Too Much Mercy

God commanded the prophet Jonah, “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me” (Jonah 1:2). Jonah was reluctant to go. Instead, he sailed in exactly the opposite direction. He hopped on a ship to Tarshish (in present-day Spain), roughly 2500 miles to the west of Ninevah (in present-day Iraq).

Why was Jonah so opposed to preaching in Nineveh? Ninevah was the capital city of the Assyrian nation. Jonah knew from experience that the Assyrians were wicked, cruel, and bloodthirsty pagans. Jonah also knew from prophecy that God would use these same wicked, cruel, and bloodthirsty pagan Assyrians to punish Israel for its wickedness, rebellion, and pagan idolatry.

God stopped Jonah with a tumultuous storm that caused the sailors of Jonah’s ship to throw him into the sea. God sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah and return him to the coast so he could walk to Nineveh. Smelling of fish vomit, Jonah finally walked into Nineveh preaching, “Forty more days and Nineveh is going to be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4)!

Through the sternness of God’s Law and by God’s grace, the Ninevites were converted! “The men of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least” (Jonah 3:5). This is one of the most amazing and miraculous stories of conversion in the Bible! An entire city – probably well over 500,000 people … or close to the entire population of Wyoming – converted! They entrusted themselves to God’s mercy. “Let everyone call fervently to God. Let them turn from their evil way and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent. He may turn from his burning anger so that we will not perish” (Jonah 3:8-9).

Then we pick up the story in verse 10: “When God saw their actions, that they had turned from their evil way, God relented from the disaster which he said he would bring on them, and he did not carry it out” (Jonah 3:10).

“But to Jonah all this seemed very bad, and he became very angry” (Jonah 4:1). As a preacher, Jonah should have been excited that his preaching bore such fruits of faith! So, why was Jonah very angry? Jonah didn’t want to preach to Ninevah because the people were wicked and cruel. He especially didn’t want to preach to Ninevah because God was gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love. Jonah’s worst fears came true! He ran away because he was afraid the Ninevites might listen and repent. Jonah knew what that would mean – God would have compassion on them and forgive them. … Which is exactly what happened!

When the city repented, Jonah lamented. Jonah later admitted to God, “Lord, wasn’t this exactly what I said when I was still in my own country? That is why I previously fled to Tarshish, because I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and you relent from sending disaster” (Jonah 4:2).

No, God, please! Anything but too much mercy! We would never verbalize these things, but these thoughts are lurking in the dark recesses of our hearts. “Give me a god who unleashes punishment on all the bad people in this world.” “Give me a god who hates the ideas, organizations, and people I hate.” “Give me a god who offers people one chance to get it right, but the minute they mess up, they plunge to their eternal peril.” But that’s not the God we get! No! We get a God of too much mercy!

God asks his pouting prophet a beautifully simple, but piercing question, “Is it right for you to be angry” (Jonah 4:4)? Like a spoiled kid, Jonah doesn’t answer. Instead, he stomps out to the east side of the city, sits down, and pouts. He’s throwing a temper tantrum like a two-year-old. He’s sitting out there hoping that the Ninevites will relent from their repenting … and hoping God will relent from his relenting. Jonah is holding out hope that in the next few weeks, God will change his mind and still rain down fire on Ninevah.

Jonah didn’t want to go to Ninevah! And he didn’t want them to repent! He wanted them all dead! Jonah wanted justice. He desired destruction. These were the enemies of Israel. These were his enemies. It would be like being a Jewish Christian being sent to evangelize inside Nazi Germany; or your father who saw so many of his buddies killed in the jungles of South Korea being sent to be a missionary to North Korea; or you going to preach the forgiveness of Christ to Muslims in your neighborhood who celebrated 9/11 with shouts of “Alhamdulillah” (“Praise be to Allah”).

Jonah didn’t get it, so the Lord used an object lesson. Jonah’s shelter outside the city failed before God’s compassion did. “Then the Lord God provided a plant and made it grow up over Jonah to provide shade over his head, to relieve him from his discomfort. So Jonah was very happy about the plant” (Jonah 4:6). This is the only time we see Jonah happy … but the object lesson wasn’t over.

“At dawn the next day God provided a worm, and it attacked the plant so that it withered” (Jonah 4:7). God wasn’t done yet. “When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die …” (Jonah 4:8). The loss of the vine crushed Jonah. He had been so concerned about what made him comfortable, that he didn’t realize what God was teaching him. Again, the Lord asked him a question, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant” (Jonah 4:9)? Jonah replied, “I do have a right to be angry—angry enough to die!” Jonah’s disappointment with God’s mercy had turned into despair over a silly vine.

