I invite you to turn with me tonight to Luke chapter 13, as we read together the first nine verses, considering in particular the parable that we find in verses 6-9. Luke chapter 13, the first nine verses. The parable that it is believed a part of Christ's ministry in the last few months before He was crucified. Hear now the Word of God. Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those 18 who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them, do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 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. 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? Sir, the man replied, Leave it alone for one more year and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine. If not, then cut it down. May God tonight add His blessing to the reading and the consideration of His Word. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, the title of a certain book that some of you may be familiar with is When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Now, as devoted Reformed folk, we might respond to that title right off the top by saying, well, there are no good people. Paul says in Romans 3, For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no, not one. So there are no good people. So bad things can't happen to good people. Bad things can only happen to bad people. Now, I have not read the book. Maybe some of you have. But researching it a little bit, I found that it was written by a conservative rabbi named Harold Kushner. And he wrote it in response to the death of his son at a young age, the age of 14. He died from an incurable genetic disease. And in the very first chapter, Rabbi Kushner asked this question, the title of it, Why Do the Righteous Suffer? And maybe some of us here have wondered that same thing. Maybe we have even cried out to God in times of difficulty, severe difficulty, severe troubles that we have been faced with, that we have been visited with. And maybe we have cried out to God, God, I have given my life to you. I trust You. I believe in You. I believe in Jesus Christ. So why am I suffering so? Now, we know that because of sin in the world, there is danger. There is devastation. There is destruction. There is discomfort. There is disappointment. And we know that the effects of sin in the world includes natural disasters. As Paul says, creation groans. We know that the effects of sin in man include evil acts. And those effects, both in the world and in man, those things also touch and hurt Christians. We are not exempt, as many, if not all of us know by experience, we are not exempt from the evils, the hardships, the difficulties and the hurts of life. Yet throughout history, sin in man has also resulted in the deadly error, the deadly philosophy, we might say, that says, well, if someone suffers something bad, it is because God is not pleased with them because they have sinned or because they are wicked. But, those who do not suffer bad things, but seem to have everything go well for them, it's because God is pleased with them. In other words, the philosophy goes that personal disaster is always the result of personal sin. We think of Job's three friends. They were certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that Job was suffering because he had sinned against God in some way. And he continued to suffer because he would not repent of his sin. Or we think of Jesus healing the man born blind and to which his disciples asked him, who sinned, this man or his parents? They were thinking that his blindness must be the result of someone's sin. Or you may remember Paul as a shipwrecked prisoner on the island of Malta as he was gathering those sticks together and that poisonous snake comes out of the sticks. It not only bites his hand, boys and girls, but we are to understand it hung there for everybody to see. And when the natives saw that, they basically gasped. They couldn't believe it. They thought, sure, that because he was going to die, because it was a poisonous snake, Therefore, he must have been a wicked man. But when he didn't die, they changed their mind and said he must be a god. Or we think of the false religions of Hinduism and Buddhism with their belief in karma, good karma or bad karma. Do good things and good things will happen to you, bad things and bad things. Especially Hinduism with their belief in reincarnation, that if you do all kinds of good stuff here in this life, when you come back in the next life, you're going to come back as a higher life form. If you do bad things, you're going to come back as, well, a lower life form. All kinds of superstition that has been around among mankind because of sin throughout history. And really, that error, that philosophy, is the context of Jesus' lesson of the barren fig tree. That was the attitude of many at that time. Even those to whom Jesus ministered. Listen again to the first five verses. Now, there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And listen to what Jesus says. Jesus answered, Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those 18 who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them, Do you think that they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Now, Jesus is teaching here, indeed, on the one hand, that while suffering does not mean that God is displeased with one, for his audience who had not experienced this suffering, his message is even more bold, as it were, that to not experience suffering does not mean that God is pleased with one. Suffering does not mean that God is displeased with one, necessarily. But not suffering does not mean that one is in God's good pleasure. Jesus' lesson of the barren fig tree, first of all, teaches of what all deserve as he challenges the misinterpretation of these certain disasters. As we think about these events that we read about in these first five verses, now first of all, there's not much information that is available about the incident