Shabbat Shalom everyone. We are turning to the prophet Jonah again today. Please turn with me to Jonah chapter 3 and I'm going to read beginning from verse 1. And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah, Yonah, the second time, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it, the preaching that I bid thee. So Yonah arose and went unto Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey and cried and said yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown so the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a fest and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them even to the least of them for the word came unto the king of Nineveh And he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and set in ashes.

And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything, let them not feed nor drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God. Yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from his fierce anger that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turn from their evil way. And God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them, and he did it not.

These are the 10 verses that are found here in the prophet Yonah, chapter 3, of which we are going to speak in a moment. But before I'm going to move into chapter 3, I would like just for a few moments to remind us of what we had before us in our last ministry meeting, especially in connection with the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. When we finish our meeting last time together, at the end of the meeting some questions rose, and I would like to address them for a moment. If you remember, look at chapter 2 and verse 10. Our last verse said, the Lord spake unto the fish and the fish vomited out Jonah upon a dry land we have learned from our ministry meeting in chapter 1 and chapter 2 that after the rebellion of Jonah and after he's fleeing away from God's command on the way to nineveh instead of going to nineveh he went to tarshish and how God have sent this storm and ultimately in order to quiet down the storm God have instructed Jonah and Jonah have instructed the sailor to cast him into the sea and that in the sea Jonah will be drowned and swallowed up by a fish and remain in a fish for three days and three nights you remember we read in chapter 1 and verse 17 so the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah and Jonah was in a belly of the fish three days and three nights and so we have answered this question in our last ministry meeting that Jonah was three days and three nights in a fish's.

Belly but we understood from that while Jonah was in a fish actually what happened that he really died, and the fish became the burial place of Jonah, and he was resurrected while he was still in the fish's belly, and ultimately, chapter 2, verse 10, that the fish vomited Jonah upon a dry land. And we said, if you remember, that Yeshua the Messiah said these words that we read in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 40, that as Jonah, listen to this one more time, beloved brothers and sisters, Yeshua the Messiah said, for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the fish's belly, so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

And we have concluded, if you remember, and we understood this, that just the same like Yeshua died and was buried and resurrected, Yonah's experience was a type of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah. So a question rose. Do you believe in what many say concerning the Good Friday? How does Good Friday fit here into this picture? If Yeshua died, buried, and rose on the first day of the week, where does Good Friday fit in? And over the generation, dear brothers and sisters, there were many traditions that have evolved, not only among our Jewish people, the people of Israel. There were so many traditions that have evolved over the history of our nation, Israel, and customs that we Jewish people have.

Also over the years, there were many traditions and customs that were developed in the professing church of Yeshua the Messiah. Things such as this, things such as Christmas. Some over the years have taught us that Jesus the Messiah was born on the 25th of the month of December. But it's not Bible. It is tradition. Other traditions evolve in the christian community is such as the feast that they call easter easter monday and good friday that have been evolved and the question have been asked is good friday fitting into the truth that we learn in Scripture that the Messiah was three days and three nights in the heart of this earth as the type in the life of Jonah was concerning the Lord Jesus the Messiah so where did this come from this good friday now i'd like you for a moment to turn with me to the.

Gospel of John so we can just look over this and then we're going to move on in John chapter 19 we have this experience turn to John chapter 19 first of all and verse 31 look what we read remember it's happened in the city of Jerusalem the city of Jerusalem the death of the Messiah in verse 30 John 19 30 we read and Yeshua therefore had received the vinegar and he said it is finished and he bowed his head and he gave up the spirit here is the death of Yeshua the Messiah so Yeshua the Messiah died as we read here for the sin of this world he gave up the spirit he said it is finished the work of redemption had been complete God had been satisfied and he totally met the requirement of a holy God.

But then it says in verse 31, something out of which the tradition of Good Friday came from. Not by the Jewish people, but the Christian profession. It says in verse 31, the Jews, therefore, because it was the preparation that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Shabbat day, for that Shabbat day was a high day, they besought Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. You remember there were three individuals on the trees, on the crosses, and one of them was none else but our Mashiach Yeshua now it was as it says here because it was the day of the preparation and their bodies will not remain on the Shabbat day on the cross then they requested and they besought pilot that their legs might be broken and that they will take down their bodies and bury them that they will not remain on the cross on a Shabbat day but the question here beloved brothers and sisters that i believe it is mistaken here by so many over the years that they assume that this Shabbat day mentioned here in John 19 31 is the weekly Shabbat day many people believe that this.

