The Locus of Astonishment

Soldiers had killed some Israelites, and the people asked Jesus why it happened. His response was surprising saying you're coming to me vexed with this theological problem of why my father allows all the suffering and all this pain in the world after asking the wrong question. The question you should come to me with this. Why wasn't I slaughtered Jesus took a question about typical safety and flipped it on its head. He went to the heart of the matter. Glad you joined us for Renewing Your Mind on this Tuesday is Dr. RC Sproul preaching from the Gospel of Luke, probably reading from chapter 13 beginning at verse one and reading through verse five, there were present at that season.

Some who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate said mingled with their sacrifices 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 I tell you no, but unless you repent you will all likewise perish, or those 18, 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 until you know but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

Again, these are the words of our Lord.

And though they deliver a sobering and indeed frightening message to us. They are never received by those who are is is with all the respect that we give to him as our Savior submitting to all of the authority that the father invested in him.

Please receive them as such. Let's pray again, our father, we ask that you would give us ears to hear these words as difficult as they may be for us to receive the two words bend our wills not only to receive at the rejoice in every word that proceeds forth from your mouth open our ears that we may hear our minds that we may understand and our souls that they may be pierced by your truth. For we ask it in Jesus name, amen. For many in and around Jerusalem.

It was a scandal. What happened when on a fee say presumably Passover some pilgrims had journeyed to the city to offer their sacrifices in the temple and when they went in there they were met by soldiers sent by Pontius Pilate.

Okay men and massacred them in cold blood was a gory scene is Luke suggests that as these programs were bringing their animal sacrifices and offering their blood in that place the soldiers so can't these worshiping people that when their blood spurting from their bodies, their blood was mixed and co-mingled with the blood of the sacrifice. When the word of the slaughter reached the streets of the people. People were confused. They were frightened they were asking the question that all believers do when tragedies like this take place. Where was God in all of this. These were pious Jews. These weren't rebellious Jews.

These were people who made the journey to Jerusalem to offer the sacrifice of praise of their God and her people were saying wait a minute. Where is this God or deliver us from bondage in Egypt only deadline later send us into exile.

But again, in his mercy to restore us and bring us back. And now, place us once more under the oppression and tyranny of Rome. Now that oppression has manifested itself in this most ghastly form. Not only were our people murdered. But where they were murdered in the temple when they were murdered in the middle of their worship. Where was God in all of that.

One of the surmise things that came from those who work speculating on it was will surely these people though they were on the surface and outwardly pious were actually inwardly corrupt and they must've been great persons of wickedness for God to allow this to happen because there must be a calculus between the degree of sin that we commit and the degree of suffering that we experience. I had forgotten the book of Job were Job's friends said wrongly come to the conclusion that because of the desperate degree of Job's suffering. He must've been the worst of all sinners probably weren't there when Jesus answered a similar question concerning the man born blind that's recorded for us in John chapter 9 in a rush to judgment. There's an equation suffering sin equal but beyond that was the bigger question how can a just and holy God allow something like this to happen. The philosopher John stored no pose one of the most famous arguments against Christian theism when he said that Christians claim that God is good that God is loving and that God is omnipotent, but these things cannot all be true.

Not with all the pain and the suffering and the tragedy that is in this world because if God is good and if God is loving if he would see all this pain and see all of his suffering, he would surely eliminate it unless he can't know that he wants to get rid of pain and suffering, but he can't. That is not omnipotent, and if he is omnipotent and doesn't rid the world of all this pain and suffering than is neither good nor loving the course mill in his cogitation overlooked two salient points that were not part of his thinking, namely the holiness of God and the sinfulness of human banks because of God's holy beloved, and we are sinful. There must be pain and sorrow in this world until it is all redeemed. But Jesus understood the struggle that these people were having about this tragic event and he gave an answer to their question.

