Luke 13:1-5: Why would God … ?

(Rewritten sermon notes from a messaged shared at Corona International Christian Fellowship on March 20, 2011.)

WATCH THIS VIDEO:

“Religious Girl Thanks God for the Earthquake in Japan”

1. What did you think? Did you agree or disagree with her overall conclusion that God directly caused this tragedy, that is was a direct answer to a direct prayer to wake up atheists?
2. If you were a non-believer, but you had a notion that God did exist – that you were aware of the stories of the Bible, but never read them for yourself – what would you think after seeing this?

(Extra credit: also read this LA Times article:

Disasters such as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan prompt questions of faith)

Understand that while I disagree with how Biblical truth is misrepresented in the video, I don’t condemn or hate the woman for it. Rather, she, and anyone who is thinking that way, along with needing to be set right in the teaching of God’s Word, really needs prayer most of all …

People have carried this notion with them probably since the fall of man: When bad things happen, it’s God who caused it as some sort of punishment for something man did wrong.

To be sure, the Bible does tell of God directly causing disasters to happen, such as the great flood in Noah’s time, the plagues in Egypt, and yet to come as foretold in Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, part of Isaiah, Luke 21:5-36 and 17:22-37, Matthew 24 and 25, Mark 13 and Revelation.

But sometimes we get a little too self-righteous in our thinking of our position versus those who don’t (yet) believe, just like in Job’s friends who tried to get into the mind of God as to why such great calamities struck him, or just as Jesus' disciples:

John 9:1-2

¹ As he (Jesus) went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

A key point to remember as we go through today’s study: The way the world is, it’s not the way God intended it to be. It’s broken. And everything that happens that does not seem right to us is because the world is broken – and we are the ones who broke it.

Genesis 3:14-19

¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. ¹⁵ And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

¹⁶ To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

¹⁷ To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. ¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. ¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

In today’s study, Jesus takes that idea of “what sin did you do to get God mad at you in that way,” presented by others outside His inner circle, and brings it to the real issue.

This particular teaching session actually starts in Luke 11:37, after Jesus was invited to eat with a Pharisee, and that Pharisee “was surprised” that Jesus did not wash before the meal, which was followed by the “six woes” (Luke 11:37-53), then, leaving there, began teaching His disciples as a multitude of people gathered (Luke 12).

Luke 13:1-5­­

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. ² Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? ³ I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. ⁴Or 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? ⁵ I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."

Two key words in this passage:

μετανοέω = metanoeō = repent 1) to change one's mind, i.e. to repent; 2) to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins

ἀπόλλυμι = apollymi = perish 1) to destroy, a) to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to ruin; b) render useless; c) to kill; d) to declare that one must be put to death; e) metaph. to devote or give over to eternal misery in hell; f) to perish, to be lost, ruined, destroyed. 2) to destroy, to lose

Teaching Point No. 1

Because we have a preconceived notion, we ask the wrong question – and non-believers also ask the wrong question.

Let’s look at the two incidents:

1) The Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices – verse 1. If we were to look at it in modern terms, one view of this would be the government trying to restore some order. In another context, we’re we to be thinking about religious freedom, it would be “state-sponsored terrorism.”

Among the multitude that had gathered was a group – probably Pharisees or at the very least, experts in the law – who told Jesus about an incident at the temple in which some Galileans were killed by Roman soldiers.

What specifically happened at the temple? We’re not exactly sure. One commentary, “Robertson's Word Pictures of the New Testament,” says: “The incident is recorded nowhere else, but is in entire harmony with Pilate's record for outrages. These Galileans at a feast in Jerusalem may have been involved in some insurrection against the Roman government, the leaders of whom Pilate had slain right in the temple courts where the sacrifices were going on. Jesus comments on the incident, but not as the reporters had expected. Instead of denunciation of Pilate he turned it into a parable for their own conduct in the uncertainty of life.

If we were to look at it in modern terms, one view of this would be the government trying to restore some order. In another context, we’re we to be thinking about religious freedom, it would be “state-sponsored terrorism” where the government was trying to clamp down on what it considered to be its own rule of law.

2) The “ eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them.” This, mostly likely, could be thought of as an accident – an incident that happened without any apparent intention or reason.