Is the regular weekly Shabbat day which is the seventh day of the week but actually brothers and sisters this Shabbat day that is mentioned in John 19 31 is not the weekly Shabbat day it is that high day notice it says here in verse 31 before that Shabbat day was a high day it is a special Shabbat day which was not the ordinary weekly Shabbat day but the Shabbat day has to do with Pesach, with the Passover. And this was not the Shabbat day of the weekly Shabbat day that we celebrate every week, but this was a unique Shabbat day because of the fact that Pesach is coming, the Passover is entering in, and therefore the beginning of the Passover and the end of the Passover would be a high day, a Shabbat day.

Let me show you this. Turn with me now, please, to Exodus chapter 12 just look with me bear with me so i will communicate this today this is very important if Yeshua the Messiah was three days and three nights in the heart of this earth and. He was resurrected on the first day of the week we must go back from the first day of the week three days and three nights and find out whether the Messiah actually was crucified on friday or some other day of the week. Exodus chapter 12. And I'm reading now in Exodus chapter 12, two verses, verses 15 and 16. Verse 15 say, seven days shall you eat unleavened bread.

Even the first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses. For whosoever shall eat leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day that soul shall be cut off from Israel and now notice verse 16 and in the first day there shall be an holy convocation and in the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation to you no matter of work shall be done in them save that which every man must eat that only may be done unto you now notice the instruction of God to our forefathers of old after Israel was going to come out of the land of Egypt when Israel was to celebrate the feast of pesach.

The Passover is a seven day long celebration of feasts which the first day and the seventh day considered to be a holy convocation the Hebrew word for holy convocation mikra kodesh it is really a high unique day a high holiday it is just the same like the Shabbat of the weekly Shabbat and therefore the Jewish people the people of Israel were supposed to prepare for that Shabbat day for that high holiday and therefore they should not do any manner of work on that particular day of the week now it may fall on any day it may fall on a monday it may fall on a tuesday it may fall on a wednesday it may fall on a thursday it may fall on a friday we don't really necessarily know exactly how it fall every year but one thing for sure if Yeshua the Messiah arose on the first day of the week, he could have never be on the cross on that Friday.

This expression, Good Friday, comes from a tradition that has evolved over the years in Christendom, and it's assumed to be that he was on the cross on Friday because of the verse that is found here in John chapter 19 and verse 31 where we read the Jewish people therefore because it was their preparation that the body should not remain upon the cross on the Shabbat day for that Shabbat day was a high day they besought pilot that their legs might be broken the day might be taken away and if they taken away to be buried and so that's tradition of evolved and somebody asked why do they call it good friday over these years is they are calling their word good friday because a lot of good came out of the death of the Messiah that means when the Messiah died blessing came to this world when the Messiah died salvation had been provided when the Messiah died he declared God righteous when he took upon himself the penalty of our sin.

And sin so God had been glorified and man is now able to be saved the just died for the unjust first Peter chapter 3 in order to bring us to God so a lot of good came out of it but I can tell you in accordance with the word of God it was not on Friday now let's look back for a moment and discuss a little bit about these verses go back to the gospel of John please and go to chapter 11 and verse 9 i thought it is appropriate to speak here about the three days and three nights in connection with Jonah being in the fish's belly and the Messiah being in the heart of this earth because it is important to know what does that mean three days and three nights well look what the Bible teaches us in John chapter 11 and verse 9.

Bear with me as I'm flipping through the Scripture. It's only for our own benefit. John 11 and verse 9, Yeshua the Messiah speaking to. His disciples. It says in verse 8, his disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews, meaning the Jewish leaders of late sought to stone thee and are you going thither again are you going to Jerusalem again and look what Yeshua is saying in verse 9 Yeshua answered and he said are there not 12 hours in the day if any man walk in the day he stumbleth not because he seeth the light of this world Here in this statement in John 11 and verse 9a Yeshua is giving us a clear period of hours in a day He says, are there not 12 hours in a day?

If there are 12 hours in a day There are 12 hours in a night And therefore there are 24 hours cycle Of day and of night if there are 12 hours in a day there are also 12 hours in the night and therefore there are 24 hours in the evening and the morning when we are talking and we are learning from the word of God and many times people try to change the hours of the day and night they're trying to change this cycle that God have ordained and they're trying to probably fit in other hours into a day and they cannot do because the way that the system that's been established by the living God is that there are 12 hours in a day and 12 hours in a night and there are the 24 hours of a normal daily cycle.

And so brothers and sisters, if there are 12 hours in a day and therefore there are 12 hours in a night and therefore there are 24 hours in a day and night together and therefore if Yeshua the Messiah was in the heart of this earth three days and three nights 12 hours of the days time three and 12 hours of the night time three it is total 72 hours and if the Lord Yeshua the Messiah was 72 hours in the heart of this earth and he rose on the first day of the week if you go back and to 72 hours you find out that Friday was not the day that he was on the cross.

