One of the things I find really interesting about our passage this week is that what first looks like a series of independent little stories and events actually flows together into one grand sweeping theme. Hopefully you will see this as we go through these verses today. Now, last week, we made it as far as Luke 12:56. I want to go back a bit, to verse 54, because even the beginning of today’s passage flows from this previous passage.
He said to the crowd: "When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'It's going to rain,' and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, 'It's going to be hot,' and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time? – Luke 12:54-56
"Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny." – Luke 12:57-59
At first glance, these two groups of passages seem quite unrelated. In the first portion, Jesus criticizes the Jews for not interpreting the present time. The second part is something about reconciling with your enemy before you are hauled off to a judge. When I read the second passage, what comes to mind to me is what might happen if you don’t pay your income taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, the IRS.
Hopefully all of you have been filing your taxes and paying what you owe. It is really only the self-employed who can get themselves into really huge trouble, as most of the rest of us have taxes automatically deducted from our paychecks. But lets suppose you were self-employed, and you haven’t yet filed or paid a penny of tax for 2008. Should you be worried? You bet! What is going to happen? Well, at some point, the IRS will contact you, and you will owe a lot of money. Now, owing money to the IRS is different that owing it to Visa or Mastercard. They get mad, and eventually they will hire a company to call you and harass you, perhaps even daily, until you start to pay up. If the amount of money you owe is large enough, they might actually take you to court, and the judge could rule that a portion of your paycheck must automatically go to them. But if it is a small amount you owe, this is unlikely, because it isn’t worth the legal costs. They will be more or less content with destroying your credit rating and using the harassing phone call guy to try to get you to pay up.
But if you don’t pay the IRS, well, this is much more serious. The IRS can throw you into jail. For a long time! You don’t mess with the IRS! If you find yourself in big trouble with the IRS, you better have an attorney.
Now is Jesus really talking about just dealing with someone who has something against you? No. So what is He talking about? He is talking about the coming judgment of God against all the living and the dead. In verse 56, Jesus warned them: How is it that you don’t know how to interpret the times?
The present time, Jesus is saying, is a time in which you at any moment could be standing before the Judge of judges, the King of the Universe. And, Jesus is implying, you better be ready? Does your adversary (this is also God) have something against you? Are you a lawbreaker?
Note that when you break God’s laws, you have sinned against the person of God. God has something against you! Jesus says, you better reconcile this before it is too late! Know the times! To use imagery from Gail’s alternate message title, “Turn or Burn,” a south wind is coming, and it is going to get hot! What are you going to do?
Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or 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? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." – Luke 13:1-5
Again, this seems like a totally unrelated subject, but it is related. What was the big deal about some Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices? It was that here was a group of Jews who were making sacrifices presumably at the Temple! This was a good thing to do, even commanded by God under Old Covenant law. And yet, while in the very act of doing this very good thing, God seemingly allowed them to be killed by the Romans! God must have been really upset with them, right?
Now there are Christians today who have made similar kinds of pronouncements. Some of said that AIDS is God’s punishment to homosexuals because they were so bad, or that the tsunami in Asia several years ago was God’s punishment to those people who were mostly Muslim, or that the flooding of New Orleans was God’s punishment to those people because of the immoral lifestyles they led. Jesus in His response gives another example, a group of 18 people who died suddenly when a tower fell on them.
Were all these people sinners? Yes – just as you and I are sinners. But were they worse sinners and for that reason did they suffer their fate? Well, as for the Pilate’s massacre and the falling tower of Siloam, Jesus’ answer is NO. As for the other examples, it is impossible for us to say yes or no, because we just don’t know. And for this reason I believe it is wrong for us to presume or pronounce that the answer is yes, because we just don’t know.
And I believe that Jesus’ answer to those who would say such things would be the same as it is to those who thought these things back in Jesus’ day – don’t worry about them; worry about you! Again, this ties back into the early parts of the passage – interpret the times! Reconcile with your adversary! Repent or perish!