There was a pool near Jerusalem, called the Pool of Siloam, (John 9:7) near, or over which, was a tower built, which fell down and killed eighteen men. In “Robertson's Word Pictures of the New Testament:” Few sites have been more clearly located than this. Jesus mentions this accident (only in Luke) of his own accord to illustrate still further the responsibility of his hearers. Jesus makes use of public events in both these incidents to teach spiritual lessons. He gives the "moral" to the massacre of the Galilean pilgrims and the "moral" of the catastrophe at Siloam.

Notice Jesus’ answers to each incident:

The incident at the temple, he doesn’t condemn Pilate (though probably those in the crowd likely expected Him to), nor does he condemn the Galileans who were killed.

He instead turns peoples eyes toward the issue: were they worse sinners than any other Galileans who were there that day because they suffered this way?

The incident in which the tower fell, were the people who died worse sinners than any others in Jerusalem who did not die in that tragedy?

Application of Teaching Point No. 1

Because we have preconceived notions, we ask the wrong questions – and non-believers ask the wrong questions. Instead, before offering up our own opinions as to why bad things like the Japan quake or Hurricane Katrina or 911, we need to look inward with the help of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit.

The issue is not “what did they do to deserve this?” Nor is the issue were they worse sinners than those who survived. The issue is this: Were any of those people who died worse sinners than you and me?

Jesus’ answer to both incidents is the same (verses 3 and 5):

“I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Jesus repeats His statement. This means that it’s important we don’t miss the lesson.

Teaching Point No. 2

Have we truly repented? Jesus repeats that statement twice for a good reason.

The two key words in this passage:

μετανοέω = metanoeō = repent. 1) to change one's mind, i.e. to repent; 2) to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins

ἀπόλλυμι = apollymi = perish. 1) to destroy, a) to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to ruin; b) render useless; c) to kill; d) to declare that one must be put to death; e) metaph. to devote or give over to eternal misery in hell; f) to perish, to be lost, ruined, destroyed. 2) to destroy, to lose

Have we truly repented? If not, we will perish. Jesus’ words are pointed, and really uncomfortable for the hearers in His day and the hearers of our day. No one likes to be called out on their flaws, their shortcomings, their failings, their sin, the true state of their being.

Yet Jesus, twice says that unless we repent, we’re going to be destroyed.

Application to Teaching Point No. 2

Have we truly repented? If not, repent! And realize it’s an ongoing process.

It not just saying a prayer one day to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. It starts there, but it does not end there.

This is not salvation by works. It is, as it says in James 1:14-20:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?

Turn from old ways. The Bible says men will know Jesus’ followers by their fruit.

Galatians 5:16-26

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

How do you know you’ve truly repented? If some of the things from your former life look really ugly, if you somehow do those things, and you’re really uncomfortable or have this looming notion that it really is not the right thing to do, and you have no desire to ever do it again, you are repenting.

Simple example of self control: Before I gave my life to Jesus, I used to drop f-bombs and s-bombs left and right. Now, I cringe when other people say those words, and if they escape my own lips – and they do on occasion – I really feel bad and run back to the Lord with a lot of embarrassment and heaviness in my heart for having disappointed God.

We need to constantly 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?

What examples can you point to in your own life that you have repented? Do you still drop f-bombs? Do you still drink to get drunk? Do you sleep around with someone who is not your spouse (this covers the married and the unmarried)? Do you lose your temper easily? Do you find these things, and things like these, undesirable?

Teaching Point No. 3

Remember God’s kindness led us to repentance, and can, and does, lead others to repentance.

While it is true that God will eventually judge the righteous and the unrighteous, WE are not to do that, especially in the light of great tragedies like a natural disaster or an act of terrorism.

Romans 2:1-5

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. ² Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³ So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? ⁴ Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?

Instead, we speak the words of repentance through Jesus. That is the KINDNESS that leads us to repentance. We did not deserve such kindness, but God, in his love, mercy and grace, offers it to ALL man.

John 3:16-17 (suggest all read through to verse 21)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

And if you think Peter was putting words in God’s mouth, consider this:

Ezekiel 18:23

“Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?” declares the Sovereign Lord. “Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?”

Application of Teaching Point. No. 3

1) In times of great tragedy, or in times of personal tragedy and challenges, ask non-believing family and friends, if they ask the question: “Why did God … ?” ask them if you can share God’s kindness through Jesus. Use Luke 13:1-5 as the starting point. Let them know that God wants NO ONE to perish, but to come back into His love.