He was not on the cross on what is known to be Good Friday by the traditions that Christians or the professing Christians have introduced to us over the generation, over the 2000 years in church history. Now, let me elaborate a little more on that in order to help us to grasp this. People often make the mistake. When they do not distinguish biblical days or the way the Bible teaches us how to account for a day and the way that today the world accounts for a day. For example, if you and I today will say Today is Shabbat, today is Saturday, and tomorrow is going to be Sunday.

You and I are going to say, let's wait until midnight, 12 o'clock at night. And 12 or 1, it is already Sunday, according to the way of the accounting of this world and its system. But it is not so in the Bible. According to the Bible, the following day began already at evening. In fact, the Bible shows us that from even to even, the day and a new day begin. In other words, the day today is Shabbat. At this present time, it's after 2 o'clock. In fact, Sunday, Yom Rishon, the first day of the week, will biblically begin today after sundown. And we can assume somewhere around 6 p.m.

So today, we're going to end up the Shabbat, the Saturday. And after sundown, after the day is over and Saturday is finished and Sunday or the first day of the week began actually tonight after six o'clock. And I'm using the word for six o'clock as an approximate because it has to do with the sun coming down. Sometime the sun coming down earlier sometime the sun coming down later as the days and the winters and the summers and the springs and the fall are following but it is always beginning in the evening let me show this to you from the Bible go back to Genesis chapter 1 where the creation of this world have began when God created the heavens and the earth in Genesis chapter 1 verse 5 verse 8 verse 13 verse 19 verse 23 and verse 31 you will notice how God looks at the beginning of a new day look what we read in verse 5 and God called the light day and the darkness he called night and the evening and the morning were the first day look at this in the next verse eight and God called the firmament heaven and the evening and the morning were the second day look at the next one is verse 13 it says and the evening and the morning was the third day the next verse is found.

In verse 19 and the evening and the morning the fourth day verse 23 and the evening and the morning were the fifth day and then of course if we move on to verse 31 it is the last time mentioned in the book of Genesis chapter 1 and verse 31 and God saw everything that he had made and behold it was very good and the evening and the morning was the sixth day you see beloved brothers and sisters the Bible or God's word the Torah the dvar Elohim the word of God always accounting from the evening to the morning it is not from midnight to midnight but it was from evening to evening now i want you for a moment to go to the book of Leviticus just to seal that in Leviticus chapter 23 here we can really be sure to see how God asking Israel to account for a full day Leviticus chapter 23 and verse 32 in the seven feasts of Yehovah that God had given his people Israel in verse.

32 he's saying to them this statement at the end on verse 32 he's saying this from even unto even ye shall celebrate your Shabbat from even unto even not from midnight to midnight but from even unto even ye shall celebrate your Shabbats. So we have learned from the Scripture that according to the word of God in the biblical Hebrew days of accounting it is always from the evening the beginning of a new day. It's not from midnight it is from even unto even. We have read Exodus chapter 12 and verses 15 and 16 and we discovered from there that God gave our own nation Israel and he told them that the feast of pesach will have two high Shabbat days they will the first day of that seven day week and the last day will be those special days in which Israel we'll call it a holy convocation it will be no matter of work be done on those days it will be similar to the weekly Shabbat day but it is not the weekly Shabbat day it is the Shabbat.

Day in association with the feast of pesach and so now let's just bring it out together as we read in John chapter 19 earlier that because it was a Shabbat day they went to Pilate and they asked from Pilate that Pilate will allow them to take the bodies of Yeshua and the other two thieves to take it down from the tree because it was a high day and you notice what is mentioned here in this verse 31 it was the preparation before the coming of these high holidays the feast of Passover there is a preparation do you remember brothers and sisters when Yeshua said to his disciples in Luke chapter 22 he said you go and prepare for me the Passover there is a need for preparation for the Passover you have to clean the house you have to remove leaven from the home you have to burn everything that has to do with leaven everything has to be only unleavened in the house and we know it from experience those of us who are Jewish because we know how our own family.

Have prepared for the Passover in fact, brothers and sisters in some of our family customs there would be weeks before Pesach comes that there would be a preparation I remember I couldn't walk into the house of my grandmother days before the Passover lest I will defile the house by bringing leaven on my shoes and walk around the house and bring any leaven into the house so my grandmother and my aunt and other of my family who used to prepare the house the Passover dishes coming out and the regular dishes going in and there is a complete cleaning there is a preparation because Passover is coming but it was not friday it was not a friday there is a preparation for a regular sixth day of the week for the friday before the seventh day is coming but here beloved brothers and sisters the preparation was not friday it was another day of the week and even though it says that their bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Shabbat day.

