Luke 13:1-9

Well, Luke 13, verses 1-9.

Luke 13:1–9

Luke 13, verses 1-9.

Luke 13:1–9

And hypothetical questions are irrelevant, aren't they?

! But they can be great fun, hypothetical questions.

!

What if Hitler had defeated the Russians in 1941?

What if I passed those exams back when I was 16?

What if that girl had said yes instead of saying no?

What if I got that job?

What if, what if, what if?

Mao Tse-tong was asked a what if question.

What if somebody asked Mao,

what if Khrushchev, the Russian leader,

had been assassinated instead of President Kennedy?

Mao, the Chinese leader, paused for a few moments,

then he replied,

well, I doubt if Aristotle and Arsist would have married Mrs. Khrushchev.

It's as good as that.

Other questions may be hypothetical, isn't it?

But certain questions are dead earnest.

They're deadly in earnest.

There are lots of questions that people have about Christianity,

but in every kind of evangelistic event I've ever done,

I mean, every Christian explored course I've ever done,

very near the top, if not at the top,

is the question of God and suffering.

God and suffering.

And many people doubt that they can come to terms

with the kind of God that we speak about,

and the kind of God that we sing about,

when they see the suffering that's in the world.

It's a very real problem.

It's a problem, isn't it, for us?

If we want to believe in a loving, all-powerful God,

and yet we live in the kind of world we do,

with all the kind of suffering that we know exists,

it's a problem.

And I have not got all the answers.

You wouldn't believe me if I said I did.

I have just got one, I think, fascinating insight

that Jesus gives us.

Jesus touches on this subject in conversation.

And in chapter 13, verse 1,

it looks like, doesn't it,

those around there have seen the news.

They've read the internet of the latest massacre.

They've been watching BBC or CNN,

and they've seen the dead bodies,

whom Pilate has done away with,

and had their blood mingled with sacrifices.

It's a foul thing.

And they seem to be saying,

well, what do you make of that, Jesus?

For all we're told in verse 2,

he answers them,

and as he answers them,

he gives us a fascinating glimpse.

He gives us something of an insight

into the whole issue of suffering.

So, I've got three points.

I want to look at Christ's question,

Christ's answer,

and then why you should listen to him.

Christ's question.

They ask him a question, don't they?

Verse 1.

Some person at that very time told him

about the Galileans whose blood piled

and mingled with their sacrifices.

And he answers them with a question of his own.

Look at verse 2.

He answers them,

do you think that these Galileans

were worse sinners than all the other Galileans

because they suffered in this way?

And verse 4.

All 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?

Christ's question echoes, does it?

Very obviously the question that people ask.

You see, when people are face to face

with tragedy,

the question that springs automatically

to their lips is,

why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

I think of a family I know.

The two oldest daughters have committed suicide.

The oldest son

has had a brain tumour.

There are three other children.

One of the other children has attempted suicide.

The boy has Asperger's.

And what can you do

when you go and sit with them?

That family.

What can you say?

Let me tell you what you can say.

You can say nothing.

All you can do is sit there

and have a cup of tea.

And you sit.

You listen.

You read a bit of the Bible.

You pray.

And you feel your fish.

Why now?

Why here?

Why me?

And we don't think logically

in those moments, do we?

And we ask the question,

why?

We went on holiday to Kendall

and as a person that managed the flats

and that we live in,

he's a very good friend of ours,

his father went on holiday to Greece

two weeks ago.

He said goodbye to his sister,

the father did,

and he went for a day trip

on a Greek island.

He's not been seen since.

You might have seen it.

It's on the news.

And nobody knows where he is.

They've had scanning helicopters.

This father, he seemed pretty normal.

He's a normal Cumbrian man,

full of humour.

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

And I want to say to you,

the Bible knows that question.

In fact, the Bible knows that question

so well,

it devotes the whole book of the Bible to it,

the book of Job.

There are 42 chapters in that book,

aren't there?

Dealing with the question,

why?

And Jesus echoes it here.

It's as if he knows it's on their mind.

And he echoes the obvious question.

He offers,

as he asks his question,

he offers the easy answer.

Do you see that?

Because it seems to be the only solution

that can solve the problem.

If you can link suffering,

if you can link tragedies

with sin and God's judgment,

then perhaps I can live with

an all-powerful, loving God.

If suffering was only allowed in this world

as a punishment directly for sin,

well, I can just about cope with it.

But it doesn't fit the evidence, does it?

You know that.

And that is why we keep asking the question,

why?

