Surprising Side of Love
Throughout the Bible, especially in the prophets, God calls his people to repent of their sins, to humble themselves and amend their ways, or else face his judgment. Some may think that the threat of judgment and the call to repentance is evidence of the hardness or harshness of God. But what if it’s actually the opposite? What if God’s call to repentance is actually a surprising side of his love?
You see, sin is destructive. It destroys people and relationships and families and churches and nations. So, in kindness, God threatens to judge sin because he loves the people he’s made. He doesn’t want his people to suffer under the suffocating tyranny of sin. He wants them to walk with greater joy and freedom in his presence. So, like a faithful friend and good Father, he sends promises of judgment if his people don’t repent. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t bother.
What the prophets did in the Old Testament was a microcosm of what Jesus came to do in the New Testament: to call God’s people to repentance in view of God’s promised judgment.
This is what we’ll see in our text today, Luke 13:1-9. The main point of this text is that we must repent or perish, and we must do it quickly. Verses 1-5 say that we must repent or perish, and verses 6-9 say we must do it quickly.
Repent or Perish
First, in verses 1-5, Jesus says we must repent or perish. Some folks in the crowd mention a recent tragedy (v. 1). The incident involved some Galileans who were killed by the Roman governor of the region, Pilate, while they were offering their sacrifices. The event probably took place near the temple, where sacrifices were offered. We don’t know exactly what happened, but whatever it was, Pilate used force to deal with these Galileans and death resulted.
Something like this happening at the most sacred site in Israel would’ve undoubtedly enflamed the people against their rulers. Perhaps these folks want to know if Jesus is going to do anything about this injustice. But, interestingly, Jesus chooses not to enter the debate about this event and instead decides to talk about something more important.
This event was stirring up passion among the people and when Jesus was asked to comment on it, instead of giving political commentary, he urges people toward spiritual reflection. He responds with a question in verse 2. He asks whether people think that the Galileans who died were “worse sinners” than other Galileans? Did they get what they deserved?
Jesus raises this question because people were undoubtedly thinking this way. And we’re no different. Our tendency is to believe in karma: bad things happen to bad people and good things happen to good people. We assume that calamity comes to those who deserve it. We think, “I wonder what they did to deserve such a tragedy? Whatever it is, it must be bad. I hate that for them, but at least I’m okay!”
We often think that our righteousness is why we’re safe from tragedy. Our arrogance leads us to think that those who experience tragedy must deserve it.
But Jesus says our thinking is wrong: “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (v. 3). These Galileans didn’t die because they were worse than others.
Then he warns the crowd about a more fundamental issue, namely, the tragedy that awaits all who don’t repent. The issue Jesus is concerned about isn’t whether death will come or not, but that people avoid what’s worse than death, namely, God’s judgment.
Jesus sidesteps the political question, not because it’s unimportant or because there aren’t real injustices there. But to highlight what’s more important. He’s trying to turn our eyes away from the breaking news so that we can look at our own lives.
Our repentance before God is more important than any headline in the news that day, or today. Jesus knows that all sinners face the same fate before a holy God, so the timing of the end of our life and the manner of our death is in a sense irrelevant. Judgement is coming and only the repentant will survive.
In verses 4-5, Jesus brings up another news story of the day, the tower in Siloam falling and killing eighteen people. He asks the same question again, were those eighteen people worse than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? No, they were not. Rather, the more important story is the immediate danger everyone in the crowd faces that day, and in this room today.
Failing to repent leaves us in immediate danger, exposed to a certain death of a kind far worse than being crushed by a tower. Tragedies from human hands like the Galileans being killed by Pilate, or tragedies from natural causes, like those crushed by the tower of Siloam, are not as bad as the tragedy of not being ready for God’s judgment. It’s therefore imperative that everyone repent immediately.
What is Repentance?
This begs a fundamental question that I hope you’re already asking yourself: If the most important issue in my life is my repentance before God, then what is repentance? And how do I know if I have indeed repented?
