And please turn in your copies of God's word to the gospel of Luke, gospel of Luke chapter 13. And we'll read together verses one to nine. There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners and all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you all will likewise perish. or those 18 on whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed them. Do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. And he told them a parable. A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 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? And he answered him, sir, let it alone this year also until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good. But if not, you can cut it down. So ends the reading of God's Word. Let's pray and ask the Lord's illumination. Lord, we ask that you would give us eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts that would receive the Word of Christ, that he would have us, his church, know and understand about suffering and even about judgment. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Sunday The 2nd of September, 1666, that was the day that marked the beginning of what has now been called the Great Fire of London. The fire began in just a small local bakery but it would spread across the city of London. London, England had been undergoing a drought that summer, so it was very dry. That combined with a very strong wind caused this burning bakery to expand and ignite the whole city. The fire would burn for five days, destroying 80% of the city. And as terrible as the fire was, it was the third tragedy that had struck the city of London in recent times. The first was a war that broke out with the Dutch that ended quite badly for the English. The second was the great plague of London that took the lives of 100,000 people. These terrible tragedies shook the people of London to their core. And as people often do, they speculated as to why these tragedies had befallen their dear city. Every denomination had a different answer. The Church of England called for a day of mourning and fasting, saying that if only society had been more moral, well then God would never have sent these terrible tragedies. The Royalists those who had supported the monarchy against parliament in the Civil War, said that this was God's judgment against the city because that is where they had the king executed. The Quakers, who were radical schismatics, believing they were the only true church, said that this was God's judgment against all the mainline denominations who were false churches. The Roman Catholics pointed out how the fire consumed 89 Protestant churches, but just stopped short, just before the one and only Roman Catholic church in the city. Meanwhile, the Puritans attributed the tragedies to formalism. Thomas Brooks said that God sent the fires to burn in the city because of the lukewarmness of people's hearts. So who was right? Well, it can't all be right. Each group blaming another group for sinning in some way to incur God's judgment? Well, ironically, even though they all gave different answers and reasons for these tragedies befalling their city, ironically, what they all share together is a common shifting of the blame onto some other group and equating suffering with judgment. But what the story from history illustrates is the sheer folly of trying to interpret God's secret will through providence. Yet Christians continue to make these same ridiculously overconfident assertions today about why this tragedy happens or about why those people over there are suffering. Whether it's a natural disaster that destroys the economy and kills many people in a poor Muslim country, or it's a terrorist attack here on American soil. People are so quick to assert that they know the reason why. It's God's wrath against this particular sin of these particular groups of people. And if only they were more humble, or if only the church had more prayer meetings or something to that effect, well then this tragedy never would have happened. And not only do we hear these foolish assertions made on a national level against collective groups of people, these assertions are also made against individuals who suffer, just like Job's comforters. You hear people say that sort of thing, don't you? Well, look how poor that person is, or look at that person's life. He must have made some very foolish and sinful choices. He must be a worse sinner than the rest of us. Or we may even think these things about ourselves when tragedy strikes us personally, when we get that bad news from the doctor, or we are wiped out in the stock market, or something to that effect. We ask, what must I have done to incur God's wrath in this way? But in our passage, Jesus makes clear that this is not the right way to interpret providence. This is not how we are to read the times. This is not how we are to understand and interpret tragedy and suffering, whether it's something that happens in some other place of the world or it's something that's happening in our own lives. No, we are not to equate suffering with judgment, nor are we to assume that those who suffer are worse sinners than ourselves. Instead, Jesus would have us examine our own hearts, This is what it means to rightly read the times. It is to recognize that the greatest tragedy that could befall us in this life is not to have a tower falling upon us, or to die in some tragic way, or to die driving home this afternoon as horrible as that would be. No, the greatest tragedy that could befall you in this life, Jesus says, is to die unrepentant, to die in your sin without having found forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ, this is the greatest tragedy, to