Transcript

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 13 NCV; Ch. 14 CEB

Associate Producer

Anonymous, Michael Haner

Podcast Introduction

It’s Gospels Saturday, and we’ll read Luke 13-14. I’m calling this episode ˆWhen Bad Things Happen to Good People.”

Comments on Luke 13

1At that time some people were there who told Jesus that Pilate had killed some people from Galilee while they were worshiping. He mixed their blood with the blood of the animals they were sacrificing to God. 2Jesus answered, “Do you think this happened to them because they were more sinful than all others from Galilee? 3No, I tell you. But unless you change your hearts and lives, you will be destroyed as they were! 4What about those eighteen people who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them? Do you think they were more sinful than all the others who live in Jerusalem? 5No, I tell you. But unless you change your hearts and lives, you will all be destroyed too!”

Luke 13:1-5 NCV

Let’s break this down, shall we?

Some people told Jesus about a heinous act of Pilate where Galilean worshippers were murdered, and in His reply, Jesus reminded them of the eighteen people who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them. For both of these events, Jesus asked them, “Do you think this happened to them because they were more sinful than all others from Galilee?” 

People sometimes think that good things should happen to “good” people, and bad things happen to “bad” people. Of course, we know from our reading of the book of Job that that is not always how it works, but Jesus used this opportunity to remind them of this truth. 

After He asked the question, He immediately answered, “No, I tell you.”

Listen to this quote from Spurgeon: “It is true, the wicked man sometimes falls dead in the street; but has not the minister fallen dead in the pulpit? It is true that a pleasure-boat, in which men were seeking their own pleasure on the Sunday, has suddenly gone down; but is it not equally true that a ship which contained none but godly men, who were bound upon an excursion to preach the gospel, has gone down too?” 

So He turned the question from “Why did this happen?” to “How does this apply to me?”. He said, “Those Galileans didn’t die because they were worse sinners than all the other Galileans.” In saying this, Jesus was not saying that they were *less* guilty of sin, either. The fact is, all are guilty. Romans 3:10 says, “There is no one righteous, not one.”

Twice in his statement, Jesus said, “But unless you change your hearts and lives…” Or to look more at the original Greek, Jesus said “…unless you repent…” In the Greek, He mentioned two kinds of repentance. He talked about a “once and for all repentance” in verse 5, and in verse 3 He referred to a “continuing repentance”. Both kinds are necessary. 

When we first accept Jesus as our Savior, we repent once and for all. But as we’ve said so many times before, we are imperfect. We sin. And that’s where the continuing repentance comes in. In that case, we don’t repent because we have lost our salvation, but because we love Him. He said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” So when we sin, we repent. We ask His forgiveness, and we turn from that sin.

Support

This a value for value podcast. There are no advertisers because advertising=censorship. If you enjoy the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, decide how much value it brings to you. Only you can make that determination. Then put a number on the value and send it to me here: SUPPORT.

Transcript

Download .txt file.

Transcript not yet corrected.

Steve Webb 0:00
People sometimes think that good things should happen to good people and bad things should happen to bad people.

Steve Webb 0:14
This is the Lifespring! One Year Bible coming to you from Riverside, California and podcasting since 2004. I’m your OG Godcaster. Steve Webb. This is the daily podcast where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. And welcome to the weekend. It’s gospel Saturday, and our reading today is going to be Luke 13 and 14. I’m calling this episode when bad things happen to good people. Let’s get started with a word of prayer. Our Father, we thank you so much for this time around your word. And I pray God that today Your Holy Spirit would teach us speak to us. Show us Lord how we can apply today’s reading to our own lives today. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Okay, are you ready? Let’s begin.

