Should I Not Have Compassion?

Scripture: References only Series: Return to the Lord Date: Unscheduled Preacher: Ed Rangel Place: Chile Type of sermon: Expository Status: Not yet preached

Thesis

The human heart can correctly know God's mercy and still resent Him showing it to others; the Lord confronts that hardness by teaching us to value people more than our own comfort.

Opening

Nineveh repented, and God did not execute the announced disaster. The prophet should have rejoiced that his preaching was heard. Instead, Jonah became angry precisely because he knew God's character and suspected the Lord would show mercy.

Jonah correctly affirmed that God is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. The problem was that he wanted those truths for himself and not for his enemies.

God made a plant grow, sent a worm, and appointed a wind to show the prophet the difference between his concern for a shade plant and divine compassion for a city.

Introduction

1. Jonah 4 occurs after Nineveh's repentance and God's decision not to execute the announced evil.
2. Jonah's anger reveals that his resistance had never been solely fear of failure.
3. The Lord uses questions and a concrete experience to confront the prophet's heart.
4. The book ends with God's question, leaving the reader under the same confrontation.

Biblical Text, Jonah 4:1–11

I. JONAH KNEW GOD'S CHARACTER, YET RESENTED HIS MERCY (Jonah 4:1–4)

A. The salvation of Nineveh produced anger in the prophet.

1. Jonah was not confused about what had happened.
2. He understood that God had responded to the city's repentance.
3. His displeasure revealed that he preferred the judgment of his enemies.
4. It is possible to preach a truth without loving the people who need to receive it.

B. Jonah explained his flight by means of a correct confession about God.

1. He knew the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
2. He knew His patience and abundant mercy.
3. Those truths had not formed a similar compassion within him.
4. Correct doctrine must govern our affections, not merely our vocabulary.

C. God responded with a question.

1. He did not allow the prophet to turn anger into automatic justice.
2. He demanded that he examine whether he had reason to be angry.
3. The question opened space for repentance without approving his attitude.
4. When mercy offends us, the problem does not lie in the character of God.

II. GOD USED A PLANT TO EXPOSE JONAH'S PRIORITIES (Jonah 4:5–9)

A. Jonah waited outside the city.

1. He prepared a shelter and watched what would happen.
2. He seemed to retain hope of seeing destruction.
3. His physical distance also expressed distance from God's merciful purpose.
4. The prophet wanted to contemplate judgment rather than participate in restoration.

B. God appointed both comfort and its loss.

1. The plant provided shade and brought great joy to Jonah.
2. The worm caused it to wither.
3. The wind and the sun made his discomfort intense.
4. God governed the experience to teach the prophet what an explanation alone had not corrected.

C. Jonah showed more emotion for the plant than for the city.

1. He rejoiced greatly over a temporary shade plant.
2. He wished to die when he lost it.
3. His response revealed how much he valued his own comfort.
4. We can call conviction what is actually anger because God did not protect our preference.

III. GOD'S COMPASSION REACHES PEOPLE WE MIGHT DESPISE (Jonah 4:10–11)

A. Jonah had neither created nor sustained the plant.

1. He pitied something that served him.
2. His concern arose largely from the usefulness he obtained from it.
3. God exposed a self-centered compassion.
4. True love does not measure another's worth by the comfort they provide us.

B. God saw a great city full of lives.

1. Nineveh was guilty, and the book never calls its wickedness innocent.
2. It was also full of people in need of repentance.
3. God even mentioned the animals to broaden Jonah's limited perspective.
4. Divine holiness can announce judgment while simultaneously showing compassion toward those who turn.

C. Jesus is greater than Jonah.

1. The Ninevites responded to the preaching of the reluctant prophet.
2. Jesus came voluntarily, announced the kingdom, and gave His life for sinners.
3. He remained in the tomb and rose again, fulfilling the sign He associated with Jonah.
4. His gospel reaches enemies and demands that the church abandon the pride that desires mercy only for its own. Matthew 12:40–41

Application

Ask yourself if there is a person or group for whom you desire judgment rather than repentance. Do not deny their sin, but do not use justice as a cover for hatred either. If the gospel can reach you, you cannot decide that someone else is beyond the reach of mercy.

Examine how much anger arises from losing your comfort. A plant, a schedule, or a preference can receive more emotion than people far from God. Let the Lord reorganize what you value.

Allow doctrine to transform the heart. Saying that God is compassionate is not enough if you are offended to see Him act with compassion. Pray, speak, and serve in a manner consistent with the character you confess.

Conclusion

1. Jonah knew God's mercy and became angry upon seeing it in Nineveh.
2. The plant revealed how much he valued his comfort.
3. God defended His compassion for a guilty city that had repented.
4. Jesus, greater than Jonah, died and rose again to bring mercy to sinners.

Invitation

Do not remain outside the city defending your anger. Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again. The same gospel that reaches your enemy also confronts your heart.

Hear the word, believe in Jesus, repent, confess His name, and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins. If you are already a Christian, abandon hardness and participate in the mission of the God who shows compassion.