LUKE 13:1-9
THE LORD USES
EVILS TO WORK FOR YOUR SALVATION.
In
the name + of Jesus.
People have always wanted to know why God
does what he does, especially when tragedies occur. When you experience some hardship, whether a
health-related concern or a natural disaster, you want to know: Did God send it
or did God allow it? Is God responsible,
or is it the devil’s work? The Bible
teaches this: “On a good day, enjoy the good, but on a bad day, consider
carefully. God has made the one as well
as the other, so no man can find out about anything that will come later”
(Ecclesiastes 7:14). So, we should never
get the idea that God lost control and that the devil had his way with us. Jesus lives and reigns over all things.
This is not a reason to assess blame. This is a reason to take comfort. For, Jesus promises you this: “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me… And surely I am with you always until the end
of the age” (Matthew 28:18,20). So,
no matter what happens, it only happens with Jesus watching over every aspect
of your life and, in fact, of this whole world.
Jesus promises you, “Not one (sparrow) will fall to the ground
without the knowledge and consent of your Father” (Matthew 10:29). Nothing happens apart from the Lord, whether good
or bad. And nothing happens with Jesus
being apart from you. The Lord uses even
evils to work for your salvation. With
this in mind, you can face each day with confidence and peace.
Still, we
try to figure out what God is doing and why he is doing it. We long to peak behind the curtain, thinking that
we will find comfort and peace if we know the secret things of God. Well, there’s a reason God keeps them a
secret. It is the same reason parents don’t
sit down with their 10-year-old children to explain their credit card debt or
the difficulties of their marriage. The
children don’t need to know that. They
only need to know that their parents are with them, love them, and will care
for them. That is exactly what Jesus
promises you. So, fear not.
“At
that time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose
blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices” (Luke 13:1). We don’t know why this bloody tragedy in the
temple occurred. Did Pontius Pilate feel
the need to flex some Roman muscles? Maybe. Or did these Galileans provoke it? The Galileans were known for being revolutionaries. Did some Zealots go to the temple to stage an
uprising, causing Pilate’s soldiers to crush it? Maybe.
Either way, it was a big story, and some wanted to hear what Jesus had
to say about it. Why did this
happen? Why did God allow it? What was God doing? Jesus, what do you think?
Jesus “answered them, ‘Do you think
that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because
they suffered these things’” (Luke 13:2)?
From Jesus’ answer, we might infer that people thought these Galileans
had it coming to them, that they were receiving their just desserts. Jesus did not fault the Galileans or curse
the Romans. What Jesus’ answer does
teach us is that we should not concern ourselves with why tragedies happen
to other people. Is it God’s
judgment? Is it Satan stirring up
trouble? If you knew the answer, would
that make you feel any better about yourself?
If so, you missed the point completely.
Jesus warned, “Do you think that (they) were worse sinners…? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too”
(Luke 13:2-3).
Jesus,
then, mentioned another tragedy. This one
was not an act of violence but an accident.
The tower of Siloam had collapsed and crushed 18 people. Jesus had them consider: “Do you think
that they were worse sinners than all the people living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too”
(Luke 13:4-5). Once again, people
must have been thinking that sudden or tragic death reflects God’s judgment. But we don’t know the mind of God. He does not tell us why people die suddenly,
tragically, or in infancy. All our groping
for answers produces only frustration and suspicion. When we speculate, we might conclude that God
is wicked because we deserve better. But
if you don’t know why something happened, how can you assess blame?
All we can know about tragedies is what
God tells us. Job reminds us, “Man
born of woman has a few short days, and they are full of anxiety. He blossoms like a flower, but soon withers. He recedes like a shadow and does not remain. …Certainly his days are determined. The number of his months has been set by you. A limit is set, which he cannot exceed” (Job
14:1-2,5). So, we know that life is
full of anxiety. Bad things happen. We know that all lives end in death, and there
is no promise about how many days you get. Meanwhile, all the days leading up to death
are a mix of joy and pain, blessing and suffering.
