22
    sound the Bible wish something good
  • 00:08:24
    Bible II so yes that's true
  • 00:08:26
    that's true so this is this phrase right
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    here gracious compassionate God slow
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    dang or bounding laws it's kind of like
  • 00:08:32
    the the John 3:16 which is the famous
  • 00:08:34
    verse in the New Testament it's kind of
  • 00:08:35
    like that equivalent in the Old
  • 00:08:37
    Testament this is one of the most
  • 00:08:38
    repeated descriptions of God over a
  • 00:08:41
    Defen times throughout the Old Testament
  • 00:08:42
    and what Jonah is actually doing here
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    this is so great you kind of have to be
  • 00:08:47
    a Bible geek to know it but he's quoting
  • 00:08:48
    from a book in in the Torah of the first
  • 00:08:52
    five books of the Bible he's quoting
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    from the book of Exodus and actually
  • 00:08:55
    he's quoting from a quotation of what
  • 00:08:58
    God says about himself and after Exodus
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    34 verse 6 and it's a story about how
  • 00:09:03
    the Israelites we're sitting at the foot
  • 00:09:04
    of Mount Sinai and God revealed the Ten
  • 00:09:07
    Commandments to them and the first Ten
  • 00:09:09
    Commandments was don't have any gods
  • 00:09:11
    before me the second one was don't make
  • 00:09:12
    any idols all right so so God is not an
  • 00:09:17
    object among the creation that you can
  • 00:09:19
    depict him with the piece of wood or
  • 00:09:20
    stone something like that and so they
  • 00:09:23
    weren't to make any idols to depict him
  • 00:09:24
    unless they kind of fixate their
  • 00:09:26
    attention on the wrong thing and and so
  • 00:09:28
    and what's the first thing they do have
  • 00:09:29
    for days go by and the cloud is still
  • 00:09:31
    over the mountain where the Israelites
  • 00:09:33
    doing where Moses gone well let's make a
  • 00:09:36
    golden cache yeah that's a good idea
  • 00:09:38
    yeah to represent Yahweh and so they do
  • 00:09:40
    and then they have this this sexual
  • 00:09:43
    fertility ritual too so it's ridiculous
  • 00:09:45
    it's crazy what they're doing right here
  • 00:09:46
    at the foot of the mountain and so God
  • 00:09:49
    is going to bring judgment and dump his
  • 00:09:51
    people that he rescued out of Egypt
  • 00:09:52
    Moses intercedes and what does God do he
  • 00:09:56
    forgives them and renews the covenant
  • 00:09:58
    with them and then in Moses says holy
  • 00:10:00
    cow like why are you doing this who are
  • 00:10:02
    you Yahweh and Yahweh says well I'm
  • 00:10:04
    Yahweh
  • 00:10:05
    I'm gracious compassionate slow to anger
  • 00:10:08
    abounding and loving-kindness in other
  • 00:10:10
    words Israel exists as the people of God
  • 00:10:14
    because God is this way and here what
  • 00:10:17
    Jonah does is he takes these very words
  • 00:10:19
    of God and thrills them back in his face
  • 00:10:21
    and is like I knew you were like this
  • 00:10:23
    you've always been like this you've been
  • 00:10:24
    like this since day one and what's funny
  • 00:10:27
    is he wouldn't exist as an Israelite if
  • 00:10:28
    God were not like this but he's so
  • 00:10:31
    irrational and hot with anger at this
  • 00:10:33
    point he's just throwing these words
  • 00:10:34
    back you I knew you're going to do this
  • 00:10:36
    you love to forgive people who don't
  • 00:10:37
    deserve it
  • 00:10:38
    you love to do this kind of thing I knew
  • 00:10:40
    this was can happen that's why I ran you
  • 00:10:41
    made me come here in the first place
  • 00:10:43
    yeah and so he's so he's so angry now we
  • 00:10:46
    might read this and be like whoa this is
  • 00:10:49
    so crazy like this he's he's criticizing
  • 00:10:52
    God he's like sending hate mail to God
  • 00:10:54
    because God is too gracious for being
  • 00:10:58
    too nice and forgiving people who don't
  • 00:11:00
    who don't deserve it and
  • 00:11:03
    he's clearly Jonah chapter four he loses
  • 00:11:05
    it he's the comical kind of ridiculous
  • 00:11:07
    figure and I'm guessing there very few
  • 00:11:09
    of us in the room who are like
  • 00:11:10
    sympathizing with Jonah right now going
  • 00:11:12
    like yeah that's right you know we're
  • 00:11:13
    like no we're laughing at him going dude
  • 00:11:15
    you wouldn't exist if it wasn't for
  • 00:11:17
    these great traits that you're
  • 00:11:18
    criticizing God for yeah but but he's
  • 00:11:21
    like this laughable figure and it does
  • 00:11:23
    seem ridiculous to us but what Jonah
  • 00:11:27
    four is all about is it's exposing what
  • 00:11:30
    I call the it's like the dark side of
  • 00:11:32
    God's mercy and grace it's it's the
  • 00:11:35
    scandal of the liberality of God's grace
  • 00:11:38
    the wideness in His mercy because of
  • 00:11:41
    course I'm quite happy if I come to
  • 00:11:44
    realize you know the of what a
  • 00:11:46
    screwed-up person I am and I turn to
  • 00:11:49
    Jesus and and he shows me his grace
  • 00:11:51
    sweet that's great but then there's this
  • 00:11:55
    other complex thing that happens is the
  • 00:11:56
    Christian when you realize yeah Jesus is
  • 00:11:58
    like that to me and he also was like
  • 00:12:00
    that to the person that I despise and
  • 00:12:02
    hate and then I'm kind of whoa that's
  • 00:12:05
    what they don't deserve do you know what
  • 00:12:06
    they did to me you thought you and so
  • 00:12:09
    here we go here we go the motivation for
  • 00:12:12
    for Jonah criticizing God's grace it's
  • 00:12:15
    actually it's actually pretty
  • 00:12:17
    understandable to us and if we were in
  • 00:12:21
    the same situation we would probably say
  • 00:12:23
    the same thing for example let me let me
  • 00:12:28
    show you a picture of a man named Gordon
  • 00:12:31
    Gordon Wilson
  • 00:12:33
    Gordon Wilson is the Irishman he's
  • 00:12:37
    passed away now but he lives in the town
  • 00:12:40
    of Enniskillen Northern Ireland and in
  • 00:12:45
    1987 in think late 80s Northern Ireland
  • 00:12:49
    with what's going on at that time most
  • 00:12:52
    of you or some of you most of you should
  • 00:12:53
    know by maybe only some of you do so
  • 00:12:56
    this was at the height of the conflict
  • 00:12:58
    between the British who was still
  • 00:13:00
    basically a colonial power over the
  • 00:13:03
    Irish and then you have the Irish who
  • 00:13:06
    were resistant against British rule and
  • 00:13:08
    so on as a common story in the 20th
  • 00:13:11
    century in many countries around the
  • 00:13:12
