WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.220 Now, we're continuing on our Sunday mornings to follow the journey of Jesus towards Jerusalem, 00:00:11.400 --> 00:00:16.640 towards the cross in Luke's gospel. So, we're in Luke chapter 12 this morning, 00:00:17.500 --> 00:00:20.879 which again, if you've got a church Bible, you can find on page 1046. 00:00:22.100 --> 00:00:28.879 And we're going to read chapter 12, verse 49 to chapter 13 and verse 9. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:37.000 As Jesus encourages us to know the times. So, let's hear God's words once again. 00:00:38.140 --> 00:00:44.740 As Jesus said, I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled. 00:00:45.340 --> 00:00:51.320 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed. 00:00:52.420 --> 00:00:58.780 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on, 00:00:58.780 --> 00:01:05.180 there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two, and two against three. 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:11.640 They will be divided. Father against son, and son against father, mother against daughter, 00:01:11.740 --> 00:01:16.159 and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against 00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:23.280 mother-in-law. He said to the crowd, when you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:29.460 it's going to rain. And it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, it's going to be hot. 00:01:29.739 --> 00:01:35.240 And it is. Hypocrites. You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. 00:01:35.780 --> 00:01:38.799 How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time? 00:01:39.799 --> 00:01:45.060 Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? As you are going with your adversary to the 00:01:45.060 --> 00:01:50.799 magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:56.859 and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, 00:01:57.319 --> 00:02:03.759 you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. Now, there were some present at that time 00:02:03.759 --> 00:02:10.579 who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:15.780 do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they 00:02:15.780 --> 00:02:26.159 suffered this way? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those 18 who 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:32.340 died when the tower in Siloam fell on them, do you think they were more guilty than all the others 00:02:32.340 --> 00:02:41.039 living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Then he told this 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:46.479 parable, a man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, 00:02:46.679 --> 00:02:52.560 but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, for three years now, 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:59.939 I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree, and haven't found any. Cut it down. Why should 00:02:59.939 --> 00:03:07.519 it use up the soil? Sir, the man replied, leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig round it 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:16.140 and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine. If not, then cut it down. 00:03:17.400 --> 00:03:28.000 Amen. Understanding the times and the seasons that we live in will help us, will lead us to act 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:37.140 appropriately. Okay, so we find ourselves in Edinburgh in mid-November. Okay, we can naturally 00:03:37.139 --> 00:03:46.179 anticipate darkness and that wet weather might never be too far away. Okay, so if you're new to 00:03:46.179 --> 00:03:53.819 the city, bear that in mind. It's so important then to dress for the weather, to find ways to stay warm. 00:03:55.560 --> 00:04:01.219 Okay, the Christmas market has just gone up in the city center. You go to any shop and you see 00:04:01.219 --> 00:04:09.340 the decorations up, the sales beginning. Aha, this might be the time to start buying gifts for the 00:04:09.340 --> 00:04:14.780 people that we love. Or for those of us who are students, you come to mid-November, you've got to 00:04:14.780 --> 00:04:21.519 know that exam season is getting close. So this is absolutely a time for revising, a time for getting 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:28.980 those last assignments in and out the way so you can focus on December's exams. To know the times of our 00:04:28.980 --> 00:04:38.240 lives, it gives us an opportunity to respond and to be ready. There is an Old Testament wisdom book, 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:45.840 the book of Ecclesiastes, that points us in that same direction. There is a famous poem there in chapter 00:04:45.840 --> 00:04:54.720 three. It begins this way, there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the 00:04:54.720 --> 00:05:03.260 heavens. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to uproot. A time to kill 00:05:03.260 --> 00:05:11.340 and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build. And our author's point is that God is the 00:05:11.340 --> 00:05:18.660 one who sets the times in our lives. Sometimes they come to us very unexpectedly. Sometimes they are the 00:05:18.660 --> 00:05:24.580 last thing that we would ever want. But we need to learn to respond to the times in our lives in the 00:05:24.580 --> 00:05:33.000 right way. Now apply that to what's going on here in Luke chapter 12. We're being told time and time 00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:41.360 and time again, this is Jesus, and He is none other than the Son of God. He is the promised King, 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:48.680 and He is the Savior of the world. He has come in line with God's promise and God's plan. He is 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:55.600 journeying to the cross that He might be the means of our salvation, the way for us to know peace with 00:05:55.600 --> 00:06:05.819 our God. But many in the crowds around Him didn't know or recognize that time. Didn't recognize that in 00:06:05.819 --> 00:06:12.759 the coming of Jesus, the Lord Himself had come near, so they were not responding to King Jesus in the 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:22.620 right way. And Jesus wants to warn them. And by extension, Jesus would warn us today. Do we 00:06:22.620 --> 00:06:30.000 understand the significance of the times in which we live where Jesus has already come? And as we saw 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:36.500 last week, He is going to come back again, the King of Kings, and He will come to judge each one of us, 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:43.519 do we understand the time that we are living? And are we acting and responding then in the right way 00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:53.360 to Jesus and the salvation He offers? Let's notice first, as Jesus begins this part of His discussion 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:58.779 with the crowds, He draws attention to a time of division. And we're going to see that might be 00:06:58.779 --> 00:07:06.500 surprising. But let's read again verses 49 and 50, where Jesus says, I have come to bring fire on the 00:07:06.500 --> 00:07:12.479 earth, and how I wish it were already kindled, but I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am 00:07:12.479 --> 00:07:17.019 under until it's completed. So there's two images there. Let's begin with the second, the image of 00:07:17.019 --> 00:07:23.719 baptism. Okay, so perhaps we're familiar with Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist. That was the start 00:07:23.720 --> 00:07:30.920 of His mission. And the Spirit of God came down like a dove on Jesus, and the voice from heaven said, 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:36.500 this is my Son, whom I love, with Him I am well pleased. So that baptism is there at the start of 00:07:36.500 --> 00:07:42.220 Jesus' mission. But what Jesus is saying, I have another baptism. So what's He talking about there? 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:52.580 He's talking about His going to the cross, and experiencing death, and going under the judgment of God. 00:07:52.579 --> 00:08:00.899 Jesus went under the waters to be baptized. Jesus goes under the judgment of God to be our Savior, 00:08:01.060 --> 00:08:07.000 to complete God's mission. So He speaks about this baptism image. And then there's that first image, 00:08:07.099 --> 00:08:15.860 the image of bringing fire. So Duncan read from this in Isaiah 64, from Isaiah 64. And whenever you read 00:08:15.860 --> 00:08:21.899 about the day of the Lord in the Old Testament, this decisive moment of God coming to bring judgment and 00:08:21.899 --> 00:08:29.379 salvation, often there is the imagery of fire is used. You see it as well in Joel chapter 2, quoted by Peter 00:08:29.379 --> 00:08:37.340 in Acts chapter 2. Fire is often a sign of God's presence, and God's presence in judgment, the fire of the 00:08:37.340 --> 00:08:45.720 day of the Lord. And what Jesus is saying is that in His coming, and in His going to the cross, there is this 00:08:45.720 --> 00:08:56.460 decisive moment of God's presence in judgment and salvation happening. And notice, Jesus says He longs for this fire to be kindled. 00:08:57.639 --> 00:09:09.519 This is why Jesus came. This actually speaks gospel hope to us. Jesus is the promised Messiah who will face the judgment of God 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:17.000 for others. And in so doing, He will face the judgment of God's presence in judgment. 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:23.000 He will face the judgment of God's presence in judgment. He will face the judgment of God's presence in judgment. 