Repent or Perish: What Jesus Meant in Luke 13:1–9

Luke 13:1–9 — “Unless You Repent”

There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. He spake also this parable; A certain [man] had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung [it]: And if it bear fruit, [well]: and if not, [then] after that thou shalt cut it down.

Luk 13:1-9

We trust that God will add His blessing to the reading of His precious word.

They Could Read the Sky but Missed the Messiah

I find it interesting that as you move from the end of Luke chapter twelve into Luke chapter thirteen, the Lord Jesus is speaking to people who understood certain things. They understood physical signs they could see in the sky. The Lord Jesus spoke about it in verse fifty-six of the previous chapter: “Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it that ye do not discern this time?” He said, in effect, you look in the west and you know a storm is coming, or you feel the gentle breeze from the south and you know a beautiful day is coming. I don’t know if the saying holds as true here in Ottawa as it does back in Newfoundland — there are a lot of fishermen off the coast of Newfoundland, where I grew up, and they always had the saying, “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky in morning, sailors take warning.” People could discern the signs of the sky. And the Lord Jesus said they could see it physically — they could see physical signs, but they missed all the spiritual signs.

What did they miss? They missed Him.

You say, “What were the signs? What about the miracles He did?” The Lord Jesus was a mighty miracle-worker. He moved throughout the regions around Galilee, down through Judea, in and around Jerusalem. The miracles the Lord Jesus performed displayed the person that He is — He is verily the Son of God. Even Nicodemus, in John chapter three, recognized, “Thou art a man come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” Yet they missed the miracles that He did.

What about the messages He preached? Very often the Lord Jesus stopped, looked at the multitudes, and spoke words — He preached messages. Mind you, the Lord Jesus was the greatest gospel preacher who ever walked planet earth. He Himself told about the sower who went forth to sow, and He Himself was the first sower of the good seed of the word of God. The Lord Jesus stood and preached to people. He said, “Repent and believe the gospel.” They heard His messages, they saw His miracles, they watched His movements. As they watched the Lord Jesus, surely in His very life there was a manifestation of the sign that He Himself was the Messiah. And yet they missed Him.

Luke 13: A Chapter of Solemn Contrasts

Luke chapter thirteen came into my mind today, and perhaps over the next four evenings we have together, we’ll take a look at Luke chapter thirteen. Of all the chapters in the New Testament, I don’t know if there’s a more solemn one. It’s a chapter full of contrasts.

The Lord Jesus says, “Repent” — repent or perish. It’s a contrast. Either you, my friend, in this meeting tonight, will repent of your sin, or you’ll perish in your sin.

You come to the next part, where we read together tonight — bring forth fruit, or be cut down.

There was a woman who stood in His presence in a synagogue on a Sabbath day, and that woman was bowed over. The Lord Jesus looked at her and said, “Be loosed.” What’s the contrast there? Remain bowed in your sins, or be loosed — be set free.

The Lord Jesus spoke about an open door and told people to strive to enter in. Either you will strive to enter in at the strait gate, or you will hear the words of the Lord Jesus, “Depart from me, I never knew you.”

You come to the end of the chapter — solemn words — because the Lord Jesus said this: “I would, but ye would not.”

A chapter that is so solemn, so searching. It challenges our hearts. Do I have the salvation the Lord Jesus is speaking about here? Do you, friend? Do you know what it is to be saved from your sin? Can you go back to a moment in your life when you repented of your sin?

Were They Worse Sinners? The Galileans and the Tower of Siloam

You see, that’s where the Lord Jesus starts. In these first five verses, people came to Him and told Him what had likely taken place in Jerusalem. We’re not told exactly where it happened, but it happened to Galileans. Galileans were offering sacrifices; Pilate was governor in Jerusalem, and likely these Galileans had travelled to Jerusalem to offer their sacrifices. While they were offering them, Pilate literally mingled their blood with the blood of the sacrifices.