    world and so do you remember the name of
  • 00:13:14
    the essentially the resistance
  • 00:13:16
    against the British alright the IRA the
  • 00:13:19
    Irish Republican Army and so Gordon
  • 00:13:23
    Wilson he was Irish Irishman who's a
  • 00:13:26
    follower of Jesus and he did not endorse
  • 00:13:29
    the IRA and he was not behind them the
  • 00:13:34
    town of Enniskillen had a little town
  • 00:13:35
    square and he he worked in the kind of
  • 00:13:39
    the downtown era he ran the drapery
  • 00:13:40
    business families like drape and window
  • 00:13:42
    dressing business and Britain has a
  • 00:13:46
    equivalent our Memorial Day called
  • 00:13:48
    Remembrance Day it's in November and
  • 00:13:50
    it's the way of honoring the British
  • 00:13:52
    soldiers who died in the two world wars
  • 00:13:54
    and so Gordon Wilson went with his
  • 00:13:56
    family to the town square of NS Kelvin
  • 00:13:59
    and unbeknownst to him and all the
  • 00:14:01
    people there IRA had sent people to
  • 00:14:04
    plant bombs in different buildings
  • 00:14:06
    around the the public kind of the town
  • 00:14:09
    square
  • 00:14:10
    and during the Remembrance Day ceremony
  • 00:14:12
    those bombs went off and you'll see some
  • 00:14:15
    of the pictures here a number of the
  • 00:14:18
    buildings around the town square kind of
  • 00:14:19
    collapsed and walls caved in on the
  • 00:14:21
    groups of people that were there and
  • 00:14:23
    among them were Gordon Wilson and his
  • 00:14:27
    family and he and his daughter were
  • 00:14:29
    caught underneath a wall that collapsed
  • 00:14:32
    and were there for many many hours and
  • 00:14:35
    after a number of hours they were both
  • 00:14:37
    kind of they were they were like trapped
  • 00:14:41
    next to each others both pretty injured
  • 00:14:43
    and they were able to talk during that
  • 00:14:46
    time they were rescued they were pulled
  • 00:14:48
    out and Gordon's daughters did not
  • 00:14:51
    survive through the night but Gordon did
  • 00:14:54
    and about two days later after he was
  • 00:14:58
    kind of aware and could talk the BBC
  • 00:15:01
    came and did an interview with different
  • 00:15:03
    of the survivors and the interview with
  • 00:15:05
    Gordon Wilson if you google this you can
  • 00:15:07
    go like find it still online you can
  • 00:15:10
    listen to it um
  • 00:15:11
    the interview with Gordon Wilson it just
  • 00:15:14
    it all hit the news and just went went
  • 00:15:17
    viral he says viral as it could be
  • 00:15:18
    before YouTube in the 80s right and it
  • 00:15:22
    caught the attention of the whole world
  • 00:15:23
    because of what he said and William
  • 00:15:26
    curry who recounts this story he
  • 00:15:29
    after zit this way he said no one who
  • 00:15:31
    heard Gordon Wilson will ever forget
  • 00:15:33
    what he said in that interview his grace
  • 00:15:37
    towered over the miserable justification
  • 00:15:41
    of the Bombers speaking from his
  • 00:15:43
    hospital bed Wilson described his last
  • 00:15:45
    conversation with his daughter quote she
  • 00:15:49
    held my hand tightly and she gripped me
  • 00:15:52
    as hard as she could she said daddy I
  • 00:15:55
    love you very much those were her last
  • 00:15:59
    exact words to me and those were the
  • 00:16:01
    last words I ever heard her say William
  • 00:16:06
    Murray comments he says to the
  • 00:16:08
    astonishment of listeners Wilson went on
  • 00:16:10
    to add quote but I will bear no ill will
  • 00:16:14
    I will bear no grudge bitter talk is not
  • 00:16:19
    going to bring her back to life I will
  • 00:16:22
    pray to night and every night for the
  • 00:16:25
    men who did this that God will forgive
  • 00:16:27
    them no words in more than 25 years of
  • 00:16:32
    violent in Northern Ireland had such a
  • 00:16:35
    powerful emotional impact and the story
  • 00:16:39
    gets even more amazing a year after to
  • 00:16:42
    commemorate the Enniskillen bombing
  • 00:16:44
    Gordon Wilson held a of a public event
  • 00:16:49
    where he invited publicly
  • 00:16:51
    representatives of the IRA to come meet
  • 00:16:53
    with him and he invited news crews to
  • 00:16:56
    all show up there and in it because of
  • 00:16:59
    his faith in Jesus Christ he announced
  • 00:17:01
    the heave forgave his daughter's
  • 00:17:04
    murderers and he begged the IRA to stop
  • 00:17:06
    the violence and these tactics to
  • 00:17:09
    forward their agenda and this hold is
  • 00:17:12
    doing this whole year just catapulted
  • 00:17:14
    him he became a senator when the Irish
  • 00:17:16
    gained independence and made the Irish
  • 00:17:17
    Republic he he became a senator and so
  • 00:17:19
    on and this towering figure it's still
  • 00:17:22
    today in Irish culture because of his
  • 00:17:24
    commitment to Jesus to forgive his
  • 00:17:26
    enemies now this is where the story gets
  • 00:17:29
    very interesting one of other later
  • 00:17:31
    presidents of the Irish Republic Mary
  • 00:17:33
    McAleese talks about the legacy that he
  • 00:17:36
    left and she puts it this way is so
  • 00:17:38
    interesting she says Gordon words they
  • 00:17:41
    shamed us all
  • 00:17:43
    and caught us off guard they sounded so
  • 00:17:45
    different from what we expected and what
  • 00:17:48
    we had all become used to
  • 00:17:50
    they brought a stillness with them and
  • 00:17:53
    they carried a sense of the transcendent
  • 00:17:55
    into a place or to become so ugly we
  • 00:17:58
    could hardly bear to watch
  • 00:18:00
    but Gordon had his detractors and
  • 00:18:02
    unbelievably he even received bags of
  • 00:18:05
    hate mail how dare you forgive people
  • 00:18:09
    demanded what kind of father are you who
  • 00:18:12
    can forgive your daughter's killers It
  • 00:18:15
    was as if Gordon had spoken those words
  • 00:18:17
    of forgiveness for the first time in
  • 00:18:19
    human history as if Christ had never
  • 00:18:21
    uttered the words Father forgive them
  • 00:18:23
    they don't know what they're doing
  • 00:18:25
    one outspoken critic who was a Christian
  • 00:18:29
    said to me about Gordon Wilson surely
  • 00:18:32
    the poor man must have been in shock as
  • 00:18:34
    if offering love and forgiveness is a
  • 00:18:38
    sign of mental weakness
  • 00:18:40
    instead of spiritual strength so you see
  • 00:18:44
    this here so we you know people name
  • 00:18:47
    their daughters Grace and we think songs
  • 00:18:49
    about grace or whatever and we think
  • 00:18:50
    it's this beautiful thing but there
  • 00:18:51
    actually is this real scandalous side to
  • 00:18:54
    it when grace the wideness of God's
  • 00:18:57
    mercy begins to include people that we
  • 00:18:59
