Luke 13:1-9 — Sin = Sin

READ THIS: Luke 13:1-8

1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” 

6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 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?’ 8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

In this passage, some people came to Jesus and brought up a group of people who were sinning publicly. These people were ultimately trying to ask Him a question that many of us have asked ourselves and God before: "That person really messed up... isn't their sin worse than mine?" Jesus responds to them wisely and tells them that ultimately there is no such thing as "worse sinners." Romans 3:23 reminds us that we have all fallen short of the glory of God... except for Jesus! Jesus tells these people and ultimately reminds us that sin leads only to death, and the only way we can avoid this fate is by repenting (turning away from sin and toward God) and choosing to follow Him instead!

 

Jesus then gives a really cool parable to the people to explain His point further. In this story, Jesus is the master and the owner of the vineyard, and we are the trees! He's warning us, in the loving Jesus way that He tends to, that when He comes back one day (just as the parable says "in one more year"), He will come and see who is bearing fruit and leaving sin behind, and those that aren't will have to be cut down! So the question for us is what kind of tree will we be?!

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Have you ever thought of some sins as worse than others? Why is it that God sees all sin equally when we don't?

2. Why is it important that God's people bear fruit from now until Jesus comes back?

TRY THIS:

Draw an equal sign (one of these guys... =) on your hand! Whenever you see it, remind yourself that all sin is equal in God's eyes, especially in those moments when you want to judge someone else's sin!