die not having settled your account with God. Let's consider then this important corrective of Jesus to what is such a common misunderstanding in so many theologies. Jesus shows us two things. That times of tragedy should lead us to personal repentance. And second, that times of prosperity should lead us to personal repentance. So the first thing Jesus teaches us is that times of tragedy should lead us to personal repentance. Now even though we're in a new chapter, you see the big 13 there at the top of the section, we actually haven't changed scenes. We're still in that same context, that broader context of Jesus teaching about his return and about God's coming judgment. He's told us how when he returns, it will be good news for those who are trusting in him, who are waiting for his coming, but it will be bad news for those wicked stewards who are unfaithful. He also spoke of the need to repent and to settle our accounts with God before the day of judgment. This is what it means to rightly Read the times. To correctly read the times is to realize that God's judgment is coming and therefore we must repent and turn to Christ to be saved. Well, our passage continues then from that teaching. Luke signals this for us with the phrase in verse one, there were some present at that very time. And so Jesus has just said, read the times and repent because judgment is coming. And to show how they are reading the times, those around him respond by bringing up a recent tragedy in Israel. Verse 1, they told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Now this act of Pilate is not recorded anywhere else, so in one sense there's not a lot to say about it. We don't know how these men became the targets of Pilate. Perhaps they were, you know, political rebels, something to that effect. We don't quite know. But for some reason, Pilate mercilessly had them killed as they were offering sacrifices. And then, as it were, to curse them beyond death. He mingles their blood with the blood of these animals in this sacrifice. Truly, not only a gruesome thing, but also horrifying. Now, why do they bring this up to Jesus? Well, again, Jesus has just said, read the times and repent because judgment is coming. So by bringing this news of the Galileans, essentially they're saying, okay, is this how you read the times? These Galileans suffered a terrible tragedy. God would only have allowed this tragedy if they had sinned in some terrible way, so they must be worse sinners than the rest of us. And so all that Jesus has been saying about returning and judging humanity and all of that, well, really, he's speaking about the Galileans. He's not speaking about us. Doesn't apply to us, right? And we know this is what they're thinking because of Jesus' response in verse two, where he says, do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way? Well, clearly, they do think that. This is how they're reading the times. This is their logic. God judges sinners. These people suffered a tragedy. Therefore, they must be sinners who are suffering God's judgment. And to put a label on what they're doing, they're reading the retribution principle backwards. The basic definition of the retribution principle is that if you are a sinner, you must be punished. If you were a sinner, you must be punished. This is something that's clear throughout scripture, isn't it? Those who break God's law incur his judgment and wrath. That's just his justice. They must be punished. However, these Jews are reversing it and muddling it, and they're saying, well, if you suffer, you must have sinned. So they're reading it in reverse. And thus, if you suffered some terrible tragedy, well, you must have sinned in some terrible kind of way. It's exactly what Job's so-called friends were doing. As we read earlier, the words of Eliphaz, who that was innocent ever perished, or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. Like Eliphaz, these Jews were looking at the suffering of the Galileans and assuming that the Galileans must have offended God in some way, and that's why this terrible thing happened to them. And of course, what is left unspoken and what lies behind all of this is a deep and disgusting pride that says, well, because we're not suffering, we must be good with God. Jesus doesn't allow this to continue. He corrects them immediately in verse three. No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. No, Jesus says, the Galileans were not worse sinners than the rest. You cannot look at this terrible tragedy and conclude that God must be judging them for some particular sin. Now the deaths of those Galileans was the massacre carried out by a wicked man. But to reinforce his point, in case we don't get it, that we're not to do this with providence, Jesus brings up a freak accident that nobody could have predicted, where a tower fell. Verse four, are those 18 on whom the Tower of Siloam fell and killed them, do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. It may have been negligence, it may have been a rope that wasn't as strong as they thought, it was an older rope, it snapped. It could have been scaffolding that wasn't put together properly and it fell. But whatever reason, this was a terrible accident where all these workers died. These men who got up one morning and kissed their wives goodbye and hugged their children and said, see you later, see you after work, and they never came home that day. It was a terrible tragedy. But surely one of them must have been a terrible sinner, or perhaps it was the city of Jerusalem, Jerusalem that kills the prophets and so on and so forth. This must be God's judgment. Again, Jesus says, no, stop it. Stop what you're