Lent 3 Date 3/11/07 Text Luke 13:1-9 Title: Repentance
Lent 3
3/11/2007
Text: Luke 13:1-9
Title: Repentance
Today we are going to take a look at two questions. The first question is one that has troubled humans, since the fall of Adam and Eve. “Does God bring calamity on people because of something they have done?” As you look at the Old Testament you would surely get the idea, for God, quite often struck down people because of their sinfulness, their active rebellion against him. It would appear then, that the answer to that question would have to be, “Yes, God does bring calamity and death on those who sin.”
The second question is, “What part does repentance play in our salvation? In other words do you have to be repentant of your sins, if you are to be saved, or is it enough to just have faith in Jesus?
As we look at our Gospel reading for today, we see that what we believe is the answer to the first question might not be correct. Let us see what God has to say to us in his inspired Word.
Before we start though let me give you a little information so that you will better understand what is going on. In the previous chapters Jesus has been telling the people that they need to be ready for the time when God comes back.
The people that Jesus was talking to just did not get it. He told them that since they are so good at interpreting the signs of the earth and sky, they should know how to interpret the present time, the arrival of the Messiah.
In the verses just before our reading for today, Jesus is telling those gathered around him that since they know how to settle the differences between themselves they should not have to go to court. But he continues to tell them, if you insist on going, they will end up in prison until, “they pay the last penny.”
The people gathered there that day knew what that meant, for when you were put in prison it was a death sentence. That is of course unless a benefactor came along and paid off the debt for you.
That brings us to our Gospel reading for today. It appears that there were some in the crowd that had seen, or at least knew about, the Galileans’ blood being mixed with the sacrifices. As far as we can tell this event took place during the Passover, the one time that the people came to the temple to sacrifice the lamb.
The reason that the question was brought up was that those talking to Jesus figured that since the Galileans were murdered as they were preparing for the Passover, the holiest time of the year that they must have at sometime or other sinned against God. It was the only explanation that they could come up with, and they needed Jesus to confirm their belief.
But Jesus does not agree with them, he tells them, “Hold on now. Are you saying that those who were murdered by the Romans were worse than all the other Galileans? Just a note here. There was some thought that those present thought that the Galileans as a whole were guilty of sin, for they had rebelled against God more than any of God’s chosen people. Jesus goes on to tell them that since all Galileans were guilty of sin, why would God pick out just those few.
Jesus is not through yet, for he tells those he is talking to, “No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” I do not think they were expecting that reply, for I have no doubt that they considered themselves better than the Galileans.
Then Jesus tells them about those 18 innocent people that were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them. What about them? Were they any more guilty of death, than the rest of the Jerusalem population?
Now that threw a curveball to those talking to Jesus. You see, the people who lived in Galilee were known as being a people who quite often willingly disobeyed God, while those killed by the collapse of the tower lived in Jerusalem were, how could you say, more in touch with God. Where one deserved to die, the other was an accident.
Jesus tells them that it does not make any difference because both the Galileans and those living in Jerusalem were equally sinners. They all deserved death, and that is what is going to happen, unless they repented.
Jesus ends our Gospel reading for today with the wonderful story of the gardener saving the fig tree. The owner, who symbolizes God, wants to have it cut down. He has given it three years. That means in the language of the day, more than enough time, but since there is no fruit on it, it is time to cut it down. His vinedresser, who symbolizes Jesus, tells him that he will personally take care of it, but if it does not produce fruit the next year the owner can have it cut down.
This parable is talking about end times and repentance. God has given the world enough time, he has decided to bring judgment on those who have not accepted Jesus, but Jesus wants more time so that more people can be saved, so that they can repent of their sin.
The Galileans being murdered, the people killed by the fall of the tower, and the fig tree are all examples of the result of God’s just wrath. You see when Adam and Eve sinned, by their wanting to be like God, all of creation came under the wrath of God. And what is that wrath? It is disease, it is terrible accidents, it is horrible storms, and yes it is death, whether brought on by an evil person, an accident, or weather. God’s wrath is being felt every day by people all over the world.
I know what I just said might come as a shock to some of you. I know that strikes down the image of God as being something like a kindly grandfather, or a God that would not condemn anyone to hell, but that is our God. He has a rule. You love me above all else, or you are doomed. He is just and because he is just, people that do not follow his perfect rule have to die. He can have it no other way. You are lost, we are all lost, that is, unless Jesus is your Savior.
Just knowing about Jesus being your Savior does not cut it. That is just head knowledge and will not count one little bit toward your salvation. I mean that have to not only be cognizant of Jesus, but that must also have put your trust in Jesus to save you from God’s wrath.
The hardest thing we have to do as Christians is keeping Jesus front and center in our lives. We always want to put ourselves next to him. We think that once we have faith and put our trust in Jesus, that what we do in our life, such as going to church, reading the Bible, and helping others adds in some way to what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Wrong, wrong, wrong. We can add nothing to what Jesus did on the cross, for when we do we have refused his free gift of Grace.
And that brings us to the question of repentance. Jesus tells us through the Bible that if we do not repent, we too will perish. What does that mean? Well first of all, repentance is not a fruit of our faith, but is the root of our faith.
And because repentance is not a result of your faith, in other words a fruit; repentance cannot be composed of any “I can” statements. Repentance cannot be, "I have sinned God. I am sorry God. I can do better."
