Sunday we heard Jesus say some of his most unpopular words to a crowd of many thousands in Luke chapter 12.
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So as Jesus speaks to the crowd of many thousands, there were some people there.
And these people bring up in the conversation something that had happened.
There were some men from Galilee and Pilate, the Roman governor in Judea, had mixed the blood of these Galileans with the sacrifices that they were offering.
And ever since Luke recorded this, many have wondered about this incident.
We want to know the details.
What did these Galileans do that Pilate decided to kill them?
And many have proposed and suggested all sorts of different scenarios.
Even Josephus, the famous Jewish historian who lived in the late first century, proposed five different events which these people might have been referring to in the crowd.
And truth be told, we don't know just what happened between Pilate and these Galileans.
But one thing that digging around in the history books does reveal is that there was no shortage of violence between the Roman government and the Jewish people living in that region.
The tensions were very high and many Jews lost their lives to the Romans.
So all we have for certain is what we read here in Luke.
It would seem that some men from Galilee were offering sacrifices or about to offer sacrifices.
And most likely this would have been at the temple or on the way to the temple in Jerusalem.
And Pilate mixed their blood with the blood of the animals that they were offering.
At the very least, this obviously means that Pilate killed them.
We don't know if they were executed in the usual way by crucifixion.
Or whether they were just sort of cut down by soldiers where they were.
The part that really stands out is that their own blood was added to the blood of the sacrifices.
On a spiritual and religious level, this is shocking.
It seems to be an especially heinous act, profaning and desecrating the temple sacrifices.
And so Jesus responds to these guys telling about this in the crowd.
Jesus answered,
Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans?
Because they suffered this way.
So Jesus' response here is kind of telling.
You know, after hearing about the shocking death of these Galileans,
many people didn't know what to think.
Some came to the conclusion that these Galileans must have been especially wicked
that God brought this judgment on them.
Maybe they thought God used Pilate to kill them
because of how bad of sinners they were.
Perhaps they had done something especially evil,
and that's why God brought about this especially dishonorable death for them.
Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans
because they suffered this way?
Says Jesus.
I tell you, no.
But unless you repent,
you too will all perish.
So Jesus basically says that the death of these Galileans in this shocking way
was not because they were worse sinners than the average person.
And he turns it right back to the people in the crowd.
He says,
All of you will also perish
unless you repent.
Sometimes we look at tragic things that happen in the news,
and we're quick to assume that God is bringing judgment
on the people of that place
because they are especially sinful.
When we read the news articles,
maybe we're even looking for some glaring sin
that those people committed.
Were they known for being sexually immoral?
Or for their hypocrisy?
Or were they known in that place for persecuting Christians?
And the assumption we sometimes carry when we do this
is that God usually only brings disaster
on people because of their sins.
But Jesus says,
No.
All of you.
And remember,
He's speaking to a crowd of many thousands.
All of you are guilty enough to deserve
what happened to them.
And if you do not repent of your sins,
what happened to them will happen to you.
You too will perish.
Let this be a warning to us
not to assume
we are better or more righteous
than others
who are struck with disaster.
We are not.
Well, Jesus reinforces this
with another example,
a second example in the next couple verses.
Verse 4.
He says,
Or those 18 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.
So this was another tragedy of the times.
18 people were killed in this accident
when the tower of Siloam fell on them.
And just like with the first example,
historians haven't found any additional info
by digging into things
about this incident.
Perhaps one of the reasons is
work-related accidents happen all the time.
Even more so in the ancient world
where safety was often a secondary concern.
But people sort of came to the same conclusion,
some of them anyway,
when this accident happened.
Oh, those guys who were killed in this tragedy,
they must have been especially guilty of some sin.
God was punishing them
since they died in this very tragic and public way.
And Jesus again says,
No.
Those guys weren't any more guilty of sin
than the rest of the people living in Jerusalem.
They weren't any more guilty of sin
than all of you are.
Unless you repent,
you too will perish.
So Jesus confronts the crowd and us
with this uncomfortable truth
that we are all,
every one of us,
sinners,
deserving of death.
Other places in the Bible
state it really clearly.
One that we're very familiar with,
Romans 3.23,
For all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God.
And then there's Romans 6.23,
which is often quoted with it.
And it states clearly,
just as Jesus did,
that what we deserve for being sinners
is to perish.
For the wages of sin
is death.
That's what we all deserve.
That's what we all will get,
says Jesus,
unless
you repent.
repent.
Well,
what does it mean
to repent?
If you've been a Christian
a long time,
which I know
there are definitely
some in this room
who have,
you're super familiar with this.
You know what this means.
But if you're just
exploring Christianity
or you're younger,
maybe you're not as familiar
with this.
The word repent
means to turn.
And the way it's used
in the Bible
includes two elements.
