Week 9

1. Week 9

2. Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt isolated, lonely, or discouraged? What caused it? • Did you think about God at that time? • If you did, how did you feel about Him? • Think of examples of great mercy shown by one person to another in literature and cinema. For example: • Les Miserables, when Jean Valjean is shown mercy by the bishop from whom Valjean has stolen silver • The mercy that Frodo consistently extends to Gollum in The Lord of the Rings. • What makes these instances of mercy so surprising and so memorable? • What effect does the mercy have upon its recipients?

3. The Storm at Sea(Jonah 1:7-12) Quick Review of Week 8 ….

4. Propitiation • God demonstrates his love for us in the death of His Son Jesus; but for many people the connection between God's love and the death of Jesus is not obvious • Without further explanation, Christ’s death may appear like the boyfriend making a grand gesture that is without value to the one he professes to love • The death of Jesus can only be a meaningful demonstration of God's love if it achievessomething for us • God presented Jesus as a propitiation, through faith in His blood (Romans 3:25) • A propitiation is a sacrifice offered to placate wrath, and Jesus became our propitiation on the cross … The wrath of God was poured out on Him as He carried our sins • By becoming our sacrifice, He delivered us from the storm of God's judgment

5. Jonah 1:7 7And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. • Why did the lot fall to Jonah? • The Hebrew in this passage says literally that the mariners “threw down” lots and that they “fell” to Jonah. • What do these words tell us about Jonah? • Would it be appropriate for a Christian congregation to use lots to make a decision? Explain your answer.

6. Casting Lots • Theological Basis: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD” (Proverbs 16:33) • Used to help make decisions: • To receive supernatural guidance • To make an impartial choice (between objects/people for service)

7. Jonah 1:8-10 8Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”10Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. • Jonah ignores the question concerning his occupation – He doesn’t say that God has given him the task of going to Nineveh; that he is escaping still from his vocation • He also overlooks the question about where he is from; only the reader listening at this point knows that he comes from the presence of the Lord.

8. What individuals or groups were adversely affected by Jonah’s rebellion and how were they affected? • The sailors experienced fear and potential loss of life • The captain may lose his job because he was responsible for the safe arrival of the cargo • The individuals or corporation who owned the ship • The individual or corporation who owned the cargo, which was likely uninsured • The other ships and their crews in the immediate area of the storm • The people of Nineveh who did not hear God’s message when He originally told Jonah to go to them

9. Jonah 1:12 12He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” • A certain ambivalence hovers over this verse. Why does Jonah ask to be thrown overboard? Is his primary motivation to perish? Or is it to save the lives of the sailors?” • Let’s think about the “assisted suicide” interpretation: • This verse reveals Jonah’s continuing refusal to take responsibility – not only for his prophetic role, but even for his own life • Yahweh doesn’t want Jonah to die; he wants him to preach! • Seeing the storm, Jonah shows contempt for his own life. He would rather die than carry out Yahweh’s commission to go to Nineveh • Put another way, Jonah does not want to die to his theological worldview and be transformed into a missionary to Nineveh; instead, Jonah opts for death by drowning. He reckons that it is better for him to die than endure the consequences of the Gospel!

10. Jonah 1:12 12He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” • Now let’s examine the “self sacrifice” interpretation: • According to this interpretation, by offering himself as a sacrifice, Jonah is indicating his desire to save the sailors • This seems to validate the purpose clause, “then the sea will quiet down for you,” and his admission of blame “for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” • Jonah knows that he stands under Yahweh’s judgment and that his death would be the just penalty that he deserves • Thus, Jonah’s later deliverance by means of the great fish is a vindication of his sacrifice

11. … Now Week 9

12. Jonah 1:13-16 13Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14Therefore they call out to the LORD, “O LORD, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you.” 15So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows. Why didn’t the mariners immediately throw Jonah overboard? What does this reveal about them? What was their intent in trying to reach land? Why were they unsuccessful?