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:31.000 Jesus longs for this fire to be kindled, for this moment of judgment and salvation to take place. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:36.500 This fire speaks to us of the reality of God's judgment, of punishment. 00:09:36.500 --> 00:09:46.700 But it also speaks to the reality of the fire that purifies, purifying His people, purifying His world. 00:09:48.279 --> 00:09:54.120 Jesus understands that this moment, this decisive moment of the cross is central to His life and 00:09:54.120 --> 00:10:01.200 mission. Notice the language, I have come to bring this fire. I have a baptism to undergo. And He says, 00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:08.060 I'm under constraint, I feel compelled to go towards the cross until it's completed. 00:10:09.180 --> 00:10:12.100 Jesus is someone who knows the Father's will. 00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:16.980 Jesus is the only one who always wanted to do 00:10:16.980 --> 00:10:18.300 the Father's will. 00:10:19.940 --> 00:10:27.180 So even as He walked that hard road of suffering and humiliation and death and judgment, 00:10:27.179 --> 00:10:36.879 Jesus gladly walks it as the only way by which we might be saved. For God's judgment to pass over 00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:45.419 us because it falls on His Son. This moment of the cross, the only way for us to be saved and to enjoy 00:10:45.419 --> 00:10:54.219 life with God, to receive the Spirit. So here is Jesus, described in the Bible as the Prince of Peace. 00:10:54.220 --> 00:11:02.960 And He is on His way to the cross to make peace between a holy God and sinful people by dealing with 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:07.420 that sin that separates, that sin that creates a barrier between us and our God. 00:11:10.060 --> 00:11:12.820 So then, notice verse 51. 00:11:12.820 --> 00:11:22.360 Perhaps we'll find this surprising. When Jesus says, do you think I came to bring peace on earth? 00:11:23.420 --> 00:11:29.240 No, I tell you. But division. How do we make sense of that? 00:11:30.580 --> 00:11:34.780 Jesus came to make peace, absolutely. But Jesus coming creates division, absolutely. 00:11:35.980 --> 00:11:41.720 The division comes because there are people, even in Jesus' day, as they're listening to Him, 00:11:41.720 --> 00:11:47.200 they don't know the times in which they're living. They don't know here is God with us. They don't see 00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:54.740 that Christ has come to make peace through His blood shed on the cross. And so what Jesus is focusing 00:11:54.740 --> 00:12:05.899 on here is the reality that the message of the cross divides people. Paul the Apostle recognizes that. 00:12:05.899 --> 00:12:10.939 So in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 18, he says, 00:12:10.940 --> 00:12:18.300 The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved. 00:12:19.300 --> 00:12:27.120 It is the power of God. The same event, but seen in two very different ways. 00:12:28.100 --> 00:12:32.820 Today, as you and I, as we consider the cross of the Lord Jesus, what do we see? 00:12:32.820 --> 00:12:43.720 Do we see a tragic waste of life? A good life cut all too short? Maybe we see an ugly death with no 00:12:43.720 --> 00:12:48.740 good purpose, so we want to turn away from all this talk about cross and blood and sacrifice? 00:12:49.680 --> 00:12:58.660 Or do we see by the grace of God, the power of God for your salvation, and what Jesus freely did there? 00:12:58.659 --> 00:13:08.299 Do you see that Jesus on the cross experienced shame? That you and I, by looking to Him, might know God's 00:13:08.299 --> 00:13:18.360 honor? That Jesus experienced God's curse, so that we might live knowing God's blessing, 00:13:18.779 --> 00:13:27.539 that Jesus underwent God's wrath, so that by His grace, we might be forgiven 00:13:27.539 --> 00:13:38.419 and no peace. Another way the coming of Jesus creates division is simply what He says in verses 52, 00:13:39.319 --> 00:13:49.360 that choosing to belong to Jesus, it serves to separate us from others. There is division on the 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:57.519 basis of response to Jesus. Verse 52, from now on, there'll be five in one family divided, 00:13:57.539 --> 00:14:05.639 against each other, three against two, and two against three. He's not speaking there of a simple family 00:14:05.639 --> 00:14:14.319 dysfunction. Perhaps we know family dysfunction, but here He is making that point that if we choose to 00:14:14.319 --> 00:14:25.579 follow Christ, the people around us may then criticize us. To receive Jesus as our Savior may mean to 00:14:25.580 --> 00:14:36.879 risk and to receive rejection, even from within our own family. And again, some of us, we know this pain 00:14:36.879 --> 00:14:45.480 all too well. That challenge to live, perhaps, as the only Christian within our family, and