Title: Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ
Author: Andre Holtslag

8
“An Earthquake Education”      OT Reading – Psalm 99     NT Reading – Luke 12:1-13:9        Text -  Luke 13:1-9

Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,
During the week, my wife was attending a sports activity with the children and talking with some other mothers who were there.  And as they talked about the earthquake, one of the women shared that her first thoughts in the earthquake were that the Lord was returning.  
She was convinced that the Second Coming had begun.  
After all, Matthew 24 says, “There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains … The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.  At that time, the sign of the Son of man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn.  They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and glory.”  
The Book of Revelation, also, links earthquakes to the Second Coming.  
And so, this sister was rather disappointed as the realization set in that this was not the beginning of the parousia, or the ‘from the heavens appearing’ of the Lord Jesus Christ, but just a plain old earthquake!  

Now, I need to confess that the thought that this might be the Second Coming never even entered my mind.  
I wanted my wife, my children, and my self to be safe.  
Once huddled under the table, we immediately prayed together, and did so again a few times as the minutes went by.  
Eventually, thoughts turned to keeping warm, getting torches and a radio, how you all were doing, and later on to popping out the door to chat with neighbours.  
In the darkness and between aftershocks, we clung, in a sense, to the calm voices on the radio, as they began to explain what had happened and paint a picture of the effect of the earthquake upon Christchurch.

Well, 8 days have gone by since then.  We have had wall to wall coverage of the earthquake.  
•	I am sure many of you could give an accurate description of the streets and suburbs most affected.  
•	Many of you will have spent some time on GeoNet watching seismographs do their thing, live, and getting a full report of the size and location of the latest tremor just minutes after it had actually occurred.  
•	Liquifaction is now a permanent part of our vocabulary.  
•	We are familiar with every crack in the walls of our houses, internal and external.  
•	And while we all know that 230,000 people died in a similar magnitude earthquake in Haiti in January, and some of us may know that 88,000 died in China in 2008, this earthquake, just like the 8.0 on the Richter scale one in Japan in 2003, caused not a single fatality.  

Personally, I’ve gone from wanting to know everything that was happening, as soon as it happened, to being quite content if I never hear another fact about earthquakes again, let alone experience one.  

The Bible, however, will not let us escape from thinking about such things.  
Earlier I quoted from Matthew 24 where we are told that there will be earthquakes and famine and war and rumours of war in the Last Days.  
We also read from Exodus 19 and Matthew 27, and saw there that significant events in the history of salvation have been accompanied by earthquakes.  

And so, while the media has given us an earthquake education in the past week, we need to acknowledge that that education is, at the least, incomplete without the instruction of God’s Word.  
•	Yes, the earthquake happened because the Pacific plate is buckling under the Australasian plate.  
•	Yes, there was no loss of life because we put reinforcing rods in concrete and it was 4:35am.  
•	And yes, earthquakes remind us to be prepared with water, torches, and radios.  
•	Today though, we seek an earthquake education from the Word of God.  

Our question is, Lord, what must we learn from this earthquake?  What must we hear you say when the ground shakes?  How ought we to respond when the earth trembles?

Let’s turn then to the Gospel of Luke and chapter 13:1-8.  
For there, Jesus too dealt with questions about large scale loss of life and what we call ‘natural disasters.’  And even though, there has been no large scale loss of life, here, what Jesus says is just as important to our why, what and how questions.  

1.	Now, as we arrive at this scene, we need to understand what has been said leading up to the words of Luke 13.  
a.	This section begins in Luke 12 with Jesus speaking to a crowd of many thousands.  

b.	He starts by speaking first to the disciples.  
i.	And pointing to the prideful, hypocritical, power-loving Pharisees, Jesus says to the disciples, Do not fear them or anyone else.  Be bold!  Testify about Me on earth and I will testify about you to our Father in heaven!

c.	And then in verse 13, someone in the crowd asks Jesus to tell his brother to divide the inheritance.  Initially, Jesus refuses to act as a judge (small j) for this man.  But then He goes on to reveal, in all the verses that follow, right through to the end of ch 13, that He, Jesus, is the Judge (capital J), before whom all will need to appear.