That Shabbat day of John 19 31. Is not the weekly Shabbat day, but it is the Shabbat high holiday of the feast of Pesach, the feast of Passover. And so now that we cover these two important things, Now we find out that according to the Scripture, Yeshua was on the cross, on the tree, and he died. And then he was taken down. If you remember, if you are still in John chapter 19, I want to read verse 38. It says in verse 38, after this, Joseph of Armathia, being a disciple of Yeshua, but secretly for fear of the Jewish people, he besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Yeshua.

And Pilate gave him leave. He came, therefore, and he took the body of Yeshua. And there came also Nicodemus, or Nakdimon, which at first came to Yeshua by night. And he brought a mixture of myrrh and aloas, about 100-pound weight. And they took the body of Jesus, the body of Yeshua, And they wound it in linen cloth with spices, as the manner of the Jewish people is, to bury. And now notice verse 41 and 42. Now in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden. And in the garden there was a new sepulcher, wherein was never man yet laid. There lay day Yeshua, therefore, because, look at the reason, verse 42b, because the Jewish preparation day for the sepulcher was nigh at hand.

And so because of that preparation day, the Shabbat is coming, the Passover Shabbat is coming, they had to do it quickly to take the body of Yeshua, the Messiah, down from the tree, to wound it, to cover it with linen cloth, and then to anoint it with ointment, and to place the body of Yeshua the Messiah in the tomb where never man lay there yet, the tomb that belonged to Yosef of Armathia. And there they have done it because it was a time of the preparation for the Pesach, The high holiday of the Shabbat of the Passover was coming and therefore everything had to be ready because Passover came.

And so now we learn, brothers and sisters, that Yeshua the Messiah was placed in the tomb on the same day, somewhere in the evening after the crucifixion of the day that Passover at the same time began in between the evenings. Now keep your thinking hat with me for a moment because I'm moving forward now. In the next statement, we read now, it is very interesting, and I would like you to turn to Matthew chapter 28. You remember what Yeshua said earlier in Matthew chapter 12? For as Yonah was in the fish's belly three days and three nights, so must the Son of Man be in the heart of this earth three days and three nights.

Now here we are going, we are zeroing in and we are closing on these, when was Yeshua the Messiah actually on the cross? Was it on a Friday or on any other day of the week? Matthew chapter 28. If you notice in the four Gospels, Matthew 28 verse 1, Mark 16 verse 1, Luke 24, verse 1, and John 20, verse 1. When they came, the women, to the burial place where Yeshua was buried, the Lord was no longer there already. Look at this. Matthew chapter 28. At the end of the Shabbat, as it began to dawn or to draw near towards the first day of the week, came Miriam Magdalena, or Magdalene, and the other Miriam to see the sepulcher.

And behold, there was a great earthquake. And the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and he came and he rolled back the stone from the door, and he sat upon it, and his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment was white as snow. And for fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead men. And the angel answered, and he said unto the women, Fear not ye, for I know that you seek Yeshua, which was crucified. Look what he's telling them. He is not here. He is risen. He is not here. He is risen. In other words, by the time that they were coming at the end of the Shabbat to the tomb to see where the Lord was laid he was not there and you read it look what it says here at the end of the Shabbat and remember what we said that the cycle of the biblical days is from evening to evening the Shabbat ends on sundown the first day of the week began immediately after sundown on the same so-called day in what you call the secular accounting that you and I know of.

And therefore, when they came at the end of the Shabbat, let's assume it would have been around 3, 4, 5, 6 o'clock in the evening, when they came and they were wanting to find out what's happening to Yeshua because they wanted to anoint Him there, the body was no longer there. He was no longer in the tomb. In fact, what we learn actually, the Messiah was already resurrected on the first day of the week, biblical accounting. What does that mean? It doesn't mean that he rose after midnight, he rose actually from among the dead on Saturday after sundown, which is the first day of the week, biblical accounting. So when they came to the tomb, he was already resurrected.

Yes, it is on the first day of the week. But it is the first day of the week in accordance with the biblical accounting. Look at Mark, please. Turn to Mark chapter 16 now. And verse 1. Again, look where we read. When the Shabbat was passed. Remember Leviticus 23, 32, From even to even ye shall celebrate your Shabbat. When the Shabbat was passed in the evening, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome brought spices that they might come and anoint him. So the Shabbat was over and the first day of the week had begun. The Messiah was already resurrected. Now they came a little bit later according to this chapter because they came very early in the morning.

That means that it must be now after midnight, maybe four o'clock, very early in the morning. When they came, he was no longer there. Look what it says. It was the first day of the week, verse 2, very early in the morning. They came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun. They said among themselves, Who shall roll away the stone from the door of the sepulcher? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was already rolled away. For it was very great stone. Entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment, and they were frightened.

