CHRIST CHURCH

Feb 11, 2007

Morning Worship, 10am

Luke 13:1-9

“Repent or perish”

That seems to be the core of what Jesus is saying in the opening verses of Luke chapter 13. I wonder what you thought as you sat and listened to those words?

“Repent or perish”

At the very outset Jesus is being told about some Galileans who had got on the wrong side of Pilate- just what we make of their blood being mixed with their sacrifices is difficult to say; the commentators can but speculate on this point. I think though, that whatever the exact meaning, if we put this into its context, then the person who told it was probably trying to throw a red herring across what Jesus was saying. It's perhaps worth just looking at his words as reported at the end of chapter 12 to get this point.

Jesus had, there, first been saying that, whilst they could foretell the weather by reading the signs in the sky, or from the wind, when it came to reading the signs of the times, they were failing to see the significance of what God was doing before their very eyes. Had he not, at the outset of his ministry said in the synagogue of Capernaum, after reading the words of the prophet Isaiah, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me..., said Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. (Luke 4:21). The signs of God's Kingdom coming were there to see, yet they were failing to see it.

He then goes on to warn them of coming judgment; of God's coming judgment on them for having failed to recognise the signs that he was in his very Person, God's Messiah, and had indeed rejected him.

So, one of the Jews amongst his listeners goes on to throw, or try to throw, Jesus off course. And the point at issue is clear from Jesus' response to all of this:

Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?

It was, of course, the belief in Judaism, that if you suffer, then it's because of some sin in your life. Some weeks ago we had a series of sermons on Job, and the point Job's comforters tried to ram down Job's throat was that all his suffering was because of some dreadful sin that he had committed. The Jewish teachers loved to debate theological points, but their debate never had any issue on their daily life. It was debate dry as dust.

Of course, it we are suffering, then the issue is far form dead and dry debate. And so often we will cry out, or at least think to ourselves, “Why is this happening to me? Where is God in all of this? I must have done something very wrong and I'm being punished for it”

Undoubtedly there are times we do suffer for some sin, but never, never always! In our reading from 1 Corinthians 10 in fact Paul presents to his readers several times in the Old Testament where the Jewish people had suffered on a massive scale for some wrong. But, Paul also says, These things occurred as examples to stop keep us from setting our hearts on evil things (1 Cor 10:6)

But Jesus has a very different sort of response to make. Unless you repent, you too will perish.

It's all to easy to focus on the events that shock and that affect other people rather than face up to real, life issues, to issues of life and death.

Jesus goes on to reinforce his lesson by taking another example. Eighteen had died when the tower of Siloam had fallen on them, and again the popular view would have been that these eighteen people were particularly bad sinners- else why would they have perished? These people were not especially wicked, and again that stark warning; Unless you repent, you too will perish.

Jesus was giving his Jewish hearers a warning. David Gooding, in his analysis of Luke says this:

Israels' national experience of God's temporal judgments, however, is only part of the story. This still remains the case between every individual Jew and Christ, and the possibility of that case one day reaching the supreme and final court and receiving an eternal sentence.

After his second warning to repent or perish, Jesus moves on to a parable. It concerns a man who had planted a fig tree in his vineyard. For three years he had come to his vineyard, looking for a good crop of figs too from the tree, and year-on-year there was no fruit at all. Eventually, in exasperation he says, Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?. This, surely was at the root of the acted parable contained in the Gosple accounts of Jesus' last week in Jerusalem where he had cursed a fig tree that was full of leaf, but yielded no fruit, and also resonating with the words of John the Baptist, the axe is already at the root of the tree. (Luke 3:9) That wasn't quite the end of the story. The man pleads for the tree to be spared for one more year, during which he would dig round the tree and fertilise it. If it then yielded a crop, “well and good”: if not then let it be cut down.

As we begin to draw this together, and learn its lesson, let us go back to Luke chapter 12 again and to verse 51, where Jesus says this: Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you but division. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, and here he may shock us with these words. But the division he brings is between those who hear his call, who follow him, who believe in him and those who reject him.

This is the key issue. What do we make of Jesus Christ, what do we do with him? For, although he came to bring peace with God his Father for those who turn to Him, he leaves the very real possibility of turning from him.

If I may quote from David Gooding again:

We are all in the same position [as the Jews]. Life is a journey soon to be over; and after death comes the judgment (Heb 9:27) We should all do well to settle matters between ourselves and Christ before we reach the end of the road, so that our case never comes into court

Jesus presents us with that call “repent or perish” with the very real issue of the choice between Him and peace and life on the one hand and eternal loss and pain on the other.

That parable tells us of his patience, of his giving his every chance. He is the man in the parable who pleads for a stay of execution- but that is what it is. He offers us a clean sheet, a new beginning and a life that never ends with him; a salvation which rests of his having stood in the dock for us. We may presume on his patience; one day I'll do something about it. But- the day of judgment and final reckoning will come. The Jews rested on their religion, but religion only serves to blind. If there be any listening to these words can I but remind you of those words spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Unless you repent, you too will perish.