It cannot be that, because you can’t, I can’t. That is why true repentance must be composed of "I can't" statements. "I have sinned, God. I am sorry. God, I've tried and tried and tried but I just can’t produce good fruit. I can't seem to do better. I can’t trust in you as I should. I can’t and I need your vinedresser to work on me, to give me the nutrients I need and to prune me as I need to be pruned. Jesus, give me your life, for I can't. You can." Amen
3/11/2007
Text: Luke 13:1-9
Title: Repentance
Today we are going to take a look at two questions. The first question is one that has troubled humans, since the fall of Adam and Eve. “Does God bring calamity on people because of something they have done?” As you look at the Old Testament you would surely get the idea, for God, quite often struck down people because of their sinfulness, their active rebellion against him. It would appear then, that the answer to that question would have to be, “Yes, God does bring calamity and death on those who sin.”
The second question is, “What part does repentance play in our salvation? In other words do you have to be repentant of your sins, if you are to be saved, or is it enough to just have faith in Jesus?
As we look at our Gospel reading for today, we see that what we believe is the answer to the first question might not be correct. Let us see what God has to say to us in his inspired Word.
Before we start though let me give you a little information so that you will better understand what is going on. In the previous chapters Jesus has been telling the people that they need to be ready for the time when God comes back.
The people that Jesus was talking to just did not get it. He told them that since they are so good at interpreting the signs of the earth and sky, they should know how to interpret the present time, the arrival of the Messiah.
In the verses just before our reading for today, Jesus is telling those gathered around him that since they know how to settle the differences between themselves they should not have to go to court. But he continues to tell them, if you insist on going, they will end up in prison until, “they pay the last penny.”
The people gathered there that day knew what that meant, for when you were put in prison it was a death sentence. That is of course unless a benefactor came along and paid off the debt for you.
That brings us to our Gospel reading for today. It appears that there were some in the crowd that had seen, or at least knew about, the Galileans’ blood being mixed with the sacrifices. As far as we can tell this event took place during the Passover, the one time that the people came to the temple to sacrifice the lamb.
The reason that the question was brought up was that those talking to Jesus figured that since the Galileans were murdered as they were preparing for the Passover, the holiest time of the year that they must have at sometime or other sinned against God. It was the only explanation that they could come up with, and they needed Jesus to confirm their belief.
But Jesus does not agree with them, he tells them, “Hold on now. Are you saying that those who were murdered by the Romans were worse than all the other Galileans? Just a note here. There was some thought that those present thought that the Galileans as a whole were guilty of sin, for they had rebelled against God more than any of God’s chosen people. Jesus goes on to tell them that since all Galileans were guilty of sin, why would God pick out just those few.
Jesus is not through yet, for he tells those he is talking to, “No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” I do not think they were expecting that reply, for I have no doubt that they considered themselves better than the Galileans.
Then Jesus tells them about those 18 innocent people that were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them. What about them? Were they any more guilty of death, than the rest of the Jerusalem population?
Now that threw a curveball to those talking to Jesus. You see, the people who lived in Galilee were known as being a people who quite often willingly disobeyed God, while those killed by the collapse of the tower lived in Jerusalem were, how could you say, more in touch with God. Where one deserved to die, the other was an accident.
Jesus tells them that it does not make any difference because both the Galileans and those living in Jerusalem were equally sinners. They all deserved death, and that is what is going to happen, unless they repented.
Jesus ends our Gospel reading for today with the wonderful story of the gardener saving the fig tree. The owner, who symbolizes God, wants to have it cut down. He has given it three years. That means in the language of the day, more than enough time, but since there is no fruit on it, it is time to cut it down. His vinedresser, who symbolizes Jesus, tells him that he will personally take care of it, but if it does not produce fruit the next year the owner can have it cut down.
This parable is talking about end times and repentance. God has given the world enough time, he has decided to bring judgment on those who have not accepted Jesus, but Jesus wants more time so that more people can be saved, so that they can repent of their sin.
The Galileans being murdered, the people killed by the fall of the tower, and the fig tree are all examples of the result of God’s just wrath. You see when Adam and Eve sinned, by their wanting to be like God, all of creation came under the wrath of God. And what is that wrath? It is disease, it is terrible accidents, it is horrible storms, and yes it is death, whether brought on by an evil person, an accident, or weather. God’s wrath is being felt every day by people all over the world.
I know what I just said might come as a shock to some of you. I know that strikes down the image of God as being something like a kindly grandfather, or a God that would not condemn anyone to hell, but that is our God. He has a rule. You love me above all else, or you are doomed. He is just and because he is just, people that do not follow his perfect rule have to die. He can have it no other way. You are lost, we are all lost, that is, unless Jesus is your Savior.
Just knowing about Jesus being your Savior does not cut it. That is just head knowledge and will not count one little bit toward your salvation. I mean that have to not only be cognizant of Jesus, but that must also have put your trust in Jesus to save you from God’s wrath.
The hardest thing we have to do as Christians is keeping Jesus front and center in our lives. We always want to put ourselves next to him. We think that once we have faith and put our trust in Jesus, that what we do in our life, such as going to church, reading the Bible, and helping others adds in some way to what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Wrong, wrong, wrong. We can add nothing to what Jesus did on the cross, for when we do we have refused his free gift of Grace.
And that brings us to the question of repentance. Jesus tells us through the Bible that if we do not repent, we too will perish. What does that mean? Well first of all, repentance is not a fruit of our faith, but is the root of our faith.
And because repentance is not a result of your faith, in other words a fruit; repentance cannot be composed of any “I can” statements. Repentance cannot be, "I have sinned God. I am sorry God. I can do better."
It cannot be that, because you can’t, I can’t. That is why true repentance must be composed of "I can't" statements. "I have sinned, God. I am sorry. God, I've tried and tried and tried but I just can’t produce good fruit. I can't seem to do better. I can’t trust in you as I should. I can’t and I need your vinedresser to work on me, to give me the nutrients I need and to prune me as I need to be pruned. Jesus, give me your life, for I can't. You can." Amen
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 5:31 PM
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