And he says unto them, Be not afraid. You seek Yeshua of Nazareth, which was crucified. He is risen. He is not here behold the place where they laid him you see beloved brothers and sisters the Messiah rose already in our looking at the days today and saturday evening which is actually the first day of the week in accordance with God's word. From even to even ye shall celebrate your Shabbat. And so now, if we are looking at this, since Yeshua the Messiah was three days and three nights in the hut of this earth, in the tomb, and since he rose from among the dead on the evening of that Shabbat, which is actually the first day of the week.

Therefore, we must count now 72 hours, at least approximately 72 hours, back and find out whether he was on the cross on what is known to be today Good Friday. If you will take Shabbat evening, Saturday night after six o'clock let's say six or one which is the first day of the week go one day friday night which is actually be already thursday you go back another day and you go back you notice that it was. Actually wednesday night where the Messiah had been on the cross and if you count from evening to evening wednesday night to thursday night thursday night to friday night friday night to saturday night which is after sundown it is the first day of the week he actually was not on the cross on what is known today good friday and in accordance with these verses that we read in Jonah chapter 1 verse 17 as Jonah was in the fish's belly three days and three nights and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah validate what we read in Jonah 1 17 and he said as your now was in the fish's belly three days and three nights so must the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of this earth that tells us beloved brothers and sisters that truly Yeshua the Messiah was already crucified earlier than what is known to be today as Good Friday and when he was crucified on the cross and they took him down from the cross.

That Shabbat day mentioned in John 19 31 is not the weekly Shabbat day but it was the Shabbat high day of the feast of Pesach the feast of Passover in which there is a day before that a preparation and everything has to be prepared because it's a high holidays and therefore the Messiah had to be taken from the cross and placed in a tomb because the bodies of dead people according to the custom should not remain on the tree or should not remain outside but be buried but praise God brothers and sisters Whatever day of the week it is, it's not so much important, but I just wanted to address that because of the statement in Jonah 1.17 and Matthew 12.40 of the three days and three nights in accordance with the Word of God.

Therefore, praise God that Yeshua the Messiah have died and paid for our sins so we can be free to worship God, that our sins are being forgiven, that we can now come before God and worship Him truly because of what we know that He has done for us and that He had been resurrected from among the dead and that He is seated at God's right hand there to intercede on our behalf, and we can praise him throughout eternity because of what he has done for us. And now, brothers and sisters, let's now go quickly, please, to Jonah chapter 3, and let me just elaborate for a few minutes on the first few verses there, so we will not completely deviate from our chapter.

And so in chapter 3, we concluded with the fact that Jonah now find himself upon a dry land chapter 2 and verse 10 the fish that was prepared by God by the Lord specifically for that mission he finished his mission he fulfilled his mission he swallowed. Up Jonah he kept him there in his belly for three days and three nights and by the command of God he vomited out yonah upon a dry land in Hebrew the word is yabasha yavesh dry land where yonah was now we do not know exactly where this place must have been but he vomited him in a dry land after Jonah confessed his sins repented before the Lord he prayed as he was drowning he prayed from the heart of sheol he prayed from the belly of the fish he prays those three prayers in Jonah chapter 2 verses 1 to 9 and now he's ready to be sent again by the Lord and Jonah 3 verse 1 began with something very precious and I think you and I need to apply this to ourselves look at this in verses 1 and 2 we see Jonah is commissioned again to serve the Lord look at this verse 1 says and the word of the Lord came unto Yonah the second time saying I love that word the second.

Time because when God called Yonah the second time after Yonah failed God completely the first time it shows us the ways of God dealing with man you see there are certain places and certain people that will never give you another chance you blew it the first time you are done I'm not going to give you another chance but it is not like so with our God God is so gracious God is so loving that when we mess up and we did brothers and sisters you did and I did and you will and i will again and again we make mistakes we go sometime in wrong direction but God has never finished with his servant God has a purpose for his servant and so you can see that after his rebellion and disobedience and after his departure in another direction God is still willing and ready to reuse his failing servant and you know that that from biblical history it was Abraham in the beginning who failed God when he went down to Egypt and said that his wife was not really his.

Wife and he did twice actually our father Abraham twice he repeated and he said later on in grar that sarai was not his wife he failed God went down to Egypt and the Lord reused Abraham again because God is a gracious God in long suffering towards his own people we think about Peter in the Brit HaChadasha, in the New Testament. Peter said to Yeshua, Though everyone will deny you, I will not. I will be the one who will stand for you, Lord. And we know what happened when the time came for test. And when Peter was asked by this young girl when he was warming himself by the fire there outside and she said to him, You are also a Galilean.

