Now, please turn with me to the Old Testament, to the book of Jonah, chapter 1. If you're using the Bibles in the benches, it is found in most Bibles on page 897. The title of this message is God's Mercy to Jews and to Gentiles. Jonah, chapter 1. Please hear the reading of God's holy, inspired, and infallible word. The word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amittai. Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me. But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own God. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, How can you sleep? Get up and call on your God. Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish. Then the sailors said to each other, Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity. They cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. So they asked him, Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you? He answered, I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land. This terrified them, and they asked, What have you done? They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so. The sea was getting rougher and rougher, so they asked him, What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us? Pick me up and throw me into the sea, he replied, and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you. Instead, the men did their best to row back to land, but they could not, For the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried to the Lord, O Lord, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man. For you, O Lord, have done as you pleased. Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard. And the raging sea grew calm. At this, the men greatly feared the Lord. And they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him. But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. Thus far the reading of the word of God. The title of this message is God's Mercy to Jews and to Gentiles. And we see that in the opening chapter of Jonah, how this central theme is interwoven throughout. You see, in many ways, the book of Jonah is a reminder to the nation of Israel that God is not only the God of Israel, but God is the God of all nations. of all nations, including Gentile nations. So as we explore how God's mercy to the Gentiles and to the Jews works itself out in this opening chapter of Jonah, we will place our attention on three things. First of all, Jonah's rebellion, and then the sailor's response to Jonah, And finally, how Jonah points forward to Christ. So let us begin then. In order for us to have an appreciation of Jonah's rebellion, one of the things that is necessary for us to understand is exactly why Jonah reacted the way he did. And in order to do so, let us put everything in historical context. In order to understand Jonah's rebelling, it is important to understand that Jonah is a minor prophet who lived during the time of King Jeroboam II of the northern kingdom in the 8th century. And during this time, during this lifetime of Jonah, one of Israel's greatest enemies was the neighboring superpower of Assyria. You see, Assyria was a powerful kingdom, both politically, economically, and militarily. And during Jonah's lifetime, Assyria was responsible for creating great calamity toward the nation of Israel. And so Assyria was an enemy of Israel. And one of the great cities of Assyria was the city of Nineveh. And we see that in this city of Nineveh, in fact, Nineveh was not only one of the great cities of Assyria, but it was one of the great cities of the ancient world. But Assyria also had, and Nineveh also had, a different kind of reputation, a negative one. You see, in order for us to appreciate why Jonah's rebellion, Assyria was also known for its cruelty, its wickedness. and also its evil and corruptness. So this can kind of help us to understand why Jonah reacted so strongly against the nation of Assyria. Assyria was Israel's enemy. Assyria was known for its wickedness. And Jonah could not accept the fact that how could God be merciful to Nineveh, the great city of Assyria? Jonah did not want God to be merciful to the Ninevites. In fact, we read later on in chapter 4, verse 2, Jonah himself expresses his reasons why he fled from God's calling on his life. I, Jonah, know that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, A God who relents from sending calamity. So you see, with Jonah, we see how God is relating to Jonah and how God wants Jonah to go out to this wicked, corrupt, evil nation. Israel's enemy, in fact. So that they would respond to Jonah's preaching and that they would respond, that they would repent of their sins and that God would forgive them. and be merciful to them? How could God be merciful to Israel's enemy, Assyria? How could God be merciful to this Gentile nation? Jonah disagreed so strongly with God's command for him to preach to this enemy, to this Gentile nation, to this wicked country that he fled. And when he fled, He fled to Tarsus. Tarsus is located west of Israel. Nineveh is located east of Israel. And so you see, Jonah was going in the opposite direction. And when he got on board this ship, he was heading toward the opposite end of the Mediterranean Sea. So we see it is clear where he is going and where he is not going. He is avoiding God's call on his life. And