Repent

Well, good morning, church.

We are picking up our series in the Gospel of Luke, looking at chapter 13 today, verses

1 through 9.

That's page 819 in the Pew Bible.

Let me invite you to turn there with me as we look at this next section in the Gospel

of Luke.

Let me read chapter 13, verses 1 through 9 for us.

There were some present at that very time who told him, that is Jesus, about the Galileans

whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

And Jesus answered them, do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all

the other Galileans because they suffered in this way?

No, I tell you.

But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

Or those 18 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?

No, I tell you.

But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

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.

And he said to the vinedresser, look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this

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.

Let's pray together.

Father, we ask this morning that you would give us ears to hear and hearts to receive

what you're saying through your son this morning.

Lord, we need a word from outside of us to tell us what is good and right and beautiful.

Lord, we need a word from outside of us to rescue us.

So, Father, would we hear your word this morning?

And would you get the glory?

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, the theme of our text this morning is repentance.

And in particular, Jesus teaches us two things about repentance in this passage.

The first thing we see is that the need for repentance is universal.

And the second thing that Jesus teaches us is that the time for repentance is now.

We see the first in verses one through five.

The need for repentance is universal.

Now, to understand what's going on in this paragraph, we have to see the context.

In fact, we won't really understand what Jesus means by repent unless we take a step back

and catch the larger story.

About a week ago, I watched the new Avengers movie.

What was it called?

Infinity War.

Has anyone seen that?

And if you've seen that, you know that the opening of that movie starts with like Thor's

missing an eye.

His brother gets killed.

There's this purple guy who's just wrecking havoc in the universe.

And I haven't seen some of the other movies of the Avengers series.

So, I had absolutely no clue what was going on.

You know, when we come to a passage like this, it can feel a bit like that.

We hear these commands, but we don't know the context.

So, we need to take a step back and catch the larger story.

At the end of chapter 12, if we just look at the literary context, starting in verse 49,

Jesus has been teaching that in his ministry, in his presence, the great time of crisis,

of division, and decision has come for Israel.

Will they accept him as Messiah, as King, or not?

The signs are all there, his teaching, his miracles, but are they willing to pay attention

and read those signs?

That's the point of verses 54 through 56 of chapter 12.

Are they willing to open their eyes and see who Jesus really is, just like they're willing

to read the signs of the weather?

Then Jesus concludes with an illustration in verses 57 through 59.

He says, if you were on your way to court and you had to settle things with your accuser

before going to the judge, before getting thrown into prison, you would settle things before

you got there, right?

Jesus' point is that God's judgment is coming, and it's time for his audience to make things

right while they still can.

Of course, the idea of God's judgment isn't exactly a popular idea.

I get that.

But, you know, it's helpful for us to see that the reality of judgment and the need for repentance

is something that Jesus himself taught.

You know, this isn't an idea that some particularly sinister Puritans came up with in the 17th century.

This isn't something that medieval theologians concocted in their monasteries.

The idea of God's judgment isn't something that the apostle Paul invented, though we like

to blame him for a lot of our issues with religion.

No, it was Jesus himself who spoke more than anyone else in the Bible about the reality of

divine judgment and the need for everyone to repent.

But it's even bigger than that.

You see, the context of Jesus' call to repentance is the whole sweeping biblical story itself.

What we're listening into here in this passage from Luke 13 is the crux of the entire message of the Bible.

That message, that story that the Bible unfolds for us, that there's one true God, a God of holy love,

who created absolutely everything, who created everything to display his glory,

and created everything to participate in his joy.

Do you sometimes catch the sense of glory and joy at times in creation?

Do you get a whiff of that wonder in the world around you?

And the biblical story says that God created humans, God created you and me,

to actually occupy a special place in creation.

That amidst all of the wonder and beauty that God created,

he made humanity in his own image,

to reflect his glory in a unique way.

And more than that, to be vice regents in God's good world,

to be as it were sort of stewards or under kind of rulers,

to cultivate and steward creation under God's good rule.

This is what he's made us for.

To bear his image in that way.

Don't we kind of feel that responsibility today,

even as we consider something like ecological justice,

and humanity's unique role in caring for creation?

There's something that we know that we are responsible for,

a part and above, and that has an impact on everything else.

But you know, this picture of humans sort of ruling joyfully under God,

their creator, of flourishing, of bringing praise and honor to him,

that's not how things remained.

And as we look out in the world, we see that's not how things are, right?