d.	And then He presents a number of situations and parables to His listeners that call for a decision.
i.	Essentially, He says to the people, decide now who I am.                                                                 Will you acknowledge Me as the Judge of your eternal destiny?  
1.	From vv13-21, He warns them not to be too attached to earthly things and to be ready to die and appear before God.
2.	From vv22-34 He urges them to invest in spiritual things; ‘Where your treasure is, there your heart is also.”  
3.	From vv35-48, He warns them to watch and be ready; to live expecting the Second Coming; “the Son of man comes at an hour when you do not expect Him.” 

ii.	And all of these things are vital parts of an earthquake education.
1.	As the mirrors, crockery, and bricks came down, were you ready to stand before God? 
2.	As the earthquake affected the securities of life like power, water, and employment was the treasure of eternal life secure for you? 
3.	We live in an earthquake prone country.  We all know there will be earthquakes.  And yet, at 4:34am no one expected what would happen at 4:35am.  Well, Jesus is going to return to earth.  This is the plain declaration of His Word.  But He too will come, unexpectedly.  Will He find you ready?  
iii.	Then, from vv49-53, Jesus tells them that He comes to divide; Jesus becomes the point of difference between even husband and wife, Father and Son, and Mother and Daughter.  

e.	And lastly, from v54 to the end of the chapter He urges the crowd to interpret the times.  
i.	To these Jews, Jesus says, you’re very clever, with many things.  But with the most important thing, you are fools.  Messiah has come, just as had been prophesied.  Look around!  Anyone who has read the OT should understand what is going on and recognize me for who I really am.  “How is that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?”
ii.	And theses words, too, are very important words in our earthquake education; “interpret the times.”
1.	In effect, Jesus is also saying, You’re very clever at reading plate tectonics.
2.	You know where the fault lines are. 
3.	You have excellent building codes to guard against earthquakes and civil defense plans.
(a)	But I say to you, “Interpret the times.”

And it is here that a wrong response to Jesus’ demand is made.

1.	As He encourages the crowd to interpret the times, someone in the crowd tells Him about the death of the Galileans.  
a.	Apparently, some people from the region of Galilee had come to Jerusalem and been killed in or near the temple, so that their blood mixed with the blood of the sacrifices.  
i.	There can be little doubt that this brutal slaughter was big news, but we know little about the circumstances of this event.  
ii.	The term ‘Galileans’ is probably used to indicate disdain or disgust; something like the term ‘hillbillies’ or ‘rednecks’ that Americans use for some Southerners.  

b.	And so, what we need to understand, as these pious Jews tell Jesus about this slaughter, is that having heard Jesus just tell them all to interpret the times, they want Him to know that .  they can interpret the times.  
i.	To them, the fact that these ‘Galileans’ died such a public and brutal death clearly indicates that they must have been great sinners.  Why else would they die in such a way?

2.	But Jesus immediately corrects this wrong response to tragedy or disaster.  For He says, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?”  And we will come back to this question of Jesus after we read about the next tragedy Jesus mentions.  

3.	You see, what He does next is to bring disaster a little closer to home.  
a.	He responds to these pious Jews by mentioning the 18 who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them.  
i.	Again, we do not know much about the circumstances of this tragedy.  We do know that Siloam was in Jerusalem.  These people were Jews, and yet tragedy still came upon them.
1.	One theory about the circumstances of this tragedy takes note of a story found in the records of Josephus, a Jewish author who wrote a history of the Jews.  He tells of Pilate building an aqueduct to bring water into Jerusalem.  Pilate funded this aqueduct with the sacred temple money and the Jews were furious at this.  
1.	It is possible, then, that the tower of Siloam was part of this aqueduct and that the Jews thought that the death of these eighteen was God’s punishment for building the tower from the sacred temple money.  And so, again, great sin equals great tragedy.
ii.	But Jesus says, “Do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?”