the people 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:52.840 that we love the most, they don't understand. They want to know, and it grieves our heart. Perhaps you've 00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:58.259 had that experience of standing up for Jesus in the classroom or the workplace, and it leads to a 00:14:58.259 --> 00:15:04.820 sense of isolation or exclusion at certain moments. We see it in individual life. We can see it within 00:15:04.820 --> 00:15:13.860 societies and within a nation that choosing to follow Jesus, saying, I stand for Him, can lead us to being 00:15:13.860 --> 00:15:22.720 excluded, and it can create division. So, the cross of Christ, Jesus says, stands as a dividing line. 00:15:24.919 --> 00:15:30.759 Eternally, it stands as a dividing line. To recognize that Jesus went to the cross for me, 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:39.840 that is to mean I receive peace. But to reject His offer of salvation, it is to experience punishment in the end. 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:48.340 So, knowing this to be true, and hearing these words from Jesus, all of us are encouraged to be right 00:15:48.340 --> 00:16:00.200 with Jesus today. To know and experience His salvation for ourselves. To receive that promise of eternal life, 00:16:00.259 --> 00:16:07.100 to know life with God by trusting in Him. To have that hope that one day Jesus will come back, 00:16:07.100 --> 00:16:13.519 and He'll make this world pure and new. And because we trust Him, we'll be with Him in that new world forever. 00:16:15.920 --> 00:16:21.480 And it's important as well, for those of us who are Christians, that we preach this gospel truth to 00:16:21.480 --> 00:16:30.480 ourselves today. If I find that I am marginalized, if I find I am excluded and isolated, what is going to 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:39.120 help us to help us to persevere? Isn't it as we remember Jesus knowing exclusion and suffering for us 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:46.600 and for our salvation and for our eternal reward? We need the gospel to help us to live faithfully, 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:49.220 even when it means division. 00:16:49.220 --> 00:16:58.399 So, the coming of Jesus represents a time of division. Verses 54 to 59, let's move to this 00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:07.180 central section, where Jesus is going to tell us His coming is a time to be reconciled. 00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:15.180 Again, we need to hear that Jesus is being critical of the crowds. Verse 56, He says to them, 00:17:15.180 --> 00:17:30.680 He says, look, you can read the signs for the weather. You can look at the cloud, you know it's 00:17:30.680 --> 00:17:35.480 going to rain, you can feel the wind, you know it's going to be hot, but you are failing to read 00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:45.480 the significant signs of the coming of Jesus. In the UK, we love to talk about the weather. 00:17:46.140 --> 00:17:52.519 We love forecasts. Many of us have multiple weather forecast apps on our phone. We love 00:17:52.519 --> 00:17:59.160 the signs of the weather, but are we awake and aware of the signs that point to Jesus, 00:17:59.160 --> 00:18:01.740 the Son of God and the Savior that we need for ourselves? 00:18:01.740 --> 00:18:11.500 Jesus says, you know, when the rain comes, we find shelter. When the heat comes, we take cover. 00:18:12.299 --> 00:18:21.140 But here is Jesus. He comes as God's promised Savior King. And the people around Him are failing 00:18:21.140 --> 00:18:30.279 to take shelter in Him. And why does that matter? To turn your back on Jesus is to risk the storm 00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:38.879 clouds of God's judgment. It's to risk the heat of God's wrath against our sin. 00:18:40.200 --> 00:18:43.740 For the people in Jesus' day, the time they were living in was the time Jesus declared, 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:49.819 when the kingdom of God is at hand. The kingdom of God is at hand because Jesus, God's King, 00:18:49.960 --> 00:18:58.399 is here. God's rule was breaking in, in a new way. Enemies were being defeated. Here is the Lord 00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:04.600 who would save and be with His people, but they wouldn't and they couldn't read those signs. 00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:12.300 Often it was because Jesus brought something that didn't match expectations. There wasn't a real 00:19:12.300 --> 00:19:24.160 openness to consider Jesus. That's often the problem that we experience. A king will come and he'll deal 00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:30.860 with enemies. The enemies Jesus dealt with was not the power of Rome. Jesus came to wage war on sickness. 