
It is the common perception of spiritual reality around the world, in
many different religions, and even in daily living—The Good Deed Balance Scale.
You might call it Karma, the Golden Rule, or even “Paying it Forward.”
It is not that all these teachings are bad, necessarily. All are
teachings to encourage us to do good to other people. Rather, it is that these
teachings to no go far enough.
There are some places in the Bible where I wish that the writers would
have added a couple of footnotes. Today’s Scripture reading is one of those
instances.
In this passage, some people had come to Jesus, wanting him to comment
about some “Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices,” as
the writer put it (Luke 13:1).
Nothing more about this incident is recorded any other place in the
New Testament or in secular history. We do not know specifically who the people
were who were killed and we do not know the occasion upon which this tragedy occurred.
Apparently however, there had recently been a confrontation with the
Roman soldiers in the temple at the time of a Jewish sacrifice. The outcome of
this incident was that some of the Galileans present at the temple were killed
by the Romans, perhaps right at the altar, since there is a mention of the
blood of the people mingling with the blood of the animal sacrifices.
Although we know none of the details, this all certainly does sound
like a horrendous event. It was an event that was not only politically
motivated, but there were also religious overtones included in the
circumstances. It affected the residents in much the same way as we react when
we learned of Americans who had been decapitated by the Islamic State Terrorists—even
more so, since these people of Galilee probably had even closer ties with those
killed.
“Were these Galileans worse sinners than all the others?” the people
asked Jesus.
In their struggle to make sense of the events that had occurred, this
was their question. “Why did these people suffer in such a horrifying way? Was
it because these who were murdered were especially bad themselves?” The
questioners were implying that perhaps those people were so bad that God had
allowed them to be killed.
The answer to them that Jesus gave was this: “No, I tell you; but
unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
The Falling
Tower
Jesus quickly followed with an example of another incident that also must
have recently happened, this one in Jerusalem. Here again, a footnote would
have been appreciated, since we do not have any other history concerning this
event.
Jesus said this: “Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell
and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the
others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will
all likewise perish.”
Concerning the Galileans at the temple who had been slaughtered, the
talk about them was that perhaps they were especially bad sinners, and that is
why God allowed them to suffer the fate that they did, right in the temple and
right at the moment that they were making their sacrifice.
In addition, since Jesus also brought up this other incident, perhaps
the talk was also much the same for the people on whom the tower fell in
Jerusalem. Had God punished these people because they were especially wicked?
“No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish,”
Jesus responded to all such talk.
The Balance
Scale of Justice
The reason that the people back in the days of Jesus speculated that
the victims to whom these tragedies happened may have been especially bad was
because, in those days, the people were accustomed to think that finding favor
with God was all about tipping the “good deed balance scale.”
Put simply, they pictured God as holding a large balance scale of
sorts, in which one side contained the good things that they did, and the other
side the bad. If they could make their good deeds outweigh their bad things,
then they would find favor with God.
But, if the bad became too heavy – BOOM! God brings tragedy to us,
perhaps even killing us.
“No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish,”
Jesus responds to this notion.
Does God Punish
Us When We Are Wrong?
The question, of course, is much larger than just the Galileans at the
temple and the people on whom the tower fell. Terrible things happen all the
time. We experience this in very personal ways in our families and among our
friends. People suffer terrible accidents, contract terrible diseases and
sicknesses, and are victims of terrible crimes.
Likewise, when passing through a trial of some sort, we sometimes ask
ourselves, “Did this happen to me because God is punishing me? Have I done
something wrong, and God is not pleased with me? Is that why these things are
happening?”
Quite frankly, the general conception of how one gains favor with God
has not changed a great deal over the millennia. It is still very common to
hear the comment, “I only hope that when I die, God will see that I did more
good things in my life than bad things, and he will let me into heaven.”
People speak as if it is an exam that they will need to pass, based on
what works they did in this life.
The Balance Scale
of the Old Testament Law
It is not that there is no basis at all for people to think like this.
God himself instilled this thinking in the people during the time of the Law of
the Old Testament. For instance, consider these words that God spoke to his
people when they were about to enter into the land that he had promised to give
to them:
You
shall therefore keep every commandment which I am commanding you today ….If you
listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love
the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul, that
He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain,
that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil. He will give
grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.
Beware
that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other
gods and worship them. Or the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you,
and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground
will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which
the Lord is giving you. (Deuteronomy 11:8, 13-17 NAS)
Such was the general tone of the teachings of the prophets throughout
the Old Testament. The obedience of the people to the Law of the Lord was
closely connected with the blessings of God. Conversely, it was taught that
disobedience to God brought judgment.
This was not a wrong teaching. The prophets of God spoke what God had
told them. The people were indeed to understand that they must learn obedience,
for with obedience to God came the blessings of God. On the other hand, if one disobeyed, they could expect judgment.
