- Mar 23, 2025
- 6 min read
[Read Luke 13:1-9]
Called to Be Fruitful
As Jesus is teaching, some report to Him about recent tragedies – “…about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.” Sacrilege and violence. Others had in mind those on whom a tower in Siloam, a pool in Jerusalem, had fallen.
Jesus responds, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?” “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?” “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” [Lk. 13:1-5]
We should not think that tragedies, natural disasters, or bad diagnoses happen to others because they are uniquely bad. Only God knows His purpose in hard times.
But witnessing tragedy is cause for our own repentance. We should realize what worse thing would befall us for our own sins. There, but for the grace of God, go I.
Jesus is telling His people that they must repent – not just everyone else – and then He tells them this parable of a fig tree, a fig tree that, so far, is not bearing fruit:
“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.’” [Lk. 13:6-9]
Israel is God’s fig tree. He baptized them through the Red Sea and under the cloud [1 Corinthians 10:1-2]. He fed them manna in the wilderness and gave them water from the rock [1 Cor. 10:3-4]. And He planted them in the land to which He brought them. Yet, “with most of them”, it says, “God was not pleased” [1 Cor. 10:5].
They made an idol of gold and praised it as the god who brought them out of Egypt, with feasts and parties [1 Cor. 10:7; Exodus 32:4,6]. God’s covenant people lived in sexual immorality and didn’t honor the covenant of marriage [1 Cor. 10:8].
Israel grumbled and complained against God and against their God-given leader, Moses. They tested the Lord, saying “Will He really give us water to drink in this wilderness? He’s letting us die!” Though God had given them food and drink all that way. [1 Cor. 10:9-10; Numbers 14:1-4; 21:4-9]
Like the man in the parable who gave his fig tree three years to produce fruit, God sent His prophets to Israel, century after century, to plead with them to turn to the Lord. To show the fruit of repentance. And the fruit of faith, to trust their Lord.
God sent prophets like Ezekiel whom God appointed as a watchman for Israel to warn the wicked, because He does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked but desires that they would turn and live [Ezekiel 33:7-11].
And then God sent His only Son. And to Him too God’s people would not listen.
“These things happened to them as an example” and “they were written down for our instruction” [1 Cor. 10:11]. Unless we repent, we too will perish.
Are we fruitful toward God? Can He be pleased with us? Not with them. With me. Not the speck that’s in their eyes, but the log that’s in mine. Do I listen to His calls to repentance? “Let the one who thinks he stands watch out that he does not fall.” [1 Cor. 10:12]
The man in the parable was ready to cut his fig tree down. The vinedresser interceded and acquired more mercy for it, “Give it one more year. Let me dig around it and fertilize it. Let me work on it that much longer. Then, if it bears fruit, good. If not, then cut it down.”
The true vinedresser is your Savior Jesus, who, in truth, went many steps further. He Himself took the place of His barren fig tree and was nailed to a barren, branchless cross for it. The Righteous for the unrighteous.
Jesus went to the extreme in seeking to save you, and He has saved you. He died for fruitless mankind. He replaced us in death and condemnation to set us free.
Now, by His saving death, Jesus has born the fruit. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” – “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” [John 12:24,32].
Lifted up on the cross, buried in the tomb, and alive again – raised from the dead – having forgiven you in full by His atoning blood – and having conquered the power of sin and death that rendered us fruitless – the fruit that Jesus now bears on His tree is all of you.
Where there is the forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. Christ’s cross, where your sins are forgiven, is now a life-giving tree, full of branches and fruit. You are its many, tender branches – once dead, but now grafted into that life-giving cross, and God bearing His fruit in you.
The fruit God bears in you is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” [Galatians 5:22-23]
Not by the pressing thumb of the Law anymore, but by the life of the Holy Spirit which comes to you in the forgiving Gospel – by that, God bears the fruit of love in you.
· Love for God and for your neighbor, because God has so loved you. [1 John 4:10,19]
· Joy, because there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents [Luke 15:7].
· Peace, because you now have peace with God by faith in Jesus. [Rom. 5:1]
· Patience with others, because God has been, and still is, patient with you.
· Kindness, because God is kind to you.
· Goodness, because of God’s goodness.
· Faithfulness, because God is faithful to His covenant promises to you.
· Gentleness, because God handles your faults gently.
· Self-control, so that these hands and this mouth don’t offend against my God.
And when you have sinned, you still have a patient intercessor who interposes His precious blood. We can turn, repent, to Him and trust that He will accept us and even still bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit in us, sinners though we be.
Christ’s continued work – for you and in you – is as concrete as the work of the vinedresser in the parable who dug and fertilized that tree. Jesus speaks and feeds. He speaks absolution, forgiveness, to our confession of sin – He speaks to us the guidance of His Word preached – He feeds us in His Supper, and in His Word.
And, lastly, as living, human branches – unlike mere wood – we do have an active role in making use of His Word and Supper in the worship service. We listen to the Word intently, making an effort to learn it and apply it to ourselves. We receive the Supper purposefully, with self-examination, for our help and aid from sins and hardship.
