What is this episode about? Have you ever looked at someone else’s life and thought, “That’s not fair”? It’s hard to watch people receive good things when we’re convinced they deserve consequences. But what happens when our frustration turns toward God—and the mercy he shows to others? In this episode, “Is It Right for You to Be Angry?”, we explore Jonah 3:10–4:11. When God spared Nineveh, Jonah responded with anger instead of joy. God’s searching question invites us to examine our own hearts, too. Do we gladly receive his grace while struggling to extend it to others? Join us as we discover how God’s compassion confronts our pride, points us to the forgiveness we have in Christ, and teaches us to rejoice when others receive the same undeserved mercy that has rescued us. The Sermon Text: Jonah 3:10-4:11 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. 4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant[a] and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.” 10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”