doing. It's wrong. Jesus' response to the situation is an exact match to the first one. First, he rejects the assertion that sin was the cause of suffering. And then again, he issues the warning to repent of your own sin. It so often happens, whenever tragedy strikes, there are always those who, just like these Jews, claim to know exactly why it happened. After all, only bad things happen to bad people. So on September 11th, 2001, When evil men flew two airplanes into the Twin Towers in New York City, the World Trade Center, and thousands of people were trapped and killed in the collapse of those towers, people speculated, well, it must be God's judgment for America's sin. It's God's wake-up call. Or others speculated, no, it's against New York City for their sin and their wickedness and their affluence. Of course, implying that if only they had been more righteous, this never would have happened, because again, the righteous don't suffer. The same assertions were made on December 26, 2004, when a massive tsunami slammed against the coast of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and India. More than 100,000 people perished. Millions lost their homes. Again, people speculated that it was God's judgment against Muslims. A year later, Hurricane Katrina hit several states in the deep south, resulting in massive property damage and more loss of life. Again, people speculated it was God's judgment against the city of New Orleans. And not only is this flawed response applied to national tragedies, it's also applied to individuals. Do you ever, in your heart of hearts, find yourself looking at someone who is less well off than you, or someone who's poor, and to think that, well, they must have sinned to be suffering in this way now. They must be a worse sinner to be in the place that they are. And when we judge others for their suffering, it cuts off our own compassion. Because after all, if someone is suffering, it's God's judgment, right? And if their suffering is God's judgment, well, they're only getting what they deserved. So why should I have compassion on those who are only getting what they deserve? I feel sorry for them. We do it to national tragedies. We do it to others. We can even do it to ourselves. At some point in your life, you suffered in some kind of way. You lost a job. So unfair. You were fired. Maybe it was an economic downturn. Maybe it was because you were a Christian. Maybe you lost a loved one. Maybe you found out that you have some incurable disease or a cancer. And you've had that thought. What have I done to cause this suffering, which is God's judgment on me? Why is God punishing me? What have I done? But dear saint, Jesus says no, you cannot reason this way. Now that's not to say that there are not consequences for sin. Yes, if you abuse your body with drugs and alcohol and promiscuity, you will suffer the effects of those things. But what Jesus is rejecting is the idea that all calamities and all hardships are synonymous with God's judgment. Accidents and tragedies do not necessarily equate to guilt. We cannot take the retribution principle and read it backwards. We have no right to make moral judgments based on the fact that someone else is suffering. Well, instead of judging and condemning those who suffer or trying to claim to know God's secret decree of will, which we don't, there's another response. the right response, the right response to news of tragedy and suffering, which is so important that Jesus says it twice, is that unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Jesus teaches us that when something bad happens, rather than leaping to conclusions about someone else's guilt, we have something far more important to think about. we are to think about our own sin and the state of our own hearts. Because there is something far worse than having a tower fall on you. There is something far worse than dying in a workplace accident. There is something far worse than being killed by a tyrant-like pilot, and that is to perish in your sins. Now, with this language of perish, Jesus isn't saying that, well, if you do repent, you'll never die, or you'll never die in some kind of tragic way. No, rather his point is that like those in the tower that fell, none of us, none of us know the day that we'll die. But if on the day of your death you have not found forgiveness in Christ, you have not repented of your sin, well then that day will truly be a tragedy in the full definition of the word. Because that will be a day of judgment. And Jesus has warned again and again of the judgment that is coming against all sin. It isn't that the Galileans of those tower were worse sinners. No, rather God's assessment of us is that we're all the worst sinner. And the judgment that Jesus is speaking about is the final judgment where we will stand before God. And that's a day that might come before our time in the next couple of years, or even if it comes as we've lived the full extent of human life, and we live well into our 90s, or we hit 100. Regardless, that day is coming. As Hebrews 9, 27 says, it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes the judgment. And thus, when disaster strikes, we should all be reminded that we will all one day die, and we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and we will be asked to give an account. And dear friend, unless you repent, unless you repent, on that day you will perish, and you will fall under the wrath of God for all eternity. And so when we turn on the news and we hear of hardship and injustice all over the world, rather than first judging others as more sinful than ourselves, we should repent of our own sin. We should examine our own hearts. And we should also respond to suffering with compassion, the very thing that judgment lacks. Times of tragedy should cause us to remember to pray for the lost. that God would continue to draw sinners to himself, even as that great final day of judgment approaches. And for the believer especially, it should humble us. It should humble us to think of the grace of God, that he has spared us from the greatest of all tragedies that we deserve. He has spared us from the final judgment. And we are not spared because we are less sinners than others, or that other sinners are worse than us. Rather, we are spared because of the undeserved gift of grace that forgives all our sins. And thanks be to God that having repented and having trusted in Christ, This affects how we live. This is why Jesus can tell us not to be anxious for things of the body, not to fear those who can harm the body, but to think about our greater judgment. For in Christ, we do not have to live in fear and terror of tragedy, because even if the worst of tragedies befell us in this life, if we have repented, Well, then we have the assurance that our sins are forgiven before God's court through Christ, and thus we have the promise of the life to come. Well, Jesus knows that the people are very mistaken. when it comes to their understanding of tragedy and suffering. In the previous section, he rebuked them for not being able to read the times, and now as they've tried to read the times, they've shown that his rebuke was very accurate. And so in Jesus' thinking, if they confuse suffering with God's wrath, they're probably also confusing prosperity with God's approval. In other words, the lack of suffering in their lives has given them a false assurance that everything's okay between them and God. And therefore, secondly, Jesus teaches that, yes, even times of prosperity should lead us to personal repentance. Jesus teaches this point through a parable about a farmer who grew figs. We'll call his name Newton. This farmer had planted a fig tree and he cared for it and he couldn't wait to pick those figs from the tree and eat them. However, When the time came to harvest the tree, there wasn't a single fig to be found. He searched every branch, high and low, but couldn't find a single fig. Well, the second year rolled around. He looked everywhere, still nothing. The third year rolled around. Still, there wasn't a single fig to be found on that tree. At this point, Newton has been very patient and very wise. He's given the tree three years. That clearly isn't fruitful. And if it's not producing, well then it's wasting space, it's wasting time, it's wasting resources. And so the sensible thing is just to cut it down and remove it and burn it and then plant something more fruitful in its place. And so that's what he tells his worker to do. However, the worker suggests giving it one more year. He says, Sir, let it alone this year also until I dig around it and put on manure. Then, if it should bear fruit next year, well and good. But if not, you can cut it down. So the worker and the owner are coming from the same place. The worker agrees that unfruitful trees must be cut down. But he suggests giving the tree one more year, which is very patient. But then, if after that year there is no fruit, it will be cut down. That's the parable. What's the point of the parable? Well, the point of the parable is to illustrate the patience and mercy of God towards sinners, while also warning that this is for a limited time, and that judgment is coming. Despite the tree being unfruitful, the farmers continue to show mercy to the tree. Even though it has no signs of fruitfulness, they give it three years, and then mercy upon mercy, they give it another year on top of that. Well, this is a picture of God's mercy and God's patience towards sinners. The time that we live in now between Christ's first and second coming is that time. It's a time of mercy. It's a time of patience. God is sovereignly and deliberately withholding the judgment of all mankind that we deserve until all of his elect are called from every tribe and tongue. The farmer doesn't just allow the tree to keep on going because either he's a poor farmer or he kind of forgot about that tree or even that maybe there's some signs of hope. No, the farmer is deliberately showing an undeserved patience, an undeserved mercy, and he's giving the tree more time, as is God. But this patience must not be confused with approval. Peter speaks of this using many of the same words and language and imagery in 2 Peter 3, verses 9 and 10. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. So there's patience, but there's also the reminder that judgment is coming. This patience is temporary. Now ironically and sadly, God's patience is the very thing that the unbeliever scoffs at. They see the lack of judgment and they say, huh, where is his coming? It's been 2,000 years, he's not coming back. Just as people are prone to looking at the presence of suffering and equating it with judgment, so people are prone to seeing the lack of judgment and then assuming there is no judge and there is no judgment coming. Or if they do have some notion of God, they assume everything is fine. I haven't been judged yet for this sin. Can't be that bad if God really cared about sin the way he seems to in the Old Testament and the New. Well, surely he'd have struck me down by now. That was the reasoning of these Jews. God let bad things happen to the Galileans because they were bad people. There are no bad things happening in my life, so I must be fine with God. He can't be that bothered about my sin. They thought they were innocent and righteous, just because a tower