And we are present to make deliberate use of the Confession & Absolution, in the beginning of the service, which does bear fruit in us when we use it.
God is not willing that we perish. Let’s not miss out on these things, but let’s make use of God’s Means of Grace so that, on His tree, we can be branches full of the fruits that He is working in us. Amen.
- Mar 21, 2025
- 6 min read
[Luke 13:31-35] At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to [Jesus], “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. 33Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ 34O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! 35Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
[Philippians 3:20] “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…”
Uncertain Times and a Better Citizenship
The Pharisees and King Herod were not allies. They were natural enemies. Herod stood for licentious, self-indulgent living. Moral flexibility in his standards. Noted in Scripture for his adultery – and for beheading God’s prophet, John the Baptist, who spoke against it.
The Pharisees stood for moral strictness and high standards. The best for their nationality and nation. They stoned the adulterous! And were about to once, before Jesus stopped them [John 8:1-11].
Herod and the Pharisees were at odds in every way – except for a few. The power and prosperity of their nation, Israel, were of high importance. Jerusalem mattered a lot, though for different reasons. They were men of this world.
Neither Herod nor the Pharisees could’ve sung, honestly, “I’m but a stranger here, heaven is my home…” For the Pharisees it was religious – for Herod it was politics – for both, matters of this world were their hope, not God’s heaven.
This fact united them against one common enemy. When they met the God of heaven, they despised Him. God became Man in His Son Jesus Christ. God came. The Pharisees who professed to serve God in purity of life and doctrine – and Herod, who sat on the throne over God’s chosen Israel – when they met the Lord, were at odds with the Lord.
Throughout the Gospels, the Pharisees are clearly opposed to Jesus, plotting against Him in every interaction. So, we would assume in today’s reading as well that their motive isn’t friendly. They want Jesus gone, so they kindly warn Him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.”
Herod thinks Jesus might be John the Baptist raised from the dead [Matthew 14:2], and, so, probably really was seeking to kill him – again, kind of.
What is proven true – and is further seen to be true – is this: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” [Luke 9:58]. Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, is not at home in man’s world. Jesus has entirely different motives and interests.
Herod wants power, influence, and wealth in this world – and to pursue the desires of his flesh. Pharisees want purity in the traditions of their nation and elders – and to protect the established status of their religion and tradition in their country.
For Jesus, He is but a stranger here, heaven is His home. Earth is a desert drear, heaven is His home. Danger and sorrow stand ’round Him on every hand; Heaven is His fatherland, Heaven is His home. (If you remember the hymn…)
Heaven is Jesus’ home, and therefore His purposes on earth are heaven centered. “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.’” Jesus is on His course to the cross. His face is set.
Jesus’ face is set toward Jerusalem – the city where He is headed – not to be honored, but to be crowned with a crown of thorns, to carry His cross, to be crucified and to die. For the purposes of heaven – to redeem sinners.
To redeem the adulterous woman. To redeem the greedy man. To bring the crucified thief with Him into Paradise. An to soften the heart of the hardhearted Pharisee and of the brutal centurion. To make repentance possible. To give new life.
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost”, said Paul, a former Pharisee [1 Timothy 1:15].
“I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” [Matthew 9:13] – spoken for Matthew’s sake, a former defrauder and tax-collector.
“Your sins are forgiven”, Jesus said to a woman who had been forgiven much – and therefore loved the Lord much because of all He had forgiven [Luke 7:36-50]. Christ’s heaven-centered mission.
Regarding things on earth, “We live in uncertain times.” Something said so much that maybe it became cliché. But which, now, has become truer for more people – and which is always true at certain points in our life. Uncertain times.
How will the stock market affect your retirements? And how will it affect the many not-retired people among us who also depend on it? How will new tax and trade situations – new foreign relation situations – affect your ability to do what you need to do for your family?
Some pastors, in their congregations, have people suddenly out of work or potentially out of work because of changes outside of their control. Uncertainty.
Others have uncertainty about whether or not family members – or they themselves – will be able to come in and out of the country. Will paperwork actually get processed? Will fair, legal treatment and due process be the norm? What was an established and normal part of life for many is suddenly uncertain.
What if there is war? What if, in the next ten years, there is major war – and my nation is on the wrong side of it? How do we deal with that? For parents who have children who are not yet (but will be) of military age, these thoughts are more troubling.
And, what if something bad – completely unrelated to the troubles in the news – happens to you personally tomorrow, or next month? What if what you suffer is the fear, the anxiety, of uncertainty? Well, then, uncertain times certainly do not help.
I preached recently, in part, on the idea that, as Christians, we don’t always have a home in this world. The uncertainties of life create camps, tribes. Mere compassion for this person makes you an enemy of that group. Concerns over this or that issue makes you an enemy of another.
Even what you worry about can make you suspect to some. Herods and Pharisees and Lefts and Rights all form around the anxieties of this life.
What every political camp or ideological group will always have in common, in the end, is that they have no use for Jesus Christ and the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins. They belong to this world. But, for us, heaven is our home, and we walk with this different purpose.
At the very least, trouble in this world can remind us of our mission to the lost. To soften the hard hearts. To have compassion and bring the Gospel to those trapped by the desires of their flesh.
