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Week 8

Week 8. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…. Get Motivated!. Jesus’ final command to his followers was “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”

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Week 8

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  1. Week 8

  2. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… Get Motivated! • Jesus’ final command to his followers was “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” • Commenting on this exhortation, a NT scholar wrote, “We can follow Christ’s instructions here out of duty, obedience, or even the expectations of others.” • What do you think? Are duty, obedience, or the expectations of others the proper reasons for following Jesus’ instructions (either the great commission or anything else)? • If not, then what is the right motivation? • How do we help motivate people, or do we?

  3. Jonah’s First Call & God’s Response(Jonah 1:3-6) Quick Review of Week 7 ….

  4. Jonah 1:3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. • The idea expressed by the Hebrew in this verse is that Jonah purchased the ship and its crew for himself, not that he paid a fare for space on the ship. It was not until Roman time several centuries later that the concept of a fare came into practice. • How was Jonah able to charter a vessel and its crew for his personal use? •  What does this information add to our picture of Jonah as a court prophet to King Jeroboam II?

  5. If You Want to Disobey, There Will Always Be a Ship Prepared to Take You to Tarshish

  6. Ships of Tarshish • 1 Kings 22:48 – “Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshishto go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were wrecked at Ezion-geber.” • Isaiah 23:14 – “Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is laid waste.” • Ezekiel 27:25-27 – “The ships of Tarshishtraveled for you with your merchandise. So you were filled and heavily laden in the heart of the seas. “Your rowers have brought you out into the high seas. The east wind has wrecked you in the heart of the seas. Your riches, your wares, your merchandise, your mariners and your pilots, your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise, and all your men of war who are in you, with all your crew that is in your midst, sink into the heart of the seas on the day of your fall.” • Psalm 48:7 – “By the east wind you shattered the ships of Tarshish.” • What do these texts say about ships bound for Tarshish? • Based on these verses, what should the reader of Jonah conclude about the prophet’s plan? • “A ship bound for Tarshish” would translates culturally as “the Titanic going out on her maiden voyage” • This means that at the outset of his scheming to flee from God, Jonah was doomed to fail!

  7. Jonah 1:3 Chiasm ABut Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. B He went down to Joppa C and found a ship D going to Tarshish. C’ So he paid the fare B’ and went down into it, A’ to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. • How do A and A’, B and B’, and C and C’ balance each other? • What is the central idea of this chiasm? • What does the chiasm show graphically? • Jonah is trapped! The irony is that “the presence of the Lord” surrounds Jonah, even in his flight to Tarshish … he cannot escape

  8. The Presence of the Lord • When Cain, for example, “went away from the Lord's presence” (Genesis 4:16), what is clearly signified is that Cain, as a rebel and a fugitive, was no longer in the service or the favor of God • On the other hand, to “stand before the Lord” is always, in Scripture,equivalent to serving him (1 Kings 17:1; 18:15) • To be banished from His presence is to be rejected as his servant (Jeremiah 23:39) • The person who chooses to flee from the presence of God, therefore, is refusing to serve God in the task he knows that the Lord has given him to do • The matter is primarily spiritual and only secondarily geographical • This is what we see in Jonah's case … by fleeing to Tarshish he hoped to make it impossible to serve God as His prophet • When someone turns away from the will of God for his life, then he is willfully putting himself out of God's presence and denies himself the blessing which is attached to happy obedience

  9. The Structure of the Book of Jonah • Scene 1:Jonah’s First Call (1:1-3) • Scene 2: The Storm at Sea (1:4-16) • Scene 3:Jonah’s Deliverance & Prayer(1:17 – 2:10) • Scene 4:Jonah’s Second Call(3:1-3a) • Scene 5:Jonah’s Preaching Converts (3:3b-10) Nineveh & Yahweh Changes His Verdict • Scene 6:Jonah’s Response to Yahweh’s (4:1-3)Change of Verdict to Save Nineveh • Scene 7:Yahweh’s Provisions and (4:4-11)Jonah’s Response

