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Turn Back to God
1About this same time Jesus was told that Pilate had given orders for some people from Galilee to be killed while they were offering sacrifices. 2Jesus replied:
Do you think that these people were worse sinners than everyone else in Galilee just because of what happened to them? 3Not at all! But you can be sure that if you don't turn back to God, every one of you will also be killed. 4What about those 18 people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Do you think they were worse than everyone else in Jerusalem? 5Not at all! But you can be sure that if you don't turn back to God, every one of you will also die.
A Story about a Fig Tree
6Jesus then told them this story:
A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard. One day he went out to pick some figs, but he didn't find any. 7So he said to the gardener, “For three years I have come looking for figs on this tree, and I haven't found any yet. Chop it down! Why should it take up space?”
8The gardener answered, “Master, leave it for another year. I'll dig around it and put some manure on it to make it grow. 9Maybe it will have figs on it next year. If it doesn't, you can have it cut down.”
Reflect
This part of Luke continues the section that began at 12:1, where Jesus warned the crowds of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who clung to him in the hope that they would catch him out in something he said (11:13-12:1). He was now surrounded by huge crowds.
We don’t know anything more about the incident related here, of Pilate ordering the massacre of Jews while they were offering sacrifice, presumably in the Temple. It is completely consistent with everything else we know about this man. He was later to be held responsible for Jesus’ own death.
On the present occasion, the Jews confront Jesus with the question, “Did the Galileans deserve this fate?” I suspect that in the back of their minds was the anxious question “Could it have been me?” and the hope that “No, it couldn’t, because I keep the law and God will protect me.” Crass? Yes, but haven’t you had this kind of thought go through your mind when you hear of a disaster?
Jesus had been confronted with the connection between sin and suffering more than once (for example, Mark 2:5). This time he challenges us. Were the people the Tower of Siloam fell on (or the people in Nepal, or the person killed in that car accident, etc.) any more sinful than others? Of course not. These things happen, and it’s no use asking “Why?” Sometimes someone is to blame, sometimes not.
But there is something more to be said. The challenge for us is in the last comment. We’re asking the wrong question. Instead of asking “Why did that happen to them?” we need to ask “Why has it not happened to us?” If we believe that God is just, the puzzle is not “Why did they die?” but “Why has he spared me?”
Like the gardener in the parable of the fig tree, he extends to us the opportunity to bear fruit. How will you respond?
Respond
Father God, forgive me for my continual willfulness. Thank you for not being like the Pharisees, judgmental and ready to punish me the moment I do something wrong. Thank you for your committed love, your mercy, and your forgiveness. Keep me close to you, bearing good fruit.
Annabel Robinson
Annabel was born in Kew, near London, England. She committed her life to Jesus Christ at a Scripture Union camp when she was 16, and immediately found joy and peace. At Oxford she was active in the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, where she met her husband, Reid. They emigrated to Canada in 1965, where she taught Classics at the University of Regina until 2007. She has two children, Heather in Oslo and Alasdair in Calgary.