2) If you have not already, do the 1-1-1 prayer challenge:

One prayer, One person, One minute, 1 o’clock EVERYDAY

This is our prayer commitment leading to Easter Sunday, April 24. One simple, one-minute prayer for one person at one o’clock everyday, that he or she will come to our Easter Sunday service. ”This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

And, one more, if you need it:

Counterpoint to the above video:

“Did an Earthquake Happen Because God Was Mad?”

Did An Earthquake Happen Because God Was Mad? from Brandon Cox on Vimeo.

Mark 13: Life Is Scary Without Jesus

(Rewritten note from a message given at Corona International Christian Fellowship on March 6, 2011 ... For further study and to do the noble thing like the Bereans ((Acts 17:11)) New Testament cross references: Luke 21:5-36 and 17:22-37, Matthew 24 and 25, and all of Revelation; in the Old Testament, Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah and parts of Isaiah. The links are to the New International Version online at Biblia.com; other translations are posted there, also).

A lot of stuff has been going on that’s a little uncomfortable for many of us who profess to be Christians. Even for the world, in general, it seems there is this undercurrent of being unsettled, as if something huge is going to happen, as if the other shoe is finally going to drop, so to speak. And it’s not just this year, but it’s actually gone on for quite some time.

Ever since Israel was re-established as a nation in 1948, the frequency of people saying the end of the world is near has gradually ramped up. There was the invention of the nuclear bomb that could wipe out the entire planet; environmental disasters; economic disasters, like the one we’re in the middle of right now; on KWVE, Greg Laurie’s program was a study on Revelation, as is J. Vernon McGee.

This is a short introduction on Biblical prophesy, focused on salvation and end times judgment: It comes down to obedience and disobedience to God. Its roots are in the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy, where Scripture spells out the covenant agreement the nation of Israel had with God, and, as part of that agreement, the blessings it would receive if it obeyed God, and the troubles it would experience if it disobeyed.

And that principle – the blessings and the curses – holds true today: obey the Lord, and life is relatively easier than what those in and of the world may experience. (This not to say life is problem-free, but you know by faith, with the Father at your back, Jesus in your heart and the Holy Spirit leading you – by the promise of Scripture and faith in the one true God – you will overcome whatever problem or challenge you are facing. See John 16:33.)

On the other hand, try to go off on your own understanding – in other words, disobeying God and leaning on what you think is correct – and life is really not all that good … and it’s really bad in the end if you don’t have Jesus.

A couple things I want to stress as we go through this passage in Mark:

• Let’s not have the “Henny Penny/Chicken Little” mentality … you know, something hit the chickens in the head, and it went around telling people that the sky is falling, and some people panic … in the end, at least with Henny Penny’s story, those who panicked got eaten by the fox.
  
  
• Let’s not make this study of Jesus’ teaching of the end of the age complicated. It’s not. As Bible scholars Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart wrote in “How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth”:
  
  “The aim of good (Biblical) interpretation is simple: to get to the plain meaning of the text. And the most important ingredient one bring to that task is enlightened common sense.”

In other words, no Henny Penny/Chicken Little approaches in reading and understanding God’s Word.

Read Mark 13:1-37 online (NIV)

Quick background

Remember the initial context: Jesus told His disciples about these things in response their reaction to the beauty of the temple. And He tells them the building – and all of Jerusalem – will be destroyed. And then, in response to Peter, James, John and Andrew, Jesus gives them a look at what will happen to the city AND also a glimpse at the end of the age.

Teaching Point No. 1:

Terrible things will happen, but even worse things will happen as the end of the age draws nearer. Reviewing Mark 13:1-37 again:

1. v6: many will come in his name and deceive many
2. v7: you will hear of wars and rumors of wars
3. v8: nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom
4. v8: earthquakes in various places and famines
5. v9: you will be handed over to local councils and flogged in the synagogues
6. v10: the Gospel must be first preached to ALL nations
7. v12: brother will betray brother and father his children; children will rebel against their parents and put them to death
8. v13: men will hate His followers because of Him and what he stands for
9. v14: the abomination that causes desolation – the desecration of the new, rebuilt temple by the anti-Christ – will be the start of the worst of times ever
10. v22: false Christs and false prophets will appear and do signs and wonders that will deceive people

Application:

• Be aware, be informed Biblically … know God’s Word and fellowship with like-minded believers, such as your discipleship group, to make sure you know what God is teaching in His Word.
• Know what is true so you will be able to test whatever people tell you about Jesus, faith, salvation.
• Read your Bible, every bit of it, even the parts that you may not understand right away, and especially those passages that make you uncomfortable.