Aren't you one of his disciples? And the same one who made a promise. Oh, Lord, though everyone will deny you, I will never deny you. He denied Yeshua three times. And on the third time, brothers and sisters, when he denied the Lord, he left and he was weeping because he failed his Lord. He failed his master. He failed the Messiah. But in John chapter 21, it was Yeshua who restored publicly Shimon Petos before his disciples. And he said to Peter, you remember three times he said to Peter, do you love me more than these? Peter said, Lord, you know I love you. And he asked him again, Peter, do you love me?

Simon Peter, do you love me more than these? And he said, Lord, you know I love you. He said, feed my sheep, feed my lamb. And the third time he asked him again, Simon, Peter, lovest thou me? And Peter said, Lord, you know all things. And the Lord right there publicly restored Peter before the brethren and used Peter mightily in a ministry of the word of God for his own Jewish brethren over the history of Peter. And ultimately, Peter, as you know, have died upside down because he said, I'm not worthy to die like my Lord, like my Messiah. And you know it's so precious because you know when we fail the Lord you and I sometimes feel like oh boy I cannot carry on I failed God and God cannot use me anymore and here we find that so precious that Jonah Jonah the prophet God did not cast him out God did not throw him away he repented he confessed and he turned around and he said Lord I will do what you want me to do as You remember we read in verse 9 of chapter 2, I will pay that which I have vowed.

I'm going to fulfill my promises to you, Lord. And so the Lord is using Jonah the second time. And if Jonah would have gone back to the ship and found a third ship, gone away to Tarshish and will repent, the Lord will use him the third time and the fourth time and the fifth time as he takes him through training. And when you and I fail the Lord, don't ever say to yourself that's it I'm done I have no hope yes we do have hope God is in a business of restoration if we confess before the Lord and we'll tell him the reality of our failure and take side with him against ourself he's always ready to restore us even though men and women around us could say he's done we have no hope for this man or for this brother or for this sister And here we find that the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time.

And now notice what we read here in verse 2. In the first part of verse 2. Look how beautiful. He said to him, notice, Arise and go unto Nineveh, that great city. And you know, we read here, And preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. You know, beautiful to know that. Not only that God is a God of the second chance dear brothers and sisters but there is a God that is concerned for the people of the world you know sometime we read that verse in John 3 16 for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son his love for the world is not limited his love to the world is wide and deep and high and you cannot fathom the love of God for mankind.

God is a God who has concern for all mankind. You remember what we read? Peter actually said that in 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 9, Peter himself said this, that the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but he is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance God is long suffering he is not willing that anyone will perish and with this verse 2 he says to him you arise and you go to that great city and you preach unto it the preaching that I'm telling you to preach. So we can learn beloved brothers and sisters that God is not only the God of the second chance but he's a God that has a care for the human race now do you think he didn't know who are the people of Nineveh do you think he doesn't know who are the people here in the area where we live you think God does not know the human race whom he created but the race that fail and have gone astray from him he surely know the whole world but his love for the world his love for mankind is so precious and so dear that we're never supposed to neglect to appreciate it in our own hearts so he's saying to Jonah Jonah you go and you tell them what I'm telling you because I care for mankind I care for this world now here I want you to also notice in verse 2 that what God have told Jonah to preach It is what the messenger should mention in his preaching In other words, we cannot tell the preacher what to preach.

You know, sometimes we like to tell the preacher what to tell Because we have itching ears And we like to hear some good things that are suiting us And when the preacher preached a message that we don't like Then we don't like it And we don't like the preacher But look what God said to him You go to Nineveh, that great city, and look at this verse 2b, and preach unto it the preaching that I tell you. Don't preach what is suitable for people's ears. You know, we all like to hear messages of love. God love me. God give me. God do for me. God provide for me.

God take care of me. And we don't like when God says, hey, hey, hey, wait a minute. This needs to be corrected in your life. And I will deal with you if you will not correct it. You need to turn around, walk in the right way. We don't like that. And here we find our brothers and sisters that God expect from Yonah to preach only what he bid him and no more. People should not dictate to the servant of the Lord what to preach. And we talked about it just actually last night in our Bible classes in 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verses 1 to 5. Paul said to Timothy, there will come days when they will not endure sound doctrine anymore.

And they will not want anymore to hear sound teaching, but they will heap for themselves teachers because they have itching ears. They want to hear what they like to hear, but they don't want to hear what the word of God say. And the Lord have warned the believers through the apostle Paul already long time ago, as he was writing to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 4 in the first five verses there. So, in verses 1 and 2, we see Jonah's commission renewed. And now he was sent by the Lord to preach the message that he bid him to preach. Now, notice in the next verses 3 and 4, look at the obedience of Jonah to God's commission.