of Pilate's cruel act. Most likely, these Galileans had made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and while they were offering sacrifices, Pilate performed this gruesome act. When he did it, and why he did it, we don't know. We're not told. But it seems that the people do not interpret that gruesome act as an illustration of Pilate's cruelty. At least not first of all. That's not the first conclusion that they come to. That's not the most important lesson that they see here. But they interpret it as evidence that God was not pleased with those who were murdered because of some sort of wickedness. Some suggest that maybe these Galileans were Samaritans. And of course, the pious Jews looked down upon the Samaritans. They were lesser Jews. In fact, they were, we might say, wicked. They probably deserved it. But then Jesus Himself brings up the Tower of Siloam. And He brings that one a little bit closer to home. Kind of like as if to say, well, if you want to think that the others were Samaritans and that's the situation there, then what about the Tower of Siloam? This tower was inside the wall of Jerusalem. Again, we don't know why, but it had fallen and 18 were suddenly killed. And Jesus challenges their thinking as if to say, do you think that those who were killed, that they were more guilty, that they were more indebted to God than the rest of you living in Jerusalem, the rest of you who were no different than they are, were. See, that's what they were thinking. Now, Jesus does not explain why those who died in these two occasions were allowed to die or chosen to die, and that's not His point here. His point is dealing with those to whom He was speaking, those who had not died, those who were still alive. And He points out through this parable that just because those people to whom he was speaking were still alive, it did not mean that they were better. It did not mean that God was more pleased with them. And so he tells this parable of the fig tree. Now, a fig tree, boys and girls, was a common tree, a valuable tree, a choice tree. It could live some up to 400 years old. The fig was considered to be delicious fruit and these trees produced two to three crops every year and there was fruit available for picking nine to ten months out of the year. Indeed, it was a valuable tree and therefore even a small amount of fruit made the tree worth keeping. It was considered to be a good investment. Now this man that we read about, he had high expectations for this tree. He had placed it in a choice spot in his vineyard. It enjoyed rich and fertile soil. It was well cared for. He had every reason to expect that it would produce a crop. He came three years in a row, and we are to understand by that, that especially by the third year, he was coming to a mature tree. If it didn't have fruit the first year, certainly it should the second year. If it didn't have fruit the second year, absolutely it ought to have fruit the third year. He was coming to a mature tree, yet by now there was no hope of ever finding fruit on it. And therefore, instead of being a valuable tree, this barren fig tree became a very costly tree. Because of its large size, it would grow to about 30 feet and it had very, very large leaves. And because of its size and because of those leaves, it then became like a large shade tent that hided the needed sun from smaller plants, from smaller trees. And as well, it took up valuable space. It drew up necessary nutrients for absolutely no purpose. and therefore robbing other plants and trees of those nutrients. The story is clear. The owner says, cut it down. It's worthless. Cut it down. Yet the worker intercedes and says, let it live. One more year. I'll work with it. And then if there's nothing, then you can cut it down. Now, beloved, this tree was allowed to live not because it was better than the other trees but in spite of the fact that it was worse than the other trees Jesus' audience was to understand that the reason that they had not been cut off like so many others was not because they were better than those who perished they were thinking we're God's covenant people and not as wicked as maybe they had been we're in, we're safe Nothing else matters. But Jesus would have them understand that the delay, the fact that they had not perished, the delay means nothing so long as they persist in sin and unbelief. Instead, he is pointing to what these disasters represent. Cut it down. Points to judgment. And Jesus makes it clear when he talks about those disasters. He says, unless you too repent, you will all perish. In both instances, they both point to judgment. The people thought that the terrible human-made disaster by Pilate and the devastating natural disaster of the tower falling and killing some, they thought that these were some sort of judgment, and it was, but not as they thought. They thought it was because those who were killed deserved it more than others. Indeed, these disasters point to the judgment that all deserve. They point to the judgment that will come upon the wicked world because of sin. Beloved, as we think about disasters, sometimes there are those who have said, for example, that 9-11, that that was God's punishment upon a wicked America, that kind of thing. We don't believe that in that way, of course. But as we think about disasters, whether they're man-made like 9-11, or as we think about natural disasters like earthquakes or tsunamis or hurricanes that take lives, they point to the presence of sin, the effects of sin, and the result of sin in the world. They do point to the suffering and the misery that sin brings and that sin deserves. All of these point to the terrible consequences of sin and the judgment that sin deserves. And this truth is to be applied to all people. It is to be applied to mankind in general. God created man unique. God made man in His own image to live in blessed fellowship with Him. But man sinned. Man rejected and turned