Repent or Perish

Monday after Reminiscere 

  

There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:1-5)

Jesus constantly refocuses those to whom He preaches from their preoccupation with themselves, to what is truly important – Him. The question asked of Jesus here is reminiscent of the question asked of Him by His disciples regarding the man born blind. (John 9:1-5) Then, the disciples asked Jesus to tell them who’s sin was responsible for the man’s blindness: his, or that of his parents. Jesus’ answer surprised His disciples. He said neither. Jesus said that the man was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him. (John 9:3) This came as a shock to the disciples who, like most others in that culture, saw such things as blindness and other tragedies of circumstance, as God’s punishment for sin. They wanted to know why the terrible thing happened; they probably wanted to know for the same reason that we today cry out, “Why, God?” when bad things happen to us and to those we love. They were trying to justify themselves.

We might be bad, but we’re surely not as bad as that man; after all, God struck him with blindness. The very best spin one could put on one’s motives for knowing why would be that they wanted to avoid sinning, so that they weren’t punished in a similar way. But that isn’t really it. We want to compare ourselves with others so as to prove that we are, if not actually good, not completely bad and worthy of damnation. Such an attitude is the likely motivation of the ones who questioned Jesus about the Galileans.

Jesus sets them straight right away. They are focusing their eyes on their neighbor. In order to get their eyes focused on Him, He must first focus their eyes on themselves. “Do you suppose That these Galileans were worse sinners than other Galileans, because they suffered such things?” says Jesus. He answers His own question immediately and tells them no. “But unless you repent you will all likewise perish,” Jesus tells them bluntly. Don’t worry about what kind of sinners your neighbors are. There is only one sinner who will cause you to be separated from God forever, and be cast into hell where their worm does not die, and their fire never goes out – you. You, along with with every other member of the human race have been poisoned with the toxin of sin from the time you were conceived. (Psalm 51:5) The imaginations of your heart have been evil from your youth, just like everyone else’s. (Genesis 8:21) Is this sinner worse than that sinner? Are tragic events punishments for our sin? Why do bad things happen to good people?

These questions take our focus off the real issue. There are no good people, at least from God’s perspective. Terrible things that happen may or may not be direct punishments for individual actual sins, but only God knows that; they are definitely punishments in the sense that terrible things that happen to us, like death, are the result of our sin, and we experience all types of consequences of sin because we live in a creation which is fallen, cursed, and full of sin. From God’s perspective, we all are the worst sinner. We all deserve the things that happen to us. We all deserve death.

Jesus calls us to repentance, that is, He calls us to recognize and be horrified by sin, and to believe in Jesus as our savior from sin, death, and the devil. (Luther 2005) Jesus tells us that He did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world by the shedding of his own blood. (Mark 10:45; John 1:29)

“Brutal murders, shocking accidents, death in whatever form – all are sermons of God’s law: the soul that sins will die. Death is one way God calls people to repentance, lest they perish eternally. Some falsely conclude that if nothing really bad happens to them in life, it is a sign that they have been living good lives. Jesus is teaching that not only certain very wicked people need to repent but repentance is necessary for everyone.” (Prange 2000)

He calls us to endure the suffering we experience in this fallen world with an eye on the coming new creation, “…for here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.” (Hebrews 12:14) The purpose of the Lenten season is to help us understand our circumstances, to repent of our sin, and to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning it’s shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2) ###

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Bibliography

Luther, Martin. 2005. Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

Prange, Victor H. 2000. Luke. Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House.