Luke 13:1-9<\/p>\n
Good Fruit<\/p>\n
<\/span>Grace, <\/span>Back in Indiana, we have <\/span>Jesus <\/span>God plants <\/span>Not every <\/span>You were <\/span>God tried <\/span>We were <\/span>Now that we <\/span>Looking <\/span>That is the <\/span>How are we <\/span>How do we <\/span>Golgotha\u2019s dead tree bears the only life-giving fruit <\/span>Today and <\/span>Jesus <\/span>Sadly, some <\/span>Now the Luke 13:1-9 Good Fruit Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning comes from the Gospel which was read earlier. Back in Indiana, we have something very special. Actually, we have a whole lot of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[201427,116,9016],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lcms","category-religion","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=68"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=68"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=68"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=68"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nmercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior,
\nJesus Christ, amen. <\/span>The text for the
\nsermon this morning comes from the Gospel which was read earlier.<\/p>\n
\nsomething very special. <\/span>Actually, we
\nhave a whole lot of them. <\/span>Some are good
\nand some aren\u2019t so good. <\/span>Some are big
\nand some are small. <\/span>They come in all
\nshapes and sizes. <\/span>What I\u2019m talking about
\nare trees. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nbegins His parable this morning saying, \u201cA
\nman had a fig tree planted in his vineyard\u2026\u201d<\/i> <\/span>As He tells us the story, Jesus expects us to
\nunderstand that god is the one with the vineyard and you\u2014the believer in
\nJesus\u2014are the fig tree in the vineyard of God\u2019s grace. <\/span>God planted you in His vineyard on the day of
\nyour baptism, which St. Paul
\ndescribes as being \u201cplanted together in
\nthe likeness of [Jesus\u2019] death,\u201d<\/i> that we may be raised \u201cin the likeness of his resurrection.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\nwith the expectation of a harvest. <\/span>More
\nvaluable than figs, the fruit God is looking for in the life of the Christian
\nis the fruit of repentance\u2014the fruit that humbly acknowledges my own sinfulness
\nand asks God for forgiveness for no other reason than the Father\u2019s love for us
\nthrough His Son, Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
\nplant bears fruit. <\/span>There are many open
\nspots in the pews, spots which were occupied by someone whom God planted in His
\nvineyard. <\/span>When did the vacancies in the
\npews appear? <\/span>Some just a week, some
\nmonths, some maybe even years. <\/span>How many
\nhave noticed? <\/span>Did we fail these living
\ntrees which God has planted in the likeness of Christ\u2019s death in the hope that
\nthey would share in the likeness of His resurrection? <\/span>Did we do something to cause their fruit not
\nto grow? <\/span>It is our hope that all bear
\nfruit, because as we see in today\u2019s text, the tree of Jesus\u2019 innocent death now
\nbears the fruit of life in all who believe.<\/p>\n
\nall planted in the soil of God\u2019s vineyard, the Church. <\/span>You were planted in God\u2019s vineyard when you
\nwere brought to the waters of Holy Baptism.
\n<\/span>God planted you in His vineyard so that you might mature and grow and
\nbear fruit in His kingdom. <\/span>That was the
\nplan anyways. <\/span>However, it didn\u2019t last
\nlike that for long. <\/span>Once Satan entered
\nthe Garden, once Eve ate from the fruit, once Adam ate from the fruit, the
\nvineyard which God planted His children in, the fruit became tainted and
\npolluted. <\/span>The vineyard became
\nunfruitful. <\/span>It wasn\u2019t the vineyard which
\nGod had created. <\/span>How would God restore
\nthe vineyard to its fruitful state again?<\/p>\n
\nto let nature take its course and right itself, but that didn\u2019t work. <\/span>God sent the flood to destroy all that God
\nhad created, with the exception of Noah and his family, eight souls in
\nall. <\/span>In order to make His vineyard
\nfruitful again, God sent His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, into the
\nworld. <\/span>It is through His life, death,
\nand resurrection that God\u2019s vineyard has been restored.<\/p>\n
\nplanted into God\u2019s vineyard at our baptism, when the water with God\u2019s Word,
\ntouched our foreheads. <\/span>As baptized
\nbelievers planted in the vineyard of God\u2019s kingdom, we know that we have
\nreceived life and salvation from God because of Jesus Christ and His actions,
\nnot because there is something that we have done. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nhave the vineyard of God established, we must look at the fruit that the
\nvineyard yields. <\/span>Sometimes the vineyard
\nproduces fruit while sometimes it doesn\u2019t produce fruit. <\/span>And some of the fruit that the vineyard does
\nproduce, it may not be good fruit.