We are called
by God
to turn
from
and we are called
to turn
to.
Let's just see this,
a couple examples of this
for ourselves.
Let's look at a few passages
from the prophet Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 14.6.
God is speaking
through Ezekiel.
He says,
Therefore say to the people
of Israel,
this is what the
sovereign Lord says,
repent.
Turn from
your idols
and renounce
all your detestable
practices.
As God calls them
to repent,
He calls them
to turn
from
the sinful things
they have been doing.
The worshipping
of the idols.
Stop worshipping
the idols.
And we see
in this passage
along with that
part of repentance
is
renouncing
the detestable
practices.
So repentance
includes
giving up
our sinful ways.
It includes
confessing
or declaring
with our mouths
that those ways
are wrong
and rejecting them.
another passage
just a few
chapters later
in Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 18
verse 30.
This is God
speaking through
Ezekiel again.
Therefore,
you Israelites,
I will judge
each of you
according to
your own ways,
declares
the sovereign
Lord.
Repent.
Turn away
from all
your offenses.
Then sin
will not be
your downfall.
Here we see
it again.
Repentance is a
turning from,
turn from
all your
offenses,
all your
sins.
And one more
in Ezekiel as
well,
33 verse 10.
We saw this
passage last
Sunday.
Son of man,
say to the
Israelites,
this is what
you are saying.
Our offenses
and sin
weigh us down
and we are
wasting away
because of them.
How then
can we live?
Say to them,
as surely as
I live,
declares the
sovereign Lord,
I take no
pleasure in the
death of the
wicked,
but rather
that they
turn from
their ways
and live.
Turn.
Turn from
your evil
ways.
Why will
you die,
people of
Israel?
There it is
again.
Turn from
your evil
ways.
So that's
the first
element of
repentance.
When Jesus
says,
unless you
too repent,
or unless
you repent,
you too
will all
perish.
He means
unless you
turn from
your sins,
from your
wicked ways,
renouncing
them,
you will
perish.
but we
also see
in the
Bible
another
element
of
repentance,
that it
doesn't
just mean
turning away
from,
it also
includes
turning to.
Look at
what the
apostle Peter
said to his
fellow Israelites
in Jerusalem
in Acts
chapter 3
verse 19.
He said,
repent then
and turn
to God
so that
your sins
may be
wiped out,
that times
of refreshing
may come
from the
Lord.
Actually,
the word
used here,
turn to
God,
not just
implies
turning to,
but turning
back to
God,
or returning
to God.
Here we
see that
repentance is
not just
about us
stopping
the bad
things that
we've been
doing,
and renouncing
them.
It is that,
but it's
also a
relational
thing,
where we
come back
to relationship
with God,
and we
seek to be
reconciled
to Him.
Another
example of
this element
of turning
to is
Acts 26
verse 20.
This is
the Apostle
Paul,
explaining in
court what
he has been
up to.
He says,
first to
those in
Damascus,
then to
those in
Jerusalem,
and in
all Judea,
and then to
the Gentiles,
I preached
that they
should repent
and turn
to God,
and demonstrate
their repentance
by their deeds.
here we
kind of see
both elements
of repentance
in one
verse.
Paul says
they should
repent,
meaning turn
to God.
That's the
relational part.
And he
says they
should demonstrate
the genuineness
of that,
that change
of heart
by their
deeds,
by turning
away from
their sinful
actions,
and replacing
them with
the right
actions,
the things
God has
commanded.
And so
all of this
is what is
meant by
Jesus when
he says,
unless you
repent,
you too
will all
perish.
Unless you
turn from
your sinful
ways,
renouncing
them,
and turn
back to
God,
you will
perish.
And I
emphasize both
of these
elements of
repentance
because so
often we
just think of
repentance as
being about
turning away
from sins.
And it
is that.
But God
calls us to
repent not
just because he
wants us to
stop sinning.
That's not
the main or
the only goal.
He calls us to
repent because he
wants a restored
relationship with
us.
He wants to
fix that
broken
relationship
between him
and us.
We talk
often about how
God is eager
to forgive us
of our sins.
Well, it's not
just because he
has to or
because he's
merciful, but
he actually
desires a
restored
relationship
with us.
And just
like with
human
relationships,
a relationship
that is
broken cannot
be restored
just by
changing the
behavior that
broke it.
You must
also go to
that person
and admit
the things
that you've
done wrong
and say
sorry and
ask for
forgiveness.
This is what
Jesus has
come to
call all
people to
do, to
repent, to
turn away from
sins and to
turn back to
God.
And he's
calling us to
this so that we
might know
God and have
a relationship
with him and
enjoy him.
Well that
brings us to
another, I'm
going to call
it dimension
of repentance
that we see
in the Bible.
Really two
dimensions.