Why?

How can you believe in a God

who is so unfair?

Part of the tragedies that we see all around us,

it's not that the particularly sinful die,

is it?

It's not.

The good suffer with the bad.

Why him?

Why her?

Why that family?

And the assumed premise

for all those questions

and all our statements

is that the only solution

to the problem

could be if suffering was God's judgment.

But if suffering

is because of God's judgment

always,

God isn't actually a very accurate shot,

is he?

And Christ just seems to be floating

that kite.

Do you think that these Galileans

were worse sinners

than all the other Galileans

because they suffered like this?

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?

And I want to say to you today,

Jesus rejects the easy answer,

wonderfully.

He doesn't buy into it

any more than you or I do.

The Bible doesn't take that line.

He could hardly be clearer.

Could he?

Look at verse 3,

No, I tell you.

Look at verse 5,

No, I tell you.

There are no easy,

glib answers to suffering.

We've got two different types of tragedies

in this paragraph.

Look at verse 1,

you've got Herod's violence.

It's an atrocity.

It's a horrific thing

when you think about it.

And there is no denying

is there human wickedness

in many of the tragedies

that we face.

I think it's tough, isn't it,

to put all the blame on God.

That's what people do.

When very often,

much of the suffering we face

is because of human wickedness.

And that tower falling

in verse 3,

what's that like?

It's like some air crash.

It's like some earthquake.

A tsunami.

The floods.

The famines.

A car crash.

It's very complex, isn't it?

It's so complex

that in the book on suffering

that the Bible has written,

two-thirds of the book of Job

is full of the wrong answers.

So whatever you do,

don't give up.

If you start,

don't give up halfway.

You're just ahead

full of wrong answers.

So those are Christ's questions.

Let's look further

because he doesn't just

pose a question,

he gives the answer to it.

He goes on to give

his own reply.

So secondly,

Christ answers,

Were sinners,

I tell you,

no.

Verse 3,

No, I tell you,

but unless you repent,

you will all likewise perish.

Were they worse offenders?

Verse 5,

No, I tell you,

but unless you repent,

you will all likewise perish.

Now notice please,

he doesn't try to explain away suffering.

He doesn't try and explain it away.

Jesus does not pretend

that suffering does not exist.

But rather strangely,

Jesus' reply doesn't need

to comfort you at all,

does it?

It's what a hard message.

It does in other circumstances.

There are other parts of the Bible

that we could go to

where there is great comfort.

Jesus' reply doesn't need to pity.

It leads to warning.

You see,

when we're face to face

with tragedy,

we want to scream out

and we want to say

something is wrong.

Something is wrong.

And Jesus says,

He did right.

Jesus agrees with you.

Yes, there is something wrong.

But Jesus says,

it's closer to home

than we imagine.

Look at it again,

verse 3,

unless you repent,

you will all likewise perish.

Verse 5,

unless you repent,

you will all likewise perish.

If we go for the easy answer,

if we think suffering and tragedy

are like God's laser beam bombing,

God's kind of precision punishment,

well, it leaves you and I

so complacent,

doesn't it?

If suffering is just God's judgment,

it's very easy to end up saying,

well, actually,

I'm alright, Jack,

aren't I?

But you see,

when you ask Jesus

about these tragedies

and these sufferings

that are taking place around him,

he reverses that way of thinking.

He picks a tragedy

and Jesus gives a warning

and the warning is,

watch out, Jack.

Not, I'm alright, Jack.

Were these worse offenders?

No.

And unless you repent,

you will all likewise perish.

Now, what does he mean by that?

Is he speaking that there is some faith

that isn't limited

to selected sinners,

but it is universal.

What does he mean by that?

You will all likewise perish.

But he doesn't really mean

that Pilate's going to massacre

all his hearers.

The Romans are going to come

and wipe them out.

Well, Pilate can't do that

because he'd need this

huge sword

as well as just a tower

falling on them.

He can't even actually mean

that they will all die.

He doesn't mean that, does he?

Because he seems to imply

if they repent,

they will not perish.

So he's not just talking about death.

But repentance

does not allow you

to avoid death.

So what does repentance

allow you to avoid?

Not death,

but God's ultimate judgment.

And repentance

is always linked

to my sin

and my relationship

with God.

And these tragedies,

they are not,

they are not God's

ultimate judgment

on people.

But they are consequences

of living

in a rebellious

and a sinful world.

these sufferings

are vivid illustrations

of God's coming

judgment.