  10. Propitiation • God demonstrates his love for us in the death of His Son Jesus; but for many people the connection between God's love and the death of Jesus is not obvious • Without further explanation, Christ’s death may appear like the boyfriend making a grand gesture that is without value to the one he professes to love • The death of Jesus can only be a meaningful demonstration of God's love if it achievessomething for us • God presented Jesus as a propitiation, through faith in His blood (Romans 3:25) • A propitiation is a sacrifice offered to placate wrath, and Jesus became our propitiation on the cross … The wrath of God was poured out on Him as He carried our sins • By becoming our sacrifice, He delivered us from the storm of God's judgment

  11. Jonah 1:4 4But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. • What did God do as a result of Jonah’s disobedience? Why? • There is a Hebrew custom of attributing human characteristics to inanimate objects. The Hebrew in verse 4 is literally, “The ship considered/thought itself to be broken.” • Describe the ship's desperate situation. • What is the irony here? We expect Jonah to “consider” his actions and their consequences, but he does not. It is left to the ship to “think” about what will happen next. The ship is a nervous wreck! How ironic that the inanimate manmade object is more responsive to God that the animate man He created, who is His very own prophet!

  12. Jonah 1:5 5Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. • The sailors’ gods were false and their beliefs were misguided, but their actions were thoroughly correct • They knew they were dependent on something greater than themselves; they knew how to express that dependence • Based on what we already know about Jonah, how do you think he feels about these sailors?

  13. Lighten Up • The sailors’ action may be designed to lighten the ship and so help it ride out the storm • The only other biblical passage that deals with the concept of lighten is found in: 1 Samuel 6:5 –“So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you and your gods and your land.” • The parallels between 1 Sam 6:5 and Jonah 1:5 strongly support the idea that the cargo was intended as a sacrifice • Thus, in Jonah 1:5 the sailors are attempting to appease the angry sea or another offended god

  14. Jonah 1:5 5Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. • Jonah fell into a deep sleep similar to what God caused to fall on Adam so he could create Eve; like the deep sleep of Sisera just prior to his death at the hands of Jael • By going down to the bottom of the ship and by falling into a deep sleep, Jonah is completed disconnected from the action on deck. He has cut himself off from God and also from the needy people in the boat and in Nineveh

  15. Jonah 1:3-6 3But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. 4But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. 5Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” • What direction did Jonah go in verse 3? • What direction did Jonah go in verse 5? • What is the significance of Jonah’s continued progress in this direction?

  16. Jonah 1:6 6So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” • Let’s focus on the captain’s words recorded in verse 6. • What did the captain tell Jonah to do? Why are his words ironic? • Compare the verbs the captain used to stir up Jonah to those God used in verse 2 to call Jonah – “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it …” • What do you think might have gone through the prophet’s mind when he heard the captain speak these words?

  17. Asleep In the Light • It's worth pausing for a moment to let the world's rebuke to the church carry its weight to our hearts: “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your God!” • Think about the unbelievers in your life. If you don't pray for them, who will? • The world cannot pray for itself. Only the church can intercede for a lost world and, if we are asleep, no one else will do this work. • The captain did not need Jonah's help to run the ship, but he felt a need for his prayers. • The world never wants believers to have their hands on the wheel of the ship but, when trouble comes, even hardened unbelievers look for our prayers. • Your unbelieving friends may not be looking for you to give direction to their lives, but when they are in a storm, they will want you to pray and they will sense that something is wrong if you don't.

