Luke 13:1-9
Tragedy at the Tower of Siloam
1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”
1 John 1:9
Confessing our Sins
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Hebrews 6:13-20
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
It seems we will and have always had tragedies...We have hurricanes that take lives...We have tornadoes that take lives...And we have innocent shooting tragedies, like the recent one, in a western state movie theater...As the kids and patrons waited to see a Batman movie tragedy awaited them...The innocent movie goers who were initially excited and awaiting the first showing of a new movie, a tragedy evolved...I am sure there was much happy anticipation and a fun time in the previous hour, that would soon end in a tragedy...Others across the nation who watched the movie at a far and different place enjoyed themselves, until news got out about the tragedy that happened in Colorado...How quickly the thoughts about a movie (or anything) can change that quickly...Many young people (and older ones) attending that movie that day (I suspect) will always have a memory of that movie and view that day in a negative way...Man's perspective can change, and can change very quickly...How the people thought about that movie after they had just seen it (who were in other states and other theaters), would change after they would later hear or read the latest headlines...
Jesus tells us about two quite different tragedies...He talks about how a group of Galilean worshipers, who were making sacrifices to God, were innocently killed by the Roman soldiers under the command of Pilate...These people were worshiping their very LORD with sacrifices, and thinking about Him, and those great thoughts that go with the LORD and worshiping and praising Him...Then Jesus tells His listeners about another tragedy -the one at Siloam...Eighteen people died and they were just innocent people, who happened to be at a wrong place at the wrong time...They were no more guilty than all the others who were living in Jerusalem...
The way we, as mankind, views things can never be viewed as the way our LORD views things...God thinks quite differently than us...Jesus makes it quite clear that innocent people do suffer -the Galileans were no different in a sin sense than anybody else living in Jerusalem or Israel or even today...And He makes clear one's good fortune and prosperity is not based on their amount of religious work...In the first tragedy Jesus tells, the Galilean were worshiping His Father...And their deaths were at the hands of Pilate...The tragedy at the Tower of Siloam was just an accident, it just happened...There were no doubt good and close followers of the LORD in both these tragedies...And the way He explains it to us, it makes us reflect that minutes before both of His described tragedies -the people may have felt safe and secure...They had no reason not to...
Jesus gives us the Parable of the Fig Tree and seems to be telling us that God has given Israel many years to get the figs to grow or to have a fruitful tree...In fact, Jesus ministry and teachings were also for three years...For three years Jesus and His Father watched us and our progression to Him...But year after year, we put things off, we are busy and we put Him off till next year...We think we will repent or confess in the next week or the next year...We have a Loving Patient LORD...But each of our lives draw nearer to judgment every day...Tragedies can and do strike and we are gone...When He says "if it bears fruit fine, it not cut it down" -means we eventually do finally run out of time...The tree will be cut down on judgement day...Jesus is telling us we delay the things that are important...The things that should be taken care of today...Love the LORD with all your heart each and everyday...
Our lives must be grounded and our thoughts firmly in the LORD...Tragedies happen, just as life happens...To be a descendant of Abraham or to follow the Mosaic Law to the letter is not enough...Unless we repent, we too will all perish...We must regret the sins we do, and tell the LORD about them through confession...Then our LORD will purify us from all unrighteousness...
God is patient and like Abraham, we must be patient...Abraham was promised and God fulfilled His covenant with the first Patriarch...God never lies, so we can be certain of His Promises...God sent His Son to be our Redeemer and Mediator so we can get closer to Him through His Son...Jesus enters the holiest of places on our behalf...When the time comes, we must have Jesus in our hearts, for God will look at us -and if He sees Jesus in our hearts, we will be with Him...
With all the tragedies, evil, troubles, and negativity in this world, I personally need something to hope for and hang on to...We must hold on to This hope...This hope helps us through life, and is the very anchor to my soul...