Beyond The Whale: A Story Of Grace Transcript

I'm going to try something. I have a feeling of how it's going to turn out, but I have no idea, so let's find out. I'm going to say a word, and I want you all to say as loud as you can, or as loud as pot, not, you know what I mean, so I can hear you. The first word that comes to mind. I knew that was, I had a feeling that's the answer I was going to get.

Jonah is four chapters long, and the whale only appears in the second chapter, in a little bit of verses, and yet it consumes the whole story. It's the thing that captivates our hearts and minds. It's the things that we latch to in this story as we try to make sense of this book. It's the thing that grabs our attention probably because part of it is we wonder, how is it possible? How is this miraculous event of a man being swallowed by a whale or a fish even possible?

And we get so caught up in that question that we seem to fixate on it. We fixate on that part of the story because it just seems so improbable or impossible. But what if I told you that it is not the most impossible sounding thing in this story? And it probably isn't the most important. That's the case I want to make for you today because I think this story, these four chapters speak to us.

But I want to share a little bit of a context of where this is, what it is, and what's going on because I think it will make a difference. I want to share a little bit of a context of where this is, what it is, and what's going on about that impossibility. Jonah takes place in... Nineveh is the capital of the country of Assyria. Assyria is the country, the foreign invaders that destroyed the northern kingdom and took them off to exile.

Jonah was likely written not only after the destruction of the northern kingdom but also of the southern kingdom destroyed by Babylon. Assyria... Assyria... Assyria... The people of Israel are no longer those standstill nation that it was under Solomon and his descendants. That promise that God had given to David seems so distant and foreign.

And this story takes place in the capital of a foreign invader that destroyed an entire kingdom. To put it in relatively modern terms, this would be similar to a story of a prophet being sent to Berlin in 1939. To put it in relatively modern terms, this would be similar to a story of a prophet being sent to Berlin in 1939. To proclaim that God is going to bring judgment and to turn

away from your ways. I mean, that's the reality, that's the anger, that's the surrounding context of this story. Now, we don't know if this literally happened or if it's more of a novella telling of a story of a prophet and the power of God. And again, when we get caught up in trying to explain the whale and the fish, we try to... We get caught up in that and we lose sight of something greater. Because the driving force of this story is grace. Of God's forgiveness

and God's calling on people to repent and be transformed and God's relentless call to Jonah to be the same. In that context that I just gave you, maybe you can understand why Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh. Why he went the exact opposite. We can think of a few reasons and one of them becomes clear in chapter 4 if you go back and read it. One, Jonah could have been afraid. I'm going into this foreign

land, I'm going to teach them that God's going to destroy their city. What are they going to do to me? Probably the same thing that happens to so many of the other prophets that go into a city and say God's going to destroy them. They're going to put me to death. So it could be based out of fear that he runs away. But these were enemies. Maybe he didn't want

to risk them finding forgiveness. Maybe he wanted God to destroy them. That that's what they deserved. And so if I don't go and if I don't proclaim, then there is no risk that they change from their ways. And God will deal with them as I want them to deal with them. No matter why he runs, he goes in the complete opposite direction. he sets sail to Tarshish, which you've had

to say maybe five times. And I think in one paragraph there, it's always fun reading those stories. Now, apparently he told the people that he was on the boat with why he was there. They knew that he was running away from God because they call him out on it when the storm comes up. And I love this part of the story because Jonah is doing the very opposite of what God wants him to do. He has literally run in the opposite direction. And yet. Jonah says, this God that I worship, this God that I follow is the one causing the storm. He has no doubt in his mind, even though he's doing the very opposite of

what his God told him to do, that he is still a follower of God. That he is still a child of God. The storm rages. They cast lots to figure out who it is that is causing this calamity, who it is that needs to be dealt with. And I know we as people of. Of science and in our world today, we hear that casting of dice and we think randomness, that it's such a weird way to pick something. But in this world, in this time period, you cast lots because there was something between where the hand, the dice leave the hand and before they stop on the table while they're passing through the

air. That is when it's thought that the gods or that God can influence the outcome of the dice. There was a trust in the hand of this God that would. What would once it's out of our hands and once it's out of what we can do, that God is going to direct the action and the dice are going to land where they need to fall. This is foreign to us, but they cast the lots and the lots land on Jonah. And I love the people on this ship because they don't worship God. They don't

