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.