Teaching Point No. 2:

We know the signs, but we don’t know the specific time.

Many people have tried – and failied – to predict Jesus’ return and/or the rapture. One group of believers once gathered in a church expecting the end to come. On the appointed day, a newspaper account said, one of them stuck his head out the door and said, “We’re still here!” One so-called pastor says we’re already in the tribulation.

No one on this side of heaven knows when ... so don't go believing anyone who says so, and don't go trying to predict it yourself.

Review, once again, Jesus' very words:

Mark 13:32-36

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

"Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back-whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!' "

For some people, verse 30 – I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened – might create some confusion. But remember the original context, and to whom Jesus was talking: Peter, James, John and Andrew. And Jesus had said the temple in Jerusalem would fall. In fact, the abomination of desolation Jesus refers to here is the Roman sacking and destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. (The first was in about 160-167 B.C. when the Greek ruler of Syria, Antiochus IV sacrificed a pig – an unclean animal – on the temple altar. … and there is yet one more to come, in the middle of the 7-year tribulation foretold in Revelation.)

Application:

That moves into the next teaching point ...

Teaching Point No. 3:

Related to No. 2, don’t be deceived; be alert, be on guard constantly

Mark 13:5-6

“Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive many.” (That context is pretty obvious.)

Including verse 5, Jesus repeats this warning SIX times in this passage, with slightly different reasons why we need to be alert:

1. v9: You must be on your guard. (Because of our beliefs, we may be persecuted; but when that happens, be ready to speak the truth that the Holy Spirit gives you.)
2. v23: So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time. (The warning of how bad things will be at the end of the age.)
3. v33: Be on guard, be alert! (Because, while you have signs pointing to Jesus’ return, you really don’t know when He is coming back. So be ready.)
4. v35: “Therefore keep watch … ” and
5. v37 “What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!.’” (Again because you don’t know when He is coming back. Watch your own walk -- you don't want to be doing something that Jesus would frown upon when He comes back.)

Application:

Don’t do the Henny Penny/Chicken Little thing. Don’t get so hung up that every time a big news event happens, that you go trying to analyze it and see if it’s a sign foretold in the Bible. People did that with 9-11, they did it with the Indonesian tsunami, they’re doing it now with all the stuff going on in the Arab world. In more local contexts, I’m sure they’re doing it in Australia and New Zealand, which have been hit with massive forest fires, floods and earthquakes in the past year. Be aware, be alert, yes – but don’t get to micro-analyzing every single thing that happens.

If anything, remember that we are one step closer to his return than we were an hour ago.

Which leads to …

Teaching Point No. 4:

While we wait expectantly, we go about the Father’s business.

And what business is that?

Mark 13:10
(Jesus said:) "And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. ... "

Matthew 28:16-20

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

This seems to summarize points 3 and 4:

Acts 1:6-8

So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

So, again, don't get so caught up in the signs of the end, if it's around the corner. "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority," Jesus said. Instead, go about the Father's business of living and sharing the Gospel of salvation through Jesus with the power of the Spirit who lives in you.

And even if you think people will not listen to you, tell them anyway:

Ezekiel 3:17-21 (the Lord's very words given to the prophet):

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.

“Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The righteous things he did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live because he took warning, and you will have saved yourself.”

Application:

All of the above!

To drive the point home even further, review part of last week’s study:

Colossians 1: 21-23

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation — if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

If you walk with Jesus, if you call Him Lord, if you call yourself a Christian and continue to stand firm and live in Him — you, reconciled with God through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross — then you are a minister of the Gospel, one appointed to share that good news of eternal salvation through Jesus, and Jesus alone.

Then, for those things yet to come, followers of Jesus will not have to suffer through it. Revelation 3:10, in the letter to the church in Philadelphia, Jesus said:

"Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth."

In response to that grace, that love, our reaction, our mission, ought to be following the two greatest commandments:

Mark 12:29-31:

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

And if you truly obedient to God: that you live Him with everything that you are, and that you love people, too, just as he does, then telling them the bad and good news, and the saving good news through Jesus, should be the driving force of everything you think, everything you say and everything you do.

As a minister of the Gospel, love the Lord with your full worship of Jesus, realize He is Lord and has all authority in heaven and earth, and love others as yourself by going out to make disciples, teaching them everything He has taught us, because, while life in this world is scary without Jesus, it will be absolutely horrible in eternity without Him.

"Take Heart" by Hillsong United