Luke 13:1-9 "The Villain in the News"

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

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Turn with me this morning to Luke 13.

It's been about three months since I said turn to Luke.

You may have forgotten where that was, you know, even though we're 12 chapters in.

Basically halfway through Luke's gospel, which is kind of exciting.

It's been a while, so I want to do a review here at the beginning of the new year as we jump back into Luke for a little bit.

If you remember way back to when we started, it was a long time ago, I brought a football,

which I'll admit is a little painful for me this week.

But nonetheless, we brought a football and started where football coach Vince Lombardi did every year.

He said, ladies and gentlemen, this is a football.

And he started and said, we're going to start back at the beginning, at the basics,

and say, this has to be the center of attention.

This must be the thing that you focus on.

This is what you have to follow and keep your attention glued to.

And Luke has been doing that in his gospel.

He told us at the very beginning, he was writing to say to Theophilus,

this is Jesus.

He's the one you've got to keep your focus on.

He's the one you've got to know about.

He's the one I want to make sure you're clear on.

The real Jesus, I want to tell you who he is and what he was like.

He's the center of attention.

We said Luke's gospel is the historical, paradoxical, upside down, life-changing, true story of Jesus.

That's why he's writing.

So we've seen as we've gone through these first chapters,

Jesus announced by angels to shepherds as good news of great joy for all people, right?

That's the theme of the series.

Good news of great joy for all people.

Jesus himself is good news.

He brings a message of good news for all sorts of people.

Many you may not expect.

That's part of the upside down nature of Jesus, right?

The king himself.

The one at the center of attention.

Not merely engaging shepherds, but many other social and religious outcasts.

Valuing women, including Gentiles.

Loving enemies.

We see Jesus healing the sick, the possessed, even the dead, raising them to life.

Quite a king.

A powerful king and at the same time merciful.

An authoritative king and at the same time humble.

This is the Jesus that Luke wants people to know about.

He's unlike anyone they've ever known.

So just a couple chapters ago, we saw this Jesus who's done all these things

get laser focused on one thing.

On the primary calling, the primary mission that he had.

Saying, I must suffer and be rejected and be killed and rise again.

He sets a course for Jerusalem, doesn't he?

Right?

Before we even get to the midpoint of Luke's gospel,

Jesus says, that's where I'm headed and the rest of the gospel is headed that way.

He fixes his gaze on a sacrificial death in our place.

And he won't be deterred from it.

Nothing can get him off that course.

Jesus and those following him are headed to Jerusalem.

Every story we read now is in that context.

The rest of the way through until he gets there.

It's in the shadow of the cross and that great task that's before him

that Jesus has fixed his eyes on.

But we've entered a section just recently

where for several chapters on his way to the cross,

Jesus is teaching about his kingdom.

He's the king and he wants to tell us how his kingdom works.

And we've already heard him turn our value systems upside down.

We've heard him challenge us on the extent of our love.

We've heard him instruct us on how to pray.

There's a lot more teaching coming up.

There are parables of mustard seed, a wedding feast.

The prodigal son is coming in a couple chapters.

That's exciting.

There's also some challenging, hard sayings about what it looks like to follow him

and what living in his kingdom must look like.

So we've added that little button to the sermon slide to remind us where our focus is in this part of Luke's gospel.

This is kingdom teaching from Jesus on his way to the cross.

It's the king teaching us with the cross always in view.

He's headed there.

It colors every event and every conversation on the way.

As we turn to chapter 13 this morning, Jesus has just been teaching those who would be a part of his kingdom

to be all in.

Challenging us to value him above all else.

Particularly in light of eternity.

He says that's vitally important.

Let's read about this next interaction with some that have been listening to him teach.

This is Luke 13 at verse 1.

God's holy word given so that we might know with certainty about Jesus and the hope that he gives.

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 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 vine dresser,

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.

Let's pray and ask God for his help as we study his word.

Father, we've already said this morning how much we need your help.

And it's especially true as we seek to understand and apply your word to our hearts.

Because our hearts would rather avoid it.

Holy Spirit, would you come and work in our hearts.

And we might submit ourselves to your word and that it might shape who we are.

Not just today, but every day.

Teach us and change us, we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

When some sort of major disaster or calamity hits,

I tend to brace myself and prepare to wince as some self-appointed spokesman for Christianity

steps to the microphone.

And in recent years, perhaps Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell or someone else

blames the victims or the country for bringing the disaster upon themselves.

It's happened after 9-11 with the immorality of various groups being blamed for that disaster.

It happened after Hurricane Katrina when more than a couple of people lined up to pronounce

the city of New Orleans to be full of big sinners.