The teachings were right, but the lessons that the people learned from
these teachings were wrong. They began to interpret it all in light of the
scale. They thought if they could somehow have their obedience outweigh their
disobedience, then with a little luck, God would look favorably on them.
This part, they got wrong. For God did not only demand that their good
outweigh their bad, but that they
should be perfect! There was to be no
bad at all! There is no scale…no two sides to the coin. There must only be good and no bad. Only obedience
and no disobedience.
The Law was a harsh taskmaster. What it taught was good, but oh so
severe! It demanded no mistakes at all!
A Seemingly
Hopeless Situation
How were the people ever to achieve this? How were they supposed to attain
perfection?
What the people were to learn from this was not how to tip the
scale in their favor. Instead, they were simply to learn that the situation was
hopeless. They had no power, no ability to live in the way that God demanded.
That is why Jesus responded the way that he did about the Galileans who were
murdered and about the people on whom the tower fell.
“Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Jesus did not want the people who came to him to think that since they
themselves had not been slaughtered at the altar that perhaps they were
somewhat more righteous than those who had. Not at all! They were as much
deserving of death as those who were killed.
What the ancient Jews were to learn from this was that God was a
demanding God. Indeed, God did have very high expectations. He was a God who
expected perfection. God told the people that they were to keep all of his
commandments all of the time. This has not changed. It has not changed even for
you and me.
But there is a difference.
Obedience
Through Love
Jesus also told us that we should keep his commandments, but here is
what the difference is. Listen to what Jesus said: “If you love me, you will
keep my commandments.”
How is this different?, you may wonder. It still is a lot to ask. How
does this help me to obey?
I think that any parent or any child can see the difference if we
think about it for a moment. Children are also to obey their parents, but there
is more than one motivation for this obedience.
On the one hand, a child may
obey because if he does not, he is sure to get the belt from his father. But on
the other hand, a child may obey because he knows that his father loves him,
and also because he loves his father. The child obeys because he wants to obey. He loves his father and wants to please him.
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments,” Jesus said.
Obedience now is not motivated by fear, but instead by love. What is
more, we now also have help in this. Jesus continued, “I will ask the Father
and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see Him
or know Him, because He abides with you and is in you. I will not leave you as
orphans. I will come to you” (John 14:15-18 ESV).
Terrible things that happen to us or to other people does not mean
that we or they are worse sinners than anyone else. The truth be told, we are
all terrible sinners. To put it graphically in words that you may not like to
hear, we all deserve to be slaughtered at the altar or be crushed to death by a
falling tower.
The Fruitless Fig
Tree
To illustrate what he meant by all of these things, Jesus immediately
followed this discussion with a parable:
A
man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard,” Jesus said, “and he came seeking
fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three
years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it
down. Why should it use up the ground?’
And
he answered him, “Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and
put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if
not, you can cut it down.” (Luke 13:1-9 ESV)
I realize that some Bible teachers will get off on the subject that
the fig tree is a symbol for the nation of Israel, etcetera, etcetera. But that
to me mostly evades the true issue.
The simple lesson of the fig tree is that God has planted within each
of us that which we need to produce fruitful lives. When Jesus told this story
to the people of his day, he was telling them that with all that God had done
for their people, and in all the ways that he had communicated to them, there
could have been no reason why every person should not have responded positively
to his message.
The time had been more than adequate for them to turn to God. But they
had continually refused. God had come to them time and again, as it were,
expecting there to be fruit. He found only barren branches.
“Cut it down,” seemed to be the best way to respond to such fruitlessness.
Water and Fire
It had happened before in history. The first time was at the occasion
of the flood of Noah. At that time, God saw that “the wickedness of man was
great,” and that every thought of man was only evil. Because of this, the Lord said,
“I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land” (Genesis
6:5, 7).
Another time when the judgment of God came was upon the cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah. At that time, the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and
Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is extremely grave” (Genesis 18:20).
In both of those cases, God looked at the tree of mankind in those
places and said as he did of the fig tree, “I will cut it down. Why should it
use up the ground?”
God’s patience and tolerance are great, but they are not limitless
when dealing with a rebellious people. If there is no repentance, judgment will
surely come. That is why Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise
perish.”
Nothing has changed in this regard for us.
A Reprieve
But as with the story of the fig tree, Jesus now offers us a temporary
reprieve. “Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on
manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you
can cut it down.”
Jesus has come to us to explain to us what the meaning and the
motivation of obedience is. He is cultivating the ground around us so that we
will respond in love. The obedience that he seeks in us is not that which comes
because of fear of reprisals, but it is obedience based on love. Jesus has come
to us to show us that God himself is one who is motivated not by anger, but is
motivated by love.
We still seek to live by the standards that God has given us, but do
you see the difference in our obedience? The difference is that Jesus has shown
us that it all is to be motivated not by fear of judgment, but by love. This is
the way that Jesus put it:
This
is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater
love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are
My friends if you do what I command you.
No
longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is
doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My
Father I have made known to you.
You
did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear
fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father
in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another.
(John 15:12-17 NAS)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.