[1]The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, [2]"Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you." [3]So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days' walk across. [4]Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's walk. And he cried out, "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" [5]And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.
[10]When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.
[14]Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, [15]and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."
[16]As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea--for they were fishermen. [17]And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." [18]And immediately they left their nets and followed him. [19]As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. [20]Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.
How many of you like to fish? If you like to fish then you probably have a favorite fish story, either about that big one you caught or the one that got away. What's your favorite fish story?
Mine is about the one armed fisherman who caught one this big. My favorite fish story in the New Testament is the story of Peter and the disciples fishing after the resurrection and breakfast on the beach with the risen Christ. My favorite Old Testament fish story is the story of Jonah. You see, I can really identify with Jonah.
When God called Jonah to hold a revival in Nineveh, Jonah's skin started to crawl. You see, Nineveh was SIN City. Think of the worst of New York and Las Vegas combined with the worst of New Orleans during Mardi Gras and you might get a glimpse of what Jonah thought about Nineveh.
Nineveh was in Assyria, which today, includes modern Iraq. The Assyrians were noted for burying their enemies alive in the sand with nothing but their heads sticking out so they could play polo with them until they whacked the life out of them. Then what remained became a vulture buffet. Not very nice people. No wonder Jonah was a little reluctant to go to Nineveh.
B. Not only that, but there was within Jonah an attitude which most Jews of the time held. Jonah believed that God's message and God's grace was just for the Jews. After all, they were the chosen ones. That's what God told Moses. That's what Scripture called them. If the Jews were the chosen ones, and the Assyrians were so evil, how could God's love extend to them? They thought it couldn't.
But God's message of love IS for all people. The Apostle Paul writes in Galatians 3:28: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." But Jonah didn't know that. The Gideons hadn't made it that far east yet and Jonah hadn't read the New Testament. He didn't need to. Jonah had the Creator and Author of life telling him what to do. Unfortunately, Jonah wouldn't allow himself to recognize God's call. Or listen to it and heed it.
C. Friday, I attended the funeral of a long time friend, Dr. Wayne Lucas, husband of the Rev. Dr. Barbara Lucas. For the past five years, Wayne has struggled with cancer. Wayne always had an incredible sense of humor, even in the most serious times of life. To give you an example, he requested that his favorite song be played at his funeral. Do you know what his favorite song is? Woolly Bully by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. That was so much like him. After the memorial service, we gathered at their home and Barbara played Woolly Bully at least a half a dozen times.
As I was sitting in the service, thinking about Wayne, I got to thinking about the time we spent together on the same tour of the Holy Land. I couldn't help but remember a story Wayne told one night while we were having dinner in Jerusalem.
It seems there was a young dedicated but rather bashful Christian girl reading her Bible on a bus. This pushy loud mouthed, belligerent man sat down next to her and confronted her about the Bible. He asked "Do you believe everything in the Bible?" And she said, "Yes, I do." He kept on, "You mean to tell me you believe that Jonah lived for three days in the belly of a whale?" The girl answered, "Yes." The man persisted, "Well then how do you explain that?" The young woman answered, "I can't, but I believe it.."
The man became more agitated and said. "Lady, you should be able to explain whatever you believe!"
The young woman then said, "I don't know exactly how Jonah survived but I'll ask him once I get to heaven."
Then sarcastically, Mr. Rude asked, "And what if Jonah didn't make it to heaven?" And she replied, "Then YOU can ask him."
I tell that story because that's probably exactly where Jonah really wanted to tell the Ninevites to go. He didn't want to preach. He didn't think they deserved to hear God's message.
So, Jonah did what any red-blooded reluctant prophet would do: he ran, in the opposite direction. Jonah looked God square in the eye, said, "Sure thing, Lord. I'll get on the road today." And then he took off in the opposite direction.
Haven't you ever done that? We all have. God calls us to do something and we go the opposite way. Or a friend asks us to do something that we're not really excited about doing and reluctantly we say, "Sure." We even tell ourselves not to forget. The operative word here is forget. And we do. We forget because we didn't really want to do it in the first place. We put OUR priorities first; when what God wants is to be first in our lives and first on our to do lists. Jonah isn't the best role model for this in the Bible. He listened, nodded his head in agreement and ran the other way.
Jonah sailed, but God whaled. This is the biggest fish story ever. Bigger than Moby Dick or the whale in Pinocchio. Jonah ran from God and wound up in the weirdest form of transportation anybody has ever taken. That big fish took off and got as close to Nineveh as it could and spit Jonah out. It's the only fish I know of that can talk about the one that got away.