God's coming judgment

on those who will not

turn around

and will not turn back

to him.

And God's judgment

is far more universal

than just some highly

selective group of sinners

that suffer.

unless you repent,

you will all likewise

perish.

Let's try and put this

in the context

of Luke's gospel.

Of all the gospels,

Luke's mustn't just be

treated as a pick and mix

gospel.

It's not a series

of independent stories.

Luke says,

I wrote it

and I've written down

the incidents

in a particular order

so that you can know

the truth most clearly.

So go back to verse 54.

In page 54,

he's speaking to multitudes.

He's speaking to crowds.

And we automatically

assume crowds are innocent.

That's the starting point

for us.

Most people think

they're innocent

but Jesus says,

no, they're not.

He knows that the

average person,

indeed all of us,

are guilty.

We are all those

who've rebelled against God.

And he says to the multitude

a number of things.

Look at verse 54 to 56.

He says,

read the times.

He said to the crowds,

when you see a cloud

rising in the west,

you say at once,

the showers coming.

So it happens.

When you see the south wind

blowing,

you say there will be

scorching heat

and it happens.

You hypocrites.

You hypocrites.

You know how to interpret

the appearance of earth and sky

but why do you not know

how to interpret

the present time?

Why don't you understand

what is going on

at the minute?

That God

has stepped into the world

in the person of his son

and you are rejecting him.

And in verses 57 to 59,

judge yourselves.

Judge for yourselves.

Use your common sense.

Time is short.

See the picture?

Judgment is coming.

Judgment has come.

Time is short.

So beg for mercy.

Every one of us is guilty.

So the only sensible thing to do

is to throw yourselves

on God's mercy.

Those are the times

you are living in,

says Jesus.

And he comes to our paragraph

and he says,

take the warnings.

Take the warning.

Do you think Jesus judges

just especially wicked sinners?

No.

No.

Those who

the tower fell on them,

they are facing their judge now.

And how long will it be

before you are face to face

with your judge?

So repent

while you've got time.

Turn around.

Turn around from living

your own way

and turn to God

and do it now.

He tells you another parable

in verses 6 to 9

and it's all part of

a series of stories.

And the story really

is don't presume.

It's a little story

of a man with a fig tree

in his garden.

He comes looking for fruit on it

and he finds none.

Now I am no gardener.

I don't know anything

about gardening.

But you can see

his frustration.

Can't you?

He said to the vine dress,

how long have I got

to put up with this fig tree?

Let me pull it up.

Let me stick in something else.

And he answers,

doesn't he?

He says,

no, let it alone, sir.

Let it alone, sir.

Until I dig around it

and put on manure.

Then if it should bear fruit

next to you,

well and good.

If not,

you can cut it down.

You see,

his hearers have not had

any towers fall upon them.

They've not been cut down

in a massacre yet.

But don't presume.

Don't presume.

Where's the sign

that you're bearing

the fruits

that befit repentance?

What are the signs

of your repentance?

That you're living

a life towards God.

Now of course,

all of this has got

very particular reference

to the people of Jerusalem

in Jesus' day,

isn't it?

It may well be

that they've had

three years

of his public ministry

and within a year

their final rejection

of Jesus

will be complete.

They will lay him

to a tree.

And their predicted

destruction

will be sealed.

But every tragedy

that you and I

read about,

that you and I

experience,

is a reminder

of the same warning.

It's not that those

who suffer

are especially wicked.

It is that we will

all have to face

God's judgment

unless we repent.

And that is why,

let me say this to you,

that is why

a world of tragedies

is a very fitting

world for you

and I to live in.

If you're like me

and all too many

of you are,

we are so selfish

and rebellious

that we need

a world

that won't let us

think that it's okay.

We need a world

full of constant

reminders

that if there were

no tragedies

to bring us up short,

if there were no

deaths to bring us

up short,

we might think

God doesn't care

about sin.

But God cares

intensely

about sin.

He cares intensely

about you.

But unless

you repent,

you will all

likewise

perish.

Somebody says,

well,

it's a bit of a

sledgehammer

and a crushing nut,

isn't it,

Jesus?

It's a bit over

the top.

No,

it's not.

Because God's

judgment that we

look at tonight

is a terrible,

terrible thing.

And I am so,

I'm so anesthetized

to my need.

I'm so blandly

indifferent

that I need

to be put in a

world that sets

my nerves

jangling.

That it sets

my mind

screaming,

there is

something wrong.

There is

something wrong.

I need to be

driven

to turn

from my sin

because I

don't do it

and I won't

do it

naturally

or easily.

