Key Idea: God’s mercy is scandalous because He loves the worst of sinners.
I. The Pouty Prophet’s Pathetic Ministry (3:1-5)
Luke 6:36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Matthew 9:13 …‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
II. The Gracious God’s Scandalous Mercy (3:5-10)
A. The Ninevites Repent (3:5-9
Matthew 12:41 (ESV) The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah,
Romans 5:8 (ESV) but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
B. God Extends Mercy (3:10)
Jeremiah 18:7–10 (ESV)
7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it.
Luke 18:13 (NASB95) “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’
Discussion Questions
- How would you define God’s mercy?
- Do you ever think you are deserving of God’s mercy? Why? (Examples: I go to church, my parents are Christians, etc.) Why can no one actually deserve God’s mercy?
- Read Matthew 9:13 together. What does it mean? Why is God’s commitment to mercy a good thing and how does that give you hope?
- Why is it good that God saves all kinds of people? Why is it scandalous that God saves all kinds of people?
- Read Luke 18:10-14. Would you say you are more like the Pharisee (who thinks he can earn God’s love) or more like the tax collectors (who knows he’s desperate for God’s mercy)?