Then He told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.' " – Luke 13:6-9
Now, we have a bush like this – I believe it is called a snowdrop bush. It is supposed to produce beautiful white flowers that sort of look like a white version of hydrangeas. We have had this bush 3 years, and it grows a huge amount each year, so much so that I have to cut it way back each year, but it has yet to produce a single flower. Mimi has told me to cut it down, but I am more like the man who took care of the vineyard – let’s give it one more year. But even I am starting to run out of patience with this bush. In contrast, we have some blackberry bushes that produce amazing amounts of fruit. These bushes are a struggle because they are not very nice to look at, they get eaten by bugs, and they grow shoots that go into other plants. But as long as they continue to give fruit, there is no way that I am going to cut them down.
Now some people have mistakenly used this verse to argue that one isn’t saved by faith, but by works. That is a misunderstanding of this parable. To understand this parable, you have to think about who Jesus is talking to: the Jews. What did the Jews believe about salvation? They believed that they were saved because they were God’s chosen people. They were sons of Abraham, Children of the Promise.
In many verses in the Old Testament, the fig tree refers to Israel, and it is reasonable to assume it also does so here. This parable directly destroys the idea that just because of your heritage, you are guaranteed to partake in the blessings of eternal life. Being a Jew doesn’t guarantee that you will go to heaven. Neither does going to church every week. Neither does having godly parents. Neither does being baptized as a baby, or, for that matter, being baptized as an adult. We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ – nothing else.
Note that this passage also ties in with the previous verses because it emphasizes the fact that time is running out. The man is ready to cut down the tree now. Repent now, Jesus is saying.
Now what about this fruit business? We can get caught up thinking that fruit means good works, so that if we aren’t displaying lots of good works, like leading other people to the Lord, that maybe we aren’t really saved. I remember thinking this as a young Christian. But this is not what fruit means. Fruit in the New Testament really means “results.” The Fruit of the Spirit is the results of the Spirit working in our lives. And what is that fruit? It is character - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. – Gal. 5:22-23.
A person who has really put their faith in Christ is going to grow and produce this kind of fruit. They are going to grow in Christ-likeness. This fruit, this growth in character, is not something we have to muster up so as to not be uprooted from God’s garden – it is something that is guaranteed to happen if we are really faith-filled believers who hunger after God. As I shared last week, we certainly have a role in this process, but our role is to respond to what God shows us and not shut Him out of our lives.
On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." Then He put His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath." – Luke 13:10-14
I don’t know about you, but I find the response of this synagogue ruler to be one of the most outrageous things said in all of Scripture! Note who he is talking to – not to Jesus, but to his own people! He is blaming this woman for what? What did she do? She didn’t even seek Jesus out! Jesus called out to her! All she did was respond respectfully to Him! And look at the irony here – presumably she has been coming to this temple, hoping for healing, for 18 years! And do you think this guy ever healed anyone? I doubt it. And I haven’t even begun to get into how nonsensical it is to argue that Sabbath is not a day for healing – I’ll let Jesus do that. Let’s read on.
The Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?" When He said this, all His opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things He was doing. – Luke 13:15-17
Jesus’ response is in the plural – apparently, not only this man, but other temple leaders agreed with the assertion that it was wrong to receive healing on the Sabbath. These are the people without fruit, the people Jesus is warning will soon be cut down and thrown out of the vineyard.
Are there people like this today? You bet – we call them legalists, people who say you can only worship God a certain way, using a certain style of music, or certain instruments, or maybe no instruments at all. There are people who would be offended if a child dances a dance of joy to the Lord, because of their preconceived ideas that dancing is sin. And what about the people who say that drinking any alcohol at all is wrong? How would they respond when they see Jesus making the “good stuff” at that wedding in Cana?
It is easy to pick on others for their legalism, but what about us? Do you have preconceived ideas about how the Holy Spirit works? Do you believe that people can still be demon-possessed today? I am virtually sure of it, especially in non-modernistic, non-Western cultures. Do you believe that people can cast out these demons in Jesus’ name? Again, I am virtually sure of it. Does the thought of this make you uncomfortable? How would you respond to someone who told you that they had been delivered from a demon?