00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:40.880 Jesus came to get rid of the demonic. Jesus came on a war against death and against sin. 00:19:41.960 --> 00:19:50.940 Good news, but people didn't see it. The kingdom that Jesus came to build was spiritual and not political. 00:19:50.940 --> 00:19:59.559 It was a kingdom built on God's grace and not on God's law as the way to be in. 00:20:01.100 --> 00:20:08.240 And so many people missed it. The people that Jesus called to be citizens of His kingdom 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:15.680 shocked many of the people in His day. It was the outsiders and the outcasts that gladly came. 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:22.460 It was the lepers and the blind and the paralyzed and the demon-possessed that called Jesus friend 00:20:22.460 --> 00:20:28.560 and find salvation. Some of the lowest and the least, the tax collectors. Everybody hated the 00:20:28.560 --> 00:20:35.240 tax collectors, the notorious sinners. Jesus shares food with them, invites them to friendship. 00:20:36.900 --> 00:20:41.940 And Jesus' kingdom is not narrow. He welcomes Samaritans. He welcomes people from many nations. 00:20:41.940 --> 00:20:52.759 People couldn't see it. The stories that Jesus told didn't match expectations. He told the story of 00:20:52.759 --> 00:21:02.039 the good Samaritan encouraging love for one's enemies. He tells stories of God throwing a banquet, 00:21:03.259 --> 00:21:10.640 a feast with a hugely surprising guest list. He tells the story of the prodigal son, 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:18.680 of that shameless son who is welcomed and forgiven by the grace of a father. 00:21:20.800 --> 00:21:26.300 And he's going to the cross. And for so many, they'll look at the cross and they'll see defeat, 00:21:26.860 --> 00:21:34.000 but it's actually victory. They will see shame, but actually it's glory. The signs were there, 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:38.880 but people couldn't read them. How about us? 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:50.079 We recognize, don't we, that failing to read the signs can be a problem, can leave us unprepared. 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:57.359 Leave us unprepared for the weather. Leave us unprepared for the exam. Leave us unprepared for 00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:59.359 the crisis that we're unprepared for the crisis. We're unprepared for the crisis. 00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:04.079 We're unprepared for the crisis that comes. Those are a big deal, but they're not life or death things. 00:22:04.639 --> 00:22:14.799 But failing to read the signs of Jesus coming represents disaster for now and for our eternity. 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:22.079 He is simply too big, too significant for us to ignore and walk on by. 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:28.639 I mean, encourage all of us to be reading the Gospels, to be thinking, to be praying, 00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:31.839 to be answering these questions. Who is Jesus? 00:22:34.879 --> 00:22:39.579 It's the Bible's testimony. He's God's son. He's God's king, and he's the only savior. 00:22:39.579 --> 00:22:46.299 Why did he come? Well, he's on this journey to go to the cross, to die in our place. 00:22:47.179 --> 00:22:53.659 He's our substitute as our representative, to save us by grace. We don't need to earn our way into God's 00:22:53.659 --> 00:22:59.899 kingdom. He's come to bring in the new age of salvation in the spirit. And there's a third 00:22:59.899 --> 00:23:05.980 question to ask is, how should we respond? So the people in Jesus' day didn't respond in the right way, 00:23:05.980 --> 00:23:13.339 so how should we respond? And to help with that, Jesus tells the parable of verse 57 to 59. 00:23:15.579 --> 00:23:21.680 Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? As you're going with your adversary to the magistrate, 00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:30.380 try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge. 00:23:30.380 --> 00:23:38.820 So there's a picture of two parties, and they're in a lawsuit, and the case is just about to be heard 00:23:38.820 --> 00:23:47.340 in court. And Jesus points to the common wisdom that it is good to work for peace as soon as possible, 00:23:47.760 --> 00:23:54.760 to look to be reconciled. If you're one of those parties, you want to seek the best possible outcome 00:23:54.759 --> 00:24:02.000 now. Jesus says, don't run the risk of experiencing penalty, of experiencing judgment. 