Now if we didn't have this text before us and all we knew was that people were struggling we might assume that Jesus would say something like this. I know that the Bible says that he who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps, but you have any idea what a massive enterprise. It is to supervise and manage this vast cosmos that my father has to keep the Pleiades in place and maintain the correct motions of the stars he has to make sure that gravity is operative in every second, give him a break even my heavenly father has to take a rest from time to time. In this particular afternoon, he just took a well-deserved catnap and while he was nodding, Pontius Pilate took advantage of the moment and send troops into the temple and slaughtered the worshipers there before my father had a chance to awaken. I'm sorry about that. I'll take it up with him and ask him to be more vigilant in the future. Somebody said he said you think that these Galileans were worse than the other Galileans that this tragedy should befall them. Now, now don't you understand that in less you repent you will likewise perish.

What's he saying saying you're coming to me faxed with this theological problem of why my father allows all this suffering and all this pain in the world's future asking the wrong question.

The question you should come to me with this. Why was not slaughtered along with the others and he goes on to take another step is and what about those 18 people on whom the tower of Siloam fell in killed them right next to the polo salon. They were constructing this towering Jerusalem ends. Probably it was during construction that 18 innocent people were walking down the street that minding their own business and not engage in sidewalk superintending and not harassing the construction workers are not throwing eggs in the middle of them to corrupt or to file this project. Just minding their business walking on the street and without warning that power began to shake and suddenly fell down and crushed 18 people to death. Jesus is what you think think that these 18 were the worst scoundrels in all of Jerusalem.

And that's why God exacted his vengeance upon them know I say to you, unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Now the Scriptures make it clear that all of us from time to time are victims of injustice by other people and all of us at one time or another have injured others unfairly and unjustly.

But when we experience injustice at the hands of men.

Jesus tell us we ought not to faint. But we ought to pray and he says will not God vindicate his elect who cry under him day and night. God promises to make right those injustices that we have either committed or received but not once in my lifetime have I ever received an injustice from the hands of God. Not once in your lifetime. Have you ever been treated unfairly or unjustly by God taught theology for over 50 years and I've heard were literally a million questions from students asking about the difficult questions of theology and what I hear all the time is the one that's really dealt with here. Why did God allow this to happen. Why did my baby die.

Why did my husband die here. That kind of question every day. You know the question I almost never hear is the biggest question of all. I've yet to have a student come up to me, faxed, and consternation and confusion about theology and say to me there's something I don't understand is what sent. Why did God save me. That's the biggest mystery in my theology.

Why did God save me. I can give two different answers to that question why God save me the first one is this I don't know. And the second one is because he would not allow his son to suffer the travail of the cross and not be satisfied merely reason I can give on heaven and earth for why God would save me or save you or save anybody was to honor his son, certainly not because we deserve it, in and of ourselves. What we deserve Jesus saying here is to be slaughtered in the temple to be crushed on the sidewalk. That's what we deserve, that's justice all arrest his mercy. Now I have a favorite story to illustrate that which I know some of you have heard before, and probably more than once. There's a finite number of illustrations given to every preacher and so we have to use them more than once, but it happened in 1966 when I was teaching college and the North Shore of Boston, Massachusetts, and I was teaching introductions of the Old Testament to the freshman class of 250 students. The only room big enough for that class was the college chapel and so they gathered there.

That first day, all 250 of them and I went over the syllabus and over the reading requirements told him one. The midterm exam would be in the final exam and that sort of thing I said in addition, we have three small papers due 8 to 10 pages. The first was due September 30 effect on October 30. The third one November 30. They have to be turned in that morning, the time of clash. Knowing already having had some experience teaching college that every freshman's a Philadelphia lawyer. I had a spell out in detail what the exceptions might be. I said, unless you are physically confined to the infirmary or have a death in the immediate family. If you fail to turn those papers and you will get enough for that assignment. Does everybody understand. Yes, everybody understood the lease until September 30 were 225 students came with their papers. I looked at the back of the chapel number 25 freshman students in abject fear and terror. Their knees were knocking as they trembled as all professors will we failed to make the adjustment from high school to college but did our time. The way we should of never papers done.