Now, there is a flip side to legalism, and that is to be undiscerning. We are told to test everything, and hold on to the good. – I Thess. 5:21. We are told to test the Spirits – I John 4:1. We are told to examine the scriptures to see if what we are told is true, like the Bereans. – Acts 17:11. So to avoid legalism does not mean that we cannot criticize things done in the name of God that are not of God. We are to do both.
Now why would someone respond to the workings of God like the temple leaders? I mean, here is a lady who for 18 years has been suffering, hunched over in pain, who is suddenly miraculously and totally healed and delivered and praising God! I don’t believe it is because they were so addicted to their legalism that they were blind to what had happened – instead, I think it was that they were already opposed to Jesus. They were rejecting their Messiah because they were rejecting His message of “repent or perish.” They didn’t like to be called hypocrites, or sinners, or people about to perish. As we too share about Jesus with our friends and relatives, we need to understand that at some point, we are going to have to say some things that really sting. Most people have lived their whole lives thinking that the reason they will probably go to heaven is that they have been pretty good people. If you think this is how getting into heaven and eternity works, you have no need for Jesus, and the truth of the gospel will not make any sense to you at all until you can come to terms with the fact that you are in no way good enough to go to heaven. This is a dramatic change in thinking. If you accept it, then being told that Jesus died on the cross to save you from the eternal punishment you deserve is good news. Being told that going to heaven is really just a by-product of being reconciled to the Living God of the Universe, who loves you and longs to be with you forever is even better new. And being told that this reconciliation comes through simply trusting in and believing in Him is the really, really great news. But if you reject the fact that you are no way good enough to go to heaven, that unless you agree with God about this then you are absolutely going to the other place, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, and that it could happen at any moment, well, this is really, really bad news. This is the kind of news you reject violently, and it makes you want to berate those who are obviously transformed by His love. It makes you say stupid things like “How dare you! You should only be healed on non-Sabbath days.” And ultimately, it makes you want to shoot (or crucify) the Messenger.
Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches." Again He asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough." – Luke 13:18-21
Again, these verses become more powerful when you take them in context with the previous verses. Just a little while ago, Jesus was talking about cutting down a fig tree, symbolic of Israel. Now He is talking about using a tiny, humble seed to grow it into a “replacement” tree for the fig tree. I am sure that the Jews understood this, and I am sure they didn’t like it.
What about the yeast? I believe this was also a Gentile symbol. In some places in the Bible it is symbolic of sin. Why is that? Because it goes back to the Old Testament requirement that Jews observe the Passover, and part of that requirement was that the Jews abstain from eating anything with leaven, or yeast during that time. Those who didn’t observe the Passover were by definition sinning. Now, Gentiles were not required to observe the Passover, but this made them “unclean” – during Passover you couldn’t go to their houses. And over time Gentiles themselves were viewed as unclean, like leaven on Passover. And here Jesus is saying that the kingdom of God is like a woman who added yeast to dough and mixed it all in everywhere, so that no part of the dough was without it. This is the same message as the message of the mustard tree, the message of the fig tree, the message that the Jews needed to repent, and the message that the Jews needed to reconcile themselves with God, who had become their adversary.
I believe there is something else here as well. The Greek for “planted” is actually better translated as “carelessly threw away.” The Greek for “took and mixed” is actually better translated as “tried to hide.” What do you think Jesus meant by that? Who would “carelessly throw away” a seed? Who would “try to hide” some yeast in the dough? Those Jewish leaders who try to “throw away” or “hide” Jesus by making up silly rules about when healings can take place!
Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as He made His way to Jerusalem. Someone asked Him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" He said to them, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. – Luke 13:22-24
So what is Jesus’ answer? Are only a few people going to be saved? Apparently, the answer is yes.
Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' "But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' "Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!' – Luke 13:25-27
Again, this is a passage some people try to use to argue that salvation is by works, not faith. The Greek for “make every effort” can be translated “strive intensely,” a word also used to describe how athletes contend during the games. Picture modern Olympic athletes, and I think you have a good picture of the term. Now, what was Jesus saying? What was the door? Faith in Jesus! There is no other way to heaven except through faith in Him. (I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. – John 14:6.)