    hate begin to include people that we
  • 00:19:01
    despise or that have wronged us or that
  • 00:19:03
    we think don't deserve it and then we're
  • 00:19:05
    it's really really disturbing
  • 00:19:08
    this whole grace thing this is what
  • 00:19:10
    Jonah 4 is about it's not so crazy that
  • 00:19:13
    Jonah he's depicted as ridiculous yes
  • 00:19:16
    but the motivations that are behind
  • 00:19:19
    Jonah's critique of God's grace are the
  • 00:19:21
    same that motivated Gordon's detractors
  • 00:19:24
    and what would you how would you respond
  • 00:19:25
    in a similar situation it's very
  • 00:19:28
    understandable and so what God is going
  • 00:19:31
    to do through the rest of you out of 4
  • 00:19:33
    is he's going to he's going to try three
  • 00:19:36
    times to bring Jonah LaVon to help him
  • 00:19:40
    understand his grace in a new way so
  • 00:19:43
    let's let's dive in verse 4 this is a
  • 00:19:47
    plea God's first God's first try with
  • 00:19:50
    Jonah will go first for the Yahweh
  • 00:19:52
    replied you need a straight up ask the
  • 00:19:55
    question let's talk about this Joan
  • 00:19:56
    sounds like a therapist so is it right
  • 00:19:59
    for you to be angry Jonah I mean you're
  • 00:20:02
    angry at me showing grace to the
  • 00:20:04
    Ninevites
  • 00:20:04
    I mean it's that legitimate Jonah and
  • 00:20:07
    what does Jonah's response just
  • 00:20:11
    Stonewall I happy to succeed is just
  • 00:20:13
    ignore him right Jonah went out of the
  • 00:20:16
    city and he sat down at a place east of
  • 00:20:19
    the city there he made himself a little
  • 00:20:21
    shelter old tent and he sat in its shade
  • 00:20:24
    and waited to see what would happen to
  • 00:20:27
    the city so first of all he just ignores
  • 00:20:31
    God altogether which is not the first
  • 00:20:33
    time in the story he's done that right
  • 00:20:34
    and so so this clearly this didn't work
  • 00:20:37
    gods like let's let's engage about this
  • 00:20:39
    Jonah is this legitimate that you're
  • 00:20:41
    angry and he's just like I don't want to
  • 00:20:42
    talk about it ah hey leave and so he
  • 00:20:46
    goes outside the city and he makes the
  • 00:20:48
    shelter which means he plans on being
  • 00:20:50
    there for a while and he's waiting to
  • 00:20:52
    see what's going to happen to the city
  • 00:20:54
    now what is this about what does what do
  • 00:20:57
    you think he thinks is going to happen
  • 00:20:59
    to the city does it sounds good
  • 00:21:02
    what does what do we know for sure he
  • 00:21:04
    wants to happen to the city you know I
  • 00:21:07
    mean so he wants fire from heaven
  • 00:21:08
    something that's what he wants right and
  • 00:21:10
    this just raises for us this whole other
  • 00:21:13
    his five word sermon I told you this
  • 00:21:14
    would come back because there's more
  • 00:21:16
    there's more to it there's a lot more to
  • 00:21:17
    it he's angry for many reasons not just
  • 00:21:20
    because of God's gracious but because
  • 00:21:21
    God's played a trick on him he's played
  • 00:21:24
    a really really brilliant trick on him
  • 00:21:26
    go back to chapter three you might need
  • 00:21:28
    to flip flip the page back go back to
  • 00:21:30
    chapter three remember this five word
  • 00:21:31
    sermon what was this five word sermon in
  • 00:21:34
    Nineveh look at chapter three verse four
  • 00:21:36
    he went today's journey and the city
  • 00:21:38
    proclaiming forty days and Nineveh will
  • 00:21:42
    be overthrown that's it and so we
  • 00:21:48
    remember I tried to raise this last time
  • 00:21:51
    like this is very odd because we know
  • 00:21:54
    that he was commissioned to preach
  • 00:21:55
    against the wickedness of the city and
  • 00:21:57
    what does he not mention all anything
  • 00:22:00
    about the city's wickedness or what
  • 00:22:02
    they're doing wrong he's sent to tell
  • 00:22:05
    them why you know prophets usually
  • 00:22:07
    explain why this is happening thank
  • 00:22:08
    no reason he doesn't give any reasons
  • 00:22:10
    why and who did he not mention at all he
  • 00:22:13
    doesn't even mention Yahweh the clouds
  • 00:22:15
    that he's supposed to be representing
  • 00:22:16
    that is very strange this is very
  • 00:22:18
    strange and it gets even better and I
  • 00:22:20
    didn't tell you last week because I want
  • 00:22:21
    to save it for the final week other
  • 00:22:23
    series this is the mind this is the best
  • 00:22:25
    part of the book this is this is bro
  • 00:22:27
    absolutely brilliant and kids would
  • 00:22:28
    never get this kids would never forget
  • 00:22:30
    this okay
  • 00:22:31
    so here's here's Jonah's the last word
  • 00:22:33
    of Jonah's something you have forty days
  • 00:22:36
    and Nineveh will be overthrown and NIV
  • 00:22:38
    what others if you have overturn some of
  • 00:22:42
    you any others overturned or overthrown
  • 00:22:48
    that we've got in the room that's great
  • 00:22:49
    those the two standard translations ok
  • 00:22:51
    here's what's great so this is Hebrew
  • 00:22:53
    geekiness so forty days and Nineveh will
  • 00:22:56
    be hop hop hop hop won't you say it with
  • 00:22:58
    me
  • 00:22:58
    how this is great so hot pot like
  • 00:23:01
    many words many words in English have a
  • 00:23:03
    basic meaning and then depending on the
  • 00:23:05
    context you use it in can have different
  • 00:23:07
    nuances or something so you could say
  • 00:23:09
    like I destroyed my car and that would
  • 00:23:12
    be the physical destruction of my car
  • 00:23:14
    but you could also say like I destroyed
  • 00:23:16
    the world record for Oh the world record
  • 00:23:20
    for how many redheads are gathered in
  • 00:23:22
    one place got destroyed here in Portland
  • 00:23:24
    a few weeks ago did you see this
  • 00:23:25
    the record world red new world record
  • 00:23:27
    for amount of redheads in one place
  • 00:23:29
    Pioneer Square just two weeks ago anyway
  • 00:23:30
    so the world record was destroyed which
  • 00:23:33
    is that a bad thing no that's awesome
  • 00:23:36
    that's really cool that that happened
  • 00:23:38
    and so it's the same word but with a
  • 00:23:39
    different nuance so this is language
  • 00:23:41
    language works like this all the time
  • 00:23:42
    same with hop talk so the basic meaning
  • 00:23:44
    of hot pot is just to turn something
  • 00:23:46
    over you just turn it over so for
  • 00:23:49
    example the Prophet Hosea in the
  • 00:23:50
    metaphor but he you describes Israel
  • 00:23:53
    like a piece of baked bread that has not
  • 00:23:55
    been hot pot no words is ruined it's got
  • 00:23:58
    baked both sides of the bread but it's
  • 00:24:00
    one side too long oh that's ruined you