There were people who looked at that and thought, such cruelty, how these Galileans were treated by Pilate. And you know what the people likely thought? “Oh, they were Galileans — they’re getting what they deserved.” The Lord Jesus said, “Were they sinners above all other sinners? Is that why this happened to them?” He said, “I tell you, nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

Then there was the tower in Siloam that fell — a random act, something that happened suddenly. Eighteen men were gathered by that tower, and it fell. The Lord Jesus asked whether that happened to sinners, men who were sinners above all other sinners. He said, “I tell you, nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

This is a truth down through history, my friend, whether people die cruelly or whether people die suddenly: what matters is this — have you repented of your sin? Have you turned from your sins and trusted the Saviour?

Mr. Thorpe and the Hell Fire Club

There was a Mr. Thorp, of the 1700s. He was a great mocker of the gospel. One of his opponents was George Whitefield, a great gospel preacher. One of the great texts George Whitefield preached was John chapter three, verse seven: “Marvel not that I say unto thee, ye must be born again.” A gentleman once came to Mr. Whitefield and asked, “Mr. Whitefield, why is it that you always preach, you must be born again?” To which Mr. Whitefield replied, “Because the Bible says you must be born again.”

Mr. Thorp used to be part of a band of men who called themselves the Hellfire Club, and they mocked the gospel. They used to visit various taverns, and while in a drunken stupor, they would make bets on who could preach the best — they’d pick different gospel preachers and see who could imitate them best. Oftentimes George Whitefield was picked. Who could imitate George Whitefield the best? Several men in the club tried, and Mr. Thorp was a master at it — he’d done it many times. What they did was open the Bible to a random text of scripture, read it, and then begin to mock as they imitated the preacher.

On this occasion, Mr. Thorp opened the word of God to what he thought was a random passage. It was Luke chapter thirteen, verse five. He picked up the Bible, opened it, and read the text: “I tell you, nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

Like an arrow shot from the bow of the Spirit of God, that verse pierced the heart of Mr. Thorp — the man who could, with such eloquence and accuracy, imitate George Whitefield. All of a sudden he was full of fear, full of wonder, full of distress. “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” For the first time, Mr. Thorp began to think about his sin. He was silenced, and he left the tavern. As he left, the words were ringing in his ears: “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

Listen, folks — tonight in Ottawa, this isn’t a message we always preach in this manner, but there are people here tonight in this gospel meeting, and you’re in your sins. If you don’t repent, you’ll perish in your sins — you’ll perish eternally. That’s why we stand here and preach the gospel; that’s why we tell you, friend, that you must repent. If you don’t repent, you’ll perish forever.

Thank God for Christ. Thank God that while we were perishing in our sins, the Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Thank God we can tell sinners tonight that, because of the cross, because of what the Lord Jesus accomplished, you don’t have to perish in your sins. You can turn from your sins tonight — all the burden, all the weight of sin upon you — you can turn from your sins tonight and trust the Saviour.

The Barren Fig Tree: Fruit, Judgment, and Patience

Created for a Purpose

As the Lord Jesus thought about the people He was speaking to, and after He spoke that text — “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” — He then began to tell them a parable, a parable about a fig tree.

There was a man who owned a vineyard, a place where, of course, grapes would have grown. But in that vineyard, I’m not sure why, the man planted a fig tree. I don’t know if he was tired of grapes and wanted some figs — I don’t know — but he planted a fig tree in that vineyard.

I want you to think about the desire behind that fig tree. Why did that man plant it? Because he wanted a beautiful tree to grow in his vineyard alongside his grapes? No — because he wanted figs. He planted the fig tree because he wanted figs.

This man came, year after year, to look at that fig tree to find figs, and when he came, he found none.

That tree was designed to bring forth fruit. Did you know that you were created for a purpose? Yes — you were created for a purpose. You were created to bring glory to God. That’s why you were made. That’s why we are all made in the image and likeness of God — we are all created to bring glory to Him, to bring worship to Him, to serve Him.

That’s why anything is made — everything is made for a purpose. The chair you’re sitting on tonight is fulfilling the purpose for which it was made. The lights above our heads are fulfilling tonight the purpose for which they were made — they were made to give light. And you were made to bring glory to God.

Could I ask you tonight: when God looks down at your heart, your soul, your life tonight — what does He see? Does He see fruit?

The Disappointment of a Fruitless Tree

The next thing I want you to think about is not just the desire for the fig tree, but the disappointment in the fig tree — the disappointment because this man came and there was no fruit.

