Repent, or You Will Likewise Perish

This Friday will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. When the pastors of Citylight planned our preaching calendar through the Gospel of Luke, we did not plan for this passage, which recounts both what could be described as a terrorist attack and the deadly collapse of a tower, to be preached the Sunday before the twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11. We didn’t plan it, but God, in his providence, did.

Many of us remember exactly where we were when we received the news. I was in college, just up the Hudson River from Manhattan, and I remember waking up to my clock radio and the jarring announcement that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. The next thing I remember is a dozen or so guys from my dorm crowding around a small TV in one room, in utter disbelief at what we were seeing. I know there are some in this room who were even closer to the attacks or more personally affected by them. Some here even lost loved ones.

Horrific tragedies like 9/11 understandably leave us with a number of thoughts and questions. How did you respond? Or, if you’re too young to remember 9/11, how do you respond when other tragedies happen? Do you respond in disbelief? Horror? Do you simply break down and cry? Those would all be understandable and appropriate responses in the face of such evil and loss of human life.

But when Jesus heard about the two tragedies recorded in our passage, one an obvious act of human evil and the other what we often call a natural disaster, he thought and said something different. Luke 13:1-5: There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. [2] And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? [3] No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. [4] Or those eighteen 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? [5] No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

When we witness horrific evil or calamities, whether 9/11 or otherwise, we should grieve over the evil, lament the tragedy, and groan with anticipation for the day when death will be no more. But according to Jesus, there is an additional thing we should do: We should be warned. Every disaster and tragedy we witness is like a sign pointing us toward the far greater disaster to come: God’s eternal judgment.

Here is how New Testament scholar Tom Schreiner puts it: “Every wrinkle on our bodies is a parable reminding us of the consequences of sin. It reminds us that we are dying. Every disease is a wake-up call, telling us that there is something wrong with the world. Every ache and pain is a signal we have sinned. All must cling to the cross of Christ as our only hope in the day of judgment and do deeds worthy of repentance.”

In our passage this morning, Jesus teaches that every tragedy is a warning of coming judgment. And that warning is the big idea of our passage this morning: Repent, or you will likewise perish. Repent, or you will likewise perish. And Jesus provides two reasons why:

We are all guilty (13:1-5).
The time is short (13:6-9).

First…WE ARE ALL GUILTY

These days, it is common for people to witness evil and tragedy and think, “What is wrong with God?” But in Jesus’ day, it was more common for people to see tragedy and wonder, “What’s wrong with people?” We see that kind of thinking expressed in our passage. Luke 13:1-2:There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. [2] And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?”

Jesus asks a similar question in verse 4. Implied in Jesus’ question is that these people in the crowd did think that the Galileans who were murdered by Pontius Pilate while offering sacrifices at the Passover were worse sinners than all the other Galileans. Likewise, they believed that the eighteen who were killed when the tower collapsed were worse offenders than others in Jerusalem. The people in the crowd believed these tragedies came as a result of those who died being greater sinners than those who were spared.

And in both cases, Jesus is abundantly clear that this is not the case. He offers a clear and resounding “No.” Jesus clearly teaches that neither those killed by Pontius Pilate nor those killed by the tower in Siloam died because they were worse offenders than those who were spared. The same is true of those who were killed in the attacks of 9/11, mass shootings, hurricanes, earthquakes, or landslides. Whether the result of human evil or natural disaster, all suffering is ultimately the result of the entrance of sin into the world through the fall of Adam and Eve.

It is certainly true that some of the trials and tragedies we experience in life are direct consequences of our own sin, but Jesus rejects the idea that we should simply assume that is the case. We can’t make that assumption about ourselves or others. If your friend loses her job, if their children begin to stray from the Lord, if a dating relationship does not result in marriage, or if a child becomes sick, don’t make things worse by assuming you know the reason and can connect all the dots of cause and effect. That kind of pride deeply hurts people. That kind of pride can tear a harmonious and united Christian church apart. When your fellow church members suffer, weep with them, comfort them, encourage them with God’s Word, pray for them, and serve them.

So, if the tragedies we see and experience don’t necessarily point to one specific sinful cause, then what do they point to? Jesus’ point in this passage is that they point to the far greater disaster of eternal perishing that will come to all who do not repent. Jesus even repeats himself to emphasize the point. In verses 3 and 5, he says, Luke 13:3 (cf. 13:5): “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” According to Jesus, every tragedy that you experience or witness ought to cause you to reflect on the final judgment.