And thus, this was God's judgment.

That's the dot that's connected.

The conclusion drawn is that the disaster is a direct judgment upon those particular sins

of particular people.

Partially, I wince because I think that is such an inaccurate portrayal of Jesus and the Bible's

view of things as we see this morning.

But partially, I wince because I do the same thing on a smaller scale.

This functional karma, perhaps you could call it, that we live with in our culture.

I was talking with a pastor friend about this a while back and he calls it the villain in

the news dynamic.

Have you noticed that?

Every news cycle, there's always a villain in the news.

Just watch in the coming days.

What media folks have learned is that we love hearing about villains.

Someone who is ostensibly evil, who's really tangibly bad, is always featured in every cycle.

And one of the reasons we consume this so readily is that we have this strong propensity in us

to blame others and self-soothe.

To feel better about ourselves because we see someone else who is clearly worse than we are in some way.

And while that psychology makes sense, the results of that can be spiritually devastating.

It can build self-justification, self-righteousness.

The sense that I'm okay begins to grow in my heart and it keeps me from things I really need.

Self-examination.

Genuine repentance are avoided.

And those dynamics can be eternally deadly.

So to guard against this reality that I've seen happen in my own heart, I've been for a couple years now

practicing what my friend suggested to me.

When I see a villain in the news, I try to ask myself

where some of those same realities are true in my heart.

It's really a very convicting and humbling thing to do.

Just think of some of the villains in the news recently.

A number of politicians, Trump, Franken, Moore, just the list goes on.

Accused of using other people, even young people, to serve their own pleasure.

Now either I read reports like that and feel above them and better than them,

or I think of how my heart has used someone else.

My kids or my wife as if they existed to serve my pleasure.

Think of Matt Lauer, who has recently of course been exposed as being one way in public

for the television audience and everyone else to see,

and another way entirely in private.

Now it's true that the outworking of that heart level idolatry in that case for him

is different from what it is for me.

But that same idol lurks in my heart in significant ways.

So don't hear what I'm not saying.

I'm not seeking to flatten all sin and say everything's the same,

or to say that the impact of these things on people that they hurt is not real.

It is.

It is distinct from the impact that sin in your heart can have on someone else.

But those things are real.

What I'm talking about is how I respond.

What does it drive me to do when I see something bad in someone else?

Does it lead to self-soothing?

Or to self-examination?

Two different options.

Do I think of Kim Jong-un?

He's I think a perpetual villain in the news these days

in case they don't have a fresh one to put in.

He's reliable I think at this point

for being able to be used in that way.

So do I think of him as a deranged egomaniac

that couldn't be any more different for me if he tried,

that I'm entirely unlike?

Is that the way I think of him?

Or do I read a story and do I think of him

as someone who's obsessed with controlling

and manipulating everything and everyone around him

so that it serves his purpose and his kingdom?

Hmm.

Because when you say it that way,

I start to see myself.

My kingdom may be smaller,

but my heart knows that sickness very well.

And that's what Jesus is telling us here,

that we must see our hearts.

We have to see the reality of what goes on in our hearts.

It's absolutely essential for our spiritual health

that we see that while we're conditioned

to go through life safely protected from that reality

by many forms of self-soothing.

Telling myself, I'm okay.

I can prove it.

Look at all the people who aren't.

See, it doesn't take a nationally known figure in the news

for my heart to insulate itself from its sin and idolatry.

It can be someone on my own news feed,

my own friend group,

in my own church.

They are clearly more materialistic,

less spiritual,

worse parents,

better gossips.

Whatever the case may be,

you fill in the blank.

And because they are,

I'm okay.

I must be alright.

There's no need to consider my own heart on these issues.

Several years ago,

I sat across the lunch table

from a guy I knew from church.

And at that point in time,

he'd have told you and I'd have told you,

he was pretty much the biggest mess around.

I didn't know anybody who was really struggling

as badly as he was.

We'd been talking regularly because his wife was leaving him.

He'd been involved in immorality

in a number of different levels and different ways.

His work was absolutely falling apart,

partially because he was personally struggling with depression

that left him hardly functional sometimes.

And add to that,

he had anger issues

that were starting to manifest themselves

with his kids in particular.

He'd been verbally abusive and rough

with his kids.

And in this day,

that's what he was sharing with me about.

He told me through tears

about this encounter with his kids,

his outburst

and the completely just painful things

that had happened in this situation.

And then he started talking me

through his emotions that night

that led up to his outbursts.

And I started hearing him use words

that I had thought the exact same words

just the night before.

I had lost my cool with my little kids

when they had interrupted my controlled environment

and peaceful evening.

