Jonah 1:1-3
The LORD gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” 3 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the LORD. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the LORD by sailing to Tarshish. 

Jonah was a prophet of God.

Nineveh was not your average city.

• It was a large city for ancient times.

• Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrian empire.

• The Assyrian Empire took part in incredibly brutal practices. Warning: this section of my message is rated mature.

God is sending Jonah to show radical mercy on these Ninevite people.

Jonah 1:17
Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

The fish is a radical mercy.

Jonah 3:6-9
When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. 7 Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city: “No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. 8 People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. 9 Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.” God sees their repentance and decides to exercise His radical mercy on them. He chooses not to destroy them.

Jonah 4:2-3
So he complained to the LORD about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people.

Jonah 4:10-11
Then the LORD said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. 11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness,[a] not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”

God shows us Radical Mercy.

Ephesians 2:4-5
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)