A. Finally, Jonah relented and presented the message to Nineveh. He didn't do it with very much panache. He didn't rent a tent. He didn't go on the radio. He walked to the middle of the city and mumbled out something just barely audible: "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" No three point sermon. No prayer. No offering. No hymn of invitation. Just "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" Then Jonah left.
Jonah presented and, surprisingly, Nineveh repented. The world's shortest sermon had the greatest effect. The whole city, adults and children alike repented and changed their way.
B. Jonah 3:1 reads: "The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time." I think that's the central message of Jonah. I think that verse is the key to understanding God's love and desire for us. It's key to Jonah's message to Nineveh. God gave Jonah a second chance. Jonah had deliberately, consciously, stubbornly, willfully disobeyed God. Jonah turned and headed in the wrong direction. He ran from God in a fit of rebellion, yet God came to Jonah a second time and allowed Jonah to carry out his ministry. Why? Because God is a God of second chances.
And that's what Jonah didn't understand. He didn't get this whole thing about repentance. Jonah wasn't reluctant because he was afraid of the Ninevites. Jonah didn't want to preach because he was afraid they WOULD repent and God would forgive them. Then Jonah would have to deal with his own prejudice and accept the Ninevites just as God accepted them. And he didn't want to do that. He wanted the second chance but he didn't want to give them one.
C. So, what does this have to do with us? Is Jonah about facing our own prejudices? Is this a story about God using us even when we don't want to be used? Is this a story telling us to quit running away from God and come home? Or is this about God taking our worst effort and turning it into a miracle of grace? I think the answer to all of these is "Yes." But I also think there is more, too.
I think Jonah is about repentance and a God who loves us so much that God searches for us even when we run off in the wrong direction. It's about a God who creates opportunities in which we can repent and turn back to God. This is the story of our God who is a God of second chances. You see, God could have just let Jonah go and gotten someone elese. God could have told that big fish to take the final gulp. But God loved Jonah so much, that "The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time." Would God have given Jonah a third chance? I don't know. But God gave Jonah a second chance and that's all he needed.
God offers us second chances, too. We know the message of love and forgiveness that Jesus preached but his very first message was, "Repent, and believe in the good news." You see, you can't receive forgiveness unless you realize that you need to be forgiven. And that's what repentance is all about.
To repent literally means to "turn around", to do a 180, a U-turn, an about face. Repentance is allowing Christ to reorient us from past sin to God's future. Repentance is an ongoing attitude of heart and soul. It reminds us not that we're bad, we're good. God said so at creation. Our relationship with God has been broken through our disobedience but God wants to restore that relationship.
Somehow we all have this image of God standing up there with finger shaking in our face saying, "Bad boy!" or "Bad girl!" But that's not what God is saying. God wouldn't have created us in God's own image, say we are very good and then start calling us "bad." That's inconsistent.
God does say that sometimes what we do may be bad or wrong or break our relationship with God. We're not bad, but what we do may be. As a consequence, what happens is that we wind up facing the wrong direction in life. You see, when you sin you're going the wrong way. You're not going toward God. You're not going God's way. You're going away from God. That's why the call to turn back to God is "Repent". It means, "Halt. Turn around. Do a 180. Head the other direction." It means turn around and come back home.
That was the message Jonah had for Nineveh. That was the message God had for Jonah. And that's the message Jesus brings for each of us, "Repent, and believe in the good news."
One spring day a mother and her six-year-old son were out in the garden. Mom was absorbed in her work while the little boy explored the miracle of growing things exploding everywhere. All at once he picked a daffodil bud, sat down on the ground and studied it. Then with his two little hands he tried to force it open into full blossom. Frustrated, he cried out, "Mommy, why is it that when I try to open the bud, it just falls to pieces and dies? How does God open it into a beautiful flower?" And before his mother could give an answer, he made his own "Ah Ha!" discovery and said, "Oh, I know! God always works from the inside." (1)
He was right. God always works from the inside, calling, guiding, reminding us just how much we are loved. God works from the inside even when we are going the wrong direction. God calls us like Jonah and like Nineveh to turn around, to "Repent, and believe in the good news." The question for us is, "What is it that is keeping you separated from God?" What do you need to turn away from? Your sin might be like that fish I told you about, this big . . . ., but God still loves you. "Repent, and believe in the good news." Turn around. Do a 180. Come home. Let the angels in heaven rejoice.
1. Parables, Etc., December 1987