(Audio and Text)
Title: Three Telling Observations
Story of Being in California with Mary, Jodie, and Jenny Beck in 2004 and us deciding NOT to drive 2 hours NORTH of San Simeon (because our route was south) to see the Winchester House.
Now they are showing promos for the TV show and every time it comes on, Mary mutters, “We should have gone back.”
I don’t want to make the same mistake with this passage today, so let me explain what we are going to do today.
Last week we dove right into verse 15, and I want to take a step back and look at verse 14 a bit more closely, because there are some interesting parallels, which frankly, I did not come to a full appreciation of until I began this week’s preparations, and now I want to back up a step and with what the sailors proclaim to God right before they finally throw Jonah into the sea.
Next week, I promise, we will dive into the second and third reactions, and continue to “peal the onion.”
(read/pray)
I want to spend today by making three observations about this prayer to God; then note their N.T. parallels, and finally look at what universal truths that will reveal to us in the present moment.
Three Observations About the Sailor’s Prayer:
1. “do not let us perish for this man’s life”
What the sailors don’t realize is that Jonah, as the Christ figure, is doing the opposite, HE is perishing to SAVE their lives.
POINT: While the sailors are only concerned with their innocence (which they are not), God is concerned with their salvation.
Personal Parallel: When it comes the unbeliever’s relationship with God, they are most often pursing the idea that they are “innocent” or “not evil”. The only way TO salvation is first admitting both guilt and that we are, in fact, evil, deserving of Hell…so that Jesus can be the atonement for that very guilt!
Application: We must teach the reality that comparing one’s self to others is useless. The only “mirror” we should ever use is Jesus Christ himself. THAT will lead us to the reality of who we really are.
2. “do not charge us with innocent blood”
They are only killing him because they believe the Lord wants him killed, not because they find any guilt in him, just like Pilate.
Matthew 27:22-24
Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?”
They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified! When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.”
POINT: Not only can they not see the guilt in themselves, they can’t see the guilt in Jonah. What is the Huge truth they are missing?
Personal Parallel: NO ONE IS INNOCENT. Romans 3:10-12
As it is written:
“There is none righteous, no, not one;
There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”
APPLICATION: Once we realize the fallen state of man, we naturally start seeking a solution, a path, to redemption. And there, Jesus presents a solution.
3. “You, O Lord have done as it pleased you”
They recognize, that even though they do not understand why this man has to die, that this is the Lord’s will…the disciples of Jesus had the exact same internal struggle.
Matthew 16:21-23
From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
POINT: If Peter walked for three years with Jesus, and even he was left flabbergasted and shocked at Jesus’s plans, do you think it’s reasonable that God’s Will has the potential to surprise us from time to time?
Personal Parallel: Sometimes we think we have God “figured out” and we know exactly what he will do in a given situation. Sometimes we trust our own understanding of God so much that ANYTHING that falls outside of OUR definition of who God is makes us cry heresy, instead of embracing the mystery of how God may work through a given situation.
Application: Be HUMBLE before the plans of God, for his ways are often a mystery to us. We don’t need to understand every single step or reason for God doing what God does… We DO need to TRUST HIM.
Close/Pray/Q-A