once he is at sea, once Jonah is at sea, we see that there is a great wind and a violent storm and that the sailors are all becoming fearful and afraid that they start throwing things overboard. They were so afraid and so struck with fear that they started calling as well upon their own gods. The captain noticed that Jonah himself was sleeping in the midst of all of this. The sailors had determined that Jonah was the reason for this calamity. He is the reason for this calamity as they were casting lots. And in God's providence, when they were casting lots, they rightfully pointed to Jonah. And when Jonah is confronted by them and asks all these questions, where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you? He doesn't answer all of those questions, but he gives them vital information about who he is concerning his identity. As we read in verse 9, this is how he answers. I am a Hebrew. I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land. This is how Jonah replies. Clearly, he is identifying himself as a Hebrew. And clearly, he is identifying himself with the God of Israel. And so you see, after this fact, when he tells them what they need to do in order for the seas to grow calm, he tells them, you need to throw me overboard. But they refuse. They refuse to throw him overboard. But then what happens then? The storm, the waves, the sea, rages even more. So they then decided to follow Jonah's advice. And the raging seas grew calm. It grows calm. And how did the sailors respond? How did the sailors respond at this incredible work of God and his power over creation? They begin to fear the Lord. They make vows to the Lord. They offer sacrifices to God Almighty. You see, in this brief chapter, we see the development of the sailors from the beginning till the end. And as we see how they develop and how they change and how God is working in their hearts and minds, we notice that at the beginning, when all of the storm was raging And when the waves were going higher and higher, how did they respond? They took matters into their own hands. We can solve this on our own power. Maybe if we throw things overboard, things will return to a calm state. And then they also called on their own God for help. But none of those things helped them in their situation. None of what they tried to do was helping them deal with the storm. But then when they see that after Jonah gives them instruction, and once they follow through with it, and they see that the sea does grow calm, then they realize, they realized who truly is God. Who is the Lord of Lords? Who is the king of kings? Who is the God who is the creator of the heavens and the earth? It is the God of Israel. So they turn to the God of Israel. They offer sacrifices to the Lord. And they make vows to him. And according to Jewish tradition, these sailors represented 70 different religions. So you see, there was quite a diversity on board this ship. and that all of them calling on their own separate gods, 70 different gods, none of them had power. None of them had the ability to bring calm to the storm. There is only one God who has such power. There is only one God who has such an ability. The power over nature itself. The God of Israel. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Only our God is able to do such miraculous things. So in this brief episode, we see how these sailors were transformed by this event and how God used this event to direct them toward himself and how God used this event to save them from the storm. This is an example, beloved, of God's mercy towards various people of various backgrounds. Yes, even of Gentile backgrounds. But now let's take a look at Jonah's response. How does Jonah transform before our eyes in this brief chapter, the opening chapter of this book? At the beginning, Jonah is running away from God, refusing to even be obedient to God's command to preach to the Gentiles, to preach repentance towards them. But then, Jonah himself, just like the sailors, undergo a transformation. During the storm at sea, he does a heroic act. He sacrifices himself so that these sailors would be saved from the storm. He was willing to die for their survival. This man who was running away from God, this man who refused to preach toward this Gentile nation, now, now, he was offering his life for them so that they would be saved. As we see God's mercy also towards Jonah, when he was thrown overboard, a great fish swallowed him. This fish was not an instrument of destruction. This fish was an instrument of salvation and preserved Jonah's life for three days and for three nights. And during that period of time that Jonah was in the belly of the whale, He had time to think about himself as well as the God whom he worshipped. So as we see the transformation going on in Jonah's life, and as we see the transformation going on in the life of the sailors, we see within this brief chapter how God is merciful to both Jew and Gentile. Jonah representing the Jewish nation. and these sailors from 17 different religions representing the Gentile nations and how he is showing his mercy towards all of them. But not only that, beloved, we do not only focus on the events of this chapter in this time in history, but this also makes us think, makes us think forward about what is to