Tragedy

Thank you for reading this sermon from Christ Fellowship. I hope and pray that this sermon will be a blessing of grace and truth to you. With that said, let me encourage you not to use this sermon as a replacement for your local church. Christ Jesus did not establish his Church simply for us to consume content. Instead, He calls us to be part of a real, covenant family. 

Christians around the world were shocked and offended by some of the scenes at the opening ceremony of the Olympics. One of them seemed to be an artistic rendition of the Lord’s Supper.

I’ll spare you of any personal commentary this morning, except to say that such things ought to be a reminder to all Christians that this world is lost, and we want people to be saved. We mourn for this world. We pray for it. And we remember God’s grace for sinners like us.

As we return to our study of Luke, remember the purpose of this book. Luke wants to show us the heart of God specifically for lost people. That desire will be highlighted by some of the most beautiful stories in the Bible in the weeks ahead… the parable of the great banquet, the prodigal son, the story of Zacchaeus… we have some great stuff ahead. And so much of it will reveal the heart of God for the lost.

But first, we have to look at a sad and sobering story this morning. Luke 13:

1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

The Roman governor apparently had some worshippers killed during Passover – likely because of political tension. There was incredible tension between the Jews and the Romans at this time and Pilate was known for doing things like this.

But remember the context. Jesus is now headed to Jerusalem, just before Passover, with a large group of Galileans! Most of his followers were from Galilee.

Some of them remember this recent event and they are nervous about this journey, for good reason. They share this story with Jesus as a caution or even in fear. But look at how Jesus responds.

2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?

This is a shocking reply, honestly. Jesus responds to an act of terrorism by bringing up the sin of the victims! He completely sidesteps the injustice to focus our attention on something worse than human tragedy. Verse 3:

3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

Jesus was certainly aware of the religious and political tensions. He knows that some people are trying to get Him killed. He knows that some of His followers are afraid.

But Jesus simply will not be distracted from His mission – to seek and to save the lost.

Jesus uses this tragedy as a signpost pointing to a greater tragedy. I like the way Ralph Davis puts it, “Earthly disasters are eternal caution lights.”

And then Jesus doubles down on this lesson with another example.

4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?

Both of these stories would make headline news today, but compare them. In the first story, the Galileans were victims of human violence.

But in the second story, these people were victims of a seemingly random event. How often does a building fall on people? Not often! We would call that an act of God!

And at that time, most people assumed that such a random tragedy was secretly deserved by the people who suffered. It must have been karma. But Jesus says,

5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Those people didn’t suffer and die because they deserved it more than you do. And this is a shocking response to our fears, isn’t it?

Some of his followers are afraid and Jesus basically says, “I’ll give you something worse to be afraid of.”

It sounds insensitive, but it was a gracious warning. And then Jesus illustrates further with a parable.

6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.

7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’

8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.

9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

This parable gives important context to the previous verses. Obviously, all people are being called to repentance and faith. But here, Jesus is specifically talking to His people – the Jews.

Jesus has now spent about three years in public ministry among His people. And the truth is that very few of them have repented. They had the Son of God among them, tending this garden. But they refused to believe.

Jesus is going to Jerusalem, in part, to give them one last chance to repent. But they will reject Him and in 70AD the Romans will bring buildings down on the whole city.

Why? Why did they reject Jesus? The answer to that question is clear across the Gospels. The Jews refused to accept Jesus because He did not meet their expectations. They wanted a liberator… a political revolutionary… a warrior king.

And mixed with these unmet expectations was a fear of Rome and a misunderstanding of Messianic prophecy. Put it all together and the problem is obvious. They were concerned with the temporary – not the eternal.

We see it clearly in our text. These followers of Jesus were concerned with what might happen to them in the days ahead, but Jesus focuses their attention on the providence of God and His mission to preach repentance.

Jesus communicates a warning, a sense of urgency, and an opportunity.

The warning is that God has been patient, but there is a final judgment coming – something more severe than death. Anyone who does not bear the fruit of repentance will be cast out of God’s garden forever.

And there’s a sense of urgency as well, because life is short and unpredictable. God owes us nothing – not even our next breath. Every opportunity we have to turn and follow Christ may be our last. But this is such an opportunity – to repent and believe… to trust God with our future and focus our attention on His kingdom.

And it’s my job to tell you, in direct application of this text, that Jesus is far less concerned with America and her politics, or Ukraine, or Venezuela, or even Israel – than we are. Jesus did not want his followers to fear the Romans or the Jews – but to fear God. To trust Him.

I’m not saying that none of it matters or that God doesn’t care at all. We should pray for this world. We should care about the welfare of our city and state and country.

But God is sovereign. Jesus is King. Listen to how the Scriptures describe our relationship with the world we currently live in:

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. – 1 John 5:19

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. – 1 John 2:15

This world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. – 1 John 2:17

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. – Romans 12:2

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. – Colossians 3:2

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. – James 4:4

This is not an application that I’m trying to shoehorn into the text. It’s a big part of what the Bible means when it calls us to repentance. The people rejected Jesus because they were too concerned with the Romans to consider God’s plan.

We are living in, quite possibly, the most anxious period of human history. We hear about terrorist attacks and other tragedies daily. For thousands of years, it would take weeks or months for important news to spread.

By comparison, everyone in America knew about Trump’s assassination attempt within minutes! Before radio and television, most Americans wouldn’t have known about it until the morning newspaper was delivered.

We’re anxious about the election. We’re anxious about war. We’re anxious about inflation. We’re anxious about what kind of world our kids are going to grow up in… I understand.

But Jesus would have us trust the providence and plans of God. Repent of our fears and lack of faith and remember that a good King sits on the throne of heaven.

We can trust Him because Jesus went to Jerusalem, knowing the obvious danger. He willingly offered Himself as a martyr, not to save the Jews from the Romans – but to save His people from sin and death… people from every tribe, nation, and tongue.

And He invites us to His table, though we don’t deserve it, by repentance and faith in Him.