TURN AROUND -- BE HEALED --- BE SET FREE

For the past five weeks, we have been working our way through chapter twelve of Luke. Today, we finally turn the page to chapter thirteen. The beginning of chapter thirteen is a continuation of Jesus’ encounter with the Pharisees and the crowds that followed him. These Gospel stories are found only in Luke’s gospel. Dr. Luke has an eye for detail; he pays attention to details and facts.

Before we come to God’s Living Word, let us come the Lord who blesses us with grace upon grace. “God, Your love is unfathomable, uncontainable, incomprehensible, and unfailing. We give thanks that You are the God of second chances. The Bible isn’t just a book of stories from thousands of years ago—but a book for us today. May we also turn around, be healed and be set free. Amen”

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 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? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” 6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ 8 “ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ ” 10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. 14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” 15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” 17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.[i]

SIN & SUFFERING 13:1-5

In the time of Jesus, Pilate was ruling over Jerusalem. Pilate was a mean-hearted, unkind, cruel and uncaring ruler. Much is written about Pilate. The story of the Galileans being killed and their blood mixed with sacrifices is not recorded by any of the other Gospel writers. But, this must have been something current for Luke records it and brings it to our attention. We must remember that immediately before this story, Jesus confronted those that were following him with the fact that they were trying to interpret the signs of the times, yet they could not interpret the present time. The age-old question here that Jesus is addressing is the problem of suffering. During this time, people believed that a person suffered directly because of their sin. An example of this mindset is found in the book of Job. Even Job’s three best friends thought he had sinned and that was why he was suffering. In the Gospel of John, Jesus healed a man who had been born blind and the people wanted to know if the man was a sinner or his parents were the sinners. “As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ()

The direct question that is asked in these two stories is “Why do people suffer?” The obvious answer for the crowd was that those who suffered had to be sinners. The Galileans of Jesus’ time were way out there on the political edge. They were rebel rousers who stirred up political trouble. The eighteen that died at the Pool of Siloam were guilty because they worked for Pilate and Pilate used the money from the temple to pay them for their labor.

Sin and suffering! Why is there suffering and death?

When I was serving a church in Texas, hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Katrina devastated the city, killing many and leaving thousands homeless and lost. I often heard things like, “New Orleans is a sinful city and they deserved the wrath of God” and “New Orleans got what they deserved.” Even today with Hurricane Harvey, some people have said that Texas deserved God’s destruction.

Sin and Suffering. Why is there suffering and death?

As many of you know, for the past four years I have suffered with a mysterious illness that has eaten the flesh off my legs, arms, shoulders, sides and back. I have seen 18 specialists. I have heard that I am interesting, and intriguing; yet no one knows the cause of my rash. I have been suffering with this rash since February of 2014. A fellow pastor asked me if I have some hidden sin that I have not confessed, have I asked God to search my heart? That is what says --- “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”

Jesus’ reply to suffering was, “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. 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.”

The “So What?” comes early this morning. What is Jesus saying?

I believe that Jesus was saying that sin and suffering comes to all people—both the saints and the sinners. One of the main things that I love about Jesus is that He often answers a question with a few questions of His own! Jesus responds that maybe the people were asking the wrong question. The question is, “Why didn’t the tower fall on us instead of the other people?” The radical truth that Jesus is teaching here is that we are all sinners who are in need of mercy and grace. Twice Jesus said, “Repent.” Repent means to turn around. Repentance begins with a change of mind, flows to a change of heart, a change of life and a change of direction of how we walk. Jesus was calling the people who were following him to turn around, repent and change their lives.

