REPENT OR PERISH

PROCLAMATION

“And Jesus answering said unto them, ‘… 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.”  Luke 13:2-5 (KJV)

EXPLANATION
These words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, which were spoken by Christ according to Luke, the physician.  As He continued to teach the crowd, a person in the crowd told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.  Jesus responded to him, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?  I tell you, no!  But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Luke 13:1-3)  He said the same regarding the eighteen who died in Siloam when the tower fell upon them. (Luke 13:4-5)  Then He told them The Parable of the Fig Tree.  The fig tree was not producing any fruit, so the man who owned the vineyard was going to cut it down.  However, the caretaker of the vineyard interceded to give the fig tree one more year, one more chance before cutting it down. (Luke 13:6-9)  As He was teaching in the synagogue on the sabbath, there was a woman who had been crippled for eighteen years.  Jesus saw her, and called unto her, and said, “Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.”  Immediately she straightened up and was healed and she praised God. (Luke 13:10-13)  Then the synagogue leader said to the people, there are six days in which men ought to work, and they should come and be healed on those days, not on the sabbath.  Jesus call him a hypocrite and said that he does things that could be considered work on the sabbath, so why couldn’t this woman be healed on the sabbath.  At this his adversaries were ashamed but the people rejoiced. (Luke 13:14-17)  Then Jesus told them The Parable of The Mustard Seed and the Yeast. (Luke 13:18-21)  As He went through the towns and villages teaching, someone asked Him if only a few people would be saved.  Jesus told him that many will try to enter but will not be able to.  They will say what they did with Him, but He will say unto them, “… I know you not … depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity…” (Luke 13:22-30)  That same day some Pharisees came and warned Him to leave town because King Herod wanted to kill Him. (Luke 13:31-34)

APPLICATION

Jesus, The Christ, made it clear to the crowd that followed Him, if they did not repent, then they would also perish. (Luke 13:3 and 13:5)  The same is true for us today.  Those of us who repent and confess will have our names written in The Lamb’s book of life.  Those who do not repent will perish because their names are not in the book of life. (Revelation 20:15)  So, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)  Only those who confess and believe will be saved. (Romans 10:9)  We have been given another chance to repent before we perish.