Themes for the series will be: God’s mercy and justice, and our tendency to want mercy for ourselves but justice for those we deem unworthy of his mercy. Also, the superiority of Jesus as the prophet of God who was not reluctant to call sinners to repentance, but eager to do so and gladly proclaimed God’s forgiveness to them. Jonah’s role parallels Christ’s role in many ways. But it also parallels ours. Having received God’s mercy, we too are to speak a word from the Lord to those who are lost. And Jonah shows us some of the pitfalls that we easily fall into. Being reluctant to speak the truth to our ‘enemies’, either out of fear for what they will do to us, or because we don’t think they deserve it. The gospel of God’s sovereign grace dispels our pride and sense of superiority. We, like the Assyrians, like Jonah, like Israel, deserve nothing but judgment. But God being rich in mercy sent us a Savior and made us alive together with him. This truth ought to make us not only willing but eager to bear witness of Christ even to the ‘worst of sinners’. Can He save such people? We are living testimonies that He can and does.