But now, the why. Why do sorrows and sufferings
occur? Because it is a sinful world and
we are sinners in this sinful world. Sin
corrupts everything. Sorrow and
suffering are evidence of it. They are
reminders that the end of our lives and the end of the world is coming. If we are continually reminded that all that
we see and possess and experience will come to an end, we will be forced to
look for comfort and peace from somewhere outside ourselves and from outside
this world. We will also learn to not be
attached to this world or attracted to its blessings. While we can appreciate the blessings, they
are temporary. The happiness they bring is
temporary. It can be destroyed without
notice—like a tower collapsing on eighteen people in Jerusalem. If you want lasting happiness, it must come
from somewhere else. God uses evils to
highlight this and to work for our salvation.
The only lasting happiness, in fact, ever-lasting
happiness, that you will find is through Jesus Christ. Jesus promises you a joy that cannot be
killed off by death. Jesus issues a
sentence which wipes away all guilt.
Jesus gives you a treasure which never loses its value and a peace which
will never be interrupted by war, terror, or tragedy. Although we are familiar with such evils in
this world, Jesus will bring you into a kingdom that will be forever free from
them all. The evils you experience here make
you long for what is better. So, God
uses these evils to work for your salvation.
God used evil to secure your
salvation. Although Jesus only ever did
good to the people he encountered, he still gained enemies. They tried to trap him in his words so that they
could accuse him as a false teacher.
They slandered him and plotted against him. They arrested him without charges and unjustly
sentenced him. His death sentence was
not done for the sake of justice but for the sake of appeasing an angry
mob. All these evils piled up against
Jesus, but all were used by the Lord to work for your salvation.
At the cross, a strange justice was
carried out. It has the appearance of
evil because the innocent are not supposed to be condemned and the guilty are
not supposed to get off scott free. St.
Peter wrote, “Christ suffered once for sins in our place, the righteous for
the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18). So, the righteous, innocent man was condemned
and the unrighteous have been set free. This
shows you God’s love for you—that he was willing to have his only begotten Son
slain for you so that you will not perish but have everlasting life. That love remains, that salvation stands,
that mercy endures even when tragedies and sufferings strike. Even though they are painful, those hardships
are temporary. God’s love, however,
endures forever. He promises an eternity
whose joys are beyond comparison to any sufferings we face here.
While it is true that Jesus has done all things
that need to be done to win your salvation, the Lord still looks for repentance
in your life. Repentance and faith are
not merely mental exercises. They do not
just lay there; they produce results. Repentance
puts to death the sinful desires that bring on God’s judgment. Faith produces a life that does what is good,
honorable, generous, and pure. The Lord looks
for these things which prove that our repentance is genuine.
To make this point, Jesus told the parable
about the fruitless fig tree. The man
said, “Look, for three years now I have come looking for fruit on
this fig tree, and I have found none. Cut
it down. Why even let it use up the soil”
(Luke 13:7)? Just as you plant a
fruit tree to enjoy its fruit, so the Lord has planted you in his kingdom to do
works that he delights in. He has planted
faith in you so that it will produce fruits which are evidence of your
faith. If the Lord has been pleased to set
you free from all the curses—and eventually all the consequences—of your sins,
then the Lord has also set you free to live a life that renounces those sins
and lives a life that is godly, productive, and beneficial to others.
And he has made this promise to you: “I
am the Vine; you are the branches. The
one who remains in me and I in him is the one who bears much fruit” (John
15:5). So, if your faith is being informed
by God’s word and being fed by God’s sacraments, the good works will come
forth. For “it is God who is working
in you, both to will and to work, for the sake of his good pleasure”
(Philippians 2:13). Just as Jesus
provides the very righteousness you need to stand before the Father at the final
judgment, so also Jesus produces in you the very fruits the Father delights to
see in your life. As long as you are
being nurtured by God’s word and sacraments, the good fruits will come forth
and prove your repentance and your faith to be genuine.
Even while you strive for good, bad things
will still happen to you. In a sinful
world, it is inevitable. Just as good
works are evidence of a living faith, so also tragedies and suffering are
evidence of a sinful world. But God uses
these evils to work for your salvation.
They cause you to focus on the glories of the heavenly kingdom. They also give you opportunities on earth to
love and serve your fellow man in his need.
Tragedies experienced by others are ways for fruits of faith to be seen
in you. And tragedies that you experience
are ways for you to confess your confidence in God’s promises.
So, do not fear. Jesus lives and reigns in you and for
you. Nothing happens apart from Jesus. And nothing happens with Jesus being apart
from you. Therefore, you will not
perish. God works all things for your
good.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
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