I had wounded their little hearts.

I had seen it in their eyes

when I reacted harshly.

And it was as though God reached across the table

in that moment

and said,

look,

I'm using the guy

who's the biggest mess you know

to hold him up as a mirror

to you.

And say,

do you see?

Do you see your heart?

It's just like his.

You may have acted differently in some ways,

but you're no better than he is.

You're not above any of the things that he's done

because the same battle going on in his heart

is going on in yours.

Your heart battles those same idols.

You've got some repenting to do.

And God had to use that to show me.

Y'all, that's what Jesus is saying

to his followers and to us in this passage.

The clear call of the king is repent.

It's not complicated to figure that out in this passage.

It's to have your eyes turned to your own heart

to grieve the sin that you see there,

the relational distance between you and God

because all of our sin is first and foremost

against him,

a breaking of that relationship.

It's the call for us today to repent

because Jesus is saying

this is the way of life in his kingdom.

Repentance is a daily,

moment by moment,

part of living in his kingdom.

It's a lifestyle,

as Martin Luther would remind us years later.

Jesus came saying to everyone,

repent,

for the kingdom of God is near.

And so even when you're living in the kingdom,

what that means is repent.

He continues to call us to turn from sin

and turn back to God

and find forgiveness

and fruit

in him.

I know it's taken me a little bit longer than usual

to get back to it,

but let me show you how Jesus draws us

to examine our own hearts

and repent

in this passage.

He does it primarily by warning us.

That's what most of the passage is.

Why should we repent?

The bad news is worse

than you realize.

As Jesus has been challenging those following him,

apparently some of them,

understandably,

needed the pressure released a little bit.

They needed the focus turned off them

and these things Jesus is calling them to.

It's they say,

hey Jesus,

you know about those Galileans that got killed?

Bad bunch, huh?

How about them?

Terrible event.

Event that fits with what historians tell us

of Pilate and his harsh treatment of the Jews.

This would have been a horrific event.

Most likely a massacre

by the ruling invaders

in the temple

on the Passover.

It would be like Christians

being killed in church

on Easter morning.

An awful event.

And boy,

those people who died

must have really had it coming,

the crowd says.

But Jesus says something different,

doesn't he?

He says,

you're examining the wrong hearts.

Verse two.

He 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.

Don't worry about their hearts

and how bad they are.

What about yours?

And he adds to that

his own example.

18 killed

when a tower falls on them

and Jesus repeats

the same challenge.

Repent

or you too

will perish.

Y'all may not have thought

you were perfect,

but did you realize

the sin in your heart

deserves death

like this too?

It's not that theirs

was worse than yours

so they got what was coming.

Look what yours deserves.

Jesus makes clear

in multiple places

in many different encounters

that specific suffering

should not be assumed

to be linked

to specific sin.

Rather,

Jesus is saying

all sin

deserves

God's

judgment.

That's what really

comes out here

in the conversation

if you look back

at it carefully

that all of us

on our own

face

God's judgment.

Notice four times

in four verses

all

all the other Galileans

you'll all perish.

Do you think

they're worse

than all the others

in Jerusalem?

No,

you'll all

perish.

All of you

are facing

this same thing

Jesus said.

Stop distinguishing

yourselves from them

and see yourselves

in the same

category.

That's what we mean

by saying

that the ground

is level

at the foot

of the cross.

You may have

heard that before

in a church context

and wondered

what we meant

by that.

It's not that

we're all really

close to God

but that we're all

utterly undeserving

of heaven

and utterly

close to hell.

That's what it means.

You don't get off

the hook

for that by

hanging around

Jesus and listening

to his teachings.

You don't get off

the hook

by being born a Jew.

So you don't get

off the hook

by being born

in the Bible belt.

You don't get

off the hook

by showing up

at church

to hear a sermon

now and then.

Jesus says,

no, no,

you too repent

or you will perish.

The bad news

is that doing

those kinds of things

doesn't make you

any better

than the villain

in the news.

It doesn't.

The bad news

is that there is

badness in this world

and it's not just

badness out there.

There's badness

in here.

Right?

And further,

the bad news

is that even

the sin

that you see

in your heart

that doesn't seem

so bad

deserves death.

That's highlighted

by Jesus' parable

with the fig tree,

right?

He's making

that same point

at the beginning

of the parable.

The man had

a fig tree

in his vineyard

and he came

seeking fruit on it

and found none.

The tree was dead

and he said,

look,

for three years

I've come

seeking fruit

on this tree

and I find none.

Cut it down.

Why should it

use up the ground?

Right?

Makes sense.

