Jonah 1:1-2, 4:11 Having Compassion for the Lost

Jonah 1:1-2, 4:11 Having Compassion for the Lost

“The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because their wickedness has confronted Me.”” (Jonah 1:1–2, HCSB)

“Should I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot distinguish between their right and their left, as well as many animals?”” (Jonah 4:11, HCSB)

I am beginning a series I am calling “The Heart of God.” For the next couple of months, I will go through the twelve minor prophets. Each week, together we will look at a major theme of each book, which reveals part of the heart of God. As I encounter God’s heart, it should begin to change my own.

The book opens with God telling a prophet to go tell the people of Nineveh to change. The book ends with God saying that He has compassion for the people of Nineveh. The book begins and ends with compassion. In between, there is a prophet – a man of God – who does not share that same compassion. Instead, he feels forced to share a message of compassion with people who he doesn’t care about. Jonah doesn’t have the heart of God. You see, God shows compassion. It is part of God’s nature. God shows compassion for Jonah. God shows compassion to the people of Nineveh. God shows compassion for the lost. God wants me to share that same compassion with people around me who are lost.

God shows compassion for His servants.

FOUR DIFFERENT LESSONS WE LEARN FROM THE LIFE OF JONAH

You can run but you can’t hide (Jonah 1)

When things look bad, look up (Jonah 2)

God gives everyone a second chance (Jonah 3)

God loves everybody (Jonah 4)

We easily see the contrast between God’s compassion, and Jonah’s lack of compassion. Jonah runs away and hides because he dislikes the people God calls him to reach. Jonah whines because of his situation, even though he got himself in it. Jonah begs for help after spending three days in a place of salvation. Jonah complains about the plant’s comfort and cares more about the plant than the people God sent him to share His message.

How has God shown compassion for you?

God shows compassion for people.

God has compassion for people. He cares for the world. When Jonah does run from God, he runs into two different groups of people.

Compassion Example #1: Sailors

The first are the sailors:

Jonah 1:7–10

They cry out to their god and it does not work. They tell Jonah to cry out to his God, but he refuses. So they cast lots. The lots (which seemed like a coincidence but God uses coincidences) point to Jonah. So God is compassionate on these people, by saving them after they dump Jonah into the water.

Jonah 1:14

Jonah 1:16

God uses different experiences to draw people to Himself. Many times, God uses difficult circumstances to bring people to come and see His compassion in their lives.

Compassion Example #2: People of Nineveh

Jonah 3:4–5

Jonah gets out of the water and walks to the city. He preaches one line: God is coming to judge. The people believed based on this message. So God can use difficult circumstances for us to see He has compassion. Sometimes, God uses the message of His servants to show people that He has compassion on them. God even uses people who don’t want to reach out to people. Sometimes, God will do His work despite our attitude.

God shows compassion for the lost.

Jonah 4:11

The Bible shows here that in this Gentile nation, God has identified a large number of people who cannot distinguish right from wrong. God knows the lost. God cares for the lost. He even says that He should care for the lost. The point of the question is not if God cares about the lost. The point is to illustrate that God does care about the lost. How has God shown compassion for the lost?

Romans 5:8

God proves His love by sending Jesus to save us, even when we were not worth saving. In the book of Jonah, God reveals that there are people who need to turn to God. God identifies His compassion with people. But His compassion is not limited to just one nation.

John 3:16

God proves His compassion for the lost by giving His Son to keep us from perishing in a place far away from Him. God shows His compassion in different ways to different people in different circumstances. However, He ultimately shows His compassion for the lost through His Son’s sacrifice.

God is compassionate for the lost. He expects His servants to be just as compassionate for the lost around us. This is the heart of God for the lost.

2 Peter 3:9

God does not want anyone to perish.

God wants me to show His compassion with others around me.

God wants me to show His compassion with others, even people I don’t like. Am I willing to share His message with those outside my circle, even with those who seem least likely to respond? Or like Jonah, am I more interested in seeing people get what they deserve? Noted pastor and author John Piper puts it this way:

If the only feeling that you have toward a person is the feeling of disgusted anger, you probably will not be able to minister to that person. I say “probably” because you might use all your will power for some reason other than love—like fear of God’s judgment—and say something or do something for a person you despise, and God might use it to bless the person. That’s exactly what happened to Jonah. He detested the Ninevites. But he did not want to face another fish-swallowing. So he delivered God’s message, and God used it to convert the whole city.1

Sometimes, God can use bitter and angry people to share His Good News with the lost. And it can work. People can come to Christ because of an angry presentation of the Gospel. I am not saying that we should diminish the consequences of eternal torment in Hell. But love is a better motivator than fear. Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with an angry is not the heart of God. So how do I do it? How can I show compassion with those around me?

HOW TO EXPRESS GOD’S COMPASSION WITH THE LOST

Build relationships so that people who are lost can be found.

Romans 10:15

You can only share the good news of Jesus Christ with people when you spend time with them. Get out of house. Get off your smartphone.

Get offline and get in the real world.

Show my compassion for the lost.

Luke 14:23–24

The reason that Jesus says that we should compel them and make them come in is because we are showing that we care for them. We have compassion and we care about people who we want to see come to Christ. So build relationships and show you faith by caring for people.

Tell my story.

1 Corinthians 1:17

Paul didn’t use a special Gospel presentation. He used his story. He didn’t use his theological knowledge. Of course, he could have used it. But he know that words can be a barrier to the power of the Gospel. You don’t have to quote Scripture to people. We need to quit quoting Scripture to show our superiority over people and we need to start living our lives like the good news of Jesus Christ actually did something in our lives. Let God use His power through our lives and our words to make the change happen.