Luke 13:1–9 (NKJV)
1 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” 6 He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ 8 But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ”
Death was not part of God’s original plan for mankind. But since the fall into sin, when our first parents brought the curse of death upon themselves and their children, God has woven even death into His grand design for our race, so that it must accomplish His good purposes. In the account of the young man from Nain whom the Lord Jesus raised from the dead (Luke 7:11-17), death served to highlight the compassion, power, and divinity of Jesus, so that we put our faith in Him to care for us in life and to rescue us even from death. In the case of today’s devotional reading, death serves as an urgent call for the living to repent.
Sometimes God strikes sinners down for specific sins they’ve committed, as He did on several occasions with the people of Israel (see 1 Cor. 10:5). But that is not always the case, as Jesus reveals in today’s reading. Instead, when we see tragedy strike others, we should think, not about their sins, but about our own. Our first thought should be this: “Death could come to any of us at any time, so I must be ready for it. I must immediately turn away from sin and toward Christ my Savior, who died for me that I might live for Him. If I haven’t been baptized, I need to be. If I have, then I must be serious about living as a forgiven child of God, hearing His Word, gathering with His people, avoiding sin, and producing the good fruit that the Father seeks.”
There will always be death in this world. In the face of death, let us not be quick to point fingers or to question God’s goodness, but let death accomplish God’s good purpose to keep us watchful and ready and living in daily contrition and repentance. For the penitent and believing, death is merely a temporary sleep from which the Lord Christ will soon awaken us.
Let us pray: O Father, remember us, that we are mortal, and have mercy on your servants. In the face of death, fix our eyes on the death and resurrection of Your Son, who is the Resurrection and the Life for all who believe in Him. Amen.
