We are going to be embarking on a journey, us, ones who have been sent by Jesus, AS He was sent, to see how it is that we are to go - with what heart, mind, attitude, and message. We are going to walk (and swim) with Jonah, to see how he went.
But first, we will set the stage of our being “sent”, that is, what it is that God is doing when He invades the space of the enemy and plunders him.
Isaiah 49:25-26 25But this is what the Lord says: “...captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save…Then all mankind will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Matthew 12:29 “...how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.”
Paul here beautifully describes Jesus’ pursuit of us, His plundering us from the enemy…
Philippians 3:12-19. “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Philippians 3:12 “I make every effort to take hold of”
Persecute - zealously, vigorously hunt down - pursue with haste, chasing, desiring to overtake and apprehend
Philippians 3:12 continued “Taken hold of me” to make me plunder
Lay hold of, to seize, tight hold of, catch, capture, overtake - aggressively take - with decisive initiative, grasping in a forceful manner - making it, me, one’s own - to appropriate
And then we must ask ourselves: How did Jesus come? How was He sent? In what manner and way did He enter into our lives? To judge and condemn or to save? As the glorious one? Or, as a human, in our flesh, for the purpose of understanding and sympathizing, to compassionately relate with us that He might represent us accurately? We see that Jesus would condescend to meet us here in our flesh, He would become like us - yet without sin - and we are called, sent, to do the same - AS Jesus.
Philippians 2:5-8 5In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature a God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
Hebrews 2:14-18 14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death… 17For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
How did Paul go? Did he insist that they be like him? Or, did he accommodate those to whom he was sent
1Corinthians 9:19-23 (Heb 2:14-18; John 1:9-14; 2Cor 1:3-7, 12-13)
19Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” (Heb 2:14-18; John 1:9-14; 2Cor 1:3-7, 12-13)
In fact, Paul rebukes Peter for hypocritically retreating from their accommodation of the gentile believers, resorting back to his “Israeliness” and distancing himself from the people to whom they had been sent.
Galatians 2:11-14 11When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 14When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? (Eph 2:8-10; Phil 3:1-11)
This is even after Peter purposely accommodated Cornelius by entering into his home and remaining with him
Acts 10
In Jesus’ economy of love expressed with mercy and grace, it seems, How we go seems to be as important as that we go
So let us ask ourselves: To whom have I been sent? Who is in my circle? With whom do I share space and time?
Brothers and sisters in Christ with whom I am to love, fellowship with, and serve
Those who have yet to hear and receive what Jesus offers - forgiveness of their sin and eternal life
Jonah was sent, and Jonah, well, was successful…
Luke 11:29-32 The Sign of Jonah - 29As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here.
32The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here.
It is going to be very important that we see that Jesus uses Jonah’s experience as a foreshadowing of what will happen, but also, to express the truth that, now, He and the Kingdom, are here, and are a “greater thing than Jonah”. We need to see that Jesus’ person, the fulness of His message, His manner, and way, were in every way superior to that of this great profit.
Thus, Jesus said, there is a greater thing than Jonah here and among you… Jesus, sent by the Father
John 3:16-21 16For God so loved the world that he gave (sent) His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
The transition from Jesus to the Church, us, as ambassidors to those we have been assigned, and sent… in essence God so loves the world thst He sends us to the world, and if God loves the world enough to save those who would receive, we ought to, too.
Jesus said John 8:12; 9:5; 12:36 “I am the light of the world…” (Phil 2:15)
Jesus then said Matthew 5:14-15 “You are the light of the world” (Eph 5:8; 1Thes 5:5)
Jesus said John 14:11-13 “...whoever believes in me will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father….”
And so, now, there is a greater thing, still, than Jonah… as, we, His disciples, the Church, have been sent AS Jesus was sent…
John 17:13-19
6“I have revealed you a to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of b your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
13“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17Sanctify them by d the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
20“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I have made you e known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
“How, how could this be?” We might ask. Because, AS Jesus was sent by the Father, so He has sent us - not merely going, but because we are going as ones sent - going AS:
Who we are as person’s - born again by God’s saving grace
Adopted sons and daughters, co-heirs with Christ - our position in God’s kingdom-household
Ambassiders of God’s kingdom with the message of mercy, grace, and forgiveness in Christ - the very one that we have received and experienced and now are privileged to bring
Vessels, temples of the Holy Spirit, indwelled by the Spirit of God in Christ- the power by which we go
Jesus went: His manner and way, the character of Jesus AS we have been sent by Jesus, just AS Jesus was sent by His Father - the character and nature of Jesus,which IS the fruit of the Spirit AS we conformed into His likeness.
Jesus, imitating His merciful Father, as Jesus would say only what He heard His Father say, and do only what He saw His good Father do - the manner and way - the heart of compassion and mercy with which His Father had done and does. So, we are to do the same: everything we have heard Jesus say, every we have seen Jesus do, we are to be imitators!
This is a privileged and blessed partnership between God and us…
While Jesus builds the Church, we are to go… sent out to make disciples…
Matthew 28:16-20 16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
But, it is not just that we have been sent, it is how we have been sent “AS” Jesus was sent He sends us…
That word “AS” has in it some deep and profound meaning and implication - a call not just to go, having been sent, but how it is we go, as, Jesus was sent, with the attitude and heart with which Jesus was sent, the manner and way, we are now to go.
John 4: 8; Mark 7: Jesus remained with the ones He called to repentance as long as they would remain and beautifully demonstrates for us how to approach unbelievers in a gracious and kind way, in essence, earning the right to be heard
Acts Paul, in Athens, gives us a wonderful example of how to approach those who do not know…
1Peter 3 Peter, gives us the most beautiful and simple instructions on how to share the reason for our hope when we are asked…