Rather than glorifying God as God, humanity rebelled against God's good rule.

And in an act that the Bible pictures as an act of cosmic treason,

we chose to be our own kings instead.

And we chose to ignore God and the world God has made,

and put ourselves in the center of things.

And that is what the Bible means by sin.

You see, sin doesn't necessarily mean doing lots of really bad things.

You can actually be very, very moral,

and still be living for yourself,

rather than for God.

You can be a quote-unquote good person,

and yet still be rejecting God's kingship.

And the penalty for sin is death.

Just like a light bulb,

being unscrewed from the socket eventually goes dark.

So humanity, cut off from God,

the source of all life and goodness and grace,

so humanity, cut off from God,

faces the dark of physical and spiritual death.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

and the wages of sin is death.

And this is where Jesus' call to repentance comes in.

Repentance, you see, is not trying to clean up your act

so God will accept you.

Don't you see, if you're trying to earn God's favor

through being a good person,

then you're still trying to be your own king

and your own master and run things your way.

Because you're thinking you can fix the problem,

and you can overcome the breach that's opened up

between you and God.

You can be the fixer.

You can still be the king.

But that's not what repentance is.

That's not what Jesus is telling us we need.

Repentance doesn't mean reform your life.

It literally means change your mind.

Repentance, it means admitting.

You've been living as your own master,

worshiping the wrong things,

violating God's law.

And to repent is actually to turn.

It's transferring your allegiance,

your priority from yourself as king

to Jesus as king.

It's willingly laying down your arms

in the cosmic revolt

and coming home to God.

But here's the problem.

When we hear Jesus' call to repent,

to lay down our arms and receive him

as God's rightful king,

we can easily think that that call

does not apply to me.

We don't think it applies to us.

And that brings us back

to the heart of Luke chapter 13.

Luke 13 · chapter mention

Jesus has just said that divine judgment is coming,

but rather than consider

what that means for themselves,

some people in the audience

bring up a saucy piece of recent news.

It's just blown up the Twitterverse

in early Palestine.

The news that Pilate,

the Roman governor,

who was a butcher

and a cruel man,

has just done something

completely in character

and murdered some Galileans in Jerusalem,

sent his troops right in to kill them

while they were worshiping

and sacrificing in the temple.

And such a gruesome death,

Jesus' audience thinks,

such a gruesome death like that

must prove that those Galileans

were really bad sinners.

Right, Jesus?

Isn't that the sort of judgment

you're talking about, Jesus?

Isn't it those sort of people

who really need to repent?

The ones who get what's coming to them?

But how does Jesus respond?

He reads right through.

Do you think they were worse sinners

because they suffered in this way?

No.

You see, it was a commonly held belief

in the first century

that tragedy and suffering

was a result of personal sinfulness.

In other words,

if you were a bad person,

bad things happen to you.

But Jesus completely rejects

that line of thinking.

He says these people

did not suffer this way

because they were worse

than anyone else.

But more than that,

Jesus won't allow his audience

to deflect their own need

for repentance

by pointing to some group of people

over there

who they think must be really bad

because of what's happened to them.

You see what's happening here?

It's as if the people in the crowd

are actually saying,

well, Jesus,

we believe what you're saying

about judgment.

Surely there's going to become a time.

The midnight hour

is going to get struck

when all of our masks come off,

as Kierkegaard said, right?

We all know that at some point

we're going to face our maker

and the true selves

are going to be exposed.

Of course,

we believe what you're saying

about judgment, Jesus,

but surely that doesn't apply to us.

Surely you must be talking

about those Galileans

who got what they deserved.

Now,

I'm sure

that you don't share

the mistaken first century belief

that suffering and tragedy

only happen to those

who deserve it.

That's a wrong belief

and we should,

along with Jesus,

rightly reject it.

But at the heart level,

don't you and I feel

that same tendency

to deflect

our own need

to repent?

Maybe you think,

well,

I'm not that bad.

I mean,

I make mistakes,

but I'm not as bad

as those people.

And for you,

it's not the hapless

victims of tragedy

that you point to,

no,

but it's some other

seemingly notorious

group of people

how we happen

to define it today.

And yet,

Jesus will not

let us

play

the comparison game.

Perhaps

your outward life

is more moral

than another person.

Maybe you have it

all together

for the most part.

Maybe your life

is successful

and things are going well.

Maybe you haven't

broken any laws.

Maybe you haven't

done anything

that's sort of

especially terrible

in the world's eyes.

But have you given

to God

the glory

he deserves?