00:24:03.420 --> 00:24:10.500 Now, why does Jesus tell that parable? He tells that parable to reveal a biblical truth, 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:22.400 that God has a case against us, that our sin, our guilt makes us, by nature, by choice, enemies of God. 00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:31.540 So God has a case against us, and what we should do is seek for peace today, to seek for the best 00:24:31.540 --> 00:24:41.680 possible outcome, which means looking to Jesus, the one who came to reconcile us to God through His 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:52.060 sacrificial death. At the cross, Jesus takes my penalty so I can enjoy His peace. We need to 00:24:52.059 --> 00:25:01.440 receive that message today. So how should we respond to Jesus? The answer is with faith, with repentance. 00:25:03.579 --> 00:25:12.899 And Jesus gives us that parable to speak of urgency. Be right before judgment falls. Seek peace with God 00:25:12.900 --> 00:25:13.900 through Jesus today. 00:25:13.900 --> 00:25:23.840 One last time that Jesus speaks of here in the section, chapter 13, verses 1 to 9, 00:25:24.519 --> 00:25:30.420 a time to repent. So Jesus is speaking to this large crowd, and they're saying, it's really important 00:25:30.420 --> 00:25:35.360 to know the time in which you are living, especially it's really important to know that your King has come. 00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:42.500 But to listen to the beginning of chapter 13, we can imagine the people in the crowd turning to Jesus 00:25:42.500 --> 00:25:48.379 saying, Jesus, what's the significance of these events that everybody is talking about? 00:25:49.479 --> 00:25:56.299 What's the significance of this event where some Galileans have been sacrificed to Roman gods? 00:25:56.799 --> 00:26:04.759 What a horror. What's the significance of the tragedy of the Tower of Siloam falling and crushing 18 people? 00:26:05.359 --> 00:26:12.859 Now, the sign that they thought they were reading was that those Galileans were awful people, 00:26:13.679 --> 00:26:22.079 that those 18 people were worse than everybody else, and so God sent judgment now as a sign of that. 00:26:23.199 --> 00:26:29.339 Jesus, is that what we're supposed to learn whenever we see suffering or crisis or tragedy? 00:26:29.339 --> 00:26:33.959 How does Jesus respond? 00:26:36.699 --> 00:26:42.959 Verse 2, do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because 00:26:42.959 --> 00:26:51.220 they suffered this way? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you too will perish. So he wants to 00:26:51.220 --> 00:26:58.059 correct them. It's not that they were worse sinners than others. If you know the Old Testament book of 00:26:58.059 --> 00:27:03.319 Job, Job's friends presumed, well, bad things happened to Job, therefore God is a bad person. 00:27:03.619 --> 00:27:10.000 And Jesus is saying, you can't draw a straight line like that. But he does say there is a lesson that 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:17.139 we can and we should learn, and it's a personal lesson, is that you and I, whenever we see terrible 00:27:17.140 --> 00:27:23.460 things happen, it should be a reminder to us of the importance of being right with our God. 00:27:25.560 --> 00:27:32.860 Jesus says it should stand for us as an urgent warning to be ready to repent, to turn our back 00:27:32.860 --> 00:27:41.820 on our sin, to turn our face towards God, to find His salvation. Jesus would have the crowds in that day 00:27:41.819 --> 00:27:54.139 use those events to teach them that life is short, that life comes with unexpected moments. 00:27:56.059 --> 00:28:04.119 He would also have us to understand that God's judgment is real, therefore we must be right with God today. 00:28:04.119 --> 00:28:15.559 Jesus is giving hope for a broken world when He offers Himself as a Savior. 00:28:17.879 --> 00:28:27.279 Because to know Jesus is to know that Jesus took God's judgment for us. To know Jesus is to have the 00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:35.259 assurance that we belong in His kingdom. To know Jesus is to know that whatever happens, if my faith 00:28:35.259 --> 00:28:44.039 is in Him, I will be with Him forever. And that when He returns, I will be part of the new heavens and the 00:28:44.039 --> 00:28:54.859 new earth. He tells them a parable in verses 6 to 9. What does that add to His message? When He tells 00:28:54.859 --> 00:29:03.919 that parable of the unfruitful tree, you know, three years, the person, the manager of the vineyard, 00:29:04.059 --> 00:29:09.779 the owner of the vineyard has been looking for fruit and nothing comes. So it's in danger of the chop. 00:29:09.879 --> 00:29:16.099 So it's a good for nothing tree. But then there's the one who tends the trees, the gardener, He says, 00:29:16.459 --> 00:29:23.839 look, give it one more year. Let's keep caring for it. Let's keep providing for its growth and its life. 00:29:23.839 --> 00:29:29.720 Let's give it one more year. If it provides fruit, that's great. But if not, let's cut it down. 00:29:31.919 --> 00:29:39.859 What is that parable saying to us? It's saying the same thing as Peter says in 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 9, 00:29:40.559 --> 00:29:50.379 a message about God's patience. God is patient. He doesn't instantly condemn us when we sin. 00:29:50.380 --> 00:29:56.820 He is a God who gives us opportunities to repent, to turn to Him, to trust in Him. 00:29:58.480 --> 00:30:01.540 But Jesus is saying there is a final day. 00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:10.860 There is a decisive moment. That may be the moment of our death, or it may be the moment of Jesus' return. 