  • 00:24:02
    throw it out right so this is anyways
  • 00:24:04
    Hosea very clever metaphor actually so
  • 00:24:06
    it's just basic meaning to turn over now
  • 00:24:08
    if you take a city that's really bad and
  • 00:24:11
    it gets hot pot you get a very you can
  • 00:24:14
    understand like ice like we're really
  • 00:24:15
    negative sense the pop rocks so for
  • 00:24:17
    example in lamentations
  • 00:24:19
    the sin of my people is greater than
  • 00:24:21
    that of Sodom
  • 00:24:22
    you know Sodom archetype of human evil
  • 00:24:24
    in the Bible and Sodom was hopped in a
  • 00:24:28
    moment without a hand to help so this is
  • 00:24:30
    an overturning that's clearly negative
  • 00:24:32
    like destroyed or overturned or
  • 00:24:35
    something like that but topic can also
  • 00:24:38
    mean something turned over from bad into
  • 00:24:41
    good something from good is bad or bad
  • 00:24:43
    into worse or something from good into
  • 00:24:45
    bad like in Psalm chapter 30 God you
  • 00:24:49
    have hot pot to my grief and mourning
  • 00:24:52
    into dancing you've removed my sack
  • 00:24:55
    cloth and clothe me with joy so it can
  • 00:24:58
    be something as bad that's transformed
  • 00:25:00
    into something good now here's what's so
  • 00:25:03
    brilliant which meaning do you think
  • 00:25:05
    Jonah intends as he walks around Nineveh
  • 00:25:07
    yelling his five word sermon which
  • 00:25:10
    meaning do you think he intends clearly
  • 00:25:12
    number two which meaning do you think
  • 00:25:15
    God intends and of course which actually
  • 00:25:17
    happened come on that's funny that's
  • 00:25:22
    funny though Jonah think it's funny
  • 00:25:24
    no he's picked right he's sick so look
  • 00:25:28
    at look at with God won't let Jonah get
  • 00:25:31
    away with anything in this book right he
  • 00:25:33
    tries to run away yep that didn't work
  • 00:25:35
    so he tries maybe all this go to Nineveh
  • 00:25:37
    and engage in what I calls prophetic
  • 00:25:39
    sabotage give them as little information
  • 00:25:41
    as possible so it ensured that they're
  • 00:25:43
    going to get fired from heaven and that
  • 00:25:44
    you the map doesn't work good God using
  • 00:25:47
    the words against him right just like
  • 00:25:48
    Jonah Houston's words against him maybe
  • 00:25:50
    it's all of brilliance this is
  • 00:25:51
    brilliantly told the story and so of
  • 00:25:53
    course he's livid with anger because God
  • 00:25:56
    has used even what he intended for evil
  • 00:25:58
    to turn into good to bring people into
  • 00:26:01
    repentance and to find grace in life he
  • 00:26:03
    is picked off and you might add maybe
  • 00:26:05
    you would be picked off too I don't know
  • 00:26:07
    if it's justified really so he clearly
  • 00:26:09
    somehow he's hoping he's going outside
  • 00:26:11
    of the city he's going to wait out those
  • 00:26:13
    forty days and like maybe though repent
  • 00:26:15
    of the repentant you know something he's
  • 00:26:17
    hoping something horrible but just might
  • 00:26:18
    have meteorite come from the sky
  • 00:26:19
    something so he's out there just doing
  • 00:26:21
    he's picked he's ticked so God is going
  • 00:26:25
    to engage him another time the direct
  • 00:26:27
    question and reasoning either didn't
  • 00:26:29
    work is it right for you to be angry
  • 00:26:31
    Jonah about me showing grace
  • 00:26:32
    while he gets the hand so he's going to
  • 00:26:35
    try a different technique the small
  • 00:26:38
    plant tactic were six or six solely over
  • 00:26:42
    six is such a good part of the story so
  • 00:26:44
    Yahweh God provided a leafy plant and
  • 00:26:47
    made it grow up over Jonah to give shade
  • 00:26:51
    for his head to ease his discomfort and
  • 00:26:55
    Jonah was extremely happy about the
  • 00:26:59
    plant this is the only time in the whole
  • 00:27:02
    story that he is happy all right now I
  • 00:27:05
    should I should I didn't mention this
  • 00:27:06
    for I'll mention it now I've heard some
  • 00:27:08
    very creative misinterpretations of the
  • 00:27:11
    leafy plant that brings ease from the
  • 00:27:13
    discomfort right so anyway don't go
  • 00:27:15
    there you're just you're trying making
  • 00:27:18
    the Bible become your pet when you do
  • 00:27:19
    that right that's what you're doing so
  • 00:27:21
    don't go there and yeah but nobody knows
  • 00:27:23
    what the leafy plant is so people think
  • 00:27:25
    it's a gourd or a castor oil plant I'm
  • 00:27:26
    dead serious that I've had someone you
  • 00:27:29
    use this verse to try and show that to
  • 00:27:31
    make anyway so it's what it doesn't
  • 00:27:34
    matter what the plant is except for that
  • 00:27:35
    kind of plant that's clearly out of the
  • 00:27:37
    question but whatever the point is the
  • 00:27:39
    point is is it just something that
  • 00:27:40
    provides shade that's the only point of
  • 00:27:42
    the leafy plant we keep going he's very
  • 00:27:45
    we want to die I'm angry I want to die
  • 00:27:49
    now he's very very happier but it done
  • 00:27:52
    but the next day God provided a little
  • 00:27:55
    worm Oh woods Selassie God provides a
  • 00:27:59
    huge storm a huge fish a medium-sized
  • 00:28:02
    leafy plant and then a tiny worm it's
  • 00:28:04
    like a whole spectrum right and in the
  • 00:28:06
    store a teeny little worm and it chewed
  • 00:28:09
    at the plant so that it withered when
  • 00:28:13
    the Sun rose God provided a scorching
  • 00:28:15
    east wind and the Sun blazed down on
  • 00:28:18
    Jonah's head and he grew faint he wanted
  • 00:28:21
    to dog and he said Oh would be better
  • 00:28:24
    for me to die than to live here like
  • 00:28:26
    wait I thought you were just happy he's
  • 00:28:28
    like no I want to die now I'm very happy
  • 00:28:29
    no one I want to die seen this is you
  • 00:28:32
    guys this is so comic you guys get the
  • 00:28:34
    comic feel of the story here this is
  • 00:28:36
    another another way that's expressed in
  • 00:28:38
    the storytelling and probably this is
  • 00:28:40
    just this is the way I filter reality
  • 00:28:42
    now the moment I read the story I think
  • 00:28:44
    of my two-year-old son and the
  • 00:28:45
    store checkout aisle anybody but it do
  • 00:28:49
    you know or maybe you've seen someone
  • 00:28:50
    else's two-year-old in the grocery store
  • 00:28:51
    checkout aisle holy cow
  • 00:28:53
    so I am convinced that people who design
  • 00:28:57
    modern grocery checkout I have is their
  • 00:29:01
    goal to make parents of little kids
  • 00:29:02
    miserable I mean it's the worst it's
  • 00:29:04
    always bad it's never good it's very
  • 00:29:06