It's a dead tree.

Get rid of it.

See,

what Jesus is saying

is repentance

by its nature

bears fruit.

Doesn't it?

It's a turning back

to God

to trust him

that then looks

like something

in my life.

So when the fruit

is not there,

the root,

repentance,

is not there either

and you all

likewise will perish.

You will be cut down

in terms of the parable.

So here's another way

the bad news

is worse

than we realize.

True repentance

is not merely

avoiding evil,

really big sins,

you know,

just being a decent guy.

That's not what

repentance means.

Rather,

it involves

actively

bearing fruit.

Jesus challenges

his followers

and us.

Don't look at others

and see their

big sins.

Look at yourselves

and see if you

truly love me.

Does your life

demonstrate a

passionate zeal

for Christ

that actively

shares him

with your neighbors?

Or,

do you soothe yourself

with thoughts

of being pretty good

while checking out

on Netflix

every spare moment

and serving yourself?

Do you sit back

and soothe yourself

with thoughts of,

I'm pretty good

because while your friend

has had an affair

that led to a divorce,

you're still technically

faithful to your wife

even though you're

emotionally cold

and verbally harsh

regularly

and rarely

demonstrate

love toward her

at all.

I mean,

at least you're not

doing the big things,

right?

Friends,

repent

or you likewise

will perish.

Bear the fruit

of a heart

turned back

toward God

or you will

be cut down.

It's what the

gospel tells us.

There's good news

coming,

but it's not

going to be good news

until we look

the bad news

squarely in the face.

Grace is not

going to be amazing

to us

until our sin

is amazing to us

that we see

ourselves

as broken

and bent

as every villain

we see in the news.

And Jesus says,

you've got to see it.

You've got to look

at your heart.

You've got to learn

to stop making yourself

feel better

by comparing to others

but instead

examine yourself

and then you can

truly appreciate

the good news

because there is

good news.

It's the second

reason why we

repent actually.

The passage

is primarily

a warning

but it's a warning

that is laced

with hope.

See,

repentance

is not merely

wallowing

in how bad

we are.

That's what

sometimes we think.

Repentance

is not just

being awful

and feeling awful.

It's also about

celebrating

how good

God is

and the beauty

that He brings

in broken

people

and places.

the good news

is better

than you imagine.

Jesus' parable

of the fig tree

does certainly

affirm

the seriousness

of the warning

but it does

something else

that's easy

to gloss over.

If you don't know

about fig trees

the people

in Jesus' day

certainly did.

They knew

what to do

with a fig tree

that it had

no fruit

for three straight

seasons.

cut it

down.

The real question

that would have

puzzled Jesus

here is

why'd this guy

come the last

two years

and not cut it

down then?

It was a no-brainer.

Get that thing

out of the way

so you can put

something else in.

This is serious.

This is an agrarian

society.

The vines need

to work properly

and if they don't

you need to get

the tree

out of the way.

The owner says

as much in verse

seven doesn't he?

He knows.

It's obvious to him

what he should do

and yet

something different

happens.

He decides to wait

yet another year

and not just to

leave it alone

but to have the tree

cared for

and nurtured

in the hopes

of renewal

possibly coming.

The point clearly

in this context

is to encourage

repentance

not merely

by warning

repent

or you will perish

but especially

by hope.

the hope

of God's

patient

mercy

or if you

prefer

his

merciful

patience.

We know

that God's

like that

don't we?

All the way back

when he introduced

himself to Moses

in Exodus 34

he said

I'm the Lord

the Lord

a God

merciful

and gracious

slow to anger

abounding

in steadfast

love

and faithfulness

that's who I am

and Peter

tells it to us

in a really

helpful way

in the context

of judgment

and why has

Jesus not returned

yet?

Peter says

the Lord's not

slow to fulfill

his promise

as some count

slowness

what's happening?

Why hasn't

Jesus come back

already?

Peter says

the Lord is

patient

towards you

not wishing

that any

should perish

but that all

should reach

repentance

the one thing

that will prevent

the perishing

right?

That we would

turn back

to God

a mercifully

patient

God

see Jesus

warns of

the reality

of sin

and judgment

and we need

to hear it

as a merciful

call

to repentance

to find

in him

the hope

that he offers

if we will yet

acknowledge

our utter

helplessness

and need

for rescue

there is a

king

who is headed

to a cross

remember?

Remember that's

where he's going?

To be a savior

a helper

a rescuer

there's not just

two groups

in this passage

who died

in Jerusalem

right?

