Jonah 1:11-16
Big Idea: God’s purpose in judgement is redemption. God is calling us to surrender ourselves to his good and righteous purposes in the hardships around us.
- Man’s ____________________________ to Judgement (hardship)
- Jonah’s response is __________________________
Jonah 1:12 (ESV) — 12 He 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.”
“There was nothing left for [Jonah] now. He felt that God had no more use for him. He was no longer sure whether he was a true servant of God or not… He now felt both physically and spiritually, a castaway, with no guarantee of rescue, and the expectation of the reverse.” – Sinclair Ferguson
2 Corinthians 1:8–9 (ESV) — 8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
The fight of faith is to not let your circumstances overwhelm you to the point of throwing in the towel, but instead to trust in God’s providence and purposes.
- The Sailors response is _______________________________
God’s desire for us is not to make our own way but instead to accept and embrace his way.
- God ________________________ through Judgement (hardship)
Jonah 1:14 (ESV) — 14 Therefore they called out to the Lord…
John 11:49–53 (ESV) — 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.
Jonah deserved to die, Jesus did not.
John 18:38 (ESV) — 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.
John 19:4 (ESV) — 4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.”
John 19:6 (ESV) — 6 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV) — 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The point of Jonah is not to immortalize Jonah, it is to exalt Jesus.
Questions to consider
- How can you identify with Jonah (dejection) in this account? How can you identify with the sailors (discipline)?
- In what ways is God calling you to set aside your ways and to trust in his?
- How does Jesus save us from our own plans? In what ways might you trust in Jesus and what he has done for you to overcome your reluctance to God’s plan?