SECOND CHANCES 13:6-9

Next in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus gives then a parable about a fig tree. A man planted a fig tree in his garden only to find the tree barren. After three years, this fig three had not produced any fruit. The fig tree was taking up precious soil, water and nutrients yet it was not yielding any abundance. The owner tells the caretaker to take out the fig tree, “Cut it down.” The caretaker pleaded with the owner of the garden to wait one more year and he will dig around the fig tree and fertilize it. If it does not bear fruit in a year, the fig tree will be cut down. I lived in Texas for four years. When Jac and I first arrived, a woman in the church brought us a planting from her fig tree. Jac took great care of the fig tree. She had wheel-barreled to the pond across the street and brought back 50 good sized rocks so that she could make a planter for the fig tree along the fence. She researched what kind of light fig trees liked best and then she planted the fig tree. We lived in Texas for four years. You know where I’m going with this story? For three years, that fig tree produced nothing. She and I even had a discussion quite like the one here in Luke! By the end of our fourth summer in Texas, that little fig tree was producing hundreds of delicious figs!

The analogy is an easy one to make for the people of Israel. Israel was associated as being the fig tree of God. The caretaker of the fig tree is Jesus. Jesus is telling the people through a parable that He wants to dig around the tree and fertilize it to see if it will bear fruit. Jesus is asking for a second chance! The “so what?” of this parable is, “Will the tree turn around and bear fruit?” Jesus is hoping that the nation of Israel will repent and accept Him. They’ve heard about Him, they’ve witnessed miracles—will they take the second chance that is being offered to them?

This book is not just a bunch of stories from yesteryears gone by. This book is the LIVING WORD. These stories are true for us today. Jesus is offering us second chance. When we don’t bear fruit, Jesus will dig around us and fertilize us. Almost always the digging around our roots is painful. Often the planning of fertilizer in our lives is painful. Through it all, Jesus is working out in us a second chance.

The people of Israel were not so lucky, they did not repent and turn around. Jesus tried to dig

around their roots and fertilize their lives with the TRUTH. Within 40 years of this story, Jerusalem would be destroyed and the people would be scattered to the far corners of the world. They rejected what Jesus offered as their caretaker.

The lesson of the fig tree is that our God is a God of second chances. God is a God of mercy and grace. God’s mercies for us are new every morning! () The truth found in this parable is that we all need to respond to God’s second chance offer. Jesus will DIG AROUND…FERTILIZE US and we will bear fruit.

SECOND GLANCES 13:10-17

moves us from the God of econd chances to the God of second glances. Jesus is in the temple. This was the last time that Jesus would be in the temple teaching. Remember that Jesus began His ministry in the temple when He unrolled the scroll of and began reading. Dr. Luke told us this story back in --- He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

I don’t believe that it is by chance that Dr. Luke combined this miracle story to the story of sin and suffering. Could Dr. Luke be saying to us, “God is the God of second chances”? We encounter an unnamed woman who had been suffering. She was crippled for eighteen years. (As we read the Gospel of Luke, notice the details and facts. Do you think it is a coincidence that the woman had suffered for eighteen years and there were eighteen innocent people who died in Jerusalem when the tower fell on them?)

What we do know is that this woman was bent over with her suffering for the past 18 years. We also know that she was faithful. It was the Sabbath and there she is--in church. Even in her suffering and sin, this woman comes to the place where she can worship God. And there in the temple for the last time that Luke records—Jesus was there. Jesus saw her! Listen again to how Dr. Luke, the good physician who notices the details, reports this. “When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, ‘Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.’ Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.”

Can you just imagine this? Jesus is a God of second chances. Jesus is a God of second glances. Jesus dug around the soil of this poor woman, bent over in her sin and suffering and Jesus tells her she has been set free from her infirmity. Jesus digs around, adds a little fertilizer through His Word and Spirit, and speaks freedom into this broken woman’s life. Remember the first time Jesus unrolled the scroll in the temple? Now it’s the last time Jesus will be in the temple. Jesus had come to set the captives free, to give sight to the blind, and release for oppressed. This unknown woman was faithful to come to church during her pain and suffering. Jesus saw her and set her free.