    good expense especially for little boys
  • 00:29:08
    because what are my options on the Left
  • 00:29:10
    I have all these glossy magazine covers
  • 00:29:12
    of women scantily clad so I'm directing
  • 00:29:15
    his attention this way clearly and but
  • 00:29:17
    what am I making him look at over here
  • 00:29:19
    just a wall of sugar a lot of sugar and
  • 00:29:22
    so he still needs to go to the goldmine
  • 00:29:24
    of butter fingers or whatever and so
  • 00:29:25
    what are my options he might be in this
  • 00:29:27
    cart but he's too now so his arms are
  • 00:29:29
    long and so we can grab some mints or
  • 00:29:31
    gum or something
  • 00:29:31
    and so then I'm the bad guy you just -
  • 00:29:34
    he's really happy oh my gosh it's a
  • 00:29:35
    different I was just take it away from
  • 00:29:38
    him and cuddle on the floor and he's
  • 00:29:40
    writhing in my arms as we leave as he
  • 00:29:42
    screams and so on yours like this I
  • 00:29:43
    can't win I can't win the long
  • 00:29:46
    digression but this that's what happens
  • 00:29:48
    in my head when I read this because he's
  • 00:29:49
    like I want to died rather die than live
  • 00:29:52
    with a god like you all but just plant
  • 00:29:53
    oh my gosh that's the best thing ever I
  • 00:29:55
    want to die again it's so look so here
  • 00:29:58
    we go this is crazy
  • 00:29:59
    and we're like this is so strange why
  • 00:30:01
    does the story about here's what it's
  • 00:30:03
    about verse 9 God's said to Jonah and he
  • 00:30:08
    just repeats his question again but with
  • 00:30:10
    a little twist
  • 00:30:12
    God said to Jonah is it right for you to
  • 00:30:16
    be angry about the plant so he couldn't
  • 00:30:21
    get Jonah to own up to this question of
  • 00:30:24
    is your anger that I'm showing grace to
  • 00:30:26
    your enemies is that legitimate Jonah
  • 00:30:28
    just gave him the hand so try the small
  • 00:30:30
    plant tactic is your anger unto death
  • 00:30:33
    about a plant legitimate that's great
  • 00:30:37
    that's good good question
  • 00:30:39
    hope this should shake him out of his
  • 00:30:41
    irrationality right and what is his
  • 00:30:43
    response of course it's right for me to
  • 00:30:46
    be angry right I'm so angry I wish I
  • 00:30:47
    were dead and yours like wow this PISA
  • 00:30:50
    he's beyond reason I carefully at this
  • 00:30:52
    point he's a goner but God doesn't give
  • 00:30:55
    up he doesn't give up because he's
  • 00:30:58
    gracious he's
  • 00:30:59
    passionate you slow to anger the bound
  • 00:31:01
    and loving-kindness he's committed to
  • 00:31:03
    Jonah he's going to work this out so the
  • 00:31:07
    Lord said again this is the third time
  • 00:31:08
    new tactic
  • 00:31:10
    the Lord said listen John you you've
  • 00:31:15
    been concerned about this plant some of
  • 00:31:18
    your translations might have you shown
  • 00:31:19
    pity on this plant you've had compassion
  • 00:31:21
    on this plant the pole point is you've
  • 00:31:23
    had all this extreme emotion very happy
  • 00:31:25
    very sad about this plant and listen
  • 00:31:29
    Jonah you didn't care for the plant I
  • 00:31:32
    mean you didn't even make it grow you
  • 00:31:34
    can't claim to have an emotional
  • 00:31:35
    attachment to the plant because it came
  • 00:31:37
    up over and I and died overnight it
  • 00:31:38
    hasn't even been in your life for very
  • 00:31:39
    long yeah so so let's just say Jonah
  • 00:31:43
    that your emotion for this plant is
  • 00:31:47
    legitimate verse 11 should shouldn't I
  • 00:31:51
    be able to have that kind of same strong
  • 00:31:54
    emotion and concern for something a
  • 00:31:56
    little more significant like a huge city
  • 00:32:00
    full of human beings like Nineveh in
  • 00:32:04
    which there are more than 120,000 people
  • 00:32:07
    who can't tell their right hand from
  • 00:32:09
    their left and also many animals this is
  • 00:32:19
    like then then this is the Bible so
  • 00:32:23
    strange you guys the Bible is so strange
  • 00:32:25
    this is such a great story what on earth
  • 00:32:29
    is that what is that so first of all if
  • 00:32:34
    this story where I left like web does
  • 00:32:36
    Jonah respond and what does that
  • 00:32:37
    question even mean in the fruit what
  • 00:32:39
    does it mean they don't know the right
  • 00:32:40
    and from there left so this is so
  • 00:32:43
    brilliant what God's doing so he tried
  • 00:32:45
    first to expose how foolish it is that
  • 00:32:48
    Joan is angry at showing graces and
  • 00:32:50
    Nineveh that didn't work so he says
  • 00:32:52
    let's get at Jonah's anger another way
  • 00:32:54
    and try and help him understand how
  • 00:32:57
    ridiculous it is let's do this whole
  • 00:32:58
    thing with a plant and so he's super
  • 00:33:00
    stoked on the plant and let's expose his
  • 00:33:02
    anger about the plant is your anger
  • 00:33:04
    legitimate and that didn't work at all
  • 00:33:06
    either and so now he's trying to
  • 00:33:08
    different text it God's not going to try
  • 00:33:10
    expose his anger he recognizes here's a
  • 00:33:12
    Jonah's stoked on something for the
  • 00:33:14
    first time in the whole story he's happy
  • 00:33:16
    and he cares about something other than
  • 00:33:18
    himself do you see this and granted it's
  • 00:33:21
    something that provides comfort for him
  • 00:33:23
    but this is the first time he gives
  • 00:33:25
    there's a little corner of his heart
  • 00:33:27
    that cares about something other than
  • 00:33:28
    himself and gods like we can work with
  • 00:33:30
    that we can work with that and so God's
  • 00:33:33
    gracious and accommodating and he says
  • 00:33:35
    okay you've got the soft spot in your
  • 00:33:37
    heart of emotion and care for this
  • 00:33:40
    little plant okay for this little plant
  • 00:33:42
    now let's just grant you the legitimacy
  • 00:33:45
    of that strong emotional attachment you
  • 00:33:47
    have to plant Jonah and we're all
  • 00:33:49
    laughing at you you're quite ridiculous
  • 00:33:50
    right now
  • 00:33:51
    but listen I'll just give that to you
  • 00:33:52
    okay all right that's a good thing that
  • 00:33:54
    you should be concerned about something
  • 00:33:56
    other than yourself good for you Jonah
  • 00:33:57
    so let me just compare compare that
  • 00:34:01
    wouldn't it be okay is it okay with you
  • 00:34:04
    Jonah if I were to have a strong
  • 00:34:07
    emotional concern about something other
  • 00:34:10
    than myself and and if it that concerns
  • 00:34:13
    quite similar to yours maybe something
  • 00:34:15
    more significant you might grant me like
  • 00:34:17
    the lives of thousands upon thousands of
  • 00:34:18