hadn't fallen on them. But what is true of the fig tree is true of them, and it's true for you. God's delay of judgment is not a sign that everything is okay. God is delaying judgment because he is giving us time to repent. Dear friend, just as you must not mistake suffering with judgment, likewise, you must not assume that because God has not judged the world to this point, There is no judgment coming. Jesus teaches clearly that there is a judgment coming. And therefore, do not confuse times of peace and prosperity and pleasure with God's approval of your sin. No, God in his mercy is holding back judgment for a time. But this day of judgment is temporary. And thus, you should have ringing in your ears Every time you turn on the TV, every time you look at social media and you hear of more horrors and tragedies in the world, you should have ringing and echoing in your ears what Jesus has said twice so clearly, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Because eventually, dear friend, you will die too. And after that, you will face the judgment. And where is our place of refuge and safety from this coming judgment. Jesus tells us to repent. That word repent means a change of mind. To repent means to turn away from one direction and to turn in another direction. To what or to whom must we turn? Well, the message throughout Luke's gospel has been that Christ has come to be judged in the place of those who deserve judgment. Christ has come to be judged in the place of sinners. As he said to the crowds a moment ago, he didn't come either to bring peace or to live a life of peace. No, he came to come and take upon himself the fire and baptism of God's judgment in the place of sinners. And therefore the place to which we must turn is to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we've seen Christ grant forgiveness to the vilest of sinners already in Luke's gospel. He granted pardon to that sinful woman of the streets. He has saved the demon-possessed. He's even able to forgive tax collectors and hypocritical religious leaders. He saved the worst of offenders. And dear friend, whatever your sin is, He is able to save you. He's able to forgive you. He's able to clothe you in His righteousness and present you before the Father. And He's able to do this because of the shedding of His own blood in your place. You see, the worst tragedy that has ever happened in the world, and will ever happen in that sense, the greatest injustice known to humanity is what took place on Calvary, where sinful men murdered the Lord of Glory. As awful as the news was of what Pilate had done to these Galileans in Jerusalem, Pilate was about to do something infinitely worse to this Galilean in Jerusalem. ultimately be responsible for the torture and slow, gruesome death of Christ. as we confess in the Apostles' Creed, he suffered under Pontius Pilate. On the cross, Jesus was hung on a tree as the worst sinner of all, and the common man that walked by spat on him, seeing that while he must be a sinner, why else would he be hung between two criminals? Why else would he be punished in this way? And yet we see by faith and we know that Jesus hung there as the most righteous human to ever have walked the face of the earth, and yet he suffered as a criminal. But what man meant for evil, God meant for good, and thus the greatest tragedy has become the greatest good to those of faith. The Galileans had their blood mingled with the blood of their sacrifice. However, this Galilean's blood was the sacrifice, and it is the grounds by which we can repent. So that when Jesus says, unless you repent, he says, this is how it is through trusting in me, it is turning to me and trusting in my payment for the judgment your sins deserve. And now, because of the tragic glory of the cross, You, beloved, who have trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, do not need to live in fear of final judgment, for you have already passed from death to life in Christ your Lord. And now, through the perspective of the cross, you were taught and led by your Lord, not to judge others who suffer calamity. Instead, you can have compassion on those who suffer. And even as you see unbelievers suffer, through the perspective of the cross, you are able to show compassion to them, knowing that they, like us, are simply sinners in need of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. For what they truly need is the same compassion that Christ has shown you. And so may we, as a church, collectively, And may we as individuals, in the power of the Spirit, spread this gospel message of judgment and compassion to the ends of the earth, that many would repent, many would turn and be saved and call upon the name of the Lord and be saved from the judgment to come and be found in Christ Jesus, our Lord, to whom belongs all glory. now and forever. Let's pray. Lord, we think of the words of the hymn that calls us to that banquet feast and our response, Lord, why us, Lord Jesus? And we know that the answer is simply grace. Grace is why. And we thank you for the grace that we have received that has opened our eyes and that has led us to Christ and has forgiven us of all our sin and unrighteousness. And what is our response but to We praise you, and then to ask, Lord, that you would continue to pour out your grace on fellow sinners in this world who are equally undeserving, and yet we know that your sin is equally powerful to cleanse from all sin and unrighteousness and save all who call upon you in repentance and faith. Do this, especially this morning, among those who have heard the word of your law and of your gospel. We pray these things to your eternal glory. In Jesus' name, amen.