A Whitewashed Tomb

Text: Jonah 1 This sermon starts our mini-series working through the book of Jonah. This short book is filled with incredible imagery, beautiful wordplay, and a profound message: God's mercy is deeper than our sin. In Jonah 1, we meet the hapless prophet, who, as we will learn, would really rather not see pagans saved. Yet, even as Jonah runs, even in his rebellion, God uses Jonah to turn pagan hearts to him. The contrast between the sailors and the prophet is clear. Jonah is, as Christ will say some 700 years later, a whitewashed tomb, while the sailor seems to come to a living and real faith in the Lord. The passage invites us to ask ourselves some hard questions: Are there people we'd rather not see come to Christ? Are there ways that we are becoming dulled to God's movements in the world, and therefore hardened?