    human beings who are made in my image
  • 00:34:20
    and not only that look at the
  • 00:34:22
    description of this 120,000 human beings
  • 00:34:25
    what does it say this is very
  • 00:34:26
    interesting what does it say about the
  • 00:34:27
    new device they can't tell their right
  • 00:34:30
    hand from their left I always think of
  • 00:34:33
    oh I don't 1990 or something Kevin
  • 00:34:37
    Nealon Saturday live mister no depth
  • 00:34:39
    perception anybody remember that one it
  • 00:34:41
    wasn't his best known skit anyway it's
  • 00:34:43
    pretty funny you can google it and it's
  • 00:34:45
    not like it's going on walking into
  • 00:34:46
    walls all the time something they don't
  • 00:34:48
    know both and so they don't know the
  • 00:34:50
    right hand from their left is clearly a
  • 00:34:52
    little Hebrew turn phrase or something
  • 00:34:54
    like that it doesn't it can't mean that
  • 00:34:56
    they don't know right from wrong at all
  • 00:34:58
    because God clearly expects them to know
  • 00:35:01
    right from wrong
  • 00:35:01
    he brought a word of judgment on their
  • 00:35:03
    behavior and they responded accordingly
  • 00:35:05
    because he knew that they should know
  • 00:35:07
    better so it doesn't mean they don't
  • 00:35:09
    know right from wrong it seemed it seems
  • 00:35:12
    to be this idiom that they're misguided
  • 00:35:14
    like the human beings we we ought we
  • 00:35:18
    have some intuition morally spiritually
  • 00:35:20
    of the way that we should go but we
  • 00:35:21
    should we should go awry but we
  • 00:35:23
    constantly go left right we should be
  • 00:35:25
    going left when we
  • 00:35:26
    we don't know which way to go we're lost
  • 00:35:29
    and misguided morally and spiritually
  • 00:35:31
    and this is a common description of
  • 00:35:34
    human beings in the Bible usually it's
  • 00:35:37
    connected with sheep stupid sheep they
  • 00:35:39
    go astray this is that idea here now
  • 00:35:42
    God's not excusing the Ninevites he's
  • 00:35:44
    not saying oh they didn't know better
  • 00:35:45
    that's why they just happened to
  • 00:35:47
    slaughter thousands of people you know
  • 00:35:49
    no they're very accountable for their
  • 00:35:51
    behavior but they're lost and misguided
  • 00:35:53
    that's where their their injustice comes
  • 00:35:55
    from and he says listen Jonah you are
  • 00:35:59
    all working up about your little deal
  • 00:36:00
    and your little plant and good for you
  • 00:36:03
    that's great but can't you can't you see
  • 00:36:06
    that I might just happen to be concerned
  • 00:36:09
    about something more significant like
  • 00:36:12
    thousands of human beings and also their
  • 00:36:15
    pets there are animals right and you're
  • 00:36:18
    supposed to laugh just like you did at
  • 00:36:19
    the end you're supposed to laugh because
  • 00:36:20
    what did the cows do in Chapter three
  • 00:36:23
    they repented in sackcloth and ashes too
  • 00:36:25
    so God spares them as well and so the
  • 00:36:28
    last word of the book is is animals cows
  • 00:36:30
    literally it's cows cow than all their
  • 00:36:32
    cows and so what is what is Jonah Ford
  • 00:36:37
    doing to us we're like how does Jonah
  • 00:36:39
    respond what is well what did he say I
  • 00:36:41
    want to know what he said but that's to
  • 00:36:43
    miss the point of the whole book because
  • 00:36:45
    this story was never about Jonah in the
  • 00:36:46
    first place was it who is this book
  • 00:36:48
    actually about it was about you it's
  • 00:36:53
    about you and the real question is how
  • 00:36:57
    this story is a word from God to his
  • 00:36:59
    people and the real question we should
  • 00:37:02
    be asking is how am i living the
  • 00:37:05
    response to God's question because
  • 00:37:07
    that's what's happening right here
  • 00:37:08
    that's what's happening here
  • 00:37:10
    Jonah is this ridiculous caricature of
  • 00:37:13
    people who grasp the scandal of God's
  • 00:37:17
    grace and that God loves your enemy as
  • 00:37:20
    much as he loves you and when that think
  • 00:37:24
    then especially when you have a fresh
  • 00:37:26
    wound from an enemy and all you're
  • 00:37:28
    struggling with issues of forgiveness
  • 00:37:30
    all this chapter packs a punch a strong
  • 00:37:34
    strong punch
  • 00:37:36
    because here's what God is trying to do
  • 00:37:38
    he's trying to get Jonah outside of
  • 00:37:40
    himself and just say Jonah clearly
  • 00:37:42
    thinks the Ninevites are the worst
  • 00:37:44
    wretched sinners on the planet but of
  • 00:37:46
    course in the story of Jonah who's the
  • 00:37:48
    most hard-hearted hateful person in
  • 00:37:50
    story is John De right and so God is
  • 00:37:53
    gently trying to get him to see like
  • 00:37:56
    Jonah don't you see what's happening
  • 00:37:58
    here like yet you're a part of the
  • 00:38:00
    covenant people and that's cool but that
  • 00:38:03
    like doesn't for a second excuse your
  • 00:38:07
    religious hypocrisy and superiority but
  • 00:38:09
    not for a second
  • 00:38:11
    you're you're just as broken and lost as
  • 00:38:13
    misguided as they are Jonah don't you
  • 00:38:16
    see that
  • 00:38:17
    shouldn't I be concerned about them and
  • 00:38:19
    their animals and there you go there you
  • 00:38:23
    go
  • 00:38:23
    and so really where this takes us is the
  • 00:38:27
    fact that God loves you enemy and some
  • 00:38:30
    of us might hear that and we might think
  • 00:38:31
    okay I think I could swallow that I
  • 00:38:34
    think I could deal with the fact that
  • 00:38:36
    God loves my enemy I am not at all sure
  • 00:38:42
    what I think about the fact that he
  • 00:38:43
    might want me to as well so I'm cool if
  • 00:38:46
    God loves me and forgives my enemy I
  • 00:38:48
    sure hope he doesn't expect me to try
  • 00:38:50
    and do that you know and and this is
  • 00:38:52
    crazy
  • 00:38:52
    because this is one of the most like
  • 00:38:54
    fundamental core issues at the story of
  • 00:38:56
    the gospel forgiveness for one's enemies
  • 00:38:59
    that's what God is doing for us at the
  • 00:39:02
    cross and so and it's exactly Jesus
  • 00:39:05
    talked about this kind of stuff all the
  • 00:39:06
    time this is what Jonah 4 is about Jesus
  • 00:39:08
    put it this way he said but I tell you
  • 00:39:11
    who hear me love your enemies do good to
  • 00:39:15
    those who hate you bless those who curse
  • 00:39:17
    you pray for those who mistreat you and
  • 00:39:21
    I think even as Christians we respond to
  • 00:39:23
    some of these teachings of Jesus in the
  • 00:39:25
    most bizarre ways sometimes we're just
  • 00:39:27
    like what what like I don't know us