13. Rowing Harder • The ship's crew did not want to give Jonah up, and they tried their best to row back to the shore • Their desire to spare Jonah's life seems admirable, but it was a direct contradiction to the Word of God • God had spoken through the prophet: The life of the man who spoke the Word must be given up if the crew were to be saved • But the first instinct of the crew was to refuse the sacrifice; they felt that they could get through the storm of God's judgment, and so they rowed harder • God has spoken through the prophet, promising deliverance from the storm of judgment to the entire crew through the sacrifice of one man who is willing to lay down his life • But these men think that they can save themselves by their own effort • They believe that they can survive the storm without the sacrifice

14. Invictus(Latin for “Unconquered”) • The strength of this impulse to refuse the sacrifice is significant: There is a deep-seated pride in the human heart that says, "we can make it through the judgment of God" • This instinct is powerfully expressed in a poem by William Ernest Henley called Invictus: Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. ... It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. • There’s great courage expressed here, but also an extraordinary resistance to God. • This is the polar opposite of a God-centered life: “We can row through God’s storm … we don’t need the sacrifice.”

15. “But they could not …” • These four words are the turning point of their story • When the crew realized that they could not beat the storm, they turned in their desperation to what God had said through the prophet and they staked their lives on the sacrifice of Jonah • Do you see how beautifully this points to Jesus Christ? • The storm of God's judgment is stronger than you are; you do not have the ability to survive this storm by your own effort, no matter how hard you try • The storm of God's judgment will wreck you, unless you are saved by the sacrifice of Someone else • On the cross, Jesus gave His life to deliver you from God's righteous judgment against your sin. Cast out by men and forsaken by the Father, He offered Himself as the sacrifice that would placate the wrath of God on your behalf. • At its heart, the gospel is about God's storm and His sacrifice; Christ was thrown into the storm of God's judgment so that, through His sacrifice, you would be saved.

16. Jonah 1:13-16 13Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14Therefore they call out to the LORD, “O LORD, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you.” 15So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows. • What was the sailors’ second petition? • What did they mean by this petition? • The sailors don’t want to be held responsible if Jonah has misled them so that they are making the wrong move • They want to be sure they are doing the will of Yahweh • What were the sailors saying in the conclusion to their prayer? • What was the sailors’ first petition? • What does this show about their understanding of the 5th Commandment? • The sailors want to remind God that throwing Jonah overboard is Jonah’s solution, not theirs • They acknowledge that murder is a capital crime for which they could perish if God held them responsible Let’s focus on verse 14. What did the sailors do in this verse that Jonah had not done? Why is this ironic? Why is it significant that the text says the sailors called out to the LORD (Yahweh)?

17. Jonah 1:13-16 13Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14Therefore they call out to the LORD, “O LORD, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you.” 15So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows. What happened when the mariners hurled Jonah into the sea? Why did this happen? What did the mariners do in response to the sudden end of the storm?

18. Our Guilt in the Sacrifice • Why didn't Jonah throw himself overboard and save the crew from this anxiety? • The great events of the Bible story were shaped by God to throw light on what we most need to understand about our Lord Jesus Christ • Jesus did not take His own life; He was crucified, and that truth is pictured in the crew throwing Jonah overboard • As they were guilty of sin in throwing a man who had done them no wrong overboard, so we, as members of the human race, are guilty of sin in the crucifixion of the Son of God • Yet the death in which we incur this guilt is, in God's amazing grace, the means of our salvation!

19. Staking your Life on Christ • The ship's crew saw that they would incur guilt inthe sacrificeas they threw Jonah overboard • Yet to their amazement they found salvation through the sacrifice • God's storm ended when Jonah was thrown overboard … as he was sacrificed, the ship's crew was saved • All of this shines a light on howthe death of Christ is a demonstration of God's love for us • We crucified the Son of God – that's our guilt in the sacrifice; yet He chose to lay down his life for us – that is our salvation through the sacrifice

20. Jonah 1:4-16 4But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. 5Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” 7And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. 11Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” 13Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14Therefore they called out to the LORD, “O LORD, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you.” 15So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows. Read and compare Jonah 1:5, 10, and 16.   How did the sailors’ fear change in these verses? Is there a difference between the word “fear” in Jonah’s confession in verse 9 and the way the same word is used in verse 16? • Let’s delve into the much-debated question of whether or not the pagan crew came to saving faith in the LORD. The answer to this question is tied to a proper understanding of the biblical concept of yir’ah, the Hebrew word translated in the ESV as “fear.”

