Let Them Give Up Their Violence
5/11/202642 min
History tells us the Assyrian empire brought cruelty and massacre to a new level. It was a violent empire that slaughtered helpless people. And Jonah’s response to it is anger. He wants them punished.
Yet, in the book of Jonah, we see one of the greatest surprising turns of all the stories in the Bible. God refuses to accept either the violence of Nineveh or the poisonous anger of Jonah.
Let’s look at three things that this text tells us about violence: 1) the surprising sources of violence, 2) the remarkable strategy we should take with violence, and 3) the ultimate solution for violence.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 7, 2001. Series: The Church in the City. Scripture: Jonah 3:1-4:5.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
[ on-hold music] You're listening to the Gospel and Life Podcast. What does God's concern for cities tell us about His mission? Jonah was called to preach to the great city of Nineveh, but his own anger and prejudice blinded him to what God would accomplish there. Today, Tim Keller looks at why culture-shaping cities matter to God and what that reveals about His heart for the entire world. [ on-hold music] The reading is from Jonah 3:1 through 4:5. "Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 'Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.' Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city; a visit required three days. On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: 'Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.' The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: 'By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything. Do not let