Sermon Tone Analysis

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.