Steve Webb 1:01
Luke chapter 13. At that time, some people were there who told Jesus that Pilate had killed some people from Galilee while they were worshipping. He mixed their blood with the blood of the animals. They were sacrificing to God. Jesus answered. Do you think this happened to them? Because they were more sinful than all others from Galilee? No, I tell you, but unless you change your hearts and lives, you will be destroyed as they were. What about those 18 people who died when the Tower of Siloam fell on them? Do you think they were more sinful than all the others who live in Jerusalem? No, I tell you, but unless you change your hearts and lives you will all be destroyed to Jesus told this story. A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for some fruit on the tree, but he found none. So the man said to his gardener, I’ve been looking for fruit on this tree for three years, but I never find any cut it down. Why should it waste the ground? But the servant answered, Master let the tree have one more year to produce fruit. Let me dig up the dirt around it and put on some fertilizer. If the tree produces fruit next year, good. But if not, you can cut it down. Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day. A woman was there who for 18 years had an evil spirit in her that made her cripple. Her back was always bent. She could not stand up straight. When Jesus saw her he called her over and said, Woman You are free from your sickness. Jesus put his hands on her and immediately she was able to stand up straight and began praising God. The synagogue leader was angry because Jesus healed on the Sabbath day. He said to the people, there are six days when one has to work, so come to be healed on one of those days and not on the Sabbath day. The Lord answered, You hypocrites. Doesn’t each of you untie your work animals and lead them to drink water every day, even on the Sabbath day. This woman that I healed, a daughter of Abraham has been held by Satan for 18 years. Surely it is not wrong for her to be freed from her sickness on a Sabbath day. When Jesus said this, all of those who were criticizing him were ashamed. But the entire crowd rejoiced at all the wonderful things Jesus was doing. Then Jesus said, What is God’s kingdom? Like? What can I compare it with? It is like a mustard seed that a man plants in his garden, the seed grows and becomes a tree, and the wild birds build nests in its branches. Jesus said again, what can I compare God’s kingdom with? It is like yeast that a woman took and hid in a large tub of flour until it made all the dough rise. Jesus was teaching in every town and village as he traveled towards Jerusalem, someone said to Jesus, Lord will only a few people be saved. Jesus said, try hard to enter through the narrow door because many people will try to enter there, but they will not be able. When the owner of the house gets up and closes the door. You can stand outside and knock on the door and say, Sir, open the door for us. But he will answer I don’t know you are where you come from. Then you will say, we ate and drank with you and you taught in the streets of our town. But he will say to you, I don’t know you are where you come from. Go away from me, all you who do evil. You will cry and grind your teeth with pain when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the prophets in God’s kingdom, but you yourselves thrown outside. People will come from the east, west, north and south and we’ll sit down at the table in the kingdom of God. There are those who are last now who will be first in the future. And there are those who are first now who will be last in the future. At that time, some Pharisees came to Jesus and said, Go away from here Herod wants to kill you. Jesus said to them, Go tell that fall. ox Herod today and tomorrow I am forcing demons out and healing people. Then on the third day, I will reach my goal. Yet I must be on my way today and tomorrow and the next day. Surely it cannot be right for a prophet to be killed anywhere except in Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the prophets in stone to death, those who are sent to you. Many times I wanted to gather your people, as the hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me now your house is left completely empty. I tell you, you will not see me until that time when you will say God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord

Steve Webb 5:40
Luke 14. One Sabbath when Jesus went to share a meal in the home of one of the leaders of the Pharisees, they were watching him closely. A man suffering from an abnormal swelling of the body was there. Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees does the law allow healing on the Sabbath or not? But they said nothing. Jesus took ahold of the sick man cured him and then let him go. He said to them, suppose your child or ox falls into a ditch on the Sabbath day, wouldn’t you immediately pull it out, but they had no response. When Jesus noticed how the guests sought out the best seats at the table, he told them a parable. When someone invites you to a wedding celebration, don’t take your seat in the place of honor, someone more highly regarded than you could have been invited by your host. The host who invited both of you will come and say to you, give your seat to this other person. Embarrassed, you will take your seat in the least important place. Instead, when you receive an invitation, go and sit in the least important place. When your host approaches you. He will say friend move up here to a better seat. Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. All who lift themselves up will be brought low, and those who make themselves low will be lifted up. Then Jesus said to the person who had invited him when you host a lunch or dinner, don’t invite your friends, your brothers and sisters, your relatives or rich neighbors. If you do, they will invite you in return and that will be your reward. Instead, when you give a banquet, invite the poor, crippled, lame and blind and you will be blessed because they can’t repay you. Instead, you will be repaid when the adjuster resurrected. When one of the dinner guests heard Jesus remarks, he said to Jesus happier those who will feast in God’s kingdom. Jesus replied, A certain man hosted a large dinner and invited many people. When it was time for the dinner to begin. He said his servant to tell the invited guests come the dinner is now ready. One by one, they all began to make excuses. The first one told him, I bought a farm and must go and see it. Please excuse me. Another said, I bought five teams of oxen, and I’m going to check on them. Please excuse me. Another said, I just got married, so I can’t come. When he returned, the servant reported these excuses to his master. The master of the house became angry and said to his servant, go quickly to the city streets, the busy ones and the side streets and bring the poor crippled blind in lane. The servant said, Master your instructions had been followed and there is still room, the master said to the servant, go to the highways and back alleys and urge people to come in so that my house will be filled. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will taste my dinner. Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. Turning to them. He said, Whoever comes to me and doesn’t hate father and mother, spouse and children and brothers and sisters. Yes, even one’s own life cannot be my disciple. Whoever doesn’t carry their own cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple. If one of you wanted to build a tower, wouldn’t you first sit down and calculate the cost to determine whether you have enough money to complete it. Otherwise, when you’ve laid the foundation but couldn’t finish the tower, all who see it will begin to belittle you. They will say, here’s the person who began construction and couldn’t complete it. Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down to consider whether his 10,000 soldiers could go up against the 20,000 coming against him. And if he didn’t think he could win, he would send a representative to discuss terms of peace while his enemy was still a long way off. In the same way, none of you who are unwilling to give up all your possessions can be my disciple. Salt is good. But if salt loses its flavor, how will it become salty again? It has no value neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. People throw it away. Whoever has ears to hear should pay attention.

Steve Webb 9:55
In Luke 13, verses one through five we read, “At that time some People were there who told Jesus that Pilate had killed some people from Galilee while they were worshipping. He mixed their blood with a blood of the animals. They were sacrificing to God. And Jesus answered. Do you think this happened to them? Because they were more sinful than all the others from Galilee? No, I tell you, but unless you change your hearts and lives, you will be destroyed as they were. What about those 18 people who died when the Tower of Siloam fell on them? Do you think they were more sinful than all the others who live in Jerusalem? No, I tell you, but unless you change your hearts and lives, you will all be destroyed too.” All right, so let’s break this down. Challis. Some people told Jesus about a heinous act of Pilate where Galilean worshippers were murdered. And in his reply, Jesus reminded them of another time when the Tower of Siloam fell on 18 people and killed them. For both of these events, Jesus asked them, Do you think this happened to them because they were more sinful than the others. People sometimes think that good things should happen to good people and bad things should happen to bad people. Of course, we know from our reading of the book of Job that this is not always how it works. But Jesus used this opportunity to remind them of this truth. So he asked the question twice, do you think they were more sinful? And twice? He answered himself by saying, No, I tell you. Listen to this quote from Spurgeon. It is true, the wicked man sometimes falls dead in the street, but has not the Minister of fallen dead in the pulpit. It is true that a pleasure boat in which men were seeking their own pleasure on the Sunday has suddenly gone down. But is it not equally true that a ship which contained none but godly men, who were bound upon an excursion to preach the gospel has gone down to? So Spurgeon was saying bad things do happen to bad people, but bad things happen to good people, too. So Jesus turned the question from, why did this happen to how does this apply to me? He said, those Galileans didn’t die because they were worse sinners than all the other Galileans. And he wasn’t saying that they were less guilty of sin either. The fact is, all are guilty. Romans 310 says, There is no one righteous, not one. And then twice in his statement, Jesus said, but unless you change your hearts and lives, and that’s according to the translation we read today, but to look more at the original Greek, Jesus said, twice, unless you repent, now in saying unless you repent, in the Greek, it’s two kinds of repentance. He talked about a once and for all, repentance in verse five. And in verse three, he referred to a continuing repentance and both kinds of unnecessary a once and for all repentance and a continuing repentance. You see, when we first accept Jesus as our Savior, we repent once and for all. But as we’ve said, so many times before we are imperfect, we sin, and that’s where the continuing repentance comes in. In that case, we don’t repent because we have lost our salvation. No, but it’s because we love Him. Jesus said, If you love me, you will keep My commandments. So when we sin, we repent. We ask His forgiveness, and then we turn from that sin. That’s what repentance is, we turn from the sin. So what do you think? Do you have a comment? You have a question? Call the Lifespring family Hotline at plus 1-951-732-8511 or send to boostagram with your comment or go to comment.lifespringmedia.com tomorrow we’ll be epistle Sunday and Lord willing, we’ll read Philippians chapters one and two.