I think this is very beautiful because before, when the Lord told him, you get up, you go to Nineveh, you preach to Nineveh. What Jonah did, he disobeyed the Lord and he had gone astray. But now, there is obedience upon the call of God by the servant Jonah. Look, verse 3 and 4. First of all, verse 3, Jonah arrived to the city of Nineveh. It says in verse 3, And Jonah arose, and he went unto Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now, Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three-day journey. So here's Jonah, no disobedience right now. He's getting up, he's doing the bidding of the Lord.

He rises up, he went unto Nineveh and look at the Bible, clearly say, according to the word of the Lord. He obeyed the word of the Lord. He went to Nineveh. And then he tells us the size of the city of Nineveh. It says here in verse 3b that Nineveh was an exceeding great city. It was a three-day journey city. Some suggest that to get to the center of the city of Nineveh, it took three days. Others suggest that to get from one side of the city, to cross all the city to the other side, it is a three-day journey. Many miles that you could go.

It was a long and a huge city. The name of Nineveh first mentioned in the Bible, in the book of Genesis. And in Genesis chapter 10, verse 11 and 12, the name of the city Nineveh is connected with Assyria. And there you can see that Nineveh connected with other cities. And some even suggest that at the time when Jonah, Hanavin, Jonah the prophet, was preaching to Nineveh, that city was really a triangle. There were three cities in one. Because the way it is mentioned in Genesis chapter 10 and verses 11 and 12. And even because of the three-day journey, it was a big city, a large city, fortified. It was a city that could say, who needs God?

We can do it on our own. Who needs God? Look at our power look at our ability and Jonah was called to go to that city and he went to that city and that expression a great city is mentioned in chapter 1 verse 2 in chapter 3 verse 2 and 3 and also in chapter 4 and verse 11 the last verse where it says Nineveh that great city as it is mentioned here in this verse as well so in verse 3 John arrived to this city and now as he entered into the city of Nineveh he began to do his preaching and look what it says in verse 4 very simple preaching you know when you and I preach today to people around it says hey God love you God care for you the Messiah died for you Yeshua paid for your sin come he loves you he cares for you.

He wants to give you heaven, eternal relationship with him. Turn your heart to Yeshua the Messiah. Well, the preaching of Jonah was not a simple preaching. He did not hear talk. About the love of God, but he talked about the coming judgment of God upon Nineveh. In verse 4, Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey as he was walking into the city of Nineveh. What he was speaking he was crying this cry of God against the city of Nineveh he said yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown it is eight words in the English but it is only five words in the Hebrew language yet 40 days and Nineveh is going to be overthrown the Hebrew word here for nehefechet or overthrown is mentioned already earlier in the time of sodom and gamora if you remember in Genesis chapter 19 when the judgment of God fell upon sdom because of their sin because of the way of life the way of living that happened in sdom and you Remember that the fire and brimstone came upon the city of Sodom.

It was not a military campaign. It was not an army came and took over the city of Sodom. No, it was a direct judgment of God from heaven. And the word there for overthrown in Genesis chapter 19 is the word lehit hapech, mahapecha, overthrown. That is a judgment of God that we read here that Jonah was preaching yet 40 days and ninever shall be overthrown maapecha upside down judged by God and he used the word for 40 days you know in the Bible beloved brothers and sisters there are many times where we get the word the number 40 40 in Scripture is a number of testing every time in Scripture when you find the word 40 or the number 40 it speaks of God chastening it speaks of God's testing you know when our own people Israel were in the wilderness 40 years you remember that when our people walked from Egypt into the promised land of Israel they were tested going in circle throughout Sinai for 40 years Israel were in the wilderness you remember about the flood the flood was 40 days and nights that the flood was here upon the face of this earth again it is God's testing it has to do with God chastening the number 40 speaks of the fact.

That God is testing man you remember when Moses was in midian in the desert you remember he was with the king of midian he got married to one of his daughters and he had children with her and he was there for 40 years he was in the school of God before he could lead Israel for 40 years he had to be 40 years in the school of God you read about that in act chapter 7 verse 29 and verse 30 let me tell you some more just a little bit when Moses went up to the mountain to give us the law Moses went up to the mountain for 40 days he was up on a mountain taking instruction from God concerning the law and the nation of Israel you remember about Elijah Elijah was 40 days and night in a search for food testing and chastening of God and also if you remember none else but our beloved Yeshua the Messiah was 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness.

Where Satan was tempting him and he was hungry if you remember we read it in Matthew chapter 4 verses 1 to 8 of Yeshua the Messiah who also had been in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights and So we learn, beloved brothers and sisters, that the number 40 had to do with testing. And Jonah is coming into the city of Nineveh and he says, Yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown, judged by God. And 40 days speaks of testing. Will they come to accept what God said? Will they repent? Will they turn to the God of Jonah or will they continue in their wickedness? Because earlier in chapter 1 and verse 2, God said that Jonah should go to Nineveh to cry against Nineveh because their wickedness rose up before God.

