Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Luke 13:1-9
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  December 31, 2023

I know this isn’t so much the case any more with all of the streaming and binge watching that takes place now. However, it used to be that when you watched TV, especially shows that had a plot line in them, that as the season would end, it would often end with a cliffhanger. It’s an interesting term–cliffhanger. You can picture someone hanging from a cliff, holding on for dear life. And ultimately, there’s really only two things that can happen–either they are going to fall or someone will rescue them. Being the inquisitive people that we are, we have this innate desire to know how the conflict resolves. We have this need to know whether the person is rescued or falls. And the people who produce the shows know this. That’s why they end the season with a cliffhanger–leaving whatever conflict they’ve been showing unresolved. It’s really a brilliant idea because if people are really invested, they’ll be sure to tune in to the next season so they can find out how the conflict is resolved.

As we celebrate the end of another year, Jesus leaves us with a cliffhanger. He tells us a parable about a fig tree. He presents us with a conflict that is just screaming for resolution. Either the tree will produce fruit or it will be cut down. And we’re practically begging to know, What Happened to the Tree? Today, let’s dig into this portion of God’s Word and see if we can understand why Jesus would share this parable with the people of his day and why God felt it important that we study it still today. Let’s see if we can answer the question, What Happened to the Tree?

This episode in the life of Jesus really started back in chapter 12. There, Luke tells us that a crowd of thousands had gathered to hear Jesus–so many that they were trampling one another. After teaching them many things, Jesus specifically addressed the crowd. He admonished them for not being able to interpret the present time. People can look at the sky and know it’s going to rain, but they can’t see the signs of the end times that are all around them and God’s impending wrath and punishment? Picture the scene. There’s a large crowd all around Jesus. He’s just scolded them for their human foolishness. What do you think might happen next? If the crowd was anything like people today, they might try to justify their beliefs–prove that they really do understand what’s going on and they’re not as dense as they appear to be. And in order to show this, someone in the crowd brings us a current event. 

“At that time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.” This seems a little random, doesn’t it? Why bring this up? It seems the crowd wanted to show Jesus that they understood God’s punishment. That has to be the reason that these Galileans died. I mean, they died while they were sacrificing to God. Obviously, God was punishing them, right? Isn’t that the common belief today, even among Christians? God punishes us for our sins by sending hardship or even death into our lives? Pat Robertson, who was a popular televangelist was quoted as saying that the reason that Haiti was hit with the earthquake back in 2010 was because of a pact they made with the Devil. He claimed that during the time of Napoleon, the Haitians promised to worship the Devil if he would remove the French from Haiti. And ever since then, it’s been nothing but problems for Haiti. Poverty and natural disasters are a direct result of that pact. Could he be right? 

“Jesus answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things?” Are the Haitians worse sinners because they suffered the earthquake? If that’s true, what do we have to conclude about Israel and Gaza? “Or 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?” Though they thought they understood, the crowd surrounding Jesus did not understand the kingdom of God. They were under the impression that we ought to be punished for bad behavior and rewarded for good. How often haven’t we wondered–when something bad happens in our life–if we’re being punished for something we did? But that’s not how it works in the kingdom of God. Now, that’s not to say there aren’t consequences–often bitter ones–for sinful actions. The Bible tells us that there will be consequences. If we’re doing something wrong, we shouldn’t be surprised if we get pulled over by the police or arrested for stealing or sick for misusing our bodies. But that’s not what Jesus is talking about here. The “bad things” that happened to these people was not a direct result of their sin. And yet it happened. So why did it happen? Were they worse sinners than everyone else? Jesus emphatically answers that question. Twice he says, “I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too.” 

Brutal murders, shocking accidents, death in whatever form are all preachments of God’s law: “The soul that sins is the one who will die.” Jesus’ point is clear to those in the crowd who thought they understood–you need to repent. All people are in need of repentance. The people of Israel, the people of Gaza, the people of Madison are all in need of repentance. There is no such thing as a worse sinner. The wages of sin is death–there’s no difference. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And Jesus tells us that unless we repent, we will perish.

But this is not what God wants. Not at all! God wants all to be saved! Peter tells us that clearly when he writes,    “The Lord is not slow to do what he promised, as some consider slowness. Instead, he is patient for your sakes, not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance.” But in order to come to repentance, we need to understand exactly what it means to repent.