come. What is to come hundreds of years later? What is to come in the person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ? This chapter points forward to Christ. Think about it, beloved. Who is the one who tells the raging seas to calm down? Christ did this. Who is the one who sacrificed himself for the salvation of others? Jesus. Who is the one who rose from the dead after three days and three nights? Our Lord Jesus Christ. And who is the one who is greater than Jonah? Our Lord and Savior Jesus. beloved these are only my thoughts on this passage pointing forward but Jesus himself makes this comparison between himself and Jonah please turn with me as I read from Matthew chapter 12 Matthew chapter 12 verses 39 to 41 In this portion of scripture, we also see how the Lord himself makes a comparison between himself and Jonah. Matthew 12, verses 39 to 41. He answered, Jesus answered, A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it. For they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And now, one greater than Jonah is here. So as we read the whole of Scripture, and as we see how within this chapter 2 it points forward to Christ, We see, and when we think about Christ's kingdom, and when we think about Christ's lordship, we know that that kingdom consists of both Jews and Gentiles. And that this is not only true for the book of Jonah itself, but this is apparent in other portions of the Old Testament and other portions of the New Testament. This was God's plan from the very beginning, that he would save both Jew and Gentile. We read this at the beginning of Genesis 22 in God's promise to Abraham. And as we look to Genesis 22, we also see how it was God's intention from the beginning to save both Jew and Gentile and peoples from every tribe and every nation And from every tongue, through Jesus Christ, the one who is greater than Jonah. Genesis 22, verses 17 to 18. This is directed to Abraham. I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies and through your offspring, this offspring referring to Christ, through your offspring, all the nations on the earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me. so we see and we gain greater insights into what this passage means that it was not only true of Abraham for this time in the history of redemption that this is something that not only applies to our salvation does not only apply to the nation of Israel salvation does not only apply to the Jews to one nation to one ethnicity to one people No, this salvation, this salvation that God has planned from the beginning has been for all peoples, for all peoples. And we notice in two parts in the New Testament where they refer back to this verse. They refer back to this verse because everything that they are seeing happening in the New Testament era, and as they are seeing many come to Christ and as they are seeing all these people being converted as we read about in the book of Acts we see how they refer back to this verse how God is true to his promises and how God will bless the nations through his offspring that is Christ we read about this clearly in Acts 3 verses 24 to 26 indeed all the prophets from Samuel on as many as have spoken have foretold these days and you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers he said to Abraham through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed and when God raised up his servant he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways. So we see that throughout all of Scripture, there are some who interpret the Bible as two different books. The Old Testament is exclusively for the Jews. The New Testament is exclusively for Christians. They misinterpret the Bible as two stories of salvation, as two stories of redemption. This is not the proper way to interpret scripture. This book is one complete revelation. This book reveals to us one grand story of redemption, one grand story of salvation. It is a book that is talking about one salvation and one way of salvation, that is salvation through Christ. And so as we see and refer to Genesis, and as we refer to Jonah, and as we refer to the book of Acts, we see a continuity on how God saves his people. We see a continuity on exactly who are included in the people that he saves, to both Jew and to Gentile. So we see, beloved, that the true children of Abraham, who are the true children of Abraham? Are the true children of Abraham those people that are born a Jew, that are natural descendants of Abraham, that have a blood relation to Abraham? No. No, this is not true. The true children of Abraham are children by faith, by a common faith in Christ. These are the true children of Abraham. We, as believers, as Christians, we are the true children of Abraham. Why? Not that we're related to Abraham. Not that we're descendants from Abraham. But that we, like Abraham, have a common faith. And that faith in God is what unites us. That is what unites us. And together, we are children, the true children of Abraham. as we see how these portions of Scripture apply to our current situation, apply to the life of our church. Beloved, it is a reminder to us as well that we too have to have a vision for God's kingdom and righteousness. As we think about God's kingdom and about who God saves and that God's mercy toward both