Luke 13:1-9 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
“Our Redeemer Reminds Us to Repent”
Lent 3 Sunday, March 24, 2019
On a Friday, just a week and several days ago, across the world in New Zealand, 50 people were killed in an attack, a shooting that targeted two mosques and the people who worshipped there. In addition to those who died, many were wounded. It was a tragedy that captured the attention of people throughout the world, one that was widely shared by the news media. In the last several months, though it has received less media attention, Christian groups report that over 300 people have been killed because of their faith in Nigeria. There have been all sorts of reactions to these events, maybe some of which you have seen or experienced. There has been shock that things like this take place. There has been sadness over the loss of many lives. There has been anger at perpetrators who would do such things. People have discussed and debated how political powers can or should deal with these things. Some have feared that something similar could happen closer to home. Many have recalled other tragic events that have occurred and have affected us. Most of these reactions are certainly not wrong, but they do fall short of the reaction that Jesus describes in our sermon text this morning from Luke 13. In these verses, Jesus speaks about some tragic and dramatic events, ones that had clearly captured people’s attention. And in discussing these things, Jesus invites and encourages one attitude, one reaction. Our Redeemer reminds us to repent. The discussion described in our verses today is recorded as part of a lengthy lesson that Jesus taught the people who were with him. Jesus warned them to be ready for the end of the world, which would be like a master returning unexpectedly to his servants after a journey. He scolds the people for being able to recognize signs in the world around them and in nature that signal things like changing weather but not being able to interpret what they see all around them and the spiritual implications of these things. That seems to lead directly into what comes next. The people in the crowd want Jesus to know that they pay attention to signs that have spiritual interpretations. They recognize things like the way God carries out judgments and reveals his wrath. And they have as an example a tragedy where some men from Galilee were offering sacrifices when they were struck down and killed by Pilate the Roman governor. That seemed to them to be a striking example of something that had happened that had to have been punishment from God. But Jesus took what they thought about that event and turned it around on them. He answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too. The people apparently read into what had happened that these Galileans had done something wrong so that God reacted in anger and with judgment. But Jesus explained that it wasn’t necessarily the case that such a tragedy was tied to a specific sin they had committed. He denies that they were worse sinners than their countrymen who didn’t come to such a sudden and tragic end. Instead, the lesson that Jesus wanted the people to learn was that they, too, needed to repent. To repent means to turn around and to change. It speaks about changing one’s mind about the sins that they have done and turning away from them and turning toward God. It involves realizing and recognizing one’s sins and having sorrow and remorse over them. And to the example of the Galileans, Jesus adds another apparently well-known tragedy. He talks about a tower at Siloam, near Jerusalem, that fell and killed eighteen. These Jews in the area of the Jewish capitol likewise had been struck down suddenly. Many may have thought that those eighteen were worse sinners than others, and that the tower fell on them specifically because of something that they had done. Again Jesus wanted to correct this notion and to focus the people not on someone else’s life, but on their own lives. He called them to repent and warned that otherwise they would perish.
Clearly our Redeemer uses tragedy as a reminder for us to repent. Let’s consider a bit why that reminder is so necessary. For one thing, our reaction to tragedy is often very different than what Jesus encourages. While we might react to tragedy in many different ways based on a number of different factors, we far too often approach it in selfish and sinful ways. We assume like the crowd around Jesus did that for someone to suffer such a fate, they must have had something coming to them. We may not know what they did or why, but we make assumptions about why God would send trouble. On the other hand, our reaction might be more like, “Well, I am glad it wasn’t me.” But either of those reactions really just make me feel a bit better about myself for no real reason. Instead, tragedy should lead us to repentance. Tragedy, like all difficult and unpleasant things in our lives, are brought there because of sin. Pain and suffering are reminders that our world is not the way that God created it originally, but is corrupted by sin. As much as we might want to simply point the finger of blame at others, neither Jesus nor Scripture allow us to do that. They tell us plainly that we can’t draw direct conclusions from most sins that people commit to the specific consequences of sin in their lives. They also warn us that we are sinners who will one day stand before God. In other words, our own sins contribute to the tragedy and pain and suffering that takes place in our world. So these tragedies, these examples of pain and suffering should remind us to repent. We ought to look at ourselves and say, “I deserve what happened to them. I deserve that and even more. I deserve to suffer now and forever because of all that I have done. I have sinned against my God.” And then we need to turn to the greatest tragedy of all, the greatest in the history of the world. At that time, a perfectly innocent, godly man was tortured and beaten relentlessly and finally executed and killed. And that great tragedy can remind us to repent, because in it, we can see again the suffering that our sins deserve. Even more than that, though, we see the suffering that paid for our sin. We see our Savior Jesus who willingly took our sins on himself and suffered those things as a consequence. And he did this so that when we turn to him repentance we have the assurance that our sins have been removed. They have been punished in hum so they no longer threaten us with punishment. They caused his innocent death so that we would be considered innocent through him. Our Redeemer reminds us to repent by teaching us what tragedy really means, and he does so to lead us to rely on his sacrifice for us. Because of the tragedy that fell on him, all the tragedies that we face are put in perspective. The only real and true tragedy for us would be if we fail to repent, if we turn away from him in unbelief and perish in our sins. Jesus drives his point home with a parable. He tells the story of a fig tree planted in a vineyard that for years did not bear fruit. The owner was ready to cut it down and to be done with it, but the gardener asked for patience. He would take care of the tree and see if it would bear fruit. If it did not, it could always be cut down later. The point of the parable is clear. God is patient with his people as he waits for them to bear fruit in repentance. He makes every effort, just as the gardener, to lead them to this goal. The gardener digs and aerates the soil. He adds fertilizer. God uses his Word and all of the various circumstances and situations in our lives to lead us toward repentant faith. He is patient, but his patience has a limit. If the efforts are unsuccessful, if the tree still bears no fruit, it will be cut down. When his determined time has come, there will no longer be an opportunity for repentance. The gardener, our Lord Jesus, has already demonstrated the great love of God to us in every possible way. He invites and encourages our repentance. It is our Redeemer who reminds us to repent, the one who went to the cross for our sins. So our repentance is not a burden or an obligation to be met. It is painful, yes, to admit our sinfulness, but it is a joy to know that our sin has been paid for in full. So, whenever we see tragedy or suffering, we can be thankful that God has been patient with us. We can be reminded of our own sinfulness, and we can rejoice in our loving Savior.
The Text: Luke 13:1-9 At that time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 He answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things? 3 I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse sinners than all the people living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too.” He told them this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it, but he did not find any. 7 So he said to the gardener, ‘Look, for three years now I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and I have found none. Cut it down. Why even let it use up the soil?’ 8 But the gardener replied to him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put fertilizer on it. 9 If it produces fruit next year, fine. But if not, then cut it down.’” 6