  18. … Now Week 8

  19. Exposing Our Secrets • Notice that Jonah did not pray even after the captain rebuked him; the storm was raging but Jonah was still locked into his unresolved conflict with God • He couldn't pray … He wouldn't pray … His resistance to God was resolute • It's easy to assume that you can always call on God in a storm, but it isn't that simple • Secret sins against God breed secret resentments toward Him and while these remain in the soul prayer is impossible • That is why the next step in God’s gracious intervention was … to expose Jonah’s secret

  20. Jonah 1:7 7And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. • Why did the lot fall to Jonah? • The Hebrew in this passage says literally that the mariners “threw down” lots and that they “fell” to Jonah. • What do these words tell us about Jonah? • Would it be appropriate for a Christian congregation to use lots to make a decision? Explain your answer. • Note: The sailors initial word here on deck is “come” • This is the masculine plural imperative of the verb “go” that God used in his first three commands to Jonah – “Go to Nineveh • Thus, all three of God’s imperatives have been reissued to Jonah by the captain or the sailors Why did the mariners cast lots? What does the mariners’ decision to cast lots tell us about them? What does it tell us about Jonah? 

  21. Casting Lots • Theological Basis: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD” (Proverbs 16:33) • Used to help make decisions: • To receive supernatural guidance • To make an impartial choice (between objects/people for service)

  22. Casting Lots to get Supernatural Guidance • Detection of a guilty person: • Lot tossed by the pagan sailors fell upon Jonah identifying him as the guilty one (Jonah 1:7) • Lot exposed Achan as one who violated the ban on Jericho, and the stolen booty was found in his tent (Joshua 7:14-26) • Lot fell on Jonathan, and through him Saul’s foolish oath was canceled (1 Sam 14:41-42) • For king of Babylon to determine when/where to attack God’s people (Ezekiel 21:21-22) • Lot selected Saul to be king (1 Sam 10:20-21)–choice confirmed by God’s direct word to find him hiding in the baggage (10:22-24) • Matthias chosen (Acts 1:15-26) as replacement apostle for Judas • Because this incident occurred prior to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and no further instruction appears in the Epistles validating the practice, most commentators agree that casting lots is not a valid means of discerning God’s will. • No longer valid use for today

  23. Casting Lots to make an Impartial Choice • Lots used because multiple options were equally valid (Prov 18:18) and an impartial choice needed to be made – the lot is a way of suppressing conflict and settling disputes • Allocation of territory – practice of lots occurs most often with the division of land under Joshua (Josh 14:2; 17; 19, etc.), a procedure that God instructed the Israelites on several times in the book of Numbers (26:55; 33:54; 34:13; 36:2). • Choice of goat to be sacrificed on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16) • Allocation of temple duties, offices and functions (1 Chron 24-26) • To set a date by Haman (Esther 3:7) • To select those who would supply wood (Neh 10:34) • To identify those who would live inside/supply Jerusalem (Neh 11:1) • Christ’s clothes were allocated by lot (Matt 27:35; cf Psalms 22:18) • Lot used for gambling (Joel 3:3; Obadiah 1:11; Nahum 3:10) • To determine who would offer the incense when there were more than enough priests (Luke 1:9) • Still valid use today (i.e., in selecting candidates for organ transplants or drafting warriors)

  24. Jonah 1:8-10 8Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. • After the lot falls on Jonah, what questions do the sailors ask him? Why do you think they ask these particular questions? • Occupation – perhaps he was a magician who caused this storm by his sorcery • Route – perhaps he was a messenger for such an evil man • Country – perhaps he came from a bad/evil land • People – perhaps he came from an evil-doing people What happens after Jonah’s secret sin has been exposed by God?

  25. Jonah 1:8-10 8Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”10Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. • Jonah ignores the question concerning his occupation – He doesn’t say that God has given him the task of going to Nineveh; that he is escaping still from his vocation • He also overlooks the question about where he is from; only the reader listening at this point knows that he comes from the presence of the Lord. • Old Testament scholars note that the point at which the central figure of a Hebrew narrative first speaks deserves special attention; their opening words usually give important insight into that person’s character. • What did Jonah say about himself in answer the sailors’ questions? • Why did he refer to himself as a Hebrew rather than an Israelite? What did Jonah confess about his religious faith in this verse? What does Jonah’s confession reveal about him? What did Jonah leave out of his confession? What does this omission reveal about him?