00:30:10.859 --> 00:30:15.659 And because that is true, we need to be right today. There is urgency. 00:30:15.660 --> 00:30:25.700 When we see the darkness in our world, when we see the tragedies in our news playing out in our own lives, 00:30:26.900 --> 00:30:29.300 it speaks to us, doesn't it, of the brevity of life. 00:30:31.600 --> 00:30:34.500 It speaks to us of our longing for a better world. 00:30:36.820 --> 00:30:41.420 It should also motivate us to seek that forgiveness and that salvation that Jesus offers. 00:30:41.420 --> 00:30:49.519 And for us as Christians, it should motivate us to share the eternal hope of Jesus with the people around us. 00:30:50.400 --> 00:30:56.820 As we come to recognize that Jesus is the only hope in the darkness that we see all around. 00:30:57.820 --> 00:31:03.539 So Jesus says to us, it's so important to know the times and to act appropriately. 00:31:04.360 --> 00:31:05.740 To know the time. 00:31:06.360 --> 00:31:10.800 God's time has come. His King has come. Salvation is here to respond. 00:31:12.120 --> 00:31:14.500 Jesus had been speaking to the crowd of these two signs. 00:31:14.680 --> 00:31:17.960 The sacrifice that happened of the Galileans. The tower that fell. 00:31:18.940 --> 00:31:22.080 But even as He's talking, He has His eye on this journey on another sign. 00:31:23.340 --> 00:31:24.940 A sign that would take place in Jerusalem. 00:31:26.340 --> 00:31:28.039 A sign of the cross. 00:31:29.500 --> 00:31:32.840 There on the cross, as Jesus hung for the sin of the world, 00:31:32.840 --> 00:31:34.900 there were some people who thought He was a terrible sinner. 00:31:36.080 --> 00:31:38.900 Some people looked at Him and say, He must deserve this day. 00:31:38.900 --> 00:31:43.040 He must be under God's curse because of some awful thing that He has done. 00:31:44.740 --> 00:31:47.580 But in truth, as God's Word tells us, 00:31:48.380 --> 00:31:52.160 what's happening on the cross is the sinless Son of God 00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:56.660 is taking on Himself the sin of His people. 00:31:57.240 --> 00:32:02.060 Going under the curse that we deserve so that we might receive blessing from Him. 00:32:02.059 --> 00:32:09.559 facing the storm of God's judgment against all that is wrong and unholy and broken 00:32:09.559 --> 00:32:16.179 so that we, by grace, might find shelter and find peace. 00:32:16.679 --> 00:32:19.179 So that we could enter into His kingdom of grace. 00:32:19.839 --> 00:32:22.539 So that we could live with real hope, 00:32:23.039 --> 00:32:26.220 knowing that our enemies have been defeated, 00:32:26.220 --> 00:32:30.640 those enemies of Satan and sin and death. 00:32:32.640 --> 00:32:37.279 So that we could hear the good news of John 3, 16. 00:32:38.039 --> 00:32:43.400 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, 00:32:44.420 --> 00:32:47.960 that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, 00:32:48.700 --> 00:32:50.680 but have eternal life. 00:32:50.680 --> 00:32:55.019 What do you see when you look at Jesus? 00:32:56.180 --> 00:32:59.060 How are we responding to Him today? 00:32:59.820 --> 00:33:04.560 We all respond with faith to enjoy His salvation. 00:33:05.080 --> 00:33:05.700 Let's pray. 00:33:05.700 --> 00:33:17.700 Lord, our God, we thank You that Jesus, in His kindness and in Your Word, 00:33:18.400 --> 00:33:21.160 so often gives us a reality check. 00:33:22.340 --> 00:33:26.259 We can go day by day and even year by year 00:33:26.259 --> 00:33:30.059 and imagine life will always go on as it always has. 00:33:30.059 --> 00:33:37.200 But we're invited time and again to recognize that life is short, 00:33:38.639 --> 00:33:42.099 that there is the reality of a day of judgment, 00:33:42.359 --> 00:33:44.480 that Jesus will return. 00:33:46.619 --> 00:33:50.200 And we thank You, too, that Jesus always wants us to hear 00:33:50.200 --> 00:33:53.919 an invitation to believe and to be saved. 00:33:53.920 --> 00:34:00.259 Lord, that while we have today, we have an opportunity. 00:34:01.279 --> 00:34:04.259 This is for us our day of salvation. 00:34:05.640 --> 00:34:11.280 Lord, may You impress Your gospel word on people's hearts. 00:34:12.619 --> 00:34:16.619 Impress the urgency of knowing and trusting Jesus 00:34:16.619 --> 00:34:19.059 on people's hearts and lives, 00:34:19.539 --> 00:34:22.280 so that together we might be sheltering, 00:34:22.280 --> 00:34:26.820 that together we might be gathered by the Lord Jesus 00:34:26.820 --> 00:34:32.640 to be safe and secure in Him for now and for eternity.