INI March 7, 2010

Sermon preached by Pastor Stephen Kurtzahn at Cross of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church (WELS), 9931 Foley Blvd. NW, Coon Rapids, MN 55433. Please share this with someone else after you have finished. Thank you!

Bible Text—Luke 13:1-9 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

If you look at your worship folder you’ll see that today is the third Sunday in Lent. Several centuries ago, Christians began the practice of starting the Lenten season with a worship service where the pastor would apply ashes to the foreheads of the worshippers. As he would do this the minister would say, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." This is how “Ash” Wednesday got its name.

Dust and ashes have been signs of repentance ever since Old Testament times. The days of Lent—from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday—were devoted to repentance and self-denial. Often Christians would deny themselves certain foods or entertainments during Lent. They did this to remember Jesus' sufferings and death for the sins of the world. These small sacrifices on their part were daily reminders of everything Jesus gave up for us.

When we hear this word "repent," John the Baptizer comes to mind who preached by the Jordan River. He prepared the hearts of the Jewish people for the Savior's public ministry. Jesus proclaimed the very same message in Mark 1: “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!’” (Mark 1:14,15)

Jesus spoke of this very same subject in our text for today. With sorrow over our sins that sent Jesus to the cross, and with faith knowing that his blood washed away all our guilt, let’s PAY ATTENTION TO CHRIST’S CALL TO REPENTANCE!

When something terrible happens in our lives, when we suffer a severe hardship or some sort of misfortune, people are sometimes tempted to ask: "What is God punishing me for?" When someone has suffered a disaster in his or her life, I have actually heard people say: "That person must have done something really bad to deserve this!" 

The people who lived when our Lord walked physically on this earth also asked such questions. This was the case in our text. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, and as he walked with the crowds, people were talking about the news. The big news then was not about Congress and the President’s health care plan, nor was it about the economy or the war in Afghanistan. The news on everyone's lips back then had to do with the murder of some men of Galilee who were offering their sacrifices in the temple. For whatever the reason, it appeared as if the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, ordered his soldiers into the temple to kill these Galileans while they were making their sacrifices to the Lord. The second bit of news was similar to the construction accidents we hear about in our own day—a tower collapsed in Jerusalem and eighteen people were killed!

Jesus heard what was on everyone's lips, but he was more aware of what was on everyone's minds. What had these people done who died so violently in the temple and at the foot of the tower? What terrible sins had they committed? They must have done something really bad!

But the Lord stopped all the guessing that was going on. Listen to what he said: 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 guiltier than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

These people were not killed because of some great sin they committed! None of the Galileans who were still alive, and none of the residents of Jerusalem who were still alive were any better than those who had died. Jesus used these events of his day as a springboard to warn that all sinners—unless they repent—would meet with a terrible end in eternity. The death of every unrepentant sinner, Jesus points out here, is a great tragedy. Repentance is the only way of escape from an even worse fate than what these people suffered!

The word "repent" means "to turn around," or "to change one's mind." The idea behind the word is this: as sinful, unconverted human beings by nature, we have our minds set on doing things our own way. We want to live our own lives. We want to sow our wild oats. We want to experience the sinful pleasures of this life. We want to accumulate the wealth of this world. We want to head in this direction, and this direction only, and we don't care what anybody says—especially God!

But then the Holy Spirit gets a hold of us by means of God's Word and the sacrament of Holy Baptism. God creates a change of mind in us. We realize that the way were headed is straight to hell and is filled with nothing but sin. We understand how we have offended and hurt our Creator by not listening to him and obeying him. And then in faith created by the Holy Spirit, we trust our Savior who forgives our sins. He’s washed us clean, and he’s reconciled us to God. So instead of going this way, we want to go that way. Instead of living a life of sin, we want to live a life of good works out of thankfulness to our Lord for saving us. That’s what repentance is all about.

Jesus then continued his conversation with the crowd by telling a parable—an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?' But he answered and said to him, “Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.” 

This man in the parable knew the fig tree had been planted for a purpose. It was supposed to bear figs. The owner expected this fruit. It would appear as if the man came to the vineyard over and over again with patience, with the hope of finding some fruit on the tree.

But three years had passed, and the owner was disappointed. There was no fruit. The owner's demand to have the tree chopped down was not a quick decision made in a fit of anger. Since it was quite apparent the tree was not bearing fruit, there was nothing left to do but cut it down and make room for other trees that would produce fruit. Those of us who’ve lived on farms or who’ve grown our own gardens can relate to Jesus' story here. If you plant a row of beans and only one or two of the plants pop out of the ground because you had a bad batch of seed, you just dig it all up again and plant better seeds. If you plant a row of peas but the plants are skinny and weak and don't produce any pods, you just pull them all up and start over again with something that will fill your freezer.

But in our Lord's parable, the keeper of the vineyard pleads for more time. He was the one who cared for the owner's orchard and vineyard. He didn’t want to see the tree destroyed. He promised to do everything possible so the tree might become fruitful.

Luke doesn’t give us an interpretation of this parable because its meaning is clear. The owner of the vineyard is God our patient Father. In his law, however, he threatens just punishment for sin. He demands the fruit of living a God-pleasing life, which is the visible evidence of a repentant heart. We human beings are the tree, and if that fruit does not appear, the tree will be cut down.

But then there’s the keeper of the vineyard. This is none other than Jesus himself. As the keeper of the vineyard pleads for more time, this is nothing other than a picture of our Savior's work as our “go-between” with our heavenly Father.  

Now our text for today is intended to show us that repentance is absolutely necessary and that there is still time to repent. How often don't we commit some sin and then think to ourselves, "I'll talk to God about it later and he can forgive me then." But we never talk to God and we never repent. And how many people are there who put off the nourishment of their souls—or the souls of their children—with the Word of God? "I'm busy now. I have to work and make a living for my family. And on the weekends we all want to sleep in late and have some fun. Maybe I'll get serious about religion and go to church when I retire. And maybe my children will get serious about God and his Word when they have their own families. I’m going to let them make that decision for themselves.”