God has given us

every breath

in our lungs,

every talent

and skill

we possess,

every opportunity

we enjoy.

God holds us

in being

every moment.

We are completely

and utterly

dependent upon

him

every single

second.

And yet,

most of the day,

we utterly

ignore him.

We put our own

desires

and our own

wants

and our own

agenda

at the center

of our affections

and drive

that ship

exactly as

we choose.

And then,

if things

don't go our way,

we finally

find the decency

to think of God

if only to

blame him

and question

his goodness

because things

haven't gone

the way

we wanted

them to.

I know this,

friends,

about you

because it's

true of me.

I do the exact

same thing.

Though the outward

degree of sin

may be different

from person

to person,

the inner

presence of sin

is the same

for us all.

We all need

to repent

because we're

all sinners

and unless

you repent,

Jesus says,

you will all

likewise

perish.

like a ship

sailing

straight

for the cliffs.

Unless we

turn

and chart

a new course

and follow

a new captain,

we will all

crash upon

the rocks

of God's

goodness

and holiness.

Jesus is telling

us loud and clear

that the need

for repentance

is universal.

But that's

not the end.

Jesus goes on

in verses 6

through 9

to tell us

that the time

for repentance

is now.

Throughout this

whole section

of Luke,

this whole middle

section of Luke's

gospel,

Jesus has been

pleading with

Israel,

with his own

people,

with the people

of promise

to turn back

to God

and acknowledge

him as their

Messiah before

it's too late

and to drive

that point

home,

he tells a

parable

about a

barren fig tree

in a garden

and there are

three observations

we need to make

about this

parable.

The first thing

we see in this

parable,

friends,

is that God

is making

time for us.

The owner

of the vineyard

comes to his

own garden

and to his

own fig tree

looking for

fruit and he

finds none

and then we

learn that it's

actually been

three years

in a row

that the owner

has been

patiently waiting

for this tree

to bear fruit

and still

none.

Surely

the time

has come

to cut

this tree

down

and plant

something else

in its place

to make room

for a more

productive tree.

But the

vinedresser,

the gardener

comes and

says,

let's give

it one

more year.

we'll dig

around it

so water

can get

down to

the roots,

we'll

fertilize

it.

And so

together

the owner

and the

vinedresser

agree they'll

extend one

more year

to this

barren fig

tree.

And you see

Jesus'

point.

Right now

God is

making a

time for

us.

He would

be fully

within his

rights to

call us

to account

right now.

And yet

God

still

makes

time.

The

apostle

Peter writes

this in

his second

letter.

He says,

God is

patient

towards you,

not wishing

that any

should perish,

but that

all should

reach

repentance.

patience.

And this

patience of

God means

that there's

hope.

The parable

Jesus tells

here holds

out the

possibility

of fruit

bearing,

holds out

the possibility

of becoming

a vibrant

tree when

before there's

been nothing

but a history

of barrenness.

There's hope

that even if

a life has

been lived

utterly

fruitlessly

to this

moment,

while God

makes time,

there's still

hope for

the about

face of

repentance

and for

the new

spiritual

life and

vitality

that God

gives with

repentance.

In other

words,

your past

does not

need to

determine

your future

with God.

There is a

gardener

who has

done a

costly work

on your

behalf so

that you

might come

alive.

You know,

in this

story,

the owner

of the

vineyard

and the

vine dresser

of this

parable,

they make

a costly

decision,

don't they?

They make a

costly decision

to work

and to dig

up the soil

around the

tree,

to spend

time caring

for this

tree,

to fertilize

it,

and perhaps

even more,

they absorb

the cost

of allowing

this fruitless

tree to

remain

and use

up the

ground

when another

more profitable

tree could

be put in

its place.

It was a

costly decision

for the owner

and the

vine dresser

to make

time for

this barren

fig tree.

But friends,

how much

more costly

was a

decision

made

between God

the Father

and God

the Son

to make

time for

us.

At the

end of

Jesus'

journey to

Jerusalem,

he would

be faced

by the

most

barren

tree

imaginable,

a Roman

cross.

And rather

than turn

away,

Jesus

identified

fully with

us.

By being

nailed to

the cross,

Jesus would

literally take

the place

of the

fruitless

and

unrepentant.

Do you

see it

there?

That

utterly

stripped

down

piece

of

wood

and

Jesus

allowing

himself

to be

pinned

there

in the

place

of the

fruitless

and

unrepentant

to

literally

take

our

place,

to be

cut

down,

to

undergo

the

perishing

we

deserve

so that

you and

I

would

never

have

to

Jesus

faced

God's

judgment

for us

so that

we might

receive

God's

favor.

