Fruit of Repentance

You can understand why messengers rushed to tell Jesus. He’s travelling from Galilee to Jerusalem with a group of Galileans to worship God at the temple in Jerusalem. The messengers told Jesus of a mass killing in Jerusalem. We hear this kind of violence in the news too often. You know how disturbing it is.

The messengers tell how relatives or neighbours from Galilee brought their offerings to the temple. They brought a lamb or goat as a sin offering or a fellowship offering and were about to enjoy a feast with their family – like Thanksgiving dinner.

Fellowship offerings are sacrifices to God. A sheep or goat is slaughtered in the priest’s court, the fat and liver burned on the big altar in the temple, and the rest of the meat taken home for a feast: A dinner celebrating shared faith in the Lord, a celebration of God’s providence and mercy. I read the OT book of Leviticus recently and I was impressed at how often God’s instructed his people to worship him with feasts and dinners.

This time, the offerings and family feast were ruined because Roman soldiers cut the worshippers down with swords as they brought their offerings. These weren’t rogue soldiers. Their orders came from the governor: Pontius Pilate. Pilate was notoriously cruel. Killing worshippers so their lifeblood mixed with the blood of their offerings is expected from Pilate.

You can understand why people hurried north to bring the news to Jesus and the crowd of Galileans. They were traveling to Jerusalem to offer their sacrifices. Do you think the messengers just brought obituaries to friends and family or were they warning Jesus to expect violence in Jerusalem?

Either way, Jesus’ reaction is surprising. He uses the news of the murdered Galileans as a warning to repent.

Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?

I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Luke 13:2–3 (NIV)

It’s the bad news of the gospel. The Galileans were sinners. Not worse sinners than anyone else, but sinners. All the people traveling to Jerusalem with Jesus are also sinners.

It’s God’s just judgement, all sinners will perish for their sin. It’s the reality we all face when in the gospel. When we fail to obey God’s instructions for living as a citizen of the kingdom of God we face God’s justice. When we fail to reflect God’s image:

· his generosity and compassion,

· his justice and patience,

· his purity, holiness, and love for all creation and all people,

we face God’s judgement.

Jesus emphasises that all of us will perish if we don’t repent: me, you, our families and neighbours. Because God is fair and just, sin leads to death and destruction.

As the crowd around him absorbs Jesus’ comments, Jesus keeps scrolling through the events on his news feed. He mentions how 18 people were killed when the tower in Siloam collapsed. Jesus uses this tragedy as another warning:

Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?

I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Luke 13:4–5 (NIV)

Jesus mentions the sin or guilt of the victims of both disasters.

It’s a question: Is this disaster punishment for a specific sin? Did the victims bring it on themselves? Is this victim-blaming?

That’s not the flavour of Jesus’ ministry. It’s not the tone of his warnings. It’s Jesus’ point: The victims are NOT more guilty than anyone else! In Luke’s gospel, Jesus invites all people to repent. Get ready! Make changes! God’s kingdom is coming!

Jesus uses these 2 disasters to show the consequences of refusing to repent and live as a citizen of God’s kingdom. You’ll recall that the code of conduct of citizens in the kingdom of God is very different than the code of certain rulers … like Pontius Pilate. Jesus calls you to live as citizens of kingdom.

Luke knows, and you know, that already in Jesus’ day, Jerusalem is poised to rebel against the Roman Empire. Rebellion breaks out 40 years after Jesus’ warnings. It seems Luke has those events in mind as he records Jesus’ warnings.

In 70 AD, Jews rebel against Rome. They try to establish the kingdom of God on earth using violence and rebellion. Caesar Vespasian sends his son Titus with the Roman army to lay siege. During the siege, the rebels fight each other. When the Romans attack Jerusalem, it’s not just a few Galileans whose blood is spilled in the temple courts – many Jews die. During the siege, it’s not just the tower of Siloam that falls, but the walls of Jerusalem fall. The temple and most of the buildings in Jerusalem will be destroyed. Even when city is rebuilt, Rome prevents Jews from living in Jerusalem for hundreds of years.