  • 00:39:31
    we're just going like that's noble and
  • 00:39:32
    very admirable Jesus but I'm just
  • 00:39:34
    straight-up not going to do that if you
  • 00:39:35
    look at how we live that's just we're
  • 00:39:37
    just like no Jesus I'm not going to do
  • 00:39:39
    that you're crazy if you think that's
  • 00:39:41
    how things are supposed to go and this
  • 00:39:44
    was his whole announcement of the
  • 00:39:45
    kingdom of God is that in him a whole
  • 00:39:49
    new
  • 00:39:49
    way of living in God's world has arrived
  • 00:39:52
    were through him people are reconciled
  • 00:39:55
    to God were people who have made
  • 00:39:57
    ourselves enemies of God through our own
  • 00:40:00
    self-absorption and selfishness and
  • 00:40:02
    thinking that we're the star of the show
  • 00:40:03
    and God's a bit player in my story along
  • 00:40:06
    with everybody else right and so we go
  • 00:40:08
    through life with that and some of us
  • 00:40:10
    make more of our lives into a trainwreck
  • 00:40:12
    than others but we all do it in
  • 00:40:14
    different ways and some of us make our
  • 00:40:16
    lives a trainwreck of course by actually
  • 00:40:18
    not doing very much wrong to other
  • 00:40:19
    people but feeling quite proud about
  • 00:40:21
    ourselves for not doing very much wrong
  • 00:40:23
    to other people which in God's eyes is
  • 00:40:24
    just as equally horrible way of being a
  • 00:40:26
    human being as religious pride and so we
  • 00:40:29
    all do this and we're all participants
  • 00:40:31
    in it and we hear words like this and
  • 00:40:34
    we're just like Jesus you clearly didn't
  • 00:40:36
    have your coffee that morning like he's
  • 00:40:37
    not thinking straight okay you don't the
  • 00:40:40
    world doesn't work like that and Jesus
  • 00:40:43
    is like actually you all are the ones
  • 00:40:45
    who have it upside down this is how God
  • 00:40:48
    made us to live reckons fully reconciled
  • 00:40:51
    to God into other people and the and of
  • 00:40:54
    course none of us have to like try and
  • 00:40:57
    do this on our own we do this simply
  • 00:40:59
    because God is like this already
  • 00:41:01
    gracious and compassionate slow to anger
  • 00:41:03
    abounding and love and who who loves to
  • 00:41:07
    relent
  • 00:41:08
    from sending calamity and example number
  • 00:41:11
    a is like you and made and so the book
  • 00:41:16
    ends like with God inviting Jonah like
  • 00:41:18
    Jonah do you have no high ground to
  • 00:41:21
    stand on to start declaring who gets
  • 00:41:25
    God's grace and who doesn't
  • 00:41:27
    we've all made ourselves enemies of God
  • 00:41:30
    some of us are quite blind to that fact
  • 00:41:32
    and others of us are starting to wake up
  • 00:41:34
    wake up to that fact and that he's moved
  • 00:41:37
    towards me and grace and this is not try
  • 00:41:41
    it this is not easy I'm not pretending
  • 00:41:43
    as I'm as your pastor I recognize there
  • 00:41:46
    are stories of real pain and hurt and
  • 00:41:49
    real wounds from other people in the
  • 00:41:51
    room right now but if if there is one
  • 00:41:55
    place in the world where the train and
  • 00:41:58
    the spiral of humans wronging each other
  • 00:42:00
    and respond
  • 00:42:01
    is wrongs with other wrongs and just
  • 00:42:02
    spirals into the mess that the world is
  • 00:42:04
    if there's one place that it stops it
  • 00:42:07
    stops of the crops and the community of
  • 00:42:10
    people that form around the cross are
  • 00:42:12
    called to live differently not because
  • 00:42:14
    we think we're better but because we
  • 00:42:16
    have been shown grace and compassion and
  • 00:42:19
    we have been we have been treated not by
  • 00:42:24
    a God whose float by a guy who slow to
  • 00:42:25
    anger who's abounding in love and
  • 00:42:27
    kindness towards us and so what Jonah
  • 00:42:30
    chapter 4 is doing what Jesus often did
  • 00:42:32
    in his teachings as he's deconstructing
  • 00:42:34
    the whole idea of what an enemy is and
  • 00:42:36
    so you can see it clearly what's
  • 00:42:38
    happened in Jonah's mind the Ninevites
  • 00:42:40
    have become they've been like clearly
  • 00:42:42
    stereotyped and demonized in this
  • 00:42:44
    thinking he thinks they're the bad guys
  • 00:42:46
    it's like they had very soft hearts and
  • 00:42:49
    turned to God immediately right he's the
  • 00:42:51
    bad guy but he can't even see that and
  • 00:42:53
    so this is what happens to us with this
  • 00:42:55
    cup with our enemies an enemy is someone
  • 00:42:58
    who's in this case like Jonah's a group
  • 00:43:01
    of people an individual somebody's
  • 00:43:02
    wronged you somebody who's wronged
  • 00:43:04
    someone that you care about or you know
  • 00:43:07
    I mean we could probably broaden it like
  • 00:43:08
    someone who's just really difficult for
  • 00:43:10
    you to be around they're in an annoying
  • 00:43:12
    or toxic personality ok and that and you
  • 00:43:15
    just can't deal with them and that's ok
  • 00:43:18
    like that's totally okay to struggle
  • 00:43:20
    it's like to be around certain people
  • 00:43:22
    and and to deal with them that's not the
  • 00:43:25
    issue is what do you do with that
  • 00:43:26
    repulsion in those emotions and what
  • 00:43:29
    most of us tend to do is we tend to
  • 00:43:32
    fixate on the thing that they did to me
  • 00:43:34
    and so we take this complex human person
  • 00:43:38
    who has a family of origins in a crazy
  • 00:43:40
    store and probably people that they've
  • 00:43:41
    wronged and other people who have
  • 00:43:43
    wronged them not to excuse what they've
  • 00:43:45
    done but just saying they have a story
  • 00:43:46
    people don't just behave and screwed up
  • 00:43:48
    ways for no reason we have all of
  • 00:43:50
    stories behind the ways that we act and
  • 00:43:52
    so this person came into my life and
  • 00:43:54
    this happened and this is what they did
  • 00:43:55
    but what we tend to do as you replay the
  • 00:43:58
    movie a million times in your head as
  • 00:44:00
    you stare at your ceiling at night is
  • 00:44:01
    you tend to reduce their complex
  • 00:44:03
    humanity down to the thing that they did
  • 00:44:05
    to do and so maybe you know some lies
  • 00:44:08
    about you or something and so they
  • 00:44:10
    slowly they become the person who told a
  • 00:44:13
    lie to
  • 00:44:14
    - then they become the liar and then you
  • 00:44:18
    the movie in your head has they have a
  • 00:44:20
    forked tongue something like that you
  • 00:44:22
    know and you slowly begin to reduce down
  • 00:44:25
    their humanity to that a trait that's
  • 00:44:27
    annoying to us or to the thing that they
