Text: Luke 13:1-9
He told them this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it, but he did not find any. 7 So he said to the gardener, ‘Look, for three years now I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and I have found none. Cut it down. Why even let it use up the soil?’ 8 But the gardener replied to him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put fertilizer on it. 9 If it produces fruit next year, fine. But if not, then cut it down.’
Sermon
Dear fellow sinners and fellow redeemed,
You may remember the 25,000 Dollar Pyramid hosted by Dick Clark? It was a popular, Emmy-winning game show. (There’s a newer version hosted by Michael Strahan.) The game works like this: Two contestants are each paired with a celebrity. The players then attempt to guess a series of words or phrases based on descriptions given to them by their teammates. For example, the giver might say, “Buttons, collar, sleeve, cuff,” and his teammate would respond, “Parts of a shirt.”
Now I’ll be the giver. See if you can guess correctly. Root canal, audit, cancer, divorce – words that nobody wants to hear.
What about this word: repent? Is that a dirty word? At times, we have a naturally strong aversion to that word. But should we? The first of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses states: When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ``Repent,” he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. Is the life of a believer really supposed to be about something he never wants to hear? No! Repentance isn’t all sadness and sorrow. In fact, repentance brings true joy. Repentance gives life. My friends, REPENT! IT’S NOT A DIRTY WORD. Today the Lord Jesus himself shows us that the need for repentance is great, and that the time for repentance is now.
I. The Need for Repentance is Great
Let’s dig right in to our text: At that time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Pontius Pilate was not known for his diplomatic skills. He was kind of a bull in a China shop. We don’t know exactly what happened, but most likely some pilgrims came down from Galilee to celebrate a festival in Jerusalem. While they were offering sacrifices in the temple courts, there was some kind of incident, Pilate called in the troops, there was bloodshed, and Galilean blood ended up getting mixed with sacrificial blood, which defiled the temple. It was an unholy mess.
Jesus used this ugly incident as a teachable moment: “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things? 3I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too.”
Jesus brought up a similar, well-known incident. The Tower of Siloam was most likely part of the city wall around Jerusalem. It collapsed, and eighteen people were crushed to death. Different incident, same lesson: “Those eighteen who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse sinners than all the people living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too.”
It’s easy to spot the guilt of others, isn’t it? We see a man standing in the median with a sign that says PLEASE HELP and we immediately assume that he must be a terrible sinner, a drug addict, or worse. The home of a co-worker burns to the ground and our first thought is, “Good! He got what was coming to him.” After all, we know that he cheated on and divorced his wife and now refuses to pay child support even though he has plenty of money. Remember when Hurricane Katrina hit back in 2005? 1,800 people dead. Thousands homeless. Billions of dollars in damage. As all this was happening, TV preachers began declaring that God sent that hurricane because of the immorality of Bourbon Street or because our nation has allowed the murder of millions of little babies through abortion.
Now, immorality and abortion are awful, but so often we miss the point. When we see people suffering, when we witness accidents or natural disasters, it’s not a call to get all “judgy.” It’s a wakeup call for us. It’s a reminder of our own mortality. It’s an invitation to look in the mirror and do some honest self-evaluation. It’s a serious and sobering call to repentance.
“Unless you repent, you will all perish too.” Jesus spoke those words twice in the space of a few seconds. The lesson is clear. The need for repentance is great. In fact, the need is universal. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). God’s demand is perfection, holiness. We haven’t reached it. Not even close. We need to repent. How serious a matter is this? Jesus says that those who refuse to repent will perish eternally.
OK. So, just exactly what is repentance? For many that word calls to mind the image of a grim-faced man standing on a street corner and wearing a sandwich sign that says: REPENT! THE END IS NEAR! They think only of sorrow and sadness, threats and guilt. Repentance does involve sadness. Paul calls it “godly sorrow” (2 Corinthians 7:10). But there’s much more to it than that.
Repentance involves basically two parts. First comes recognition of and sorrow over our sins. We confess with King David: I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. Or as we confessed together this morning: I am sinful by nature and have sinned against you in my thoughts, words, and actions … I deserve your punishment both now and forever. That’s a good and honest confession, but it’s not exactly cheery.
Thankfully there’s another part to repentance. After godly sorrow comes faith in forgiveness, trust that a gracious God no longer counts our sins against us. We trust that our sins are forgiven because Jesus obeyed the law fully in our place. We trust that our sins are forgiven because Jesus paid the ransom price at the cross, not perishable gold or silver, but his holy and precious blood. We trust that our sins are forgiven because Jesus’ empty tomb proves that everything he did to save us actually worked. He crushed the serpent. He paid for sin. He pulled the stinger out of death. We trust that we are forgiven, because at the font all our sins were washed away. We trust that we are forgiven because Jesus comes to us again and again under the simple forms of bread and wine with his true body and blood and says, “Take heart, your sins are forgiven” (Matthew 9:2). Again, we expressed this trust already this morning. But Jesus, my Savior, paid for my sins with his innocent suffering and death. Trusting in him, I pray: God, have mercy on me, a sinner. And God does have mercy on us sinners. In Christ we are forgiven.
II. The Time for Repentance is Now
The time to be sorry for our sins and trust in Christ, the time to repent is now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not next year. Now. Isaiah wisely advises us: Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near (55:6). In catechism we learned that our life on this earth is a time of grace. It’s our one opportunity to come to know God’s grace and believe in Jesus as our Savior. It’s our one opportunity to repent and produce fruit.
Listen again to our text: He told them this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it, but he did not find any. 7 So he said to the gardener, ‘Look, for three years now I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and I have found none. Cut it down. Why even let it use up the soil?’ 8 But the gardener replied to him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put fertilizer on it. 9 If it produces fruit next year, fine. But if not, then cut it down.’
True repentance automatically produces fruit, the fruit of a changed life, the fruit of turning from sin. In fact, the Greek word for repentance basically means to have a change of heart. How can we tell if repentance is real? Look at the fruit. For example, a man is living in sin with his girlfriend. His father confronts him about this and calls him to repentance. The man admits his guilt, says that he is sorry and then proceeds to keep living with his girlfriend without even the slightest effort to make a change, without even a hint that he is turning from the sin and back to the Lord. True repentance? Hardly. What Jesus said about false teachers applies also here: “By their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:20).
Note that according to Jesus’ parable, there is only a certain amount of time for all this sorrow, faith and fruit to take place. In the parable his Father is the vineyard owner and Jesus himself is the gardener. God expects fruit from his fig trees. He has every right to expect this. His wrath toward fruitless trees, his justice against the impenitent is terrifying. John the Baptist put it this way: “Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” (Luke 3:9).
But look at the patience of the gardener. He digs around the tree. He fertilizes it. He gives each tree tender loving care. Jesus gives all of us opportunity after opportunity to “produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8).That’s what life is really all about. As repentant sinners, as believers in the Lord Jesus, it is our joy to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus and produce fruit in thanks for his saving love. To turn away from the moral filth that surrounds us and to walk in the way of God’s commands. To turn away from the vain worship of created things to the worship the Creator of all. To turn away from self-service to the service of others. This is our joy in Christ. This is what a life of repentance is all about.
So let’s play 25,000 Dollar Pyramid again. Once again, I’ll give the clues: Forgiveness. New life. Salvation. Peace. Power. Joy. Hope. Heaven. These are all words that we want to hear. These are all words that we get to hear because Jesus lived, died and rose for us. These are all words that we get to live because the Spirit has called us to repentant faith. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, confess your sins, trust in Jesus and produce fruit. In other words, repent! And remember: It’s not a dirty word. Amen.