Faith to Turn from Sin to Him

Luke 13:1-21

Repent or Perish

1 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 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? 3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4 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? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

6 He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?' 8 But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.'"

A Spirit of Infirmity

10 Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. 12 But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." 13 And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

14 But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day."

15 The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? 16 So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?" 17 And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

18 Then He said, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches."

The Parable of the Leaven

20 And again He said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."

Jesus told us that we need faith that takes God at His word and repentance that makes us turn from sin to Him.  He used two examples of some who were no worse sinners than anyone else when they suffered so much more for their sin.  He used that to point out to the listeners (and now to the readers) that unless we also repent from our sins we will also suffer and perish either physically or at least spiritually for eternity, or both.  The wages we earn for sin (Romans 6:23) are paid in the currency of divine justice which is eternal judgment after we die (Hebrews 9:27-28) without exception and not based on the level or amount of our sin.  We are all born dead on arrival (Ephesians 2:1) and nobody deserves or earns leniency from the heavenly Judge because if we break one of God’s commandments (Deuteronomy 27:26, James 2:10) we have earned the penalty as if we broke them all.  Only repentance by faith in Christ and His work (John 6:29) can earn us deliverance from God’s judgement of wrath (Galatians 3:13) on our sin which we have inherited (Romans 5:12) from Adam and that we daily commit from that corrupt sin nature we are born with.  Christ alone has earned our justice and taken the sentence we deserve (Romans 5:8-10, 18-19) and therefore we need to turn from our sin and inability to earn forgiveness by turning to Him and trusting His work on the cross to sacrifice Himself as our enteral sin offering.  This is saving faith that can only be gifted to us and never earned by any amount of tainted good we attempt to do and which no amount of evil we do makes it worse just as the examples of the Galileans or those in Siloam tell us.  Unless we also also repent we will perish in the same manner.  Jesus then used the example of a fig tree that was barren of fruit and ready to be cut down as a way to drive home the point that true repentance bears fruits of a changed life (Matthew 7:16-17) and not merely saying we are sorry for our sin.  If we willingly sin but do not change or attempt to stop sinning in the least then there was no repentance like the fig tree bearing no fruit and heading still towards being cut down.  Jesus then healed a woman who had been sick for eighteen years as an example of how He could forgive someone and save them on any day and not answer to man’s requirements of religious observances or ordinances that keep people from the greater healing of the soul which is salvation from sin’s consequences by grace through faith and repentance.  This faith need not be great and strong but with a beginning like the smallest seed of a mustard plant which grows in time to branch out magnificently in size and fruitfulness.  Such is our faith in Christ and His word; we begin by trusting His atoning sacrificial work on the cross and grow into understanding how and why He died for us and rose from the grave as a promise of the same for us (Galatians 2:20, John 11:25, Romans 6:5, Philippians 3:10) as we grow in Him and in our maturing faith.  This is our sanctification.  We therefore trust His work (Philippians 1:6) to the end as we work out our faith and sanctification while he gives us the desire and ability (Philippians 2:12-13) to do so.  Likewise our faith spreads throughout our souls like yeast (leaven) hidden away in dough that fills all it is put in eventually.  Such is the kingdom of heaven and God which we are given in this marvelous gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8) through our repentance when He gives us conviction of our sin and we turn from it to Him forever with lasting change.  This need of Faith to Turn from Sin to Him is essential regardless of how severe we classify the sins we commit.