Jews and Gentiles, let us be reminded as well that when we do missions, when we do evangelism, it is not only for a certain particular people. It is not only for a particular group that we are after. Beloved, when we go out into the world and that when we invite them to church and they come to this place so that they can hear the faithful preaching of the gospel, God will use that. God works in the hearts and minds of people through the preaching of the word. This is how God brings about true faith in others. This is how he works his salvation. They have to hear the preaching of the gospel. So, as we think about unbelieving friends, unbelieving family members, unbelieving neighbors, unbelieving co-workers, let us continue to keep them in our prayers. Let us continue to reach out to them and may God give us the grace to give us the words to speak to them and may God be at work in their hearts to accept our invitation to come to this place to hear the gospel faithfully proclaimed. May God bring many to himself through this body, through this church by the preaching of the word And may God give us a desire to reach out to them. A heart for the lost. A heart for all of those who are unlike us. For the stranger. For all of those who are outside of a covenant community. Beloved, this is something that is vital. We have been privileged to be a part of this congregation where we do hear the full counsel of God and where we do hear the gospel. Because in the majority of churches in the United States, in fact, the majority of churches in the world, the gospel is distorted. It is distorted. People think wrongly in their minds that they have to save themselves. They wrongly think, well, God helps those who help themselves, so I must save myself. I must try harder, work harder, so that I can be acceptable to God. This is some of the distorted thinking that's going on in their minds, that they have to save themselves. This is a vast, horrible distortion of what the gospel truly is. And the best case scenario, they might even hear about Christ's suffering for their sins. They might hear that part of the gospel, but that is not the full gospel. The full gospel is not only referring to Christ's passive obedience, it is also referring to Christ's active obedience. That Christ not only died for us, but he also lived for us. He lived a life perfectly on our behalf. This is the message that we have to take to the world. This is the message that we have to take to the nations. And beloved, we are in an interesting situation Because in Southern California, rather than us going out outside our borders to the world, an interesting thing has happened in our time in history. The world has come here. The world has come here. So it is not necessary to cross borders. It is not necessary to go to faraway lands. Because all of these different people of the world have come to this particular region of our country. and we have an incredible opportunity to reach out to them, to reach out to them by just stepping outside our door because people from all parts of the land have come here. And let us, maybe some of us doubt, yes, there are many people here that have not heard the gospel. Yes, there are people from many nations. But will they respond? will they respond or will they just ignore us and just walk away? Some will, some won't. But remember who our God is. Our God, who is creator of the heavens and the earth. Our God, in this example in Jonah chapter 1, who is able to calm the seas. Our God, who is able to raise people from the dead. Our God, who is able to change hearts and minds, even of the most wicked people, the Ninevites were known as the most wicked, corrupt, and evil people. Our God, who is all-powerful, He is able to change hearts and minds, even of the most hardened of hearts. He is able to change it. He changed us. We did not come seeking Him, beloved. He came seeking us. And by his Holy Spirit, he gave us faith. He softened our hearts. And by the grace of God, we are saved. And we have faith in Christ. So let us not run away from this responsibility. Let us not flee from this responsibility. Let us rather embrace it. Let us not be ashamed of the gospel. For as was quoted this morning by Pastor Voss, Romans 1, verse 16, I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew and then for the Gentile. Let us have confidence in our God that he can change hearts and minds of the unbelievers that are around us. And let us pray that they come to this place where they can hear the gospel proclaimed. The one who is greater than Jonah, Christ. Let us pray that they come here that they may hear Christ preached. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word and for your salvation. Give us the grace to share our faith to all those around us who are unbelievers. Would you be at work in the hearts and minds of those whom we know who do not have faith in Christ, whether they be people in our family, in our social circle of friends, our neighbors, our co-workers, or others who we have regular contact with. May you cause them to accept our invitation to come to this place and be transformed by the preaching of the gospel. May you give us hearts for the lost and a desire to see your kingdom grow to the ends of the earth. In your Son's name we pray. Amen.