Through

the

cross,

God

has made

time

in the

most

costly

way

so that

everyone

who

repents

and

trusts in

Christ

can receive

pardon

and new

life.

But the

second observation

from this

parable is

this,

God has

made

time

but the

time won't

be forever.

The

parable

ends with

another

year being

given to

the fig

tree but

if the

year ends

and there's

still no

fruit that

will be the

end.

The

time of

God's

mercy,

the

opportunity

to turn,

to repent,

to receive

Christ as

king,

this time

for you

and for

me,

it won't

extend

forever,

Jesus

says.

Friends,

Jesus is

warning us

not to

presume on

God's

mercy and

patience.

Our

end could

come at

any moment.

Life is

fleeting and

fragile.

There are no

guarantees that

you or I will

live out even

this year.

Does that

sound a bit

morbid to

you?

And yet,

what good

does it do

to live in

denial of

the fact?

If you had

a medical

condition that

threatened to

take your

life, you

would want

to know,

right?

So you

could get

your affairs

in order

before it

was too

late.

Jesus is

the great

physician and

he's telling

us that our

spiritual

condition is

just the

same.

Sin will

result in

spiritual

death.

But if

we turn

to him,

if we turn

to Christ,

we can be

made right

with God,

our debt

can be

forgiven,

and we

can actually

face death

and judgment

with confidence.

Friends,

there's time.

God's made

time for you.

But Jesus

is very clear

that time

is not going

to extend

forever.

The third

observation to

make about

this parable

is that it's

open-ended.

Jesus doesn't

tell us

whether the

fig tree

bears fruit

or not,

does he?

And that's

intentional,

you see.

The parable

is meant

to challenge

us.

Jesus is

trying to

exhort us,

to persuade

us.

He's trying

to press

home the

question,

what will

you do?

The owner

has made

time for

you.

That time

will not

last forever.

How will

you respond?

the parable

is a bit

of a

cliffhanger,

isn't it?

How will

you respond?

Will you

acknowledge

that as

Jesus says,

you too

need to

repent?

Perhaps

you're a

person of

high moral

ideals.

Perhaps

you're here

and you're

a person

of another

faith

altogether.

Maybe the

idea of

repentance

hasn't

seriously

crossed

your

mind

before

now.

Maybe

you've

never

felt

the

need.

But for

just a

moment,

friend,

consider

the

cross

of

Jesus.

The

cross

of

Jesus

demonstrates

both

the

unbelievable

love

of God

and the

terrible

sinfulness

of sin.

The

cross

demonstrates

the

love

of

God

because

Jesus

was

willing

and

glad

to

come

and

die

for

you.

But

the

cross

also

demonstrates

the

sinfulness

of our

sin.

Jesus

had to

die

in order

for our

sin

to be

forgiven.

If

there

was any

other

way

to be

reconciled

to

God,

if

there

was any

other

path

that could

be

tread,

if

there

was

any

other

way

through

the

dilemma,

why

on

earth

would

Jesus

die

if

there

was

some

other

way?

Why

would

God

send

his

son

in

this

way?

Surely

we

must

need

a

radical

redemption

only

Jesus

can

give

and

that's

why

Jesus

tells

everyone

to

repent

and

trust

in

him.

But

what

about

you

if

you're

a

long

time

church

attender?

Maybe

you've

been

coming

to

Trinity

for

some

length

of

time

and

if

so

you've

probably

heard

most

of

what

this

passage

has

to

say

along

the

way.

If

you've

been

coming

to

Trinity

maybe

you've

grown

up

here

maybe

this

is

your

church

where

you've

been

coming

your

whole

life

maybe

you've

been

coming

here

ever

since

you

moved

to

town

maybe

you

come

because

your

spouse

or

your

friend

keeps

dragging

you

along

you've

heard

the

gospel

of

Jesus

preached

you've

heard

the

good

news

of

forgiveness

of

sins

and

new

life

to

all

who

repent

and

trust

in

Christ

but

let

me

ask

you

friend

have

you

actually

repented

have

you

made

the

decisive

turn

or

do

you

just

come

and

participate

in the

service

and

make

friends

over

coffee

maybe

even

serve

in a

ministry

all

those

things

are

good

things

but

it's

possible

to

do

all

that

and

still

not

repent

repentance

is a

surrendering

of the

whole

heart

to

Christ

do

you

sit

week

after

week

under

God's

word

without

any

real

turning

to

him

do

you

see

any

fruit

any

evidence

of

repentance

in

your

life

what

does

fruit

of

repentance

look

like

here's

how

J.C.

