Luke 13:1-9
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Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “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.”
Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 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?’
“ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ ”
Pray
Introduction
Introduction
Observations from the passage
Observations from the passage
The historical accounts of Pilot’s murder of Jews and those killed by the tower falling in Siloam.
The repeated words of “repent” and “perish”.
The parable of the unfruitful fig tree
The wages of sin is death
The goodness of God ought to lead us to repentance
Tension
Tension
It is an attempt to find a meaning underlying the tragedy.
And it is more convenient to speculate about other’s deaths then to consider our own.
Christian’s have been accused of being holier then thow or preoccupied with morality. We are pigeon holed as a people who are just concerned about sin.
But society deals in morality as much if not more then Christians.
There are two distinct differences between Christians and those who do not subscribe to a monotheistic faith. First, Christians derive moral norms from God whereas atheist and agnostics derive morality from perceived social norms.
Second, Christians believe that humans are morally accountable to God where as the rest of society believes individuals are merely accountable to the societal majority.
Our society handles guilt in a peculiar way. We fundamentally agree that punishment goes hand in hand with guilt. But how much punishment is enough to pay for guilt. How does a person expiate their guilt? How does a person redeem them self?
Last night I was watching an exchange between Casey Nistat and Logan Paul over Paul’s suicide forest video. The burning question that was left unanswered was “how does a person redeem them self?” It is assumed that some payment has to be made for guilt. But what kind of payment is owed and how do we know that it was enough?
The whole objective is to be back in the good graces of culture and to live life free from past wrongs.
Penance was an expression of the church dealing with the very same issues during the second century. People would deny Christ under the threat of persecution and then become remorseful. They would want to rejoin the church and continue their Christian friendships. The early church wrestled with how they ought to determine if a person was truly repentant.
Penance was developed by church leaders as acts that must be done to demonstrate true repentance. Once those acts were completed the priest would grant absolution.
The problem with man’s systems for repentance is the unanswered question of quantity. What balances the scales? What is enough Hail Marys?
And if a person has satisfied the standard of repentance within society why do they still die?
Death still looms… It throws a monkey wrench into societies declaration of absolution.
People think a strange or untimely death must mean a person is more sinful.
It is an attempt to find a meaning underlying the tragedy.
And it is more convenient to speculate about other’s deaths then to consider our own.
Surface the Big Idea
The wages of sin is death
The goodness of God ought to lead us to repentance
Sin and Death
shows us the nature of sin. We see that the rejection of God’s words was in itself sin. Adam and Eve didn’t kill anybody. It wasn’t an extreme moment of passion. They simply disobeyed God’s instructions.
Genesis 3:
And as a result of their sin, death comes into the world.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Quite simply, the punishment for sin is death.
Under the Old Testament God instituted the sacrificial system as a means for handling sin.
And that sacrificial system foreshadowed a true, substantive sacrifice: Jesus Christ.
The Goodness of God leads us to repentance
Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”
Romans 2:4-
God is gracious and merciful with the intent that people will become repentant.
Back in our story...
Jesus says twice “unless you repent, you too will perish.”
These individuals who were killed by Pilot and those who died in this freak accident are not exceptions to the rule. No. Everyone is guilty. Everyone dies. Everyone needs to repent.
And then Jesus told this parable...
The owner expected fruit from the tree. When there was no fruit he suggests that they destroy the tree. The caretake suggests one more year of care for the tree to see if it will bear fruit.
This happened with the Jewish people. God cared for them and demonstrated his power on their behalf. And over and over again they rejected God’s work. They even rejected their messiah.
Within 40 years of this moment Titus Vespasian will destroy Jerusalem and the nation will be scattered for 1900 years.
Conclusion
Conclusion
This very moment you and I are living in verse eight. “Leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit...”
What must Logan Paul do to experience redemption?
He needs to repent before the true judge and receive God’s means of forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
And if there is repentance towards God then there will be the fruit of repentance in your life.
yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
2 Corinthians 7:
There is a public repentance that follows the internal dealings with God. If you have turned to God and repented before him then we will witness your earnest and eager effort to clear your self.
A message like this pulls back the curtain and reveals our nakedness.
Maybe you came in with the weight of your. Maybe your conscience has been bothering you.
Jesus is ready to cloth you and I in white garments of innocence.
We need to turn to him and receive his work.