And it

is mercy

God will

do anything

to provoke

me to do

just that.

It is a

very blunt

warning,

isn't it?

Unless you

repent,

you will

all likewise

perish.

But it is

born of

mercy

and of

love.

So we

have Christ

question

and Christ

answer.

But I

want to

step back

for a moment

and I

want you to

see who

delivered this

warning.

Who delivered

this warning?

Why should

you listen to

such a harsh

message?

Why should

you listen to

this person

as he brings

me a warning

from tragedy

and suffering?

How dare

he do that?

But let me

give you two

reasons.

Two reasons

why you need

to listen

and why you

should listen

and why you

should be

glad to

listen.

The first

reason is

this,

because the

Jesus who

is speaking

here is on

his way to

Jerusalem.

That's the

section we're

in in Luke's

Gospel.

He's in this

vast narrative,

Luke is,

of telling you

Jesus is on

his way to

the cross.

He's on his

way to the

judgment of

God.

Most of Luke's

Gospel is taken

back with Jesus

journeying to

Jerusalem and

Jerusalem is the

place of death

for him.

The place of

the cross.

And what is

the cross?

The cross is

the place of

the most unjust

suffering of

all time.

We talk,

don't we,

about innocent

people being

killed and

suffering.

But actually

none of them

are really

innocent.

none of us

are truly

innocent.

And yet

he was.

He lived a

pure life.

He had

pure lips.

When they

pulled Jesus'

heart apart,

that is literally

what happened

in crucifixion,

they pull your

heart apart at

the cross.

And what came

out of Jesus'

heart?

Not selfishness,

but love.

There was no

thought for

himself for a

moment.

You can

excuse it,

can't you,

at the cross

in that

immense agony.

No thought

for himself,

but thought

for others.

His mother,

behold your

son, he

said.

John, look

after her.

Out of his

heart, when they

pulled it apart,

came not bitterness,

but forgiveness.

Whether it was

for the soldiers who

were hammering the

nails into his

wrists, or perhaps

more likely the

Jewish religious

establishment that

had kind of

finished their

kangaroo court,

Father, forgive

them, they know

not what they

do.

Yes, this

appeal of

Jesus, this

answer from

Jesus, is

from somebody

who knows

first-hand

unjust

suffering.

And that is

why we must

listen to him.

John

Stott writes

in the cross

of Christ,

in the real

world of pain,

how could one

worship a God

who is immune

to it.

I have entered

many Buddhist

temples in

different countries

and stood

respectfully before

the statue of

Buddha, his

legs crossed,

his arms folded,

his eyes closed.

There goes

from a smile

playing round

his mouth, a

remote look on

his face, detached

from the agonies

of the world.

But each time

after a while,

I have had to

turn away, and

in imagination I

have turned

instead to that

lonely, twisted,

tortured figure

on the cross,

nails through

hand and feet,

back lacerated,

limbs wrenched,

brow bleeding

through thorn

pricks, mouth

dry and

intolerably

thirsty,

plunged in

God-forsaken

darkness.

That is the

God for me.

There's a

well-known

poem,

Jesus of the

scars,

last verse,

was like this,

the other

gods were

strong,

but thou

was weak.

They rode,

but thou

did stumble

to a throne.

But to

our wounds,

only God's

wounds can

speak,

and not a

God has

wounds,

but thou

alone.

The one

who delivers

the warning

is the one

who experienced

suffering.

the one

who delivers

the warning

is the one

who went

to the

cross,

not to

suffer just

physically,

but to

take the

judgment,

the spiritual

judgment,

that we

deserve.

That is the

one who

warns.

In his

body he

bore our

sins on

the tree,

by his

wounds you

have been

healed.

Christ dies

once for

all,

the righteous

for the

unrighteous,

the just

for the

unjust,

that he

might bring

us to

God.

Why

listen?

Because he

knows.

He suffered.

And why

listen?

Secondly,

because he's

dealt with

suffering.

That Jesus'

death has

reversed the

effects of

our rebellion.

One writer

puts it like

this,

says this,

the leaves

of the

New Testament

rustle with

the promise

of a new

world.

Don't they?

The leaves

of the New

Testament,

they rustle

with the

promise of

a new

world.

A world

where in

righteousness

dwells.

A world

where there

will be

no sickness

or sorrow,

no pain,

no death.

A world

where all

these things

will be

sorted out.

And his

cross gives

me access

to that

world.