And God was ready to judge them. And so now, beloved brothers and sisters, the last verses here of our chapter, and please bear with me, in verses 5 to 9, we find out the conversion of the city of Nineveh. Notice verse 5, it says here that the people of Nineveh believed God. They believed what Jonah was saying. Look, verse 5, so the people of Nineveh believed God. Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God. They believed what the statement that Jonah proclaimed, the fact that God is going to judge Nineveh, they believed it. The people believed in verse 5a, believed they had faith. Secondly, in verse 5, they proclaim a fast to prove that they really believed.

In verse 5b, they proclaim a fast. Thirdly, in verse 5c, that they put on themselves sackcloth. Look at this, verse 5c, they put sackcloth from the greatest of them to the least of them. And of course, fourthly, we find out they've included everyone. It was a whole city repentance as Yonah was proclaiming the judgment that is coming. And so in verse 5, we see that Nineveh, the people of Nineveh, believe. And you know, it is precious to see that they did turn away from their wickedness as Yonah was preaching the message. And so look what their king have done in verse 6. So the word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he rose up of his throne, and he laid his robe from him and fathered himself with sackcloth and he sat in ashes.

Even the king, the king of Nineveh, he repented. His action showed to us he left the throne, he left aside his robe, he dressed himself in sackcloth and he sat on ashes. That's the act of the king. He shows an external repentance because Jonah was proclaiming yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown. And notice what now the king do in verses 7 8 and 9 he does things that are very important first of all he proclaiming a fast in verse 7 and he calls to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles and he said let neither man nor beast herd nor flocks taste anything, let them not feed nor drink water.

In other words, he's proclaiming a fast. In verse 8 now, he commended all that were there to have sackcloth upon them. Verse 8a, let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. And then verse 8b, he's commending them to cry unto God and verse 8 see he commended all to cease from doing evil let me read verse 8 one more time but let men and beasts be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily unto God and let them turn everyone from his evil way and from the violence that is in their hand in other words the king now took charge of this and he commended everyone to fast everyone to put sackcloth everyone to cry to God in repentance and everyone to cease from doing evil there was a true repentance there was a real change in the heart of the king and finally brothers and sisters in verse 9 we find out that he said this statement who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from his fierce anger that we perish not he took seriously the word of the Lord.

Who can tell maybe God will change his mind God will turn away you know in the history of mankind how many times God have changed his direction because of the cry and repentance of mankind you remember when Israel was worshiping the golden calf in Exodus 32 and Moses was on the mount for those 40 days and 40 nights and God saw what our own nation had been doing worshiping a golden calf and God said to Moses you know Moses I'm going to destroy the people and I'm going to make of you Moses a nation and you know Moses said God he says don't do that he said these are your people this is your nation these are your people what the people of the world going to say about you that you brought them in order to destroy them in the wilderness and we read in Exodus 32 verses 12 13 14 that God repented as it says here he turned away he repented he turned away from his.

Anger because of the fact that they confessed and repented you know if there's somebody who is a sinner today and did not accept yet the Lord Jesus the Messiah if he or she will just simply turn away and say God be merciful to me a sinner God will turn away and will bring blessing to that man or that woman and will save him and will turn their life around and if any one of us are living a life that is not pleasing to the Lord and the Lord will have to deal with us in discipline if we will confess it before the Lord and turn away and say Lord I want to change my ways I was wrong I'm taking your side against myself God will change he is dealing with us and he will turn us around and he will bring us to continue to follow after him the verses i've mentioned in the Scripture many verses that come to mind one verse i just want to read because we are going to conclude.

Here in a moment in second chronicle chapter 7 we read these verses concerning God verse 14 If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and I will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open and mine ears attend unto the prayer that is made in this place God is a gracious God who will not judge those who will repent and will confess and will turn to him in true confession and will end up restored by the Lord and so we find out and i'm going to conclude with this beloved brothers and sisters chapter 3 and verse 10 and God saw their works that they turned from their evil way and God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them and he did it not when God saw that there was a change in the life of the people of the city of Nineveh there was a real repentance he did not judge them as he intended to judge them because of their wicked way and with this I'm going to stop and remind us brothers and sisters that God is holy and he must judge sin but repentance is that what he desired to see.

In a heart of his own in a heart of unbelievers where there will be true repentance and turn around to him God will not judge and God as it says here he's turning from his evil that he's going to do to them and then he would not do it to them just the same like he have not done this unto the people of Nineveh