  26. Jonah 1:7-10 7And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. • Jonah 1:10 indicates that the crew was “exceedingly afraid” (literally, they “feared a great fear”) when they heard Jonah’s words. Why were they so afraid? • If, as v. 10 indicates, the crew already knew Jonah was running away from the presence of the LORD, why did they need to cast lots? • Is the question the sailors ask in verse 10 rhetorical (as the ESV punctuates it)? • If so, why did they ask it? • How did Jonah answer their question?

  27. Jonah 1:7-10 7And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. • Jonah’s refusal to obey the LORD’s had serious implications on the lives of the sailors.  In Jonah 1:1, we are told that Jonah’s father was named Amittai. This name means “truth” or “faithfulness” in Hebrew and is related to the word amen. • How has Jonah failed to live up to his description as the son of faithfulness? Do you suppose Jonah thought about how his unfaithfulness would bring trouble to the sailors who were on the ship with him? What is the danger when we Christians behave like Jonah? Why do we sometimes act like Jonah?

  28. Is it true that we only hurt ourselves when we sin? • When God’s people turn away from His commands, they sin and others are hurt in the process • Tragically the erring believer is often oblivious while others are experiencing great peril • Jonah’s sin kept him from understanding the full impact his disobedience had upon others • What individuals or groups were adversely affected by Jonah’s rebellion and how were they affected? • The sailors experienced fear and potential loss of life • The captain may lose his job because he was responsible for the safe arrival of the cargo • The individuals or corporation who owned the ship • The individual or corporation who owned the cargo, which was likely uninsured • The other ships and their crews in the immediate area of the storm • The people of Nineveh who did not hear God’s message when He originally told Jonah to go to them

  29. Jonah 1:11-12 11Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12He 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.” How did Jonah know his solution would calm the storm? Why do you think Jonah wanted the crew to “pick [him] up and hurl [him] into the sea” rather than just jumping overboard himself? What was the condition of the storm at this point in the narrative? Why did the crew ask Jonah to tell them what to do? What did Jonah tell them to do?

  30. Jonah 1:11-12 11Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12He 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.” • Compare what the mariners initially asked Jonah in verse 8 (“Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us?”) to what Jonah said to them at the end of verse 12. • What important word did the mariners use in verse 8 that Jonah did not use in verse 12? • What, if anything, does this difference signify? • Compare what the mariners initially asked Jonah in verse 8 (“Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us?”) to what Jonah said to them at the end of verse 12. • Based on their words in verse 8, what precisely did the mariners want to know? • What did Jonah confess at the end of verse 12?

  31. Jonah 1:12 12He 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.” • A certain ambivalence hovers over this verse. Why does Jonah ask to be thrown overboard? Is his primary motivation to perish? Or is it to save the lives of the sailors?” • Let’s think about the “assisted suicide” interpretation. • Based on what we’ve read so far in the text, what can we conclude about Jonah’s concern for the lives of others?

  32. Jonah 4:3 and 8b “Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live… And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” Let’s read ahead to Jonah 4:3 and 8b. What do these verses tell us about the value Jonah had for his own life? Why do you think Jonah might have been suicidal?

  33. Jonah 1:12 12He 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.” • Now let’s examine the “self sacrifice” interpretation. • How do Jonah’s words at the end of v. 12 support the idea that the prophet intended to save the ship by his death? • Note what the sailors did in v. 5b (“they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them.”) • In what way could their action be understood as a sacrifice? • What word did Jonah use in v. 12 that the sailors also used in verse 5b? • How does this parallelism suggest that Jonah had become a substitutionary sacrifice? Which of the two interpretations of Jonah’s command to be thrown overboard is the better one … assisted suicide or self sacrifice? Explain your answer.

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