Steve Webb 13:52
We have two associate producers today who have come to bat to help bring this episode to you. Anonymous came in with their weekly $22.22 cent row a duck’s donation. Thank you anonymous. God bless you. And Michael Haner came in with his weekly $7.77 striper donation. Thank you, Michael. And God bless you. Beloved, if you’ve been listening to the Lifespring! One Year Bible for a while and had been encouraged in your faith, or if you found the show to be a good way to read the word consistently. Maybe your relationship with God is stronger today than when you first started listening. Perhaps you’d be willing to show some appreciation by making a value for value donation. Some people might say, Well, Steve, aren’t you trying to make money from the gospel? Isn’t that wrong? Well listen to what Paul said in First Corinthians chapter nine. He wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, what soldier has to pay his own expenses? What farmer plants a vineyard in doesn’t have the right to eat some of its fruit? What Shepherd cares for a flock of sheep and isn’t allowed to drink some of the milk? Am I expressing merely a human opinion or does the law say the same thing for the law of Moses says you must not know As a Linux to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain. Was God thinking only about oxen when he said this? Wasn’t he actually speaking to us? Yes, it was written for us so that the one who plows and the one who thrashes the grain might both expect a share of the harvest. And Paul continues, since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren’t we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink? If you support others who preach to you shouldn’t we have an even greater right to be supported? But we have never used this right? We would rather put up with anything then to be an obstacle to the good news about Christ. Don’t you realize that those who work in the temple get their meals from the offerings brought to the temple, and those who serve at the altar get his share of the sacrificial offerings. In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the good news should be supported by those who benefit from it. Yet I have never used any of these rights. And I’m not writing this to suggest that I want to start now. In fact, I would rather die than lose my right to boast about preaching without charge. Yet preaching the good news is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the good news. If I were doing this on my own initiative, Paul says, By would deserve payment. But I have no choice for God has given me this sacred trust. What then is my pay? It is the opportunity to preach the good news without charging anyone. That’s why I never demand my rights. When I preach. The good news is, beloved, of course, this podcast will always be free. And I am in no way equating myself to the Apostle Paul. But I do have this in common with him. God called me to do this work, and I don’t charge anyone for doing it. I consider myself blessed beyond anything I could have ever imagined to be able to speak to you and share the gospel with you. I’m just asking you to prayerfully consider what Paul wrote to the Corinthian church there. And then ask the Lord if He would have you support the Lifespring! One Year Bible. If he speaks to your heart, please go to Lifespringmedia.com slash support, you’ll find several ways to donate. Thanks.

Steve Webb 17:19
Tomorrow is Sunday, which is one of the days we share prayer requests and praises here on the Lifespring! One Year Bible, we are called to pray for one another. James 516 says, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. And we have a promise about the results of prayer Philippians, five, six and seven says, Don’t worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts in mind as you live in Christ Jesus. So beloved, let’s pray for one another. And let’s thank him for his blessings. Call the Lifespring family Hotline at plus 1-951-732-8511 Or go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com.

Steve Webb 18:26
Today’s show art is done by Jason Paschall. Thank you, Jason. God bless you. And Thanks to Sister Denise who does the transcript Michael Haner. Who does the chapters Scott Snider, who also does show art and SR Brittaney Who does the newsletter. May God bless each of you. And Thanks to anonymous and Michael Haner, for being our associate producers today. I appreciate you guys and may God bless you. And Thanks to the Lifespring family. As the Apostle Paul said, I thank God for every remembrance of you. I’m so glad you’re part of the Lifespring family and I do pray for you. And now until tomorrow. Thank you for inviting me to be a part of your day. May God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Bye.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai