Sermon – A Proper Response to the Seasons of Life
Luke 13:1-9 “About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”
Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.” “The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.”
Introduction: The Bible does not explain why violence and tragedies are a part of our world. We are not told why there was a serpent in the garden of Eden. We never told why bad things happen to good people. Yet men often speculate about the subject and are often wrong in their conclusions. Jesus in the text teaches that a proper response to the challenges of life should be self-examination. The uncertainty of life, unexpected suffering and trial should be a call to repentance and drawing closer to God. Jesus follows this conversation with a parable of the barren fig tree to teach of us that there is an expectation and a day of accountability.
Jesus mentions the tower in Siloam in the context of answering a question about a recent tragedy in Jerusalem. Some people told Jesus about a group of Galileans who had come to the temple to sacrifice, and Pontius Pilate slaughtered them, probably due to a public disturbance the Galileans were causing (Luke 13:1). The men who related this story to Jesus may have been trying to lure Him into taking sides, either for or against Pilate, or they may have simply been curious about Jesus’ reaction to the massacre. Whatever their motivation, Jesus’ response is sobering: “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish” (verses 2–3).
Jesus continues the conversation by mentioning another current event, this one involving the tower of Siloam: “Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:4–5).
The fall of the tower of Siloam is not mentioned in other historical records, and, since the Bible gives no more detail of the structure’s collapse, we cannot be sure what the tower was for or why it fell. The tragedy was obviously well-known to Jesus’ hearers. Siloam was an area just outside the walls of Jerusalem on the southeast side of the city. A spring-fed pool was there, which was the scene of one of Christ’s miracles (John 9). The tower of Siloam may have been part of an aqueduct system or a construction project that Pilate had begun. In any case, the tower fell, and eighteen people were killed in the catastrophe.
Here are two current events—the massacre on the temple mount and the collapse of the tower of Siloam, yet the same lessons are drawn from each. First, Jesus warned His audience not to assume that the victims of those tragedies had been judged for their great evil. It’s always a temptation to assign sudden, unexplainable deaths to the judgment of God in response to secret (or open) sin. Jesus says not so fast; it is a mistake to automatically attribute such tragedies to the vengeance of God. Whether it is a man-made tragedy (Pilate’s slaughter of the Galileans) or a naturally caused tragedy (the fall of the tower of Siloam), it is wrong to assume that the victims are somehow worse sinners than everyone else and thus deserve to die.
The second point Jesus made concerning both events is that everyone needs to repent. Repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of action. Jesus highlights the importance of repentance twice in this passage: repent or perish, He says; turn or burn. Instead of conjecturing on the Galileans’ sin, focus on your own sin. Rather than assigning wickedness to those killed by the tower of Siloam, examine your own heart.
When tragedies strike, such as what happened at the tower of Siloam, it’s natural for people to start asking why. Thoughts creep in such as maybe the victims deserved it somehow. Maybe they were bad people, and that’s why bad things happened to them. But then sometimes it really seems like the people affected by tragedies are good. Especially when the victims are children. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do bad things happen at all?
In commenting on the fall of the tower of Siloam, Jesus negates four assumptions that people often make: 1) Suffering is always proportional to sinfulness. 2) Tragedy is always a sure sign of God’s judgment. 3) Bad things happen only to bad people. 4) We have the right to make such judgments.
To each of these assumptions, Jesus says, no. When we read of a tragedy in the headlines, we should resist the temptation to assign guilt to the victims, as if they had received God’s judgment. Rather, Jesus bids us look to the sin within us and take the headline as a warning to repent. The sudden death of someone should not be an occasion for blame but for self-examination.
Whether you’re from Galilee or Jerusalem, from Kansas or Kenya, from the country or the city; whether you’re rich or poor, young or old; whether you think of yourself as a sinner or a saint; and whether or not you even want to think about spiritual things—the fact is you are under God’s judgment unless you repent and have faith in Jesus.
1. Tragedies and Calamities Should Lead To Self-Examination. Self-examination focuses particularly on the uprightness of our heart as it relates to our relationship with God, others and ourselves. In the Bible, the pure in heart are a distinct category of people, who are truly born again. By way of self-examination, we can discover whether our love, faith and our sanctification are genuine. God calls us to examine ourselves.
2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”
Lamentations 3:40 Let us examine our ways and test them and let us return to the Lord.”
Healthy self-examination is a difficult and dangerous duty because is a temptation to justify ourselves, or to condemn ourself. If we justify ourselves, we will not change and return to the Lord. The flesh and the devil will use self-examination as an opportunity to turn our thoughts against us. Depression and frustration will cause us to give up without trying. Jesus calls us all to repent or we too will perish!
2. The Changing Seasons of Life Happens To All. “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Each of us live out our days through a series of seasons. We experience seasons of hardship and seasons of blessings. We experience seasons of transition and seasons of stability, as well as seasons of work and seasons of rest.
In Matthew 5:45, “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
God loves everyone in the world, both the good people and those who are evil. How do we know that? Jesus offers one bit of evidence: God causes the sun to shine and the rain to fall on everyone, no matter who they are or what they are guilty of. Jesus points out here that rain, difficult situations and trials, will fall on those who are good (just) and bad (unjust). It is a part of life. Bad things and Good things happen to bad people. Bad things and Good things happen to good people and we are not told why?
3. All Judgment Belongs to God. Isaiah 33:22, “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.”
2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”
We have no right to make judgments because our view is limited, and our knowledge is insufficient. All judgment ultimately belongs to God alone, which Scripture time and again emphasizes. He is the one who “will judge the righteous and the wicked.” Ecclesiastes 3:17 “I said to myself, “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.” On that final day, the Lord will judge “the secrets of men by Christ Jesus”.
James 4:11-12 “Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister[a] or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?”
Job was a perfect and upright man, yet his self-righteous friends judge him a sinner. God said, they were wrong, their understanding was wrong and misrepresented who God was. Their view was too limited, and their knowledge was too insufficient. They were wrong about God Actions, they were wrong about Job’s condition, and they were wrong about themselves. Their answers were too shallow and did not fit every situation. In life one size does not fit every case. Jesus cancels out four assumptions that people often make: 1) Suffering is always proportional to sinfulness. 2) Tragedy is always a sure sign of God’s judgment. 3) Bad things happen only to bad people. 4) We have the right to make such judgments. Instead of pointing fingers at others, Jesus calls all to repentance and self-examination. Then he calls us to leave the judgment where it belongs, in the hands of God.
4. Divine Favor Comes from God by the Grace of God. Misconception: You can earn God's favor through your own efforts or good works. Truth: Divine favor is a gift of God's grace. While obedience and faithfulness are important, they are responses to God's favor, not ways to earn it. There's nothing you can do to deserve or earn the grace of God. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)
Grace has been described as God’s unmerited favor. When God’s favor transforms our lives with wholeness, healing and blessing; it is the goodness of God. It is important to live holy, serve faithfully and believe positively, but God’s favor comes, not our striving and self-efforts, it’s His unmerited favor. The goodness of God should lead us to live victoriously for His glory.
In Matthew 5:45, Jesus reveals a secret about God’s setup when He said, “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
Leviticus 26:4, “I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit.”
Zechariah 10:1, “Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime; it is the LORD who sends the thunderstorms. He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to everyone.”
The prophet Jeremiah grappled with the issue when he asked the Lord: “Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts” (Jeremiah 12:1–2). Job struggled similarly: “Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?” (Job 21:7). And the psalmist expressed envy when he saw the prosperity of the wicked, wondering if living righteously was worth the trouble (Psalm 73:3, 13). How does a holy God of love allow His people to suffer while the wicked thrive?
Perhaps a better question is, why are we tempted to envy the wicked? As God’s children, what lies at the heart of our inquiry? Why are we upset when an evil person does well? Is it because that person has something we do not?
The wicked may prosper in this world, but perhaps we’ve forgotten that their fortune will only endure for the short term. We’ve lost sight of our eternal reward and the ultimate fate of the wicked. We need this reminder: “Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes” (Psalm 37:1–7).
Romans 2:4 “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”
Notice in the text, God’s goodness, forbearance, longsuffering and favor are under an umbrella called the riches of His goodness. So, instead of bragging about how favored you might be, or getting depressed about the favor of the unjust and undeserving, remember God loves us all. He desires that all men would be saved. The goodness of God should lead us to repentance. When rain comes, and it will, remember, rain is just a part of the human experience. Sunshine and rain are necessary for growth. God never explains why it rain on the just and the unjust. God do not explain why the unjust experience the sunshine. We are given a proper response to the challenges of life. Jesus said we should examine our own life, repent and live close to God. Then examine our fruitfulness, God is expecting us to bear fruit. God rightly expects fruit from those whom He richly blesses. A fig tree that produces no fruit is worthless. God is very patient with His people for a long time. There will come a time when God will no longer exercise His patience but will instead deal according to His wrath with unfaithful, unfruitful subjects. “The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.”
Don’t waste this season, repent and draw close to God, then bring forth fruit that will glorify God. Amen.