It's one of

those books

written from

the US,

they come out

occasionally,

it's written

by a

child,

the child

was severely

disabled,

he lived

to the age

of six,

six and

died.

It's not a

great book,

but it's a

wonderful title

and it picks

up the promise

of this new

world.

Where There

Won't Be

Any Disability.

The title is

something that

the little boy

had said

that stuck

with his

parents.

It's from

the 1970s,

I won't be

a cripple

when I see

Jesus.

When you

come face

to face

with suffering,

you've got

problems,

I've got

problems,

if you want

to believe

in an

all-powerful

loving God.

We can't

duck them,

but please

don't think

this morning

that if you

remove God,

you've come

to the end

of your

problems.

You haven't.

You've just

got a completely

different set.

You've got

the same world,

the same tragedies,

the same unjust

suffering,

but actually

you've got

no hope.

I'm not

asking you to

believe God

because wouldn't

it be nice if

it were true?

That's not a good

enough ground.

But don't

let's throw

God out of

the window

until we're

dead sure

he's not

true.

We've got

nothing to

lose.

We've got

nothing to

gain by

doing that,

I mean.

Why listen to

that Christ?

Well, he knows

what suffering

is like,

he's faced

it himself,

and he claims

to have dealt

with it.

I was reading

last night's

little book,

and in it it

talks about

finding God

is in the

darkness

little book,

Irene Howard

is written,

and she

tells the

story of

Pat Cardy.

She and her

husband were

living in

Northern Ireland

around 1980,

and their

nine-year-old

daughter Jennifer

went to play

with one of

her friends.

She started

riding her

bike over to

her friend's

house, and

they never

saw her

again.

They found

her body

about a week

later.

She'd been

murdered.

They did

not know

why,

they did

not know

who.

You can

imagine the

parents facing

that situation.

Pat Cardy

relates how

she was

given grace

to make

it through

Jennifer's

funeral.

But then

she talks

about the

following day

when she

did not

find any

of that

grace.

She tried

to busy

herself tidying

up and

cleaning,

but it

did not

work.

She tried

to give

in to tears

as she

saw and

touched

Jennifer's

belonging.

Finally,

she was in

the bathroom,

and there

again were

Jennifer's

own personal

items,

and the

awful finality

of death

for her.

She said

that once

the tears

started,

there was

no holding

back,

and the

violent,

suffocating

sobs kept

coming.

I would

never see

her again.

I wished

that I

too could

die.

She began

as best

as she

could to

call on

God for

help and

for sustaining

grace in

that time.

There

followed

another stream

of bitter

tears as

she picked

up her

copy of

Daily Light,

which was

there in

the bathroom.

She said,

I could read

nothing.

My tears

were unwipeable

as well as

unstoppable.

Twice I

tried to

read,

but I could

not.

The third

time I

read these

words more

clearly.

And God

shall wipe

away all

tears from

their eyes,

and there

shall be no

more death,

neither sorrow,

nor crying,

for the

former things

have passed

away.

Why

listen to

Jesus Christ

this morning?

Because he

knows what

suffering is.

He's

faced it

himself and

he claims

to have

dealt with

it.

And he

offers to

lead you to

that world

where suffering

will be

removed.

He's

taken the

initiative,

isn't it?

It's an

amazing gesture

of love.

And he

says,

I love

you.

He

says,

stop the

war.

Stop the

war against

me.

Stop living

your life

your way

and turn

to me

and repent.

They

face him

with a

tragedy,

the latest

tragedy.

And as

he replies,

he makes

it clear,

the tragedies

are not

just meant

to leave

me pitying

the sufferers

only,

but they

are meant

to leave

me listening

to the

warning.

to live

on myself

without

repenting

is simply

to live

on borrowed

time.

And he

answered them,

do you

think that

these Galileans

are 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.

Please do

not walk

out of

these doors

and ignore

the warning.

Come

again,

speak to

me,

call to

God.

I'm very

aware this

morning that

there are

lots of

questions about

suffering that

I've not

answered.

And the

topic is

very,

very painful.

I'd be

glad to

try and

share some

of the

Bible with

you.

I know

David Barnes

did an

excellent

seminar at

the church

weekend.

I'm sure

he would

talk to

you about

it.

We'll

be hovering

around.

There

was some

present and

they asked,

do you

think that

they were

worse

sinners,

those

people in

Nairobi,

the latest

victims in

our city,

those who

died in

Nigeria?

No, of

course not.

But unless

you repent,

you will

all likewise

perish.

Let's pray.