“At that time some people came and told Jesus what had happened to some Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ‘Do you think,’ Jesus replied, ‘that these Galileans were more sinful than all the other Galileans because this happened to them? I tell you, no; but unless you repent, you will all perish just the same.

 Or those eighteen people on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them—do you think they were more sinful than all the other people living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.” He also told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it but found none. So he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, 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 continue to take up space in the ground for nothing?” “Sir,” the vineyard keeper replied, “leave it alone for one more year; I will dig around it and put manure at its root. Perhaps it will bear fruit from now on; if not, you may cut it down.”^[1]

These words are not the words of a mere man, but the words of the Lord Jesus. We must honor His word. People approached the Lord Jesus with various questions. The Lord Jesus proclaimed the Word of God’s Gospel to everyone. Some people came to tell the Lord Jesus about the killing of those Galileans by Pilate. These people expected the Lord Jesus to be outraged and to demand justice. Whenever something bad happens on earth, our human nature rebels and seeks justice. However, we must be aware that as long as we live on this earth, which has been defiled by human sin, there will be no justice. Psalm 72 states that the Lord God will judge the world with justice; He will not declare the guilty innocent, and He will lift up the poor through His mercy.

A day of judgment is coming, and only the righteous—those who have lived in holiness on this earth—will enter the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus. It is interesting that the Lord Jesus does not encourage these people in their assertions; rather, He is concerned with the human soul. He sets aside the news of the day and directs the discussion toward the salvation of the human soul. We, too, must be concerned with what will happen to each of us when we enter eternity.

Jesus asks the people who brought Him the news whether the people who had died were more sinful than they were. Human life can end at any moment; we are all passing through this world, and no one knows the day of their death. When the Lord confronts us with our sin, we tend to defend ourselves and make excuses. People believe that if they have not committed sins considered very serious—such as murder, theft, robbery, etc.—they will go to heaven because of their goodness. However, the Bible—which is the trustworthy Word of God—tells us that “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.”^[2] Any sin, no matter how small it may seem to us, deserves death as its punishment.

God, in His righteousness, has declared that the person who rebels against Him will face eternal destruction, separated from His presence. The question each of us must ask ourselves is this: “How do we stand in God’s sight?” The Bible clearly states that all have sinned,^[3] and therefore there is no point in comparing ourselves to others. Because of our sins, the Son of God suffered death. We are not guilty of just any sin, but of a crime against the Son of God, whom we sent to His death through the sins committed by each of us. In His body on the cross, He suffered the death that we deserved.

The Lord Jesus points out that anyone who does not repent will perish just like these people. First of all, those Galileans died unexpectedly, because death does not give advance warning. Death visits both the young and the old; death does not take age into account—it is imminent. No one can add even a single day to their life; rather, God decides the moment when to take someone’s life. What is most serious is that many people die without repenting.

In verse four, the Lord Jesus points out that all the people of Jerusalem were sinners, not just those who were killed by Pilate. Every day, thousands of people die in all kinds of circumstances, such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and so on. God governs all things. He warns that the most important thing a person must do while living on earth is to repent. Again, in verse five, He issues the same warning, emphasizing once more that a person must repent so as not to perish.

“God does not take into account the times of ignorance, but now commands all people everywhere to repent; for He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice, through the Man whom He has appointed for this purpose, and of whom He has given all people an undeniable proof by raising Him from the dead…”^[4] As I said before, the Kingdom of God’s righteousness will begin with judgment. The righteous will stand on the right, and the guilty will stand on the left of the Lord. To those on the left, He will say: “Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!”^[5] And to those on His right He will say: “Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”^[6] If we fulfill the words of the Lord Jesus, we will be at His right hand on the day of judgment: “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God our Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”^[7] It is not religion that is important, but Jesus Christ and the way we have lived on this earth. If we acknowledge our sinful state and guilt before God and repent, we will escape punishment and hell. The Son of God died for the sins of all, but if a person does not repent of his sin, he will not be saved.

The physical world is governed by the spiritual world. We will see this spiritual world when we enter eternity. Behind every sin lies an unclean spirit that binds that person. Jesus illustrates how God deals personally with each person through the parable of the barren fig tree.^[8] The man who owned the vineyard is the Lord God; the fig tree is the person; and the fruit represents the transformed lives of people resulting from repentance. The Lord gives each person time to bear fruit, but at a certain point, at the time He has determined, He will cut down every barren fig tree—every person who lives in sin and does not practice righteousness: “For when you were slaves to sin, you were free from righteousness. And what fruit did you bear then? Fruit of which you are now ashamed—for the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you bear is holiness, and the end result is eternal life.”^[9]

Let each of us consider what kind of fruit we have brought before God, and how long He has been waiting for this fruit of sanctification: “Behold, the ax is already laid to the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”^[10]

The Lord Jesus is the Mediator who stands before the Father, caring for each of us, digging deep into the root of each person’s life. He also reveals His Word to us out of love, waiting patiently for us; yet His patience has a limit, and at some point He will withdraw His hand from those who refuse to repent and bear fruit.

It is man who decides whether or not he wants to bear fruit. People’s eternal life depends on the choice they make here on earth regarding where they will spend eternity. The time of testing does not last a lifetime, and a person must decide what to do the moment God’s Word speaks to his heart: “while it is said, ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as on the day of rebellion.’”^[11]

One day God will close the door of grace that He keeps open for each of us, and if we do not repent, it will be too late.

^[1] Luke 13:1–9.

^[2] Romans 6:23.

^[3] Romans 3:23.

^[4] Acts 17:30, 31.

^[5] Matthew 25:41.

^[6] Matthew 25:34.

^[7] James 1:27.

^[8] Luke 13:6–9.

^[9] Romans 6:20–22.

^[10] Matthew 3:10.

^[11] Hebrews 3:15.