…they repented at the preaching of Jonah…
Hidden in the original language of these few words, Jesus provides us with a powerful evangelistic tool. The word preaching that Jesus uses refers to the message of an official messenger or a herald. A herald had one job: deliver the message. Unlike the news of our day that sometimes takes things out of context or assigns meaning when convenient, the job of the herald was to deliver the message. No more. No Less. The herald was not to interpret the news as good or bad. The herald was not to add persuasion or emphasis. The herald had to simply deliver the message.
This tells us that the powerful words that turned the hearts of a city as wicked and lost as Nineveh were not words of persuasion, but they were a simple message delivered word-for-word from what God told Jonah. Jonah did not start or end his message with, “I think you guys should…” No. Honestly, what Jonah thought did not matter. Only what God thought mattered; thus, only what God said mattered. Jonah did not hope for repentance for Nineveh. If anything, this reluctant prophet might have delivered the message quite lack-luster. He simply delivered the message as God gave it to him.
What does this mean for you and me? Well, first and foremost, it must show us our posture. The words we speak to bring those to repentance must be the words of God, not of our own. The changing power of the words of the Gospel do not need our embellishment or smooth talk to change the course of people’s lives. In fact, sometimes these things can get in the way of the message. Our posture must be such that we recognize that we must not be heard; God must be heard.
Second, it shows us our pressure… or lack thereof. Sometimes when we feel that we need to share something with someone that God is saying to them from the Bible or as a word of encouragement, we can hesitate for fear of poor delivery. We feel pressure to perform. Jesus would say, “it’s not your delivery that shapes eternity; it’s the words of the Father. Speak those boldly.” The pressure isn’t on the messenger… the message is good enough on its own.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to share the message of love and hope of Jesus with someone you know. Perhaps God wants you to lay down your efforts to change everyone around you and pick up His call to simply share the message. Maybe God wants us to allow Him to be heard.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.
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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 323–328, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 12:38-42) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).