The time had come for the Lord of mercy to finish his lesson. “You have been concerned about this plant. You did not work for it or make it grow. It grew up in one night and perished after one night. So should I not be concerned for Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than one hundred twenty thousand people who do not know the difference between their right hand and their left—and also many animals” (Jonah 4:10-11)?

The Lord pointed out how foolish Jonah’s anger really was. Jonah cared about a silly plant. The Lord cared for the hundreds of thousands in Nineveh, including about 120,000 infants and many animals. God had created them and cared for them. “Should I not be concerned about that great city?”

The book of Jonah ends on a cliffhanger. There’s no end credits or sequel. We’re just left with the reluctant prophet sitting outside of Ninevah. God leaves the story unresolved because he’s holding a mirror up to us. He’s asking: “Do you have my heart for the lost?” “There are so many people – young and old – who are lost without faith in me. Do you share my love for them?”

In the middle of all this, Jonah prays a remarkably bitter prayer, “Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:3). It’s so easy to judge Jonah, but we do this, too. When we hold a grudge. When we’re not ready to forgive our dad for the way he treated us when we were little. When we want our classmate or co-worker to get what’s coming to them. When we want someone to suffer who made us suffer. We are no different than Jonah when we get angry with God when the powerful and influential continue to take advantage of us. We’re no different than Jonah when we get angry with God when the evil and violent get away with no earthly punishment. We’re upset because God is so gracious and willing to forgive. We throw spiritual temper tantrums.

How silly is it – how sinful is it – when we get upset that God shows too much mercy! Can there be such a thing as too much mercy? Jonah thought so.

There must be some reason why you fail to share God’s mercy with others? Why don’t you talk about God at work? Why don’t you confront your grown child’s sin? Why don’t you forgive your sister? Why do you keep silent about the Good News of Jesus as your Savior? Why are you not concerned about the fires of hell that are waiting for those who don’t believe in Jesus?

We’re tempted to be like Jonah. We’re afraid to leave our comfort zone. Our desires are filled with apathy. Our rear ends are filled with laziness. Our hearts are filled with prejudice because of another person’s skin color or language or background or lifestyle. We don’t like to admit it, especially out loud – but there must be some reason why we don’t share God’s mercy with others – others who need God’s mercy.

We are uncomfortable with God’s concern for other “severe” sinners. But that’s because we have become so comfortable with our lack of concern for our own “mild” sins.

Jonah said it best when he was uncomfortable in the belly of the fish, “Salvation belongs to the Lord” (Jonah 2:9)! Though we deserve God’s righteous anger for our subtle sins of self-righteousness, “through the obedience of one man [Jesus Christ] the many will become righteous” (Romans 5:19). Though we deserve God’s just punishment for our lack of concern for the souls of the lost, the Lord showed his great concern for the entire world: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).

The Lord is a gracious and compassionate God, who sent his Son to leave the comfort of heaven to suffer the pains of hell on the cross. Jesus is concerned about the Jews of Israel, the Gentiles of Assyria, the 120,000 infants of Ninevah, and the 59,000 citizens of Casper. He is so concerned and compassionate about people that he doesn’t care at all about a person’s skin color or background or lifestyle. He doesn’t classify anyone as “serious” sinners or “mild” sinners. God is going to do what he wants with his mercy. We dare not be envious because he is so generous (Matthew 20:15).

Can God have too much mercy? No! His mercy is for your crusty old next-door neighbor. His mercy is for the baby born with Down’s Syndrome. His mercy is for the teenager struggling with addictions. His mercy is for the child molester and the rapist in prison. His mercy is for the scared atheist on his deathbed. His mercy is for the person whose music is too loud, whose vehicle is too close behind you, whose arms have too much ink, whose skin has too many piercings, whose lifestyle or looks or language make us uncomfortable.

God’s mercy is never too much. His mercy is simply more than our sins. He is a “gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abounding in mercy” (Jonah 4:2). God chooses to treat all of us – the “serious” sinners and the “mild” sinners – as works in progress. He treats those who come to faith in the cradle and those who come to faith on the deathbed the same. “The last will be first, and the first, last” (Matthew 20:16). Because God has shown mercy to us, now we are inspired to share God’s mercy with other “serious” and “mild” sinners around us. Because there is no such thing as too much mercy. Amen.