Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (Jonah 1), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• [1-3] Jonah didn’t just reject the mission God gave him, he fled from God himself. We find out why toward the end of the story: because Jonah knew God was gracious and merciful, that he would forgive the evil Assyrians (4:1-3). Jonah was angry at God, not because of a misconception about God, but because he rightly understood who God is. Can you relate to Jonah’s instinct to run away from God? What sorts of things have you hated about God? (For a sinner to say “nothing” is to delude oneself.) What is it about him that might cause you to flee his presence, to divert your attention away from him?

• Jonah resents the fact that God forgives evil people. He prefers to compare himself favorably to others, to think of himself as “the good guy” who deserves God’s favor. But God’s mercy puts us all on level footing. Jonah would rather act like a pagan wanting nothing to do with God than to accept God for who he is. Think of the worst people you know, the worst people you can imagine—how would you feel about God being merciful to them, forgiving them, bringing them into eternal communion with himself (and with you), making them your brothers and sisters in Christ? Why might religious people (like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day) get angry at the thought of “bad people” being welcome in God’s presence (like when Jesus ate with sinners)? Aren’t you glad that God forgives his enemies (Romans 5:10)?

• [15-16] The condemnation of the “insider” led to the salvation of the “outsiders.” Jonah was reluctant to help the pagan sailors… but Jesus was willing to bless all the nations by his sacrifice at the cross. Jonah deserved to be hurled into the sea… but Jesus was righteous, and suffered the condemnation we deserve. Jesus was given over to death so that we might be spared God’s wrath and live in a renewed relationship with God. Even though it can be unbearable for self-righteous people to confess their need for God’s mercy, God is merciful, and when you come to him you come to a God who has sacrificed to love you. Why would you continue in the stubborn refusal to flee such a God? What do you have to lose in coming to him? What is there to gain? Do you confess your sin and your need of his mercy? Are you thankful for the provision of his mercy in Jesus? Has his mercy changed the way you relate to other “bad people”?