away from God. It's not the plants that sinned. It's not the animals that sinned. It's not the planets or the dirt that sinned. But man sinned. And indeed it affected the rest of creation. And God had given a warning to Adam In the day that you eat of the tree, you will surely die. And when Adam ate, we might say the axe of God was laid at the base of the tree of humanity. It was laid there. And the damage of sin, we know, was corruption and total depravity. All of mankind deserves judgment. And then we can look at Israel in particular. Israel was God's chosen people, a nation set apart by God, taken out from all the nations of the world to be a showcase to the other nations of God's grace and love. Israel was blessed with a covenant relationship with God. She was blessed with the promised Messiah. However, as a nation, she rested too comfortably in these things and forgot that the covenant demanded obedience. Israel, as a nation, was a barren fig tree. Israel, the Bible describes, was a vineyard that bore no fruit. We read that in Isaiah chapter 5, and in verse 4, the Lord says, What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? There's much we could say about Israel and her history as we have it recorded. Israel turned to idols over and over again. Israel refused to enter the Promised Land that first time because of fear for the inhabitants. They lacked trust in God. Israel killed the prophets. The Jews of Jesus' day practiced a self-willed worship as we talked about this morning. Self-righteousness. Works righteousness. And to top it all off, they executed Jesus. Israel, we know, cast shame upon the holiness and the grace of God and gave the nations a reason to laugh at, to mock, and to blaspheme God. That's what the prophet Nathan said to King David after, you remember, after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah killed and then he takes Bathsheba and marries her and the baby is born and David is thinking everything is fine and Nathan the prophet comes to confront him and says you are the man. But along with that he says, if we look in Scripture, he says that you have given the nations an occasion to blaspheme. Beloved, may we never give the people of the world an occasion to blaspheme God because our profession and our life do not match. Over and over again, Israel demonstrated throughout her history that she deserved the judgment of God. And still today, we know that all of mankind deserves that judgment. But even as professing believers, may we not take false comfort that our outward acts of Christian piety are a reason for God to be pleased with us. We know that we deserve the judgment of God because of sin. We are reminded of that as we struggle with sin each and every day. And therefore the question is not why does God take others? But the question for each one of us ought to be, why does he bother to leave me? The lesson of the barren fig tree teaches in the second place then of God's patience. Verses 8 and 9, Sir, the man replied, Leave it alone for one more year and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine. If not, then cut it down. A drastic judgment to be sure. Cut it down. But here we see this points to the mercy of God. This lesson of the barren fig tree teaches us of God's patience. God's patience already from the beginning. God's undeserved patience is to completely destroy the sin-stained world. Instead, He spoke the Gospel. Instead, He promised the Savior. His patience is seen in that anybody lives at all. His patience is seen from the beginning. His patience is also seen throughout time, throughout history, throughout Scripture. We see God, we might say, deferring judgment against the entire human race. Oh yes, people die, and they die because of catastrophic reasons at times, old age or accidents, whatever it might be. but God deferring judgment against the entire human race. Noah was a preacher of righteousness for a hundred years before the flood. And even though God wiped out all but eight, He did not wipe out the entire world. Abraham prayed for Sodom and God's patience is seen and that he would have spared Sodom if he would have found five righteous there. Before Israel was sent to captivity, The prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah came with the Word of God warning again and again and again, calling to repentance again and again and again. Jerusalem as well was not destroyed until about 40 years after Christ's ascension. God's patience, deferring judgment. And even Christ's second coming, beloved, Christ's second coming is waiting for the patience and the plan of God to run His will. Gather together His elect before the foundation of the world, those who do not deserve to be gathered together. Yet God's patience will come to an end. Verse 9 again, If it bears fruit next year, fine. If not, then cut it down. God's patience will come to an end. Christ's audience was not to be comfortable with the fact that these disasters had not touched them. But instead, these disasters were to be a wake-up call for them. God's patience will run out and come to an end, indeed, ultimately on Judgment Day. God's delay in sending final judgment, beloved, does not mean that He has lost sight of sin and wickedness. It does not mean that He has become indifferent towards sin or that He has lowered His standards. The cross is very much proof of that. Again, His delay is because of His patience in gathering together His people. Indeed, on that day, those who are lost in sin are those who are described as we have considered in Matthew 7, verse 19, when Jesus says, Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. His patience will come to an end on judgment day, but already, for individual believers, It comes to an end at death to this life. As mankind comes face to face with that last enemy. When it comes to death, yours one day, mine one day, it may be delayed, like those to whom Jesus was speaking. Or it may be sudden, like