Note:
(1) The door is the only way in. Note that the audience was Jewish. This is very important. Again, as with our other passages today, Jesus was warning the Jews that salvation was not automatic for them.
(2) You need to enter the door. Just being Jewish didn’t mean you were through the door. Just going to the Temple and doing the sacrifices didn’t mean you were through the door either. Even being a Temple priest didn’t mean you were through the door. It wasn’t enough to know about the door; you had to go in.
(3) The door is narrow. You don’t go through narrow doors “by accident” or without noticing. It grabs your attention, and you have to choose to go in. The narrowness may make you uncomfortable.
(4) Once you are in, you are in. You don’t need to worry that maybe you aren’t in, or that you somehow have to enter again.
(5) Once shut, it is too late to enter. The door will shut, leaving many trapped outside. Our opportunity for salvation ends when we die or Jesus returns, whichever comes first.
So what does it mean to strive to enter the narrow door? It was a warning that salvation for the Jews was not automatic; it required that you learn how to be saved and that you act on it. You had to learn how to go through the door, and then you had to actually go through it. It wasn’t enough just to learn how. For the Jews, this meant rejecting the teachings of their leaders and seeking after Jesus Himself.
Applications:
1. Don’t waste time hunting for causes of every bad thing that happens to you.
Now, I don’t want there to be any confusion about what I am saying here. Many kinds of sin are terribly self destructive, and can indeed cause you to suffer immensely. But what I am saying is that if your car stops working, or your house gets hit by a tornado, or you are diagnosed with cancer – these things cannot be said to be directly related to your sin. We just don’t know, and it is presumptuous (and I would say sinful) to say that it is. God causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matt. 5:45)
2. Don’t waste time hunting for causes of every good thing that happens to you.
This is the flip side of #1. Again, I don’t want there to be confusion. God can bless the righteous, those who humbly and sincerely seek after God, people of faith who live for Him. But many of the evil also prosper, in this world. And remember Job – although God called him righteous, he went through unimaginable suffering. Don’t be like silly Maria in the Sound of Music who sings, when she finds out that Captain von Trapp loves her, “Nothing comes of nothing, nothing ever could, so somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good.” By the way, this is the kind of thinking of most of the false religions.
3. Avoid legalism.
I will mention one verse that helps me to do this – Rom. 12:15, Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. It doesn’t say to “correct” those who rejoice so that they have a better understanding of God’s ways, and it doesn’t say to ask those who mourn if they
4. Enter through the narrow door!
You enter in through praying to Jesus. Confess to Him that you have sinned against Him. Agree with Him that you have destroyed your fellowship with Him because He is holy and cannot let sin slide. Tell Him that you understand that there is nothing you can do in your own strength to make things right with Him. Tell Him that you believe that He loved you so much that He died to save you and other sinners from their fate. Tell Him that you believe He rose from the grave three days after going through the agonies of crucifixion, and that this proves that He is God. And thank Him for what He has done. Tell Him that because you owe Him everything, and because He loves you, that you love Him and will follow Him for the rest of your life.
5. Share the good news expecting strong reactions, positive and negative.
Write down three people to pray for. If you can’t think of three people, then suppose you can only write down one. I would challenge you to commit to coming with us on the next mission trip to Clemson, and commit to building a friendship with two people from this trip. This means meeting with them periodically in the future, and praying for them regularly. If we want “the birds to nest in the branches” of our church, so to speak, this is the way to do it. Just as the Jews had a hard time understanding that the kingdom was not built with Jews because of their heritage (as opposed to their faith), Christians tend to forget that the kingdom is not built with Christians hopping from church to church – this is not to say that if you are visiting, you are not welcome – far from it! We eagerly desire to be a place where you can grow like a mustard seed grows – but that being said, the kingdom is really built with people who become believers in Christ. This is our mission in life, the Great Commission, and there is nothing in our lives more important to do!
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