In other words, just as the tower didn’t fall on worse sinners than you, so final judgment will not fall on worse sinners than you. In other words, don’t look at them; look in the mirror. The Bible says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Repent, or you will likewise perish, because we are all guilty. Every disaster should turn your eyes to the far greater disaster of God’s judgment to come and eternal hell. We are no better than those who have died in the tragedies and calamities we have witnessed. Apart from the hope and salvation that can be found in Christ, all of us are dead in our sin and destined for eternal judgment.

Jesus’ point is that when we witness disasters, we should not conclude that God is not good or that those who experience them are worse sinners than we are. Instead, we should see those disasters as a parable of the final judgment to come. Repent, or you will likewise perish, because we are all guilty before God. We have all disobeyed and ignored God in the world he created. Yet God, who is both perfectly holy and rich in mercy, took the punishment we deserve and placed it on Christ. The tower of judgment that you and I deserve has fallen on his sinless Son, who died for our sins, in our place, on the cross.

Whoever you are, the tragedies and calamities we witness ought to drive us to repentance. This is true whether it would be your first time repenting or whether your first time was decades ago. The great Protestant Reformer Martin Luther once wrote that the whole of the Christian life should be one of repentance. So long as we continue to sin, and we all do, we ought to continue to repent. Matt Boswell has written, “True repentance is more than simply acknowledging our wrongs and feeling sorry for what we have done; it is turning from our ways and returning to God with conviction of wrongs, contrition of heart, and confession of sin. In doing so, we receive the abundant mercy of God in Christ.”

Boswell mentions three aspects of true repentance here:

Conviction of Wrongs. This involves seeing our sin the way God does. As Boswell writes, “Clearheaded conviction is a wide-eyed awareness of the holiness of God, the sinfulness of sin, and the separation between them.”
Contrition of Heart. But it’s more than conviction; it is also sorrow for our sin. In Psalm 51, a wonderful guide in Scripture for true repentance, David cries out, *“For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight”* (Psalm 51:3-4a). David rightly grieves his sin as an affront against the Lord. He is ashamed of his sin, as he should be.
Confession of Sin. When we confess our sins, we come with open hands to the Lord, knowing we bring nothing to the table for our salvation except the sin that makes it necessary. We own our sin and confess it freely. One word of counsel on this point: use biblical words and categories when confessing your sin to God and others. Call it gossip and slander. Call it adultery in your heart. Call it anger and malice. Call it dishonoring your father and mother. Call it being an unloving husband or a disrespectful wife. Call it gluttony or laziness. It can be tempting to use words with less gravity that do not reckon with our sin for what it truly is. Confess your sin freely to God.

But in light of that, I’d also like to add a fourth aspect, which unfortunately does not begin with the letter C: Rejoice that your sin is forgiven! In 1 John 1:9 we read, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”* (1 John 1:9). We can repent because we know that God is faithful, both to forgive us and to sanctify us.

So when you experience or witness any of the sin and suffering in our world, whether the worst of calamities or even the weakness of your own body, let it drive you to repentance. God’s people are repentant people, and God is faithful to spare us from perishing in eternal judgment.

Repent, or you will likewise perish, first, because we are all guilty. Second, because…

TIME IS SHORT

Our passage concludes with a parable that spells out another reason why we must repent or likewise perish. Luke 13:6-9: 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. [7] And he said to the vinedresser, ‘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?’ [8] And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. [9] Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

Throughout the Old Testament, God’s old covenant people, Israel, are described as a fig tree. Jesus’ point is clear: Israel is like a fruitless fig tree, and they must repent or be cut down in judgment. Sadly, the vast majority of God’s old covenant people did not repent and believe in Jesus Christ, and many still do not. Therefore, the good news of the gospel, that Christ died for our sins and rose again on the third day for our justification, spread to the Gentiles, including almost every one of us in this room. The book of Romans teaches that Israel was broken off so that you could be grafted in. However, Romans also teaches that God has done this to provoke ethnic Israel to jealousy until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, so that one day there can be a large-scale revival among the Jewish people.

The message for the Jewish audience standing in front of Jesus is straightforward: repent, or you will likewise perish, because the time is short. Yet that same message applies to us today. God is gracious and merciful in giving us opportunities to repent of our sin, and here is one more opportunity today. When calamity strikes, whether through an attack from evil people or a natural disaster, we ought to recognize that it could have been us. We do not know when or how tragedy will come, but the invitation right now is clear: repent, or you will likewise perish, not only in an earthly calamity but, far worse, in eternal separation from the comforting presence of God. A day is certainly coming when time will run out, and that may even be on your way home from church. Friends, time is short; come to Jesus today.

For those of us in this room who have already experienced God’s salvation in Christ, the words of Charles Spurgeon come to mind: “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”

Let’s pray.

Repent, or You Will Likewise Perish

Notes

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