4.	You see, there have always been those who stand ready to judge those who experience tragedy, loss, hardship, illness, or death, as those who must be the worst of sinners.
a.	In the OT we find the story of Job.  Now, Job was a righteous man.  But God permitted the Devil to afflict Job with loss and illness.  But as Job lies there reflecting on this loss and his illness, three friends come to talk with him.  And these three friends tell him to repent.  To them, if Job was experiencing loss and hardship, he must be in sin.  And because Job experienced great loss and hardship, he must be a great sinner.  

b.	And, back in our text, these pious Jews have arrived at the same conclusions with their thinking about the slaughter of the Galileans and the tragedy of the tower of Siloam.            The greater the nature of the tragedy, the greater must be the degree of sin.  

c.	Brothers and Sisters, boys and girls, and young people, this is a wrong response.  We ought not think that bad things must happen to bad people.  We need to avoid falling into the trap of assuming that great tragedy must mean great sin. 
i.	As we see the Manchester St sign, for example, lying in the rubble of many of its buildings, we must be careful not to think that that’s what the earthquake was all about.  God sure got them!

d.	And Jesus makes this crystal clear as He answers the question He Himself sets before these pious Jews.  Jesus says, “I tell you, no!”  Though these people were sinners, you all are.  They were no different, in their sin, than you all are.  Great tragedy does not mean great sin.

e.	And we can be sure of this because of what other passages tell us on this matter.  
i.	I mentioned Job a moment ago.  Despite what his friends said, we know that Job’s circumstances did not arise because of Job’s sin.  The Bible is very clear about this.  
ii.	And we can be sure that God does not necessarily hand out particular hardship because of particular sin, because of what we read in the first verses of John 9.  There, Jesus and His disciples came across a man born blind.  Jesus’ disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"  And Jesus replied, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”  
iii.	Thus, to think that great tragedy equals great sin is to make a wrong response

5.	Now, there are many other wrong responses that we can make to something like this earthquake.  
a.	Some will be angry at God for disrupting their lives.  
i.	Church services were cancelled.  Holiday plans were interrupted.  Schools were closed.  Businesses and homes are being demolished.  Jobs have been lost.  
ii.	And angry fists can be raised towards heaven.  But God’s response to the questions and complaints of Job and his friends demonstrate that this is a wrong response.  
b.	Others will completely ignore God as they process this earthquake.  
i.	In the week leading up to the earthquake, some of you may have noticed media reports about a new book by the British theoretical physicist and cosmologist, Stephen Hawking, about the origins of the universe.  Having previously allowed for the possibility of a God who got the Big Bang underway, Hawking is now convinced that God was not necessary for the universe to come into existence.  
ii.	Thus, for him and for many others the earthquake is all about the forces of nature and the random movement of the earth’s crust.  But Psalm 14 says, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”  And so, again, wrong response.  
c.	Others will now live in fear of earthquakes.  
i.	Everything they do will now be focused on being prepared for the next one and educating people about earthquake awareness.  
ii.	Now, I’m not suggesting that we should welcome earthquakes or like them, and there is a place for education and preparation.  But God’s word says, “Do not be anxious about anything.”  And so, a consuming fear of earthquakes would be another wrong response.

Let’s consider then, the right response to the Christchurch earthquake.

Firstly, in terms of general biblical truth, we need to recognize that God caused this earthquake to happen.  Any suggestion, as will sadly be made from some pulpits around about today, that God did not want this earthquake to happen and now weeps at the destruction and displacement it brings, is not what the Bible teaches.  God caused this earthquake to happen. 
a.	The Bible is very clear that nothing happens apart from God’s will.  
i.	Matthew 10:29 and Luke 21:18 tell us that not even a sparrow can fall to the ground or a hair from our head apart from His will.
ii.	Tragedy or disaster comes according to the will of God and to accomplish His sovereign purposes.

Secondly, while great tragedy does not necessarily mean great sin, earthquakes and the like are 
part of the curse of sin.  
a.	God created a world free of earthquakes in its glorious perfection.
b.	It was Adam’s sin that brought death to the world, just as God had warned Adam it would.  
c.	But it also brought down a curse on the stuff of creation.  
i.	Not only would humans be subject to the misery of sin, so also would the earth and the sky and the sun and the planets; every single atom of creation was now infected with sin.
ii.	Romans 8:22 says, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”
d.	The course of human history, then, looked forward to the first coming of Jesus Christ, which would deal with the guilt of our sin, and now to His Second Coming, which will finally remove all of the consequences of sins’ misery.
i.	And so, God sends earthquakes, in part, to remind us of the reality of sin’s misery, so that we might seek the solution to sin in Christ; so that we might yearn for the time when sin and all of its associated misery will be done away with.

