Christ’s Love, Our Calling Love Speaks
7 Week Emphasis Study 6 of 7
Love Speaks with Urgency
Jonah 3 and 4
Introduction
Likely it has happened to you. Perhaps it was with the person sitting next to you on a flight or maybe
with the parent chatting with you at a Little League game. At some point in the conversation they throw
open the door for you to share the message of Jesus, but you stall out or you let that softball toss go by.
Then come the excuses: “Well, if he doesn’t like what I say it’s going to make for a long two hours.” “We
have another game next week. Then I’ll tell her what I believe.”
Not the right time or place, there will be another time, they might not respond the way I would like, or
any of a number of other excuses are always near at hand when it comes outreach opportunities. What
are we often missing? A sense of urgency.
In Jonah we unfortunately might find a kindred spirit in respect to our outreach resolve. May we learn
what the Lord tried to teach Jonah: love moves us to speak with urgency!
Background
The prophet Jonah had rejected the Lord’s first call to go to Nineveh and chose to run to the ends of the
earth instead. In love the Lord called him to repentance by means of a storm and a great fish, and Jonah
listened.
Jonah 3:1-4
1. “A very important city,” literally translated, is “a great city to God.” Why was this city so
important?
1
It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith
we also believe and therefore speak. (2 Corinthians 4:13)
Christ’s Love, Our Calling Love Speaks
7 Week Emphasis Study 6 of 7
2. “A visit required three days” could be explained in a number of ways: 1. To walk the
circumference (about 60 miles; this would include other cities or suburbs of Nineveh); 2.
Through the diameter, which would only be six miles (this is the least likely explanation); 3. To
travel the streets and neighborhoods, going from section to section (this would be most
appropriate for Jonah’s mission).
3. While Jonah likely had more to his message than, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be
destroyed,” we might understand this also as a good summary of his sermon. The message of
the law is clear. Where do we find hints at the gospel?
4. The number 40 is often associated with times of testing and judgment. List as many instances of
“40” in Scripture as you can.
5. Even if there was more to what Jonah said, what can we learn from Jonah’s preaching?
6. Describe the urgency from a law point of view and then a gospel point of view.
7. How much time do the people in our neighborhoods or our community have to repent and
believe in Jesus?
Jonah 3:5-10
1. What subtle, yet important, point do we find in verse 5? Why is it good to remember this as we
speak with urgency?
2. From what we are told, it appears Jonah’s message produced immediate results. After one day
his message made it to the king, and he and the people responded. Can you share an example
in your life when the gospel worked faith in someone’s heart and you were blessed to see the
result?
2
It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith
we also believe and therefore speak. (2 Corinthians 4:13)
Christ’s Love, Our Calling Love Speaks
7 Week Emphasis Study 6 of 7
3. Someone tells you, “We just need to get God’s Word to as many people as often as we can.”
How would you respond?
4. We enjoy Christian freedom in the area of worship. There are different styles of music and
different forms of worship available. However, what must we remember as we make use of
these different styles and forms?
5. Are you as an individual speaking love with urgency? That is a question for you to consider
personally. Are we as a church? How can we do this better and more often?
6. What happens when sinners hear the Word and repent? Apply that to Nineveh’s repentance.
Was it sincere?
Jonah 4:1-4
1. God’s grace is amazing! Perhaps hundreds of thousands of people were brought to repent.
Unfortunately, almost as amazing (for different reasons) is Jonah’s reaction. Summarize his
reasons for his anger.
2. God’s elect were also in the city of Nineveh and needed to hear his Word. What comfort does
the teaching of election offer as we share God’s love with urgency?
3. What comfort does the teaching of election NOT offer to our sinful nature?
3
It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith
we also believe and therefore speak. (2 Corinthians 4:13)
Christ’s Love, Our Calling Love Speaks
7 Week Emphasis Study 6 of 7
Jonah 4:5-11
1. How did God show urgency as he now dealt with Jonah in love?
2. For the first three and a half chapters in the book of Jonah, every time God deals with Jonah he
is called the LORD, calling to mind the merciful Lord of the covenant. Now the inspired writer
records “God (Elohim) provided” three times and “God said” before closing the book with, “the
LORD.” Why the change?
3. Has there been a time in your life when the Lord, in his mercy, taught you a lesson that you are
willing to share?
4. Paul told Timothy, “This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved
and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4). How does this influence our
urgency? Can you think of other passages that would apply to our speaking in love with
urgency?
Taking this truth home
1. Excuses for not speaking with urgency will always be within quick reach when the Lord
provides an opportunity to speak. How can we set those excuses aside and speak with
urgency?
2. While Jonah loved the Lord, it was not love for the people of Nineveh that brought him to that
great city. Why does love for the lost motivate us more powerfully than the law ever will?
4
It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith
we also believe and therefore speak. (2 Corinthians 4:13)
Christ’s Love, Our Calling Love Speaks
7 Week Emphasis Study 6 of 7
3. Incredibly, Jonah was upset that hundreds of thousands of people repented and turned to the
Lord. We may be tempted to be upset when we do not see the results we would like, namely
that those with whom we speak would turn and believe. What must we remember about
conversion that will help us fight that temptation and also offer some comfort in the face of
rejection?
Summary
We all have had those times when the Lord gave us an opportunity to share his love but, like Jonah, we
ran instead. What a gracious God we have that he forgives us! Rather than beating ourselves up for
those missed opportunities, may we be strengthened through Word and sacrament to make the most of
every opportunity he puts before us to speak in love.
5
It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith
we also believe and therefore speak. (2 Corinthians 4:13)