Jesus’ call to repent is fresh for the Galileans traveling to Jerusalem. They’re shocked by news of neighbours being butchered as they bring offerings to the Lord in the temple. Yet, in light of these violent deaths, Jesus calls all people to repent. He warns: “Unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

The kingdom of God doesn’t come through rebellion and warfare. Entry to God’s kingdom involves repentance: turning away from sinful behaviour and instead: being guided by God’s Word and Spirit to a transformed life. Life as a citizen of the kingdom of God is guided by the code of the kingdom of God. That culture involves generosity, compassion, and mercy.

God’s compassion and forbearance are revealed in Jesus’ parable about the fig tree. How?

This fig tree is unfruitful for 3 years! How long will you wait for a fruit tree to bear fruit? You won’t keep

· a heifer that doesn’t calve,

· a sow that doesn’t farrow,

· a hen that doesn’t lay eggs,

· an ewe that doesn’t lamb,

· or a goat that doesn’t kid, will you?

If your livestock doesn’t produce, you ship them to market, right? Same with this fig tree: If it doesn’t bear figs, cut it down and plant something else!

“Wait! Not yet!” says the vineyard keeper. “One more year. One more season of good care and fertilizer. See what happens …”

How do you understand Jesus’ parable? Is this just a story about a tree? Is it just advice for gardeners?

There’s a theme running through Luke’s gospel. John the Baptist and Jesus both call people to repent. They call people to show the fruit of repentance. What kind of fruit? Jesus gives an example in Luke 14. It was part of our readings in Luke last week. I got emails about it. It sparked conversations because it’s a challenging idea.

Jesus went to dinner with religious experts and taught them:

When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. Luke 14:12–14 (NIV)

So … who’s invited to your next birthday party?

What about Easter dinner?

The fruit of repentance is a changed and transformed life: attitude, behaviour, hopes, and lifegoals are transformed by repentance. It’s only possible when our sinful self dies with Jesus on the cross. Then we are reborn as new people in Jesus Christ as he rises from the grave.

With the outpouring of God the HS, we become new people. We’re transformed. The fruit Jesus is looking for is evidence that your life has the flavour of the kingdom of God. We read it earlier from a letter in the NT:

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

forbearance, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22–23a (NIV)

When the gardener in the parable advises adding waiting another year, Jesus reveals the strategy of his heavenly Father. The Lord God Almighty has compassion on the city of Jerusalem, on the people of Jesus’ day, and on the people of our day. You can’t accuse God of rushing to judgement.

After Jesus died on the cross and rose again, he continued to preach for 40 days before ascending to heaven. Even then, the invitation to repent continues.

At Pentecost, 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection, Peter stands in Jerusalem to proclaim the gospel. Later, the apostles preach the gospel in the temple courts. When Peter and John, Stephen, and later Paul are on trial before the Chief Priests and Pharisees, they faithfully present the gospel. Time after time, in Acts the gospel is proclaimed and people are called to repent.

All those sermons are fertilizer prompting fruit of repentance.

Despite the signs in Jesus’ day: Galileans being massacred in the temple courts and the Tower of Siloam collapsing, God is patient. It’s 40 years before God’s judgement falls on Jerusalem

Despite God’s patience, despite all the time and fertilizer, many Jews do not repent. When walls topple and the temple is destroyed in AD 70, citizens of Jerusalem, pilgrims from Galilee, and Jews from all over the world are killed by Roman soldiers in the temple courts.

Since then, for nearly 2000 years, Jesus’ followers proclaim the gospel and rejoice as people repent and believe God’s promises. The joy in heaven when people repent is a theme in this week’s Bible readings from Luke. AND God’s patience and compassion are visible in our context and in our congregation.

God’s patience and persistence show up repeatedly in the NT. In II Peter, there’s a comment on the long wait for Jesus’ return:

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. II Peter 3:9 (NIV)

The Lord remains patient. Yet we’re called to turn from sin and to live as citizens of the kingdom of God. We’re called to proclaim the gospel and invite others to trust Jesus and follow.

God’s Word and Spirit are still active in us and among us, knocking off our rough edges, strengthening our self-control, pruning fruitful branches to make them even more fruitful.

You’re invited to make it a daily practice to remind yourself of the gospel, remembering how Jesus conquered sin and death, and committing to a life of service, striving with the guidance of God’s Word and Spirit to live as a citizen of the kingdom of God.