1.	God caused this earthquake.  This earthquake is another announcement about the reality of sin’s misery.  The first part, then, of the right response to this earthquake education is what we heard in our call to worship today: “Be still and know that I am God.”  Just pause and consider the God who His able to shake the earth and to end life or let it continue.  Take time as you listen to news reports and tidy up and feel each aftershock to “Be still and know that I am God.”
2.	Secondly, because Jesus says that in the last days there will be earthquakes, and because Jesus calls on us to interpret the times, and because Jesus points us to tragedy and disaster and says, twice, “Unless you repent, you too will all perish,” the second thing we must do by way of a right response to this earthquake education is to repent, urgently.
a.	Just like the crowd Jesus addressed, you also might be guilty of the sin of unbelief, which is the chief sin.  
i.	You might be young, you might be old, but this earthquake came to you as a reminder that at any moment, night or day, God may call you into His presence.  
1.	It might be in a car accident.  It might be a massive heart attack.  It might be an even bigger earthquake.  But Jesus’ warning to you today is “unless you repent, you too will … perish.”  
ii.	Dear friend, God has graciously shown you, through this earthquake, what awaits those who reject Him and continue with unbelief.  
1.	Just remember the terror of those few moments 8 days ago, multiply it 10,000 fold, and you are still no where near the sheer terror and despair that an eternity in hell holds for those who refuse to hear His warning: “Unless you repent, you too will … perish.”  
2.	Instead, recognize that Jesus is coming as Judge, and call on Him as your Saviour.  
(a)	For He came to earth to pay for the sins of all those who look to Him for salvation.  
(b)	He came to gain for them an eternity in heaven that will be free of sin’s misery.

b.	But every one of us here stands also in need of daily repentance.  
i.	Some of us are not whole-hearted in our love for God.  Our devotional life is infrequent if not entirely absent.  
ii.	Some of us participate only in some aspects of the life of the church preferring to skip the afternoon service, district meetings, and prayer meetings.  
iii.	Some of us harbour grudges towards brothers and sisters in the church.  
iv.	Some of us are regularly disobedient to our parents or those in authority.  
v.	Some of us struggle with our tempers.  
vi.	Some of us are caught up in the sin of gossip.  
vii.	Some of us do very little in terms of showing hospitality to others.  
viii.	Some of us haven’t shared the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ for as long as we can remember.  
ix.	Some of us are failing to be the husbands and wives God calls us to be.  
x.	Some of us are deeply in love with the fleshly temptations of the world.  The list goes on. 
xi.	And the warning of vv6-9 comes to those who look like fruit trees, who even claim to be fruit trees: Bear fruit!  
xii.	And so, God has graciously shown us, through this earthquake, that He expects fruit in keeping with the mercy of salvation that He has given us in Jesus Christ.  
1.	Repent of your sin.  
2.	Don’t kid yourself into thinking you have time to continue your love affair with sin.  
3.	Demonstrate your love for Jesus Christ; Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

3.	The first right response to this earthquake education, then, is repentance.  But from that repentance should also flow praise.
a.	230,000 people died in the similar magnitude Haiti earthquake.  
i.	To those among that number who lived in unbelief, God’s patience came to an abrupt end.  
ii.	To us, to the people of Christchurch, to New Zealand, and to the world, in this earthquake God has shown a gracious patience.  
1.	He has given every unbelieving citizen of this city time to repent.  
2.	He has sounded a loud and clear alarm that the Coming of Christ the Judge approaches.  

iii.	And we ought to praise God for such patience.  Praise Him for sparing our lives and each other’s lives, and the lives of the whole city.
iv.	We ought to praise God for such grace, while it remains grace.  
1.	For the time of grace always comes to an end for those who refuse to learn the lesson of an earthquake education.  
v.	Thus, we ought to praise God for the opportunity we have to share the gospel to those who have witnessed His power, and then to seize the opportunity!

4.	Lastly though, the right response to this earthquake education is worship.  
a.	Psalm 99 says, “The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; He sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake … Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy.”  
i.	People of God, we have seen what this verse speaks about, we have felt it, and we have heard it this during the last week.
ii.	May our gathered worship today, and our life of worship on Monday through Saturday be given to this exalted and holy God, in the name of Jesus Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!