We could
call it
initial
repentance
or first
repentance
and we could
call the other
dimension ongoing
repentance.
When the
Bible speaks
about us
receiving
God's
salvation, we're
called to
repent and
like we've
been talking
about, turn
back to
God and
there is
sort of a
first moment
in which we
do that.
For the
first time
we acknowledge
to God
in prayer
that we've
sinned against
him.
And we say
we're sorry,
we ask for
his forgiveness,
we admit that
his ways are
good and right
and that the
way that we've
been living is
wrong, we
believe, we
accept his
offer of
salvation and
for the first
time we
trust that
what God
has done
through
Jesus is
what we
need.
And when
we do that
for the first
time we are
then baptized
just as the
people were in
Jesus' day,
that's the
outward thing
that's done
to express
the heart
of repentance
repentance.
And we
notice in the
Bible
that to
those who
have already
done this
for the first
time, to
those who have
repented,
Jesus speaks
differently.
And God
speaks differently.
Look at what
Jesus said just
in the previous
chapter to his
disciples.
Luke 12,
verse 32,
he said,
do not be
afraid,
little flock,
for the
Father has
been pleased
to give you
the kingdom.
In that one
verse alone,
there is so
much comfort
and reassurance.
Jesus is not
warning about
fiery punishment
or about
perishing,
but he's
calling his
true followers
children of
God.
Your Father,
he says.
And he's
promising them
that as
children,
they will
inherit the
very kingdom
of God.
And he
says that
God is
pleased to
give it
to them.
And so
when we
truly repent,
when we
turn back
to God
for the
first time,
it changes
our relationship
to God
forever.
We're
reconciled
to him.
That
relationship
is restored
and there
is no
longer a
fear of
perishing
or of
fire or
of judgment.
The stuff
that we
heard about
last week.
We confess
our sins
to him.
We ask
for his
forgiveness.
We believe
in Jesus,
the chosen
one.
And the
Bible tells
us that we
are forgiven
of all of
our sins
and we
are welcomed
into God's
family.
Our
relationship
status with
God goes
from enemy
to son
or daughter
of God.
And right
here at this
point in the
story,
Luke 13,
this is
something that
all of the
true followers
of Jesus
have had
to do.
They have
had to
repent
for the
first time.
John the
baptizer was
the one that
first called
them to it.
And each
one of them
had a moment
of confessing
their sins
and then
being baptized.
baptized.
And then
after John,
Jesus and
his disciples,
they've been
going around
and they've
been calling
people to
repent everywhere
they go.
And baptizing
people.
And it kind
of brings us
to this
question.
Have you
had that
moment of
first repentance?
of turning
back to
God,
acknowledging
your sins
to him,
asking for
his forgiveness,
being baptized
in Jesus'
name.
And if
you haven't
and you'd
like guidance
in this
or to talk
through it,
you can come
find me after
the service
or someone
else here
who you
know has
done these
things,
would be glad
to talk with
you about it.
It's a big
step to take.
And Jesus
always encouraged
people to sit
down and
to count the
cost before
making this
decision.
Have you
had your
moment of
first repentance?
Now,
for many of
us here,
we've done
this.
Some of
us not
too long
ago,
others of
us decades
ago.
And if
you've already
had that
moment of
first repentance,
then these
words of
Jesus ring
differently.
We don't
worry about
ourselves,
but our
hearts are
on those
we love
around us
who have
not yet
repented.
we don't
fear that
we will
perish
because we
know that
there's now
no condemnation
awaiting.
Jesus has
already taken
the punishment
that we
deserve on
himself.
Instead,
we have our
hearts and
our eyes
set on the
glory that
Jesus has
promised to
us.
we're
looking
forward to
being raised
from the
dead by
Jesus when
he returns
and to
eternity with
him in
his kingdom.
When we
read these
words,
unless you
repent,
you too
will all
perish,
we say,
yes,
Jesus,
I know
I'm a
sinner.
I know
I'm guilty.
Thank you,
Lord,
that you have
provided the
way for
us to be
spared what
we deserve.
Thank you
that because
of you,
we're no
longer guilty
or counted
as guilty.
And so
for us who
have already
repented for
the first
time,
we now
practice what
I'm going
to call
ongoing
repentance.
We only
needed to
truly repent
once and
to believe
once in
order to
be saved.
but now
that we've
been
reconciled
to God,
there is
still need
for ongoing
repentance
because we
haven't been
made perfect
yet.
We're still
tempted
and we
still sin.
And so
we still
regularly
must humble
ourselves
before God
when we
do those
things and
admit that
we've done
them and
ask for
his forgiveness.
forgiveness.
And God
has promised
that as
many times
as we
do that,
he will
forgive
because he's
provided the
full atonement
that we need
in Jesus'
blood and
because his
love is so
great.