Ryle

described

it

he

said

real

repentance

starts

to

look

like

this

it

begins

with

a

knowledge

of

sin

you

see

it

you

acknowledge

it

and

it

goes

on

to

sorrow

for

sin

you

grieve

it

it

leads

to

confession

of

sin

before

God

you

start

to

admit

it

and

call

out

to

God

for

forgiveness

but

then

it

starts

to

bear

other

fruit

it

starts

to

show

itself

before

others

by

a

thorough

breaking

off

from

sin

you

want

to

not

just

has

your

mind

changed

your

heart

changed

but

you

want

to

change

your

life

too

it

leads

to

a

new

direction

and

it

results

in

producing

a

habit

of

deep

distaste

for

all

sin

it

loses

the

savor

that

it

once

had

and

above

all

repentance

is

inseparably

connected

Ryle

says

with

a

lively

faith

in

the

Lord

Jesus

it's

a

turning

from

one

thing

unto

him

has

repentance

begun

to

produce

that

sort

of

fruit

in

your

life

has

the

about

face

from

self

to

God

the

surrender

of

your

whole

self

to

him

begun

to

look

like

that

there's

a

difference

you know

between

merely

professing

Christ

and

really

possessing

Christ

if

you've

been

coming

to

church

for

some

time

can

you

say

you

really

possess

him

maybe

so

maybe

by

God's

grace

you

can

point

to

the

fruit

of

repentance

in

your

life

for

many

of

you

here

I

know

that's

true

and

if

that

is

true

in

your

own

life

then

Christian

thank

God

for

it

and

go

on

repenting

to

the

end

of

your

earthly

life

perhaps

one

of

the

greatest

signs

that

repentance

is

starting

to

take

root

is

that

you

realize

how

much

you

always

needed

that

you're

never

exempt

even

if

you've

been

a

genuine

Christian

for

a

long

time

friends

our

repentance

will

continue

all

the

way

into

glory

when

finally

we're

made

new

in the

very

presence

of

our

triune

God

but

responding

to

Jesus'

parable

doesn't

just mean

acknowledging

our need

to

repent

it

means

seeing

our

need

to

repent

now

to

really

feel

the

urgency

of

it

do

you

remember

that

scene

from

the

screw

tape

letters

if

you're

a

CS

Lewis

fan

early

on

I

think

the

main

character

is

sitting

in

the

library

I

imagine

him

sitting

in

the

in

the

Bodleian

in

Oxford

staring

up

maybe

he's

in

Radcliffe

camera

sort

of

admiring

the

glass

window

and

suddenly

has

this

thought

oh

my

goodness

God

is

real

and

I

need

to

get

right

with

him

and

it

strikes

the

main

character

as

the

most

important

question

in

the

universe

but

then

he

gets

hungry

and

he

has

to

go

get

something

to

eat

by

the

time

he

makes

it

out

to

the

street

and

sees

the

bus

is

going

by

and

sees

the

new

books

he

wants

to

buy

oh

he's

on

to

something

else

but

friends

do you

see

the

urgency

of

repentance

why

would

you

wait

it's

a very

foolish

thing

to put

it

off

you

know

some

people

think

that

they'll

have

their

fun

now

and

then

when

they're

old

they'll

come

to

terms

with

God

but

that

is

a

very

foolish

agenda

friends

after

all

what

makes

you

think

that

in

old

age

you'll

have

any

desire

to

come

to

terms

with

God

and

what

guarantee

do

you

have

that

God

will

allow

you

to

tarry

that

long

and

moreover

don't

you

see

that

a

life

lived

for

God

in

Christ

is

where

your

deepest

purpose

and

joy

is

found

repentance

is a

transformation

from

death

to

life

from

sleeping

to

waking

from

captivity

to

freedom

from

the

dangerous

rocks

of the

cliff

ridden

shore

to the

open

seas

of

God's

kingdom

repentance

isn't

a

turning

into

some

sort

of

dark

alley

and

biding

our

time

it's

stepping

out

into

the

light

and

finding

the

real

reason

for

which

we

were

made

communion

with

God

and

a

life

lived

as

a

part

of

his

loving

redemptive

liberating

reign

in the

world

why