\n<\/span>Listen to the words of Jesus: \u201cA
\nman had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and
\nfound none. <\/span>And he said to the
\nvinedresser, \u2018Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig
\ntree, and I find none.\u2019\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\ngood isn\u2019t good the same as good fruit.
\n<\/span>Just because fruit is in season and the tree looks<\/b> mature, but sadly, there is no actual fruit on the tree! <\/span>All too often we say in Christianity, people
\nwho call themselves Christian, but in their life, there is nothing that reflects
\nChrist in their life. <\/span>They are
\nhard-pressed to be seen in church. <\/span>They
\nthink that just by being a member of a church or calling themselves \u201cChristian\u201d
\nis all that they need to be saved. <\/span>They
\ndo exactly what Luther speaks against in the Third Commandment: \u201cWe should fear and love God so that we do
\nnot despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and
\nlearn it.\u201d<\/i> <\/span>We see the same thing
\nwith the Jews who gathered around Jesus\u2014even His own disciples\u2014think that
\ngiving up everything and following Him is good enough. <\/span>However, Jesus says that they too, will
\nperish unless they repent. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nmessage for us today. <\/span>Repent. <\/span>The message is so important that Jesus says
\nit twice in our text: \u201cNo, I tell you;
\nbut unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.\u201d<\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n
\nto repent? <\/span>Have we really done that bad
\nthat we need to repent? <\/span>If we take stock
\nof ourselves I think we\u2019ll often find that we\u2019ve been careless at some point or
\nother in our lives\u2014that we\u2019ve lived as if God doesn\u2019t matter, or allowed a
\ncynical attitude to develop, or conformed to the mood and mindset of the age in
\nwhich we live. <\/span>In short, instead of
\nliving our lives according to God\u2019s commandments and His ways, we live our
\nlives in the way which makes us happy, regardless if it\u2019s contrary to the Word
\nof God.<\/p>\n
\nlive then? <\/span>The standard is too high, and
\nwe don\u2019t even measure up to the \u201cnot good enough\u201d of which Paul and Ezekiel
\nspeak of in our other readings. <\/span>But God
\nis on your side and wants you to flourish!
\n<\/span>Ezekiel writes, \u201cI have no
\npleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and
\nlive.\u201d<\/i> <\/span>Jesus intervenes and
\nintercedes on your<\/b> behalf. <\/span>Through the Law, Jesus digs down to your
\nroots and exposes your sin. <\/span>Through the
\nGospel of forgiveness, in all of its forms: verbal, written, spoken, poured
\nout, eaten and drank \u2013 Jesus provides spiritual growth and enables you to bear
\nthe fruit of repentance. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nthat is able to save you from being cut down.
\n<\/span>Baptism alone will not save you if you refuse that precious means by
\nwhich God intends to keep you alive, His Word and His Sacraments. <\/span>That goes back to just calling yourself a
\nChristian and not doing anything to strengthen that faith. <\/span>If you don\u2019t come to hear the Word of God,
\nhow will you know what it is that Jesus has done for you? <\/span>How will you be able to safeguard yourself
\nagainst the attacks of the evil one? <\/span>If
\nyou do not receive Christ\u2019s body and blood, then you will have nothing to strengthen
\nyour faith. <\/span>Try as we might, we cannot
\ndo it on our own. <\/span>Try as we might, we
\nare only a fig tree that bears no fruit.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\neveryday, God provides everything needed for your escape from the burn pile
\noutside the vineyard. <\/span>Escape from sin
\nand evil in this life through participation in the communion of saints,
\nregularly receiving God\u2019s saving Word and Sacraments. <\/span>Escape from eternal judgment, delivering you
\ninstead into the eternal joys of life everlasting through the forgiveness and
\nnew life of righteousness offered in these same means of grace.<\/p>\n
\nHimself does everything possible so that baptized believers like you and I may
\nbear the fruit of repentance and live.
\n<\/span>Jesus gets His hands dirty; He digs down beneath the topsoil and exposes
\nthe root of your sin. <\/span>Proclaiming the
\nLaw through the Scriptures and from the pulpit, Jesus lays bare your innermost
\nsoul so that He may apply the divine potting soil of the Gospel: His Word of
\nlife that alone is able to produce fruit acceptable to God.<\/p>\n
\nChristians may eventually leave an empty space in the pew. <\/span>But for those who remain in Jesus\u2019 gift of
\nWord and Sacrament, bearing the fruit of humble repentance that trusts in Jesus
\nalone for salvation, for you Jesus has made the way of escape from the sin and
\nevil of this life, \u201cand by his glorious resurrection opened to us the way of
\neverlasting life.\u201d <\/span>In Jesus\u2019 name, amen.<\/p>\n
\npeace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true
\nfaith, until life everlasting. <\/span>Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"