worship Jonah's God. And yet they refuse to throw him overboard, even though he says to do so. Jonah says, this is my fault. The calamity has come. Upon us, he's fallen asleep in the midst of this storm and they cast lots and they say, OK, it's me. Jonah agrees it's him. Toss me overboard. And they try to row hard. They try to fight the storm so that they don't toss Jonah overboard. They don't want

to be responsible for his life and what happens to him, even though he said it's my fault. Well, they finally relent. They toss Jonah overboard and God rescues Jonah. Jonah threw a fish. And that's chapter two. So let's unpack this so far. Jonah, a man

of God, a prophet of God, who was told to go to one place, runs in the opposite direction. How many of us may have been in that situation where God is telling us what to do? God is asking us what to do. God has instructed us. We have this internal sense within us that God wants me to go and do this and say this. And we say, nope, not going to do it. It's too hard. It's

too. It's too scary. Or I don't want to risk what's going to happen if I actually say yes. And yet we go about our lives while we're running away from God and what he wants from us saying, I worship you, God. I claim you and proclaim you and I follow you. So we've got to deal with that disconnect that Jonah did as well. We've got to deal with that disconnect between doing what God has asked us to do and our

desire to flee from what God has asked us to do. While still proclaiming. God is our God. There's a challenge to us. We have to do some soul searching, some heart searching and say, if I proclaim God as my God, if I claim the God of Jesus Christ as my God and Jesus as my Savior, and I'm doing the very opposite of what Jesus wants me to do, then I've got to deal with that. Because either I need to get in line with what Jesus wants me to do. Or I've got to be honest and say, maybe I'm not. Maybe I'm not following as closely as I think I am. Maybe

I'm not placing my trust in him nearly as much as my mind and heart thinks it wants to. And if that were the end of the story, that would be a harsh reality. Because then it relies solely on us. And yet here in this story with Jonah, we see God's grace. We see the grace that he wants to offer to Nineveh, or we will see it.

And we see the grace that is offered to Jonah. The man who ran. The opposite direction. God did not say, okay, I'm going to use someone else. God did not look at Jonah who ran away and say, I reject you and I am going to leave you. And I'm going to go ahead and send a different prophet. There's other people I can call. There's other people that are likely going to do what I'm going,

what I asked of them. And so you're done. Sink to the bottom of the sea and drown. Yet the grace of God extended to Jonah. Does this supernatural. Thing of calling up a fish from the deep. To carry him to dry land. The grace of God offered to Jonah and to us is that yes, we can go in the opposite direction. Yes, our hearts will fail. Our spirits will fail. Our strength will fail. Our desire

to be with God will fail. And we will do the opposite of what God wants us to do. And yet God will call us back. God will still work with us. And through us, but at some point, at some point, we have to turn around at some point. We have to see the signs at some point. We need to relent and we need to do that. Grace is available to us. God is always there waiting for us to turn around and go in the right direction, but we've got to be the ones to turn

around. We've got to be the ones to make those decisions, to make that choice. And when we do, we can truly be a part of something tremendous, which takes us to chapter three. We are told that Nineveh is a huge city. It takes three days to walk across it. Jonah goes a day into that three day journey and he starts proclaiming that God will destroy Nineveh in 40 days. This has to be one of the most effective

sermons, one of the most effective prophets that we see in scripture. Because Jonah only gives those maybe 10 words in 40 days, God will destroy all of Nineveh and the whole city repents. It starts from the ground up, the city and the people repent, and then it makes its way to the king and the king tears over his clothes and sits in ashes and wears sackcloth. It starts from the ground up, the city and the people repent, and then it makes its way to the king and the king tears over his clothes

and sits in ashes and wears sackcloth. A form of mourning, of repentance. And he makes a decree that all people and animals will do the same. They shall not eat, they shall not drink, they shall wear sackcloth, and they shall sit in ashes. In this one small statement, this one small message that God gives Jonah to give, an entire city is transformed. And God sees that transformation. The transformation of the enemy of the people. The people of God, God relents. God's

grace is again on full display. This time, to the people that we would not expect. Those that would be foreign. Those that destroy the kingdom. Those that would be despised by God's people. And yet God's grace is available to them as well. How many times do we want to put limits on God's grace on deciding who is in and who is out? Who is right and who is wrong? Who is worthy of God's love and who is not? How

many times do we want to say, well, their actions, their deeds, they are beyond salvation. They are beyond God's grace. And so whatever happens to them, let it happen to them. One of the reasons that Jonah might have gone the other way. But the people repent. Now this is where I want you to go home and read this if you can. If you have the time. Which again, it doesn't

take long. Read chapter 4. Because Jonah's response... Is one that perhaps we have had as well. Jonah sees the city repent. They see this act. And Jonah's not happy about it. Jonah does not like seeing the fact that the people repented. The best way I can describe it is God... Jonah pulls up a lawn chair with an umbrella over top it. Now it's a tree. It's that he sits

in in the story. But he pulls up an umbrella. He sits in a lawn chair. I imagine him folding his arms and watching and waiting for the city to be destroyed. It's like, God's going to do it. And I want to see it. So I'm going to wait. And Jonah actually gets angry at God for relenting. Jonah gets angry at God for God extending grace to his enemies. Jonah gets angry at

God. God for showing forgiveness to those who repent. And there's a whole part of the story with a worm and a tree. VeggieTales makes the worm talk. So if you need a condensed version of this story, even more so, watch Fine VeggieTales. And God ultimately gives this message. Who are you to be angry about what I do with what I have created? Who are you to be angry that I offer grace? The same grace that...

Just got offered to you when you were sinking in the water. When you were running the opposite direction of what I wanted to go. When you repented and turned back and I offered you grace, why would you withhold that from someone else? And that's where we see why Jonah ran the other direction. He did not want to see Nineveh saved.

He did not want to see the people of Nineveh repent. And experience God's grace. He wanted them to be destroyed. And yet God's grace is bigger than Jonah's. And thank God for that. Thank God that God's grace is bigger than our grace. Because we want to put limits on who can experience. We want to put limits on who it's offered to. We want to put limits on what happens to those who repent. And we want to say, No, those people are just too far gone. And yet God's grace is bigger than that. And I can guarantee that

that's a good thing. Because I know that there are people in this world where me, myself, is outside of God's grace. Where we draw the circle. I believe in a God that goes beyond it. And sometimes, maybe I'm not happy about that. Grace is there.

If we believe we are in a world... That is in desperate need of God's grace. If we believe that the world, the community that we find ourselves, the nation that we find ourselves, is in need of transformation and repentance. Do we believe that God's grace is powerful enough to bring that

change? Powerful enough to meet it? Powerful enough to meet not only your transformation and repentance, but everyone else that we might consider as good or evil. On the right side or the wrong side. Where change can happen. And if we believe God's grace can extend beyond the borders of what we think God should do, then can we also believe that we have a role to play? That in spite of our fear of not having the right words, of not having the right theology to explain who God is and what God has done and how God's grace is sufficient, that we are not that

afraid of being rejected? Are we that afraid of making someone angry or feeling uncomfortable? That we refuse to share any word at all? That we run in the opposite direction? Or keep quiet when that word needs to be shared? This sermon that Jonah gives is maybe ten words. I should have counted those words to be sure. But it is short. It is sweet. Maybe not so sweet with the Ninevites. But it is a message that God placed on us. He placed it on his heart to give.

And when he shares it, when he proclaims it, when he finally turns back to where God wants him to go, and he takes part in God's redeeming work, the whole city, the capital of this country, is transformed. And is saved. That should tell us that when God has placed something on our hearts to say, and it doesn't have to be about destruction,

open ourselves up to God and say, God, okay, I'll share that. We should be ready for lives to be transformed. For societies to change. For a new way of living in this world that sure has to beat the way it is now. This story is more than just about a whale. It is about grace. Grace offered to each of us as individuals even when we run away. Grace offered to each of us

as individuals even when we run away. Grace offered to those people that we think maybe don't even deserve it. And a grace offered to society as a whole to say a new way of living, a new way of being, is possible. And all it takes for each person in this story, whether it's Nineveh or Jonah, is turn away from running in the opposite direction and doing

the opposite of what God wants, to simply taking that first step. Towards God. This grace is available to all. It cleanses us all invites us into a powerful story of redemption we would miss out on if we run away.