Please give us some more time and I said okay I give you two more days. This time without ever do it again a whole. Thank you and everything was great until October 30 and October 30 200 students came with their papers, and 50 of them didn't have their papers and ice were your papers and again the repenting and dust and ashes. Oh Prof. it was midterm and we have assignments from all the other courses we had.

Plus it was homecoming and we were engaged in building floats and all the rest were so sorry it was one more chance, please. I said okay and this really happen spontaneously.

They started the same way love you prom scroll. Oh yes we do, and for 30 days I was the most popular professor on the campus until November 30 hundred and 50 students come with their pipe under them strolling as casual as you can imagine and I watched him walk in the back where your papers, Johnson, where's your paper prof, no sweat that I look for in a couple of days I said you don't have it today said no and I took the ubiquitous black book and open it up to Johnson and ISA Johnson, F, and he became livid and he looked at me with red face and sad about something.

You know what he said that's not that's not fair.

I should did you say he said I said that's not fair.

I said it suggests is that you want Mr. Johnson don't.

I recall that the last month, you failed to have your paper and I gave you an extension not correctly said yes sir. I said okay I'm going back and give you justice F for that one.

I said who else wants justice and hear a pin drop. The clambering had ceased no one else wanted justice.

What happened there. The same thing that happens in all of our lives. The first time we taste the tender mercy of God's grace. Our hearts are overwhelmed with gratitude we start singing amazing grace, how sweet the sound, then the second time were not quite so amazed quite so grateful. By the third time, we not only expect that we demand that because now we are entitled to the grace of God and if we get anything less were not only confused but we become angry. This question came up that our conference over the weekend. I mentioned that though we may experience profound pain and grief and sorrow in this world.

Some so deep that it could lead us to the pit of despair. There is no possible trust ground for anyone ever to be angry with caught their million reasons for God to be angry with me, but not one reason justly for me to be angry with him but like Henry Higgins. We've grown accustomed to his grace, and now confuse justice and mercy. I said to my students. If you ever think that God owes you mercy if you think for a second that God is obligated to be gracious to you, then let a bell go off in your brain that teaches you that you have now confuse justice and grace. Though God's character is to be generous with his mercy and that he is so gracious.

Grace is always on required volunteer and so we can on the one hand, expect that because of his consistency of character. We can never presume upon. On the one hand, we should never be amazed by grace because God is so gracious. On the other hand, in one sense, at least we should always be surprised by his grace is what our Lord is saying here unless you repent. This is your destiny. Unless you are converted, you will perish just like the Galileans in the temple and the people on the sidewalk so put your trust in your hope in his mercy and God never taking the grace of God for granted may be the most important thing we hear today is a great reminder from Dr. RC Sproul as he looked at Luke chapter 13 this week on Renewing Your Mind.

We are pleased to feature some of Dr. scroll sermons from the New Testament, benefiting from his years of study and experience as the copastor of St. Andrews Chapel here in Sanford, Florida RC preach through entire books of the Bible and those sermons were the basis for his commentary series when you contact us today with a donation of any amount we like to send you the hardbound edition of his commentary on Luke. You'll find us online@renewingyourmy.org or you can call us with your gift at 800-435-4343. Dr. scroll had a gift for explaining theology in a in a way that doesn't require a degree were continuing that tradition here at Lincoln here with a podcast called simply put, each Tuesday my colleague Barry Cooper sheds light on a different vehicle or theological term using helpful illustrations to apply to our lives is a short easy lesson and you can subscribe on Apple podcast or Google play, or by visiting simply put podcast.com tomorrow. RC will address that issue.

The Christians of face for more than 2000 years should we obey God or man join us Wednesday for Renewing Your Mind