I was thinking about this today. My son Albert is five — he’ll be six in December. But when he was about two years old, we saw a train set on Marketplace — you know, the ones that come with a little table and all the pieces, and you set it up and put it together. We had the instructions there, but Albert was only two, so he couldn’t read them. So you know who put the train set together? It was Dad. Piece by piece, I told him what piece to give me, and we built the train set together.

When it was all done, I stood back and thought, “That looks nice, that looks good.” I took the train, put it on the track, and said, “Albert, this is how this train set works.” I moved it around the tracks — across the bridge, into the cave, down the hill, and around. I did it so many times I thought, he’ll be all right, we’ll just leave it. So I went upstairs, and Albert started playing with the train set.

When I came back down, there was a piece over here, a piece over there, the train was over there, and he was on the carpet — I think he was having more fun on the carpet with the train than on the train track. What happened? He wasn’t fulfilling the purpose for which it was made.

Now, the boy was having a good time — he was having a good time. But I have no doubt that if the makers, the creators of that train set, had looked at Albert playing on the floor, they would have said, “This is not the intention. This is not what we designed the train to be — on the train track, moving around that way.”

You see, God is disappointed when He looks down and sees people who should be honouring and worshipping Him, and they’re living the life they want to live without Him.

“Cut It Down”: The Reality of Judgment

This vineyard owner came to the tree, and it had no fruit on it. What did he say? Cut it down. Cut it down — why cumbereth it the ground? Why is it here, a waste?

Could I tell you, friend, God’s judgment is real. God’s judgment is real. God has appointed a day when He will judge this world in righteousness, by that man whom He hath ordained. That’s why the Saviour said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

“Let It Alone”: The Patience of God

I want you to think for a minute, though, of the dresser — the dresser in the vineyard, the dresser of the tree. This was a man who was there in the vineyard with a purpose. He said, “Let it alone this year also, till I dig about it and dung it.” I think of the kindness of God. I think of that dresser, who really speaks about the patience of God. “Let it alone this year.”

You know, God is so patient. Could I ask you: how long has God been patient with you? How many times have you come and listened to the message of the gospel, and yet still tonight you’re in your sins? Oh, God is patient. We sang that tonight — “Oh, sinner, God’s patience may weary someday; leave thy sad soul in the blast; by wilful resistance, you’ve drifted away, over the deadline at last.” I thank God.

We were praying today, Brandon and I, in this hall, and I was thinking of the long-suffering God — God who is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. God who is patient with sinners. Do you know why He is patient? Because He wants sinners to bring forth fruit.

What Does It Mean to Bring Forth Fruit?

How do sinners bring forth fruit? The first fruit that a sinner displays is when they thank God for His Son — thankfulness for what Christ has done. I can go back to when I was a boy of seven, when for the first time I thanked God — I thanked God for Christ, that He came for me, that He died for me. I was a sinner, perishing in my sins, but Christ died for me.

Could I ask you, friend: when God looks down upon your heart tonight, does He see fruit? Because if there is no fruit, listen to the warning: “After that, thou shalt cut it down.” Cut it down.

I think, just as I sit down, of the destiny of this tree, because there are really two outcomes. Either that tree will bring forth fruit, or that tree will be cut down. Bring forth fruit, or be cut down. In other words: repent, or perish.

Two Outcomes: Repent or Perish

I think of sinners and their opportunity. I was thinking about that today — that tonight, the door of salvation is open to every single person. Tonight, for the first time, you could trust the Saviour, the one who shed His precious blood, the one whom God has raised from the dead. You could trust in Him and bring forth fruit.

But there is a second option, because there is a possibility that you could be cut down. You could be cut down. I’m sure Mr. Bopio could tell you stories, and sadly, I could tell you stories of people who sat in gospel meetings — not old, young people, some of them eighteen, nineteen years of age, early twenties — who sat in gospel meetings and left, and perished in their sins.

Listen, friend — tonight we’re not trying to be hard. We want to be faithful to the word of God. Don’t remain in your sins. Repent of your sins tonight, and trust in the Saviour — trust in the one who can save you from your sins. Because the Lord Jesus said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”