However, the Pharisees did not see Jesus as the God of second chances or second glances. I wonder if any of them ever put together the first time and the last time they saw Jesus in their temple? Did any of them take a second glance? Jesus surely did. Instead they became upset that Jesus healed on the Sabbath.

Jesus confronted the Pharisees with the fact that they care for their animals on the Sabbath yet they will not lift a hand or give a second chance or second glance to one of God’s suffering children. Jesus had hard words for them as He called them hypocrites. This story now brings us full circle to the whole teaching from and 12.

SO WHAT

So what do we do with these ancient Words of Life written so long ago? Are they just stories of things Jesus did almost 2,000 years ago or are these same stories active in our lives today? How do we apply them in 2017?

First, sin and suffering happen to all people--good people and bad people. God will have mercy on who he will have mercy is what we are told. His mercy is grace—and God’s mercy for us is new every single morning. When we come to the question and the problem of sin and suffering, we are called to remember not to judge others. When my pastor friend asked me if I had searched my heart regarding my rash, I was a little offended. My second reaction was to, once again, ask God to search my heart. Was they something I’ve been overlooking or is this just a season of suffering for me? Do I need to repent—again?

Repent means to turn around. Repent means to have a change of mind. Repent means to have a change of heart. Repent means to have a change of life. No matter where you are. No matter what you have done, it is never too late to turn around and follow God. I talked with Jac about what my friend had said to me. I told Jac that I find it truly amazing that this is the story in Luke that I’m preaching on tomorrow. I repent every day. I don’t have a pat answer to pain and suffering. I’m suffering through my suffering. I’m sure the woman who suffered for 18 years and I have much in common. I think of one of our former youth who is married now and has 3 children. He is a professional photographer for the Cancer Society. His specialty is photographing children with cancer. This summer, his 6-year-old daughter was diagnosed with cancer. Emma has spent all summer in the Naperville Hospital. I don’t have an answer for the pain and suffering there. All I know is that my faith and prayers will see all of us to the end.

Second, our God is a God of second chances. God sent us His Son Jesus so that He would come into our lives, dig around the roots and some of His fertilizer on us in order that we can bear fruit. I only have to remember that little fig tree Jac planted in our big, Texan back yard. It was four inches tall when Jac planted it. For three years, it grew but it never produced a single fruit. Jac and I read a chapter in a Gospel as part of our daily reading plan. I came across this story. Jac wanted to pull that fig tree out and plant something else there. I showed her this story. Jac went out and got her fertilizer and told the fig tree, “It’s summer of 2009—I’m letting you know that if you don’t get busy and produce some figs…you are outta here next summer!” I don’t think Jesus is quite as harsh—but I wonder if some of us need to hear something close?

Third, remember that Jesus is the God of second glances. No matter how bent over and broken we are from the weight of our pain, suffering and sin, Jesus sees us and wants to set us free. That is why He came. Jesus came to set the prisoners free. Jesus came to give sight to the blind. Jesus came to bring release for the oppressed.

This is the miracle of the Gospels…and of the entire Bible. These aren’t old, outdated stories that are nice to read and hear about and that have nothing to do with us. I’m fully convinced that when we are blind, Jesus removes the scales from our eyes—if we let Him. When we are deaf, Jesus will help us to hear the truth. When we are lame, Jesus will heal us—even if we still have the pain and suffering. Jesus will heal our hearts and our minds. When we are bent over, Jesus will straighten us out. When we are dying on the vine, Jesus will dig around the roots of our lives—fertilize us with the truth of who He is, and give us a second chance.

The Pharisees rejected that second chance and second glance. Forty years later, their beautiful temple laid in ruins.

The word for us today is turn around, be healed, be set free.

Come to the table of the Lord as we remember His sacrifice. Jesus Christ gave His very life so that we could be set free.

Let us pray ---

The Seed Christian Fellowship

Rancho Cucamonga, California 91701

www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

September 3, 2017

Pastor Dave Peters

[i] The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.