Now there were some present on that occasion who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. He answered them, “Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered these things? No, I tell you! But unless you repent, you will all perish as well! Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them, do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who live in Jerusalem? No, I tell you! But unless you repent you will all perish as well!” (Luke 13:1-5)
In the first nine verses of chapter 13, Luke continues telling about the events and teachings begun in chapter 12. The phrase, "on that occasion" points back to Luke 12:1, "Meanwhile, when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples..." During this sequence, with this large crowd, Jesus divided His attention between His close disciples and the larger crowd. At various times, people in the crowd would approach Jesus with specific requests, questions, and in this case, information.
Why did they bring that information to Jesus' attention? One possibility is that what Jesus had just said about "reading the signs" prompted these individuals to come forward, as if to say, "Jesus, is Pilate's heinous act a sign that the end is coming and you're going to rescue us as Messiah?" Whether prompted by Jesus or not, they must have expected that Jesus would, at least, condemn Pilate's actions. Another possibility is that they just wanted to hear how Jesus would respond to this alarming news. "What does the Master say?" (Is there a faint echo of WWJD in this?) Still another possibility is that they wanted to cause trouble. By providing this information they put Jesus in the middle of the authorities, Pilate, and the people, the Galileans who were angered by this action. "Choose a side, Jesus."
There's no indication in the text for any of these particular motivations, aside from the placement of this incident right after Jesus' admonition to "read the signs." But the consequences of how Jesus might respond leave open all the possible outcomes, regardless of the motivation: Jesus assumes the mantle of Messiah; Jesus condemns Pilate's actions, becoming more of a renegade; Jesus says nothing and incurs the wrath of the people. What other outcomes were possible?
Instead of anything I've suggested, or anything I might come up with, Jesus uses this information to teach the crowd. No commiserating over the unfairness of Pilate's actions, no condemnation, no bemoaning the fate of Israel's people, no hatred expressed toward the Roman occupiers. Not even a rabbinical discussion of how these sinners must have deserved what they got. This information becomes one more opportunity to deliver the message of the Kingdom's arrival and the need to repent. (Let me add I'm certain that had a relative of one of those Galileans come up to Jesus in distress with this news, His response would have been one of ministry first. See John 11:17-35.) And I'm blown away by that. Here's this disturbing news and it's immediately incorporated into Jesus' message. And not just through repetition.
The gist of what Jesus says in response to this news is twofold. First, toss out your outmoded way of thinking that calamity only befalls sinners. It would be useless to try and determine what these guys did wrong. Or those people in Siloam. Stuff happens. Second, though, don't consider yourself exempt from the consequences of sin. Just because you're the children of Abraham doesn't mean God won't judge you by what you've thought, said, and done. Turn away from that way of thinking, and live according to God's purposes. Remember He's the judge you will face, so straighten your life before you come to His judgment seat.
Then Jesus finishes this warning with a parable of the unproductive fig tree. The tree is only allowed to be unproductive for so long, and then it gets cuts down. Hear that folks? Repentence is measured by the fruit it bears. This is an important part of Jesus' message, which is often underplayed today. But for the moment, let's pay attention to the fact that it is part of Jesus' message. His message that is so paramount in His mind, that everything that happens to Him, every bit of news, every question asked about other things, even "acts of nature", can be incorporated into that message.
And what about your message? Our message? Not every one of us is gifted as a teacher, so we may not (heh, more like never) achieve such an ability to incorporate life into our message, and our message into our life. And let's remember, we're really talking about God's message. But, again, what about our message? Have we thought it through well enough so that in certain situations that message is at hand, and it shapes the way we think and live, and how we respond to what happens to us? And what precisely is our message?
Let me suggest just a few pieces of that message.
- It' s all about God. It's not about us.
- God loves us as only God can, and wants relationship with us.
- Jesus is God's entry out of time and into history to restore broken relationship.
- Stuff happens.
- God's love of us and our love of Him changes lives.
- God empowers us to grow to be more like His Son.
You can add to that list. Maybe you'll reduce it down to just a couple of items that express the message well. And you make that message yours. Which I think includes anticipation of different situations. Forethought. We have the lessons all through the Bible of how God's people responded under given circumstances, sometimes well, sometimes not so much. The more we become like Christ, the more we view the world as He did, and vice versa. So how would Jesus handle a given situation? What would His message be about it?
Here are a couple of ideas that aren't original with me, but which I have taken from others as expressions of God's message.
- "There are a lot of hypocrites in church." -- "What better place for them."
- "(Buddha, Krishna,
) taught about as Jesus did. What's the difference?" "Truth is truth. What else would you expect Jesus to teach? And truth isn't exclusive. But maybe we can look at some things that Jesus said that are unique to Him." - "Did you hear about the pile up on highway 26. Four people were killed." There should be no pat answer to this, but depending on circumstances, it may be a useful time to indicate, "Whenever I hear about these kinds of things it reminds me of something that was reported to Jesus and His response."
- Added to original post. (Consider this dialog an internal one. Thought, not speech.) "How will I spend my time today?" "It's not my time." "Man, this is taking a lot of time." "It's not my time." "I don't have time to read my 5x5x5 today." "It's not my time."
These are not intended to be pat answers, or snarky, but simply a way to hang "my message" onto something that makes it available so that I'm not unprepared to share that message. This is what I think we're really called to do most of the time when we talk about a "testimony." It's not always about how we became Christians, but about how Christianity helps us understand and cope with the occurrences of life. (This includes the good stuff. Remember way back in chapter 3, where John says to be ready to share your blessings with others.)
Most important of all, this is not just a way of preparing to share God's message, but it's the way we live a life in response to His message. Anyone like to share their message? Anyone? Anyone?
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