  • 00:44:29
    did to us and then of course because we
  • 00:44:33
    were the ones who were wronged by them
  • 00:44:34
    we tend to paint ourselves as the
  • 00:44:35
    opposite of them and then you end up
  • 00:44:37
    with Jonah chapter 4 where he's so blind
  • 00:44:39
    to the fact that the line of good and
  • 00:44:41
    evil goes right down the middle of him
  • 00:44:42
    then he thinks everyone else is the
  • 00:44:44
    problem there's just like come on and so
  • 00:44:47
    what God is trying to do and what Jesus
  • 00:44:49
    did all the time is he deconstruct the
  • 00:44:51
    whole concept of an enemy and he just
  • 00:44:54
    says listen we we are all contributors
  • 00:44:57
    to why this world is the way that it is
  • 00:45:00
    of course some people are screwed up in
  • 00:45:02
    different or more ways than others but
  • 00:45:04
    the line of good and evil goes through
  • 00:45:05
    each and every one of us we have all
  • 00:45:08
    made ourselves enemies of God that's the
  • 00:45:10
    point of the cross the point of the
  • 00:45:12
    cross and as the saying goes the ground
  • 00:45:15
    is level right there before the cross
  • 00:45:17
    every human being receives grace and
  • 00:45:21
    mercy and I do not get like prerogative
  • 00:45:24
    to stand up before the cross and to say
  • 00:45:26
    I totally okay thank you totally stoked
  • 00:45:28
    on that Jesus that person told you not
  • 00:45:30
    them yeah are you getting me them like
  • 00:45:33
    we don't that's not how it works
  • 00:45:35
    it's all or none like that's the whole
  • 00:45:37
    point and that's the point of the gospel
  • 00:45:40
    is that none of us get to declare that
  • 00:45:42
    it simply God's gracious liberal mercy
  • 00:45:46
    he's gracious and compassionate slow to
  • 00:45:48
    anger abounding in loving kindness and
  • 00:45:51
    so how Dona 4n here's what here's the
  • 00:45:55
    punch we'll conclude with this is what
  • 00:45:58
    you see is that this whole thing of like
  • 00:46:01
    who is the story really about is this
  • 00:46:02
    really about God in Nineveh now this
  • 00:46:05
    story is really about God in his own
  • 00:46:07
    people and he's trying to bring his own
  • 00:46:10
    people around and open their eyes open
  • 00:46:13
    their hearts to like how messed up they
  • 00:46:16
    are and how much they need His grace as
  • 00:46:18
    anybody else and so it's actually God
  • 00:46:22
    has intentionally brought Jonah into
  • 00:46:24
    contact with his enemy
  • 00:46:26
    not by accident but precisely because
  • 00:46:29
    you want to teach Jonah something and
  • 00:46:31
    think about this you guys how many of
  • 00:46:33
    you have a difficult person an enemy a
  • 00:46:36
    toxic person in your life and you think
  • 00:46:38
    I would be able to follow Jesus so
  • 00:46:40
    awesome if that person had never crossed
  • 00:46:42
    my path the volumes will be so great
  • 00:46:45
    without them and Jonah for just flip
  • 00:46:47
    that over and it says could it be that
  • 00:46:50
    that person is in your life precisely as
  • 00:46:53
    a divine invitation for you to grow and
  • 00:46:57
    mature in your experience of God's grace
  • 00:47:00
    not just now in receiving it but
  • 00:47:03
    beginning to show it to someone else not
  • 00:47:06
    just like mentally accenting to it but
  • 00:47:08
    actually beginning to let it flow
  • 00:47:10
    through you could it be the this is
  • 00:47:12
    actually the next step of growth for you
  • 00:47:14
    and this is what's a theologian named
  • 00:47:19
    Walter wink and I'll close with this
  • 00:47:21
    idea he calls us the gift of the enemy
  • 00:47:23
    and he puts a brilliant light here he
  • 00:47:25
    says it this way he says this is the
  • 00:47:27
    gift that our enemy may be able to bring
  • 00:47:29
    us to see aspects of ourselves that we
  • 00:47:33
    cannot discover any other way than
  • 00:47:35
    through our enemies our friends seldom
  • 00:47:39
    show us our flaws they're our friends
  • 00:47:42
    precisely because they're able to
  • 00:47:43
    overlook or ignore those parts of it the
  • 00:47:46
    enemy is therefore not just a hurdle to
  • 00:47:49
    be leaped over on the way to God our
  • 00:47:51
    enemy might actually be the way to go we
  • 00:47:55
    cannot come to terms with our own inner
  • 00:47:57
    shadows except through our enemies we
  • 00:48:00
    have almost no other access to those
  • 00:48:02
    unacceptable parts of ourselves that
  • 00:48:04
    need redeeming except through the mirror
  • 00:48:07
    that our enemies hold up to us and so he
  • 00:48:11
    does that you could recommend this
  • 00:48:13
    little exercise and I commend it to you
  • 00:48:14
    he says this week it's employment you
  • 00:48:17
    know in response to this sit down with
  • 00:48:18
    Jonah for in a blank sheet of paper and
  • 00:48:20
    get the person in your mind that your
  • 00:48:21
    enemy and write down every character
  • 00:48:25
    trait about them that you hate like just
  • 00:48:28
    get it all out there and some of you
  • 00:48:29
    like that sounds like a lot of fun I
  • 00:48:31
    like that idea
  • 00:48:32
    those just like the selfish and the
  • 00:48:33
    careless they're greedy and they don't
  • 00:48:35
    care about other people and so and just
  • 00:48:37
    get it all out there and then he says to
  • 00:48:39
    finish and stop and then pray
  • 00:48:40
    and recognize you're in God's presence
  • 00:48:43
    and then just line by line go through
  • 00:48:46
    each thing that you wrote down and just
  • 00:48:49
    ask yourself have I ever displayed this
  • 00:48:52
    same kind of behavior have I ever and
  • 00:48:56
    you know what I mean and then it's just
  • 00:48:58
    a matter of are you going to be like
  • 00:48:59
    Jonah or not oh I've never been selfish
  • 00:49:01
    before I've never been careless about
  • 00:49:03
    the needs of other people it's like
  • 00:49:04
    really
  • 00:49:04
    so the first step towards enemy love is
  • 00:49:07
    just is recognizing the common humanity
  • 00:49:10
    the common brokenness that we all share
  • 00:49:13
    that's clearly where God is leaning
  • 00:49:15
    Jonah
  • 00:49:16
    don't you see Jonah I mean shouldn't I
  • 00:49:20
    care about people who are misguided like
  • 00:49:23
    the Ninevites maybe maybe you - Jonah
  • 00:49:28
    I mean could couldn't could it be that
  • 00:49:33
    this person is in your lives
  • 00:49:35
    precisely because God's inviting you
  • 00:49:38
    into the deeper experience of His grace
  • 00:49:40
    for you could it be the end let me pray
  • 00:50:02
    you
Tags
  • Jonah
  • Nineveh
  • God's mercy
  • forgiveness
  • selfishness
  • compassion
  • enemy love
  • Biblical themes
  • grace
  • hypocrisy