And to be a voice for God’s Word of truth – both the guiding light and convicting truth of His Commandments and the forgiving and renewing promise of His Gospel.
Jesus was beset by trouble on every side. But He was committed. His face was set toward the mission of His cross. In Jerusalem, He would become “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” [John 1:29]
He redeemed you by His death. He made new life for you by His resurrection. He created certainty. Certainty regarding you and God. Certainty regarding you and your truest citizenship, that of heaven.
“Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” [Philippians 3:19-21]
Let’s remember that we have certainty about our truest treasure and our forever-future in our true home and nation, the kingdom of our Savior Jesus Christ. Certainty about the good will and intentions of Jesus, who will not turn us away [John 6:37; 2 Peter 3:9].
And let’s be committed to the mission given us – that our faces be set to raising our children, not as Herods or Pharisees, but as disciples of the Savior Jesus – to sharing with them and others the sure and certain hope we have in Jesus to give them the one thing that matters most and forever. Amen.
- Mar 11, 2025
- 4 min read
[Joel 2:12-13] “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
Happy Lent
A cornered animal – even a kind, fluffy one – will lash out with claws and the gnashing of little, razor sharp teeth, once it feels that it is cornered. Maybe you were just trying to help. But it doesn’t know that. If it’s cornered, it bites and growls.
Now, think back to your catechism days, your confirmation days. If your confirmation days were in the Lutheran Church, you probably – I will assume; but otherwise, here’s your lesson – you probably learned about Law and Gospel.
God comes to us, in the Bible, in His Word, with two kinds of words – His Word of Law and His Word of Gospel. In His Word of Law, God speaks His commandments and His just judgment against sin. God’s Law shows us that we are condemned because we have not kept God’s commandments. The Law speaks as a judge.
The Law also plays out naturally in our lives even without hearing God’s Word of Law. The Law shows itself in the sufferings of this life. The wrecked nature of our bodies. In the natural consequences, or legal consequences, of wrongs you’ve done. The Law shows itself in my conscience – in the guilt I feel. In fear and anxiety.
And, God’s Law shows itself in death – the consequence of man’s fall into sin. God created man for life. After man fell into sin, God said to Him, “Surely you are dust and to dust you shall return.” And death spread to all men because all sinned [Romans 5:12]. When Adam fell, our whole nature fell.
God’s Word of Law, and the effects of the Law, corners us: God’s Law speaks “so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God” [Romans 3:19]. “The Scripture imprisoned everything under sin” [Galatians 3:22].
Why do people lash out? Why are some quick to be angry at God? Why do some react badly against good and wholesome things?
Why – when God’s commandments point out our flaws and shortcomings – why do we get angry? Why does a sermon anger me if its words confront something wrong in me? Why do we respond with self-justifications – “I didn’t do anything wrong!” – or excuses; or re-inventing the history of what we did.
When we react badly against God’s Word of Law, it’s because we’re seeing only God’s Word of Law. We’re trapped. We’re cornered. If there’s no way out, I can only either lash out or seek to justify myself.
Or, as Jesus cautioned us against in our reading from Matthew today, I may respond to the guilt of my sin with a show of hypocrisy. Putting on a show of righteousness to cover my unrighteousness.
The point is this: With only God’s Word of Law – with only His commandments and just judgments against sin – repentance is impossible. How can a person repent if they have nowhere to repent to, no one to flee to?
For repentance to be possible, we must hear God’s Word of Gospel. We must hear of the Savior to whom we can safely flee.
God’s Word of Gospel is His Word of the Forgiveness of your sins. God’s Law puts you on trial, but His Gospel shows up in court and speaks the pardon. Yes, you have done wrong, but you have been pardoned because of the actions of another.
Sin brought death – so you have ashes on your forehead today to remind you that you will go to the dust. But those ashes are in the shape of a cross to remind you of the One who has won your pardon. The One who has died for you.
God’s Word of Gospel shows your Savior. “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” [1 Corinthians 15:21-22]
“For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many… as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness – the cross of Christ – leads to justification and life for all men.” [Romans 5:15-21]
This is the Gospel: That, on the cross, Jesus, the holy Son of God, traded places with sinful mankind – traded places with you – and died in our place. “For our sake He made Him to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” [2 Corinthians 5:21]
Your sin was counted as His. His righteousness is counted as yours. “One has died for all, therefore – as God reckons it – all have died” [2 Corinthians 5:14]. Everyone’s price is paid. Justice is done. Now your death is not death but the beginning of everlasting life.
Lent is a season of repentance. Which makes it a happy season. We are no longer cornered, but can flee to the Lord - “Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents over disaster” – Good News and our reason for joy.
The events of this sin-fallen world – the errors and evils of nations; our own or others – also cannot corner us forever. This world matters. Nations matters. Because our neighbors matter – both here and there.
But the world and nations, and all their evils, do end. You-with-God never ends. Your-neighbor-with God never ends.
No matter the world circumstances, let’s repent more seriously and turn more seriously toward the effort of making sure our neighbors know the Savior they have in Jesus Christ through God’s Word of the Gospel. Amen.