God
and so
I want
to just
say a
word to
you who
are
children of
God here
today.
Is there
some hidden
sin or
struggle with
sin that
you've been
holding on
to for
which you
need to
repent
today?
Jesus'
command to
us now is
to be
holy as
I am
holy.
As we
heard earlier,
there is need
after our
initial repenting
to show our
repentance in
our actions
by turning
away from
the evil
things that
we have
been doing
or thinking
or desiring
or planning.
Is there
any sin you
know that
God wants
you to
repent of
today?
We're just
going to take
a minute right
now in the
middle of the
service to
just pray.
And I
invite you to
talk to God
and if
something comes
to mind,
talk to
him.
may may
follows up his teaching on repentance with a parable.
Verse 6.
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.
So Jesus tells a little parable.
He gives an analogy of a fig tree,
and of course here in Saskatchewan we don't really think too much about fig trees.
So maybe if it helps, imagine an apple tree in an orchard instead.
But one thing we need to catch here is that this tree is growing in his vineyard,
not in his backyard.
We might keep an unproductive tree in the backyard
simply because the tree is beautiful to look at.
But a vineyard, just like a farmer's field,
is land for the business and not for the beauty.
The whole point of the vineyard or the orchard
is to get the fruit from what is planted in it.
And considerable work is put into making the plants as productive as possible.
And so if there's a tree in the row that's not producing any good fruit,
then what should be done with it?
It is, as Jesus said, just sort of using up the soil.
It's taking up the space with no return,
and it's using up the nutrients that could go to another tree.
The logical, sensible thing to do is to cut it down.
And it's not like it's the first year that this tree was planted either,
but it's been three years.
There should be some fruit by now.
In the parable, the caretaker intercedes for the tree.
Let's not cut it down just yet.
Give it one more year.
I'll take special care of it.
I'll dig around it.
I'll fertilize it.
Digging around it would be to loosen up the soil
so that the moisture can get down to the roots more easily.
And if this next year we get fruit out of it, good.
Problem solved.
And if not, then you're right.
Let's cut it down.
That's the sensible thing to do.
This is an analogy.
And it suggests that God is patient.
He's not eager just to cut us down at the first sign of trouble,
but he is patient and willing to bear with people the extra year,
even though there should be fruit by now.
This parable reminds us that God is watching us.
He had checked on this tree, the owner, three years in a row.
And its fruitlessness didn't escape his notice.
But even still, he is willing to let it go one year more
and give it every chance with special care.
Think of this from the tree's perspective, if we could.
This tree has gone three years with nothing for fruit on it.
The time is short.
The stakes are high.
And if with this extra time and special care,
there is still no good fruit,
then we can be sure that the tree is rotten,
diseased, or dead.
And the only right thing
is to cut it down
and give its place to another.
Would you find fault
in the owner of the vineyard
for cutting down a tree
that bore no fruit
in four consecutive years?
Would you find fault
in the farmer
for burning the field
that had sprouted late
and was sickly
with no heads of grain
once the time for harvest had come?
Would you find fault
with God
for purging the wicked
from his world
when they continue year after year
to be unresponsive
to his kindness and grace?
This parable is a reminder to us
that if we truly repent,
we will be changed
on the inside.
There will be life in us
by God's Spirit
and it will lead to good fruit
coming from us.
Repentance leads
to love
coming from our lives
to good works
to good thoughts
and desires
and decisions
and plans.
This parable
is a reminder to us
that if we have not yet
responded
to God's call
to repent,
there will be a day
when he will cut us down
and give us what we're due.
I believe this is a warning
to the unrepentant
and a reminder
to those
who maybe have repented
but are thinking that,
you know,
I can kind of get away with
sinning right now.
It's no biggie.
God will just forgive me.
God is watching
for the fruit.
And if we
profess faith in Jesus,
we dare not
try to play games
with his grace.
We dare not
try to use
his forgiveness
as a license
to sin more.
So have you come back
to God
for the first time?
And if you have,
are you keeping
that relationship
with God well?
By walking daily
in repentance.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus,
we thank you
that you are merciful,
that you are quick
to forgive.
And I pray
that you would stir
in all of our hearts,
that we would confess
any sins to you
that we have been
hanging on to
and turn from them
and walk with you.
Thank you that you
desire a close
relationship with us
and that you love us.
Our hearts can't help
but go to those
in our lives
that we love
who have not yet
turned back to you,
Lord.
Or who maybe
seem like they did
at one time,
but right now
are not walking
with you.
And we ask
for your grace
and mercy
in their lives
right now.
You know the very
people we're thinking
of, Lord.
We also ask
for boldness
and graciousness
not to be ashamed
of these truths
that you taught,
but that we too
would call people
in our lives
to this same thing,
to repent.
That's the path
that you've laid
before us.
Pray this in your name.
Amen.