Everyone hearing

this

hears it in the

context of

there's someone

else

who's already

told us

he's going

to die

in Jerusalem

to be the

only one

who can do

helpless

sinners

good

who can

offer them

hope

and he

desires us

not to miss

out on

relationship

with him

because we

feel better

than the next

guy

or okay

without him

rather he

wants us

to experience

him

the beauty

of a life

giving

relationship

with him

that's really

more good

news

better

than we

imagine

that he

would

desire

that

it's

it's

why

repentance

is

greater

than

resolutions

how many

of you

have already

broken a

new year's

resolution

don't

don't feel

ashamed

yeah I

know

several

me too

I don't

want to

discourage

you but

it's only

one weekend

and sometimes

that happens

some of you

didn't start

the new year's

resolutions

I understand

that too

this isn't

always the

case but

but how do

resolutions

typically work

a resolution

in and of

itself

it's just a

resolution

means this

I am

struggling

in some

area

and this

year

I am

going to

be better

I commit

to being

better in

whatever area

it is

diet

exercise

spirituality

something

you're gonna

see a

change

you'll see

fruit

in me

but

but isolated

like that

resolutions

are lacking

two really

important things

the relationship

and the results

usually

usually you don't

see the fruit

see it's because

a resolution

leaves me

alone with

me

it's an

attempt to

move

from bad

me

over here

to good

me

by myself

and I've

already shown

myself to be

a dead

fig tree

as it were

now simply

resolved to

bear fruit

next year

from the

same

dead tree

there's a

difference

in repentance

repentance

turns from

sin

bad me

first

to God

to a

relationship

to a

God who

forgives

who shows

patient

mercy

who

sacrifices

himself

for me

because he

loves me

and it is

that relationship

that resolution

skips over

it's that

relationship

that is

actually the

power for

the results

it's that

relationship

that allows

fruit

to be

born

because God

gives

his spirit

it's not

just me

left alone

with me

it's God

giving to me

his spirit

that bears

fruit in my

life

because God

is because

he's so good

because he is

patiently

merciful

and abundantly

gracious

he does

all these

wonderful

things we've

been celebrating

this morning

he gives us

children we

don't deserve

he gives us

hearts that

actually want

to be generous

and see his

kingdom advance

in place of the

hearts that

just want to

see our

kingdom promoted

he gives us

eyes that

see like we

watched in the

video

a desire to

see other

people experience

the relationship

that we've

experienced

the thing

we've needed

so badly

to have

to have

the opportunity

to share that

with others

that's the God

we enter into

relationship with

and he begins

to produce

that fruit

in us

fruit that we

can't make

on our own

no matter how

hard we resolve

we turn back

to that God

and he produces

fruit

don't

don't just

resolve

you miss both

those things

you miss

first of all

you miss

Jesus

if all you

do is resolve

you stay on

your own

you miss

him

that's why

he says

repent

repent

you'll get

me

and then

there will

be fruit

that must

also come

Southwood

may we not

be a group

of people

and believe me

it's easy

to do this

it's even

easier in

groups than

it is

individually

may we not

be a group

of people

that finds

our significance

and our value

in being

better

than another

group of

people

you know how

easy that is

to do

you know how

off-putting

that is

what's

welcoming

and honest

by the way

is being a

group that

that owns

our shortcomings

that knows

our weaknesses

and that runs

quickly and

repeatedly to

one great

savior

isn't that the

truth

y'all tell people

all the time

Southwood's not a

place where a

bunch of people

who figured life

out come to be

part of a group

together

and as a result

we're not a

church that has

life figured out

or church figured

out

and that's just

honest

right

that's just

the truth

it's who we

are and yet

there's something

we have to say

along with that

amazingly

for people like

us that don't

have things

figured out

amazingly

Jesus call

to repentance

is to us

again a call

to relationship

with him

that he loves

us and wants

to be in

relationship with

us

it's a call

for us

personally

and together

to realize

that we

desperately need

a king

who will go

to a cross

for us

a king

who loves

us enough

to call us

back to himself

and be in

relationship

with us

again

let's pray

Jesus thank you

for loving us

enough

to challenge

our hearts

our hearts

that are really

slow to repent

really quick

to defend

would you

change our

hearts

personally

would you

continue to

work in

this body

make us

people in

a community

really gracious

and humble

and really

hopeful

because at our

lowest point

we see a

savior

savior

who still

loves us

in the face

of our

biggest failure

and sin

we see a

savior who's

going to a

cross so

that he can

take care

of it

who's got

blood that

will wash

away

all our

sin

might we

come and

see you

clearly

rejoice in

you

and be

renewed

people

because we

walk in

relationship

with you

we ask

in your

name

amen

for more

information

visit us

online

at

southwood.org