The next point I see in the story of Nineveh is the missed opportunity to shepherd the new converts. As best as we can tell, Jonah did nothing to follow up on the great revival in Nineveh. It was likely the greatest missed opportunity in all of human history; yet Jonah had no concern for their spiritual needs. Had he built a church, he would have had one hundred percent of the population as members—and, more than likely, as tithers. Apparently, he had no interest in shepherding them and went back to his ordinary life. My point is that we need not only develop a strategy for winning people to Christ but also a strategy for keeping them once they have accepted the Lord. In other words, our evangelism must be followed with proper discipleship.
We can see an excellent example in the life of Paul—a man who was consumed with his love for the churches. Reading the introductions to his letters gives us a glimpse into his never-ending concern for the saints. To the Corinthians, he writes, “I thank my God always on your behalf.” (I Corinthians 1:4) To the Philippians, he says, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.” (verse 1:3) He addresses the Colossians, “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.” (verse 1:3) His greeting to the Thessalonian church reads, “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers.” (I Thessalonians 1:2) Timothy he addresses as “my own son in the faith” (I Timothy 1:2) and “my dearly beloved son” (II Timothy 1:2) and goes on to say, “I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day.” (verse 1:3) Titus also receives the loving salutation of “mine own son after the common faith.” (verse 1:2) In writing to Philemon, Paul also addresses Apphia whom he called “beloved” (verse 2) and then writes, “I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers.” (verse 4)
From these opening lines, we are able to get a glimpse inside the heart of a man capable of precipitating change in a city. His converts were never out of his heart and mind. No matter how many miles and how many years separated them, these loved ones were always in Paul’s prayers. But it is in his greeting to the church at Rome that we are able to really see what is in the heart of a true minister of God. Here Paul is addressing a church that he has never visited and a congregation of believers who, except for a few individuals, were strangers to him. Yet, he confirms—and even calls upon God as his witness—that he is always and unceasingly interceding for them. This is a pastor’s heart—a heart of unceasing love and concern for the Body of Christ, whether personal friends or total strangers. These believers he addresses as “beloved” and says,
I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers.
In II Corinthians chapter eleven, Paul graphically illustrates how heavily the burden of love for the church weighed upon his heart. Here, he describs the physical difficulties he endured for the gospel’s sake: beatings, imprisonments, shipwrecks, long journeys, plots against his life, attacks of wild beasts, assaults by robbers, hunger, exposure, and being stoned to the point of death. Yet he concluded this list with, “Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.” (verse 28) He seems to be saying that the inner burden he carried for the churches exceeded the physical burdens that had been hurled upon him externally. He wrote lengthy and detailed letters to minister to them, he went to great lengths to visit them and ensure their wellbeing (Acts 15:36), and he sent others in his place to guarantee that they had proper instruction and solid leadership in place (I Corinthians 4:17, Philippians 2:19, I Thessalonians 3:2, Titus 1:5). This is the heart of a man who will see fruit that remains long after the initial revival.
But Paul is not our ultimate example. He was only outwardly manifesting the true life of Christ—the One who lived inside him. (Galatians 2:20) Luke 22:31 records that Jesus knew about Satan’s plot to destroy Peter, so He prayed for him that he would not fall. In Matthew 23:37, we read that Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives and looked down on the city of Jerusalem with a heart that cried out for its people. He wanted to call them under His wings of protection, but they would not come to Him. It broke His heart because His was a true pastor’s heart. The gospels continually repeat the theme that Jesus was moved with compassion for the people: the key to others’ hearts and lives. When Jesus tried to illustrate what was in His heart, He used parables of a shepherd and his sheep. In Luke 15:4-7, He demonstrated that a shepherd is never satisfied until he has done everything possible to rescue every possible sheep.
What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
The parable of the Good Shepherd from John 10:1-16 specifically speaks of Christ’s love for the church, but it also illustrates the kind of heart that must be in any true minister through whom Christ’s life is to be manifest.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
In John 21:15-17, the resurrected Lord confronted Simon Peter with the challenge that if he truly loved the Master, he would become a shepherd of the flock and “feed the sheep.” Peter apparently learned his lesson well and challenged others who wanted to become ministers in the Body of Christ to develop a shepherd’s heart.
The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; nor for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. (I Peter 5:1-5)
In the words of both Jesus and Peter, a shepherd is not someone who holds the position for a paycheck. It has been my experience that those men and women who are really called into the ministry and have a desire to win their cities for Christ would almost be willing to pay to get to do their work. To them, their positions are ministries, not jobs. Thinking back to Jonah, we can see that he certainly did not have the heart of a true shepherd. His attitude was more precisely defined by the words of the prophet Jeremiah:
Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD. And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD. (verses 23:1-4)
In this remarkable passage, our God demonstrates His personal desire to see that the flock is shepherded. Our story of Jonah’s evangelism in the Assyrian capital of Nineveh is marked by the unwillingness of the prophet to minister to the people and his utter dismay at the fact that God actually forgave these pagans. Unlike my cousin Manse and the prophet Jonah who wanted to draw small circles and leave certain individuals and entire ethnic groups outside, our God draws a huge circle that includes everyone. Second Peter 3:9 described the heart of our heavenly Father this way, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” From the first page of your Bible to its closing paragraphs, He is portrayed as an all-inclusive God. At least four times, the Lord reiterated that He intendes to bless the entire human family through the descendants of His servant Abraham. (Genesis 18:18, 22:18, 26:4; Galatians 3:8) The Psalmist crafted a poetic prophecy affirming the all-inclusive nature of the Lord’s love, “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.” (verse 22:27) The same sentiment was heralded by Isaiah at least twice during his prophetic ministry, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it…This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.” (verses 2:2, 14:26) According to Romans 11:26, the entire nation of Israel will eventually be saved. Two different prophets proclaim that the entire earth will be inundated with the glory of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:9, Habakkuk 2:14) The Old Testament declares and the New Testament confirms that it is the Lord’s intent to pour out His Spirit on all flesh. (Joel 2:28, Acts 2:17) Jesus personally took His ministry to every city and then commissioned His followers to do likewise. (Luke 8:1-4, 10:1) He left no question in the minds of His followers that He intended that no one be excluded from receiving His message. (Matthew 24:14, 28:19, Mark 13:10, 16:15, Luke 24:47) The Apocalypse concludes with a futuristic insight into the time when this all-inclusive work will have been accomplished. (verses 7:9, 11:15, 21:24)
The story of Nineveh’s conversion dramatically illustrates the paramount truth that God is much more interested in winning souls than we are. The Lord was so intent on saving Nineveh that He used a rebellious and disinterested prophet like Jonah to get the message out and to see that the job was done. If He got these overwhelming results from the unwilling prophet, just think what He might do through you and me if we are even casually concerned for the spiritual wellbeing the lost souls of our world. Just imagine what can happen when we really get serious about our fellow citizens! There is no limit to the harvest we can reap if we are ignited with passion for the Great Commission.