those whom they were talking about. It may be sooner. It may be later. We don't know. Yet when it comes, that's it. No second chances. And beloved, that's why the lesson of the barren fig tree teaches in the third place the call to repent. Jesus stresses that two times in those first five verses. I tell you no, but unless you repent, you too will all perish. The fruit that Jesus is talking about here is repentance. Paul says God calls all men everywhere to repent. The lesson of the barren fig tree teaches the call to repent through the gospel. That gospel preached, that gospel being cultivated during God's delayed judgment. That gospel going forth, reaching ears, reaching the hearts of men. Call to repentance from sin. To recognize its hideousness and its deadliness and to realize that the truth of God's judgment will come upon those who do not repent. To repent from sin, to turn away from sin, and to turn toward something, to turn to something. For one to repent, he must have something to turn to and that something is no one less than Jesus Christ. He is coming again to judge the living and the dead. And He is coming again to make all things new. And when He does those signs of judgment that we see all around us right now, they will be no more. Jesus Christ is the hope of the Gospel. He endured the judgment of God against sin for His people. And His cross is proof of God's hatred for all sin It is proof of God's anger toward all sinners and it is proof that God is pleased with no one for no reason apart from Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Christ who intercedes for those who repent of their sins, who forsake themselves, who put their trust and their confidence in Him alone. He says to the Father, in essence, I have taken their punishment and I have given them the guarantee of glory. Beloved, He is the only hope for mankind to intervene between us and the acts of God's judgment. And He says to those who believe in Him, because I live, you too shall live. It's a call to repent. But as well a reminder not to be complacent. Christ's audience thought, again, that God was pleased with them. Why? Well, they know that He must be pleased with them because their life was relatively easy, without much difficulty or distress or problems. And they were not to be fooled, and we are not to be fooled either, beloved. The danger is that when bad things don't happen to bad people, then they think that everything is alright. A reminder not to be complacent because God's patience will come to an end through death and ultimately on the day of judgment. And therefore, this is a call to prepare for that day through repentance of sin and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. God is pleased with only those who are in Christ Jesus by faith. And then, in contrast, for those in Christ by faith, in contrast to those who are arrogant in sin, the repentant in Christ Jesus by the grace of God offer themselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. And repentance is demonstrated in a life going in God's direction, which is pleasing to Him. Those who are in Christ Jesus do not need to fear this life. And when we face the difficulties, when we face the disasters, we do not need to worry that God is angry with us. While the righteous in Jesus Christ may suffer greatly and even die unexpectedly or at a young age, while the unrighteous may enjoy many good things in life and die at a ripe old age, but God's pleasure is only defined by Jesus Christ. Beloved, God may chastise those He loves. The Bible says He does. And we do at times suffer the results of our own sin at times. Yet even then we may have the confidence that those things He works for the good of those who love Him. And even through those things He reminds us of what we eternally deserve. But He also comforts us with what He eternally gives in Christ Jesus. The only hope for anyone is repentance of sins and faith in Christ. Without that, one is only guaranteed the wages of sin, which is death. But God's guarantee for those who humble themselves in the sight of the Lord, we find it beautifully recorded in Isaiah chapter 55. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord and he will have mercy on him. and to our God, for He will freely pardon. Those who repent of their sins and trust in Christ have no need to worry about the disasters of life, the disasters of this world. It doesn't mean we don't take them seriously, but we do not have to worry about them, even if it takes our life. No need to worry. Why? Because the Lord knows those who are His. And therefore, beloved, live in the confidence of God's love and pleasure for Jesus' sake. Showing that love so that the world is pointed to the God of grace. And may the lesson that we take from the barren fig tree be this confession and prayer that we will sing in a moment. Plenteous grace with Thee is found. Grace to cover all my sin. Let the healing streams abound. Make me, keep me pure within. Thou of life, the fountain art, freely let me take of Thee. Spring Thou up within my heart. Rise to all eternity. Amen. Let's pray together. Dear Heavenly Father, You indeed who are the God of all glory, we thank You, we praise You for the work that You continue to do of gathering Your church. We thank You for Your patience demonstrated throughout history. Patience, Father, by which You have called each one of us in this time, in this place, to be Your people. Your patience as You continue to gather together those who are not deserving of it, but those whom You have chosen and loved to save in Christ Jesus. Father, we pray that You would keep Your people safe from the hatred of the wicked, from those who are indeed being prepared for the day of judgment. Prepare us for the day of Christ Jesus and we look forward to being in Your presence forever and ever. And until that day, may we praise Your most holy name. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen. Thank you.