Repent Or Perish

REPENT OR PERISH

Text: Luke 13:1-9

Luke 13:1- 9 At that time, some people who were there told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.  (2)  He asked them, "Do you think that these Galileans were more sinful than all the other Galileans because they suffered like this?  (3)  Absolutely not, I tell you! But if you don't repent, then you, too, will all die.  (4)  What about those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them? Do you think they were worse offenders than all the other people living in Jerusalem?  (5)  Absolutely not, I tell you! But if you don't repent, then you, too, will all die."  (6)  Then Jesus told them this parable: "A man had a fig tree that had been planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it but didn't find any.  (7)  So he told the gardener, 'Look here! For three years I have been coming to look for fruit on this tree but haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it waste the soil?'  (8)  But the gardener replied, 'Sir, leave it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and fertilize it.  (9)  Maybe next year it'll bear fruit. If not, then cut it down.'" (NRSV).

I read a story about how Charles II, King of England’s son, once paid a visit to the well known blind English poet John Milton (author of the literature classic, “Paradise Lost” ). As the story goes… “Charles II was rather direct and to the point when he said, “Your blindness is a judgment from God for the part you took against my father. Boldly, Milton responded to King Charles II by saying, “If I lost my sight through God’s judgment, what can you say of your father who lost his head?” The Puritans had Charles I, beheaded”. (Warren Wiersbe. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Volume 1. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1989, p. 224). We might not literally lose our heads, but it we are experiencing God’s judgment. In fact, we are being shaken!

Although this passage of scripture does not mention being “shaken”, it does indicate judgment which is synonymous with “shaking”. God is shaking us with His voice: Hebrews 12:26  - 28 describes how God has shaken things once before. It also tells us that God will shake things again in both heaven and earth removing all that is not of His kingdom.

What is Jesus’s teaching about “repent or perish” telling us? Is it not the same as saying choose life or choose death? Today we will talk about tragedy and repentance.

TRAGEDY

What was the backstory of the tragedies Jesus spoke of in Luke 13:1 -6?

1) Injustice: Jesus spoke about the blood of Galileans that was shed. Historically, it is believed that Pilate had wanted to build a new water system in Jerusalem and embezzled money from the temple treasury to fund the project. It would seem natural, that there would be some who would protest against that injustice, especially these Galilean Jews whom someone (Barclay) has called a “ ... highly inflammable people”. Pilate sent some of his weapon-concealing soldiers dressed like civilians into the crowd to disperse the protesting crowd. Intimidation was the goal but the end result was violence that led to bloodshed. (paraphrased from the following resource: William Barclay. The Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel Of Luke. Revised Edition. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975, pp. 172 – 173). How could anyone in that crowd have known that was going to be their last day on earth?

2) Punishment: Were these eighteen killed because the tower fell on them while constructing the aqueduct as some have proposed? (paraphrased from the following resource: George A. Buttrick. ed. The interpreter’s Bible. “Luke: Exposition ,” (Walter Ruseel Bowie; John Knox; Goerge A Buttrick; Paul Scherer). Nashville:Abingdon Press, 1988 [thirty-seventh printing] , p. 239). . Was this event of the tower falling on eighteen people God’s judgement on the construction workers or was it a freak accident an act of nature?

How much borrowed time do we have to live on?

1) A tragedy: Years ago, I was watching the news one morning when a tragedy was being reported. It happened at a coliseum in Charleston SC. A man was killed when an electronic scoreboard fell on him. He went to work, thinking it was just another day. He had no idea that there would be an accident that would cost him his life. This man was not being punished by God. He died because of an accident. Was a he a believer? I hope that he was.

2) Litany of tragedies: Think about the tsunami of late 2003, Hurricane Katrina, Columbine, 9/11, Sandy Hook, Fort Hood, Benghazi, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, diseases, political unrest, persecutions and the list goes on and on. We could go on forever filling in the blanks for many other tragedies.