21. The Fear of the Lord • Verse 5: The sailors are "afraid" of the storm • Verse 10: The sailors are "terrified" of God: they're now more afraid of the God who's in charge of the storm than they are of the storm itself. • Verse 16: They "greatly feared the LORD." Their sacrifice and vows show this means having right and awed respect for someone, rather than being terrified of them. • Thus, Jonah in verse 9 and the sailors in verse 16 make the same confession of faith and direct the same worship to Yahweh • Through the same faith and worship, both Jonah, the Israelite, and the Gentiles have equal standing in the eyes of Yahweh • Jonah’s anti-missionary activity has ironically resulted in the conversion on non-Israelites

22. Getting Out of Our Comfort Zone • What would motivate youto bear witness to Christ in a hostile environment? • What will move the church out of the shallow waters of self-interest to pursue a costly ministry for the advance of Christ's kingdom around the world?

23. A Long Time Ago … In a Place Far, Far Away • There was a Worldwide Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh in 1910 • It was a massive ecumenical venture, one of the most comprehensive attempts to ignite a fresh passion for world missions in the entire history of the church • Numerous papers were written that included questionnaires, missionary responses from the field, transcripts, area reports, reports to commissions, minutes, published findings, etc. • Ploughing through the history of this massive effort to engage the church with the needs of the world, it became obvious that nothing much had been accomplished beyond committees, papers and reports • This extraordinary effort made very little difference … It was a massive disappointment • But if all this effort couldn't make a difference, what would?

24. One Year Later • At the annual meeting of the Baptist Missionary Society, one year after the Edinburgh conference, James Denny gave the keynote address • The aim of a keynote address at such an occasion is motivation, and the message often revolves around three well-worn themes: Pray! Give! Go! • When Denney got up to speak, he announced the title for his address. It was one word: 'Propitiation.' • Denney began as follows, “Within the last twelve months, foreign missions have been more talked about in the Church than at any time I can remember. The appeals made in connection with them have been frequent and importunate [urgent]. The cause has been pleaded with every kind of argument …” • He continued, “ The urgency of the need and the vastness of the opportunity have alike been pressed on the Church, and we have not wanted those who, in view of both, have talked to us of missions as a 'business proposition,' and have told us how, as men of business, we must address ourselves to the organizing and financing of the business ...”

25. One Year Later • Then he asked, "What has been the result?" “As far as I can see, it is neither here nor there. An immense proportion of the people in our churches care little about the matter. There is no sensible increase either of contributions or of gifted men.” • Then he came to his point: “It is not interest in missions that we want in our churches at this moment, but interest in the Gospel. Apart from a new interest in the Gospel, a revival of evangelical faith in Christ as the Redeemer, I believe we shall look in vain for a response to missionary appeals. But there is something in the Gospel itself ... which immediately creates missionary interest, because it has no proper correlative but the universe.” • Then, he opened up his text: “He [Christ] is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:2, KJV).

26. Gospel: A-through-Z • Denney's point was simple: • When your heart is gripped by the love of God poured out in the cross … • When you see the extent of that love in the propitiation by which Christ became the sacrifice for your sin, bearing wrath and entering hell for you … • And when you are convinced that this Christ offers Himself in redeeming love to others who do not yet know Him … • Then a passion will be lit in your heart to pursue a God-centered life • The gospel is not simply what non-Christians must believe in order to be saved, but after they believe, they advance to the deeper theological waters of the Reformed faith • The gospel is not simply the ABCs of Christianity, it is the A-through-Z of Christianity • The gospel doesn’t just ignite the Christian life; it’s the fuel that keeps Christians going every day (Colossians 1:6)