14 October 2010
Psalm 18:1-20; Jonah 3:1-4:11; Acts 27:27-44; Luke 9:18-27

Maybe it seems silly to you that the Ninevites would react to Jonah’s message as they do but consider the following. They had recently lost a battle which had cost them territory for the first time in nearly a century. There had just been a total eclipse of the sun, often considered to be a precursor of doom. There had also recently been an earthquake in the area. The Ninevites may have been prepared to hear a visiting prophet with a message of judgment from God. They may not have recognized the God whom Jonah proclaimed but they may well have been paying attention to the signs (unlike the Egyptians in the book of Exodus). Jonah’s reaction to God’s forbearance with the people of Nineveh was not pleasing to Jonah but his statement on God’s willingness to delay judgment tells us that he believed in God’s goodness but had no desire to see it for his enemies. Jesus tells us to love our enemies. The book of Jonah tells us that this attitude was always what God wanted from His people.

What does it mean to deny ourselves and follow Jesus? For me, the decision point came down to whether to continue pursuing a career in finance or whether to go to seminary but that is not prescriptive for everyone. Denying self to follow Jesus can mean that we evaluate our priorities to determine whether there is anything in our lives more important than Jesus because He says on multiple occasions that we are to have nothing ahead of Him if we are to be His disciples. Psalm 37 says: Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 119 is an ode to the glories of the law, David’s statement that when he set himself on God’s word that everything in life was better. I believe that Jesus’ command here is meant to call us to Himself in the same way, that if we delight ourselves in Him the desires of our hearts will be transformed in such a way that we will see Him and enjoy Him in all things. Peter had to give up his desire for the Messiah of his preference in order to accept the One who died on a cross and rose from the dead. He had to give up the desire for earthly importance and thrones in order to receive the crown of glory.

The sailors begin to trust Paul. They thought to surreptitiously lower the ship’s boat into the sea and the men could take this smaller vessel to safety but Paul warned against it in the Spirit. They then chose to cut the boat loose and let go of that hope. Finally, their desire to live overcame their desire to save the ship for which they had toiled for 14 days without eating, and they ran it aground, casting off everything that encumbered their progress, letting the steering mechanism grow loose and trusting in nothing other than God but still planning to kill the prisoners whose lives did not matter to them. Fortunately, the centurion was faithful to his charge and dissuaded them from acting on their intentions.

I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
so I shall be saved from my enemies.