Repentance literally means to turn or change your mind. Imagine that you were walking due East. If you repented, you would turn, you would change your mind about going East, and you’d start going due West. What does God want us to change our minds about? Sin–our sinful lifestyles, our sinful action, our sinful attitudes–all of it! Instead of trying to blame our sin on someone or something else as is so easy to do, God wants us to change our mind about sin. He wants us to experience the first part of repentance, the part we call contrition. Contrition is true sorrow over sin. It’s something that we as parents often tell our kids to express. “Say you’re sorry,”  we often like to say. True contrition is not forced like the “Sorry” we hear so often. True contrition is genuine sorrow and sadness over our sins. It’s taking full responsibility for them. It’s the attitude of the tax collector who couldn’t even lift his eyes up to heaven. But that’s not all that repentance entails, simply being sorry for our sins. What an awful existence that would be–living our lives constantly being in sorrow over sin! No, contrition is only half the equation. 

The second part of repentance is just as important as the first. The second part of repentance involves faith. It is faith in the forgiveness of sins that Jesus won for us on the cross. True repentance is the difference between Peter and Judas. Both men were truly contrite–only one of them believed that they were forgivable and forgiven. True repentance clings to the forgiveness of sins that Jesus gives to us through the receiving hand of faith. True repentance is God’s precious gift of grace! We have the wonderful promise of God that there is forgiveness for each and every sin that we’ve ever committed. However, that doesn’t give us the license to go out and sin recklessly and intentionally and expect to fall back on the bank of forgiveness. Listen again to what Peter told us, “he is patient for your sakes, not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance.” Yes, God is indeed patient with us…but that patience won’t last forever. To illustrate that truth, Jesus told a parable. 

“A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it, but he did not find any. 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?’ But the gardener replied to him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put fertilizer on it. If it produces fruit next year, fine. But if not, then cut it down.’”  When Jesus told this parable, everyone was still living under the regulations of the Old Testament. That meant all of the ceremonial laws that God had given Israel–regulations that pointed to Christ–were still in effect. Among those regulations was a note about trees. God told Moses in Leviticus 19, “Also when you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, you must cut off its budding fruit as if it were a foreskin. For three years you shall regard the tree and its fruit as uncircumcised. Its fruit shall not be eaten. In the fourth year, all its fruit shall be set aside as a holy offering of praise to the Lord. You may eat its fruit in the fifth year, so that its yield may be increased for you. I am the Lord your God.” According to the Law, you weren’t allowed to eat the fruit from your tree for the first three years. Then, in the fourth year, you could now harvest the fruit as a gift for the LORD. Then, five years after it was planted, you could finally harvest the fruit for yourself. If that is what the people understood, the man in Jesus’ parable had been waiting seven years for fruit from his fig tree! It’s no wonder he’s becoming impatient. He was ready to cut it down. But his gardener, his caretaker intervened for the tree. He promised to cultivate the soil and fertilize it and water it. He promised to give that tree the best possible chance to produce fruit. He asked for one more year, a little more time–but a definite amount of time. And if, after all that extra TLC, there was still no fruit, then cut it down.

And that’s how the parable ends! It’s a cliffhanger! Aren’t you just the least bit curious, What Happened to the Tree? Did the extra TLC work? Did it finally bear fruit after eight years? Was it cut down? I’m sorry to disappoint you, but we don’t know what happened to the tree. We don’t know the end of that story. But you know, I don’t think we were ever meant to know. I don’t think we were meant to know because I don’t think that’s the real question, is it? God doesn’t want us to worry about what happened to the tree. The question he really wants us to ask is, “What will happen to me?” You are the tree that God plants. As the master gardener, God plants each and every one of us. And as the master gardener, he plants us with the expectation that we’re going to bear fruit. That’s what John told the Pharisees when he said, “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” That’s what Paul said when he wrote,  “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance so that we would walk in them.” That’s what James meant when he said, “So also, such “faith,” if it is alone and has no works, is dead.”  True repentance demonstrates itself in bearing fruit. True repentance desires to do God’s will. For so long, God had waited for the tree of Israel to produce fruit–yet she would not. Are you like that tree of Israel–just taking up space–or are you bearing fruit to God’s glory?

As we are on the brink of another New Year, it seems that we hear of a different tragedy every week. It’s a clear indication that we are in the End Times–we’re in that eighth year. God is cultivating our hearts with his Law and fertilizing it with his Gospel. Are we just taking up space or are we bearing fruit to God’s glory? Let’s make this our New Year’s resolution: May we turn from our sin in true contrition! May we turn to the LORD, confident in his deliverance! May we bear the fruit through the power of the Gospel that our God desires! Amen.