First, what is repentance? Simply put, repentance is a radical inward change of mind and heart.[1] Repentance is not merely feeling sorry for sin or changing behaviors. The word “repentance” is made up of two Greek words that together mean a change of mind. Not in the sense of changing your opinion on something, but rather in the sense of a change in your dispositions and perceptions and purposes. It’s a fundamental change in the way you see everything, especially God and man.
Luke 3:8 helps illustrate this, where John the Baptist says, “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.” He then gives some examples of the fruits of repentance, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise” (v. 11). Repentance is what happens on the inside of us that creates the fruits of new behaviors. Repentance is not the new actions but the inward change of heart that leads to the new deeds. Jesus says in Luke 13 that we must have this change of heart or we will perish.
Why Must We Repent?
Why does he demand that we repent? Because we’re sinners. He says, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (5:32).
Our sin is no minor issue. It’s not merely hurtful to other people and to ourselves. It’s also an assault on God’s character. In the parable of the prodigal son, when the prodigal repents, he says, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (15:21). His sin was primarily an offense against God. That’s the essential nature of sin. As David says, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (Ps. 51:4). Jesus talks about sin as a “debt” in the Lord’s Prayer (Lk. 11:4). Our sin puts us in debt to God for the ways we’ve dishonored him. On the cross, Jesus pays the debt himself. But to enjoy that gift he says we must repent.
And the need to repent is urgent. If we don’t repent, Jesus says we’ll “perish” (13:3, 5). By “perish,” he means we’ll receive the judgment of God on the last day. If we don’t repent, we won’t escape judgment.
This is why repentance is a central part of the gospel Jesus came preaching. He said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk. 1:15). The good news is that Jesus came to bring God’s kingdom and save sinners so that they can live forever in that kingdom when he comes again in judgment.
The call to repent is for all people. After Jesus rose from the dead, he made sure his apostles would keep preaching the same message he preached. He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations” (Lk. 24:46-47). Jesus’ demand is for all people everywhere: repent, be changed deep within, turn your heart and mind to God and his Son Jesus for salvation from your sins.
How Do We Know If We Have Repented?
Repentance is a radical inward change of mind and heart that produces outward, visible fruit. Repentance is a change in worship that brings a change in behavior.
This brings up another question: how can we know if we’ve truly repented? If only those who’ve repented will be saved, then we do well to carefully consider whether we’ve truly repented. So let’s look at false repentance compared to true repentance.
False Repentance
False repentance is focused on cleaning up our lives.[2] It looks like the mentality of doing good to make up for the bad. Some think that repentance is like a serious religious New Years resolution. We tell ourselves, “I won’t blow up at my kids anymore,” “I’ll never look at pornography again,” “I’ll never cheat on my hours at work again,” or “I’ll never gossip about my coworkers or my boss again.”
This approach to repentance is focused on cleaning up behaviors. And it’s not that hard to pull off. Many who do it convince themselves that they’re good with God because they’ve accomplished some behavioral modifications.
The danger is that this view of repentance looks like real devotion to God. The Pharisees were experts at it. They were the best-behaved people in Israel. They never cussed or stayed up too late or doom scrolled and they made sure to project a very strong appearance of religiosity and righteousness. But Jesus comes along and calls them white-washed tombs: clean on the outside but corrupt on the inside (Mt. 23:27).
The Pharisees teach us that repentance is not the same as moral resolve. But repentance is also not a feeling. It’s not feeling bad or guilty about things we’ve done. We feel bad if we get caught or if we let someone down or let ourselves down. Real repentance requires real guilt over our sin. But it’s possible to feel guilty over sin you still love. Repentance must go deeper than just feeling bad about sin.
In his book Conversion, Michael Lawrence says false repentance is seen in the person who is excited about heaven but bored by Christians and the local church; thinks heaven will be great, whether God is there or not; likes Jesus, but didn’t sign up for the rest – obedience, holiness, discipleship, suffering; can’t tell the difference between obedience motivated by love and legalism; or is bothered by other people’s sins more than his or her own.[3]
Real Repentance
Now that you have some idea what false repentance looks like, let’s think about real repentance. Simply put, real repentance is a new worship. It’s a changed life that results from a changed worship. It’s being convicted by the Holy Spirit of the sinfulness of our sin. It means hating things we used to love and loving things we used to be indifferent to. It means turning toward God in love. It means wanting to serve the Lord instead of use him to get ourselves to heaven. “It’s a new deepest loyalty of the heart.”[4]
This understanding of repentance is why we shouldn’t pressure people to make hasty “decisions” for Jesus and offer them quick assurance after they “prayed the prayer.” Instead, we call people to repent, to turn their hearts, their worship, their whole lives to God. And this takes some time to discern.
