Let Them Give Up Their Violence

Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life

Tim Keller

Christianity, Religion & Spirituality:christianity, Spirituality, Religion, Religion & Spirituality

4.9 • 16.2K Ratings

🗓️ 11 May 2026

⏱️ 42 minutes

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Summary

History tells us the Assyrian empire brought cruelty and massacre to a new level. It was a violent empire that slaughtered helpless people. And Jonah’s response to it is anger. He wants them punished. Yet, in the book of Jonah, we see one of the greatest surprising turns of all the stories in the Bible. God refuses to accept either the violence of Nineveh or the poisonous anger of Jonah. Let’s look at three things that this text tells us about violence: 1) the surprising sources of violence, 2) the remarkable strategy we should take with violence, and 3) the ultimate solution for violence. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 7, 2001. Series: The Church in the City. Scripture: Jonah 3:1-4:5. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the Gospel and Life podcast.
0:06.7	What does God's concern for cities tell us about his mission?
0:10.4	Jonah was called to preach to the great city of Nineveh, but his own anger and prejudice
0:15.4	blinded him to what God would accomplish there.
0:18.3	Today, Tim Keller looks at why culture-shaping cities matter to God
0:22.2	and what that reveals about his heart for the entire world.
0:33.3	The reading is from Jonah, chapter 3, verse 1 through chapter 4 verse 5.
0:38.9	Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.
0:42.5	Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.
0:46.9	Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh.
0:50.3	Now Nineveh was a very important city.
0:52.8	A visit required three days. On the first day, Jonah started
0:56.8	into the city. He proclaimed, 40 more days and Nineveh will be overturned. The Ninevites believed God.
1:04.8	They declared a fast and all of them from the greatest to the least put on sackcloth.
1:09.8	When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose
1:12.4	from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat down in the dust.
1:18.4	Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh. By the decree of the king and his nobles, do not let any
1:25.3	man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything. Do not let them eat or drink.
1:31.5	But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up
1:38.2	their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from
1:44.1	his fierce anger so that we will not perish.
1:47.5	When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not
	...

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