1/17/10 “Searching For People”
Searching 4 people
1/17/10 HT PM
Jonah 4 / Luke 15
Jonah 4:1 NKJV
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry.
Jonah 4:2
So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.
Jonah 4:3
Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!”
SKIP TO VERSE 10
Jonah 4:10
But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.
Jonah 4:11
And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”
Interesting how this book ends with a question!
Move to the NT and look at a similar encounter that Jesus had.
Luke 15:2 NKJV
And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”
Luke 15:3
So He spoke this parable to them, saying:
Luke 15:4
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
Luke 15:5
And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Luke 15:6
And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’
Luke 15:7
I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
Luke 15:8
“Or what woman, having ten silver ◙ coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?
Luke 15:9
And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’
Luke 15:10
Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Luke 15:11
Then He said: “A certain man had two sons.
Luke 15:12
And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood.
Luke 15:13
And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.
Luke 15:14
But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.
Luke 15:15
Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
Luke 15:16
And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
Luke 15:17
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Luke 15:18
I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,
Luke 15:19
and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’
Luke 15:20
“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
Luke 15:21
And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
Luke 15:22
“But the father said to his servants, ◙ ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.
Luke 15:23
And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;
Luke 15:24
for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
You have to love the opening accusation of Jesus ☺
I love ready these three unique stories as one full story of discovery.
As I read this I see three separate types of people that Jesus was searching for. Remember that Jonah had no interest in seeing anyone delivered – he had total interest in his own comfort.
1. Sheep
a. Wander
b. Ignorant
c. Lured
2. Coin
a. Accidental
b. Regretful
c. Dropped
d. Fall through the cracks of life
3. Son
a. Family
b. Disconnected
c. Offended
d. Knowledgeable
e. Redefined
I venture to say that every day of your life you run in to people in one of these three catergories!
Summary – We need to combine the two stories and discover two separate worlds of thought one world is selective another is seeking.
Luke 19:10 NKJV
for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”