The New Testament (especially in First John) describes the person who’s done this as someone who has a growing love for God, others, and holiness. Someone with real repentance loves and desires fellowship with God. Someone with real repentance loves other Christians and the local church because they see them as family members. Someone with real repentance wants to please God by obeying him and confessing and turning away from sin.
Becoming a Christian means signing up for a life of repentance, or what Jesus described as taking up our cross daily to follow him. It starts at a point in time but continues every day until we see him face to face.
So, friends, wherever you’re at today, the Lord is calling you to “repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with repentance” (Acts 26:20).
Have you repented? Is there a radical inward change of mind and heart that produces outward, visible fruit in your life?
Do It Quickly
Verses 1-5 say that we must repent or perish; verses 6-9 say we must do it quickly.
This parable is connected to what Jesus says in verses 1-5. People must repent (vv. 1-5)! There will be a delay in judgment, but not a long one (vv. 6-9). This delay is evidence of God’s mercy.
Luke purposefully put these two passages next to each other because he wants them to be read together. As one scholar says:
“Both show that something is terribly wrong and provide a warning of judgment and call for repentance, but the parable is not merely a repetition of the warning in vv. 1-5. The preceding verses express only crisis, but the parable tells of coming to the brink of crisis and the crisis being pushed back. The crisis is delayed, and hope is aroused that destruction will not be necessary.”[5]
The parable is Jesus’ way of saying to the crowds, “I’m calling you to repent, but though you deserve judgment, that judgment will be delayed just a bit longer so you can repent.”
The first part of the parable sounds a lot like what John the Baptist said, “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (3:9).
But the gardener’s suggestion that the owner wait another year before cutting the fig tree down doesn’t sound like John’s appeal. Is Jesus contradicting John? No, but he is temporarily suspending the tree cutting to give the tree one last chance to produce fruit. It’s like John was saying, “Judgment is here!”, and Jesus is saying, “There’s still time, but not much.”
The thought of this parable is summarized by Paul in Romans 2:4, where he says that the “riches of God’s kindness and forbearance and patience…is meant to lead us to repentance.” And Peter is 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
Jesus is saying that God’s mercy compels him to wait just a bit longer to give his people a chance to repent. Jesus’ ministry is a time of delay and warning before the final judgment comes. Both the call to repentance and the delay of judgment are evidence of God’s love for us.
The Owner of the Garden Will Return
In our day and time, we have little awareness of God’s judgment, little sense of an impending crisis. Our busy lives and entertainments and work insulate us from such ideas. One writer says, “We need to recover some sense that our actions really are significant and remember that the gospel includes judgment, mercy, and a call for repentance and productive living.”[6]
Jesus’ words are meant to wake us from our spiritual slumber and remind us of the precarious situation we’re in. Jesus is reminding us that we don’t know when we’ll be called to give an account for our lives.
God sent Jesus on a rescue mission to a dead and dying planet full of people in danger of receiving the consequences of rejecting God. He came to rescue dying sinners because he loves dying sinners!
Friends today is the day of salvation. If you haven’t repented of your sins and put your faith in Christ, the one who came to die for sins, you must do so today. There’s still time, but there won’t always be time. The Owner of the Garden will come back one day and cut down all the trees that aren’t bearing fruit. What will he find on the tree of your life when he returns?
[1]This section is a summary of John Piper, What Jesus Demands from the World (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2006), 40-3.
[2]This section is a summary of Michael Lawrence, Conversion: How God Creates a People (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017), 51-2.How Hohhh
[3]Ibid., 53-4.
[4]Ibid., 53.
[5]Klyne R. Snodgrass, Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2018), 262.
[6]Ibid., 265.