Offended By Mercy

Mercy for Everyone: Lessons from Jonah's Anger
The Book of Jonah is often reduced to a simple story about a man and a fish. But there's so much more to this powerful biblical narrative than most people realize. In fact, the fish is actually the smallest part of Jonah's story.

What Was Jonah's Mission?
In Jonah chapter 1, God calls Jonah to preach to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. This was unusual because Nineveh wasn't a Jewish city. At this point in the Old Testament, Yahweh was considered the God of the Jewish people specifically, not everyone. This helps explain why Jonah ran in the opposite direction when God called him to preach to non-Jewish people.

After Jonah boards a ship heading to Tarshish, God sends a storm. The sailors discover Jonah is running from God and throw him overboard at his own request. Rather than letting Jonah drown, God sends a fish to swallow him.

What Happened Inside the Fish?
In chapter 2, Jonah spends three days inside the fish, where he repents and acknowledges God's mercy. After the fish spits him onto the beach, Jonah still has to travel about 100 miles to reach Nineveh.

When Jonah finally arrives and preaches his message of judgment, something unexpected happens: the entire city repents, from ordinary citizens to the king himself. In response to their repentance, God decides not to destroy Nineveh.

Why Was Jonah Angry About God's Mercy?
This is where the story takes a surprising turn. Instead of celebrating this successful mission, Jonah becomes furious. The text says this change of plans "broke Jonah to pieces" and he became "hot with anger."

Jonah prays: "Didn't I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That's why I ran away to Tarshish. I knew that you were a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. Just kill me now, Lord. I'd rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen."

God responds with a profound question: "Is it right for you to be angry about this?"

When God's Mercy Offends Our Sense of Justice
Jonah's reaction reveals a common human struggle: what happens when God's mercy offends our sense of justice? What happens when we think judgment needs to come, but instead God gives mercy?

The truth is that God doesn't operate according to our expectations or sense of justice, but His own. As Isaiah reminds us, His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. Jonah knew God was compassionate and merciful, yet he refused to reframe his expectations to align with God's reality.

What Are the Key Truths About Mercy?
1. Mercy Is For Everyone
Mercy is not getting what we deserve. The Bible tells us that "the wages of sin is death" and that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." The fact that we're alive and breathing is evidence that we're currently receiving God's mercy.

But what happens when mercy is displayed in someone else's life—someone we don't think deserves it? We tend to judge ourselves by our intentions and everyone else by their actions. When our actions are out of line, we justify them by our good intentions. But when someone else's actions are out of line, we judge them without understanding their heart.

2. Mercy Is Offensive
By its very nature, mercy can be offensive. When someone who deserves punishment doesn't receive it, we can feel offended. The Greek word for offense is "skandalon," which represents an animal trap. When we believe others deserve what we don't, it's a trap that leaves us disconnected.

The rebellious tend to be offended when the religious flourish, but the religious also tend to be offended when the rebellious flourish. When someone else becomes the enemy, we tend to excuse and avoid the dysfunction living within us.

There are two ditches we can fall into: rebellion and religion. What's in the middle? Relationship. And how do we walk the narrow road? Through repentance. Repentance is necessary for both the rebellious and the religious.

3. Mercy Is Available
Here's the good news: mercy is available to everyone. But here's the challenging part: we cannot live in the "mercy for me, but not for them" camp.

Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy" (Matthew 5:7). James 2:13 adds, "There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful to you when he judges you."

God isn't withholding something from us when He calls us to reconcile with others. He's saying, "I want to be with you so badly. Go deal with what's blocking our relationship."

How Do We Receive God's Mercy?
God's mercy is always being poured out, but we often approach Him with closed hands, holding onto our offenses and the people who have wronged us. What God's mercy demands is that we let go of both our superiority ("I got this right and they didn't") and our inferiority ("How could God ever forgive me?").

The Bible promises that "anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." That includes the religious, the rebellious, you, and me. God's mercy is ready to be poured out if we're willing to open our hands and release what we've been carrying.