Dead Ends and Roundabouts

Luke 13:1-9

We’re now halfway through the Lenten season—a sacred journey that mirrors Jesus’ path to the cross. Lent is about repentance, self-denial, and spiritual renewal. It’s about walking stride for stride with Jesus—not only toward the cross but through death and into resurrection life.

But what happens when, somewhere along the way, we realize we’ve taken a wrong turn? What if we’ve found ourselves off course in a place we were never meant to be? What if we’ve ended up in a dark and dangerous dead end with no way out?

That’s exactly where the Gospel takes us in Luke 13:1–9. At a spiritual dead end, Christ leads us to a roundabout.

A Deadly Road

The passage opens with people reporting a shocking event to Jesus. Pilate had murdered Galileans in the very act of worship, their blood mixed with the blood of their sacrifices. It’s a gruesome, tragic scene. But Jesus sees through their report and discerns the real question behind it: Did those people deserve it? Were they worse sinners than the rest of us?

Jesus responds with a firm and resounding no. But He doesn’t leave it there. Instead, He turns the question around on them: “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Then Jesus brings up another tragedy—this time, not a state-sponsored act of violence, but a random accident. A tower in Siloam had collapsed, killing eighteen people. Were those victims greater sinners than everyone else in Jerusalem? Again, Jesus says no, but He uses the moment to echo the same warning: “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

In both cases, Jesus addresses a dangerous assumption: that tragedy strikes those who are more guilty and that suffering must be the result of particular sins. But Jesus says that’s not the point. The issue isn’t whether those people deserved death more than others. The issue is that we all are heading for death unless we repent.

And that’s the real warning in this text: don’t waste this moment of grace.

Death Is a Mobster

Since the fall of Adam and Eve, sin and death have ruled the world like mobsters—ruthless, controlling, and constantly looking for the next victim. Sin binds us in chains, and death has no respect for our timing. It comes unannounced, uninvited, and always too soon.

Sometimes, it comes from the hands of evil. Sometimes, it shows up in a tragic accident. But either way, it comes. And when it does, it doesn’t matter whether we saw it coming or not. The reality is this: every death is a reminder that the world is broken. It’s not the way it should be. But it’s also not God who brought this brokenness in—it was us.

We look at the mess around us and want to blame God. Why did You let this happen? But God turns the question around: Why did you walk away from Me? Why did you take the wheel and drive yourself into this dead end?

The darkness of death isn’t God’s doing—it’s ours. But the rescue? That’s all Him.

The Dead End

We’ve all done it. We’ve all taken the wheel at some point in this journey. Maybe it was pride. Perhaps it was control. Perhaps we thought we knew a shortcut. But we’ve ended up in the wrong place—off the path of Christ, away from the light, and into a spiritual dead end.

Psalm 107 says it best:

“There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death,

Prisoners in misery and chains,

Because they had rebelled against the words of God

And spurned the counsel of the Most High…

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;

He saved them out of their distresses.

He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death

And broke their bands apart.”

That’s what grace looks like. That’s what repentance leads to. When you find yourself in the dark, in misery, in chains—you cry out, and Jesus shows up. You may not be able to see a way out, but Jesus can. And when you turn around and repent, you know that He’s been there the whole time.

Roundabout

This is where the Gospel gives us hope. Jesus doesn’t just meet us in the dead end. He transforms it. What felt like a place of no return becomes a roundabout—a divine detour. It’s not over. It’s not too late. As long as Jesus is in the car, He can get you back on the path.

That’s what the parable in Luke 13:6–9 is all about. A man has a fig tree in his vineyard. For three years, it’s borne no fruit. The owner wants to cut it down. But the gardener—Jesus—says, “Wait. Give it one more year. Let me dig around it. Let me fertilize it. Let me work with it.”

And that’s exactly what Jesus is doing in your life. When you feel fruitless, stuck, and unworthy, He says, “I’m not done with you yet.” He doesn’t give up. He doesn’t walk away. He gets His hands dirty. He digs, He tends, He applies the richness of His grace, and He brings life where there once was nothing.

That’s what this Lenten season is for. We’re not just fasting, praying, or attending more services to check off religious boxes. We’re asking Jesus to do the real work—to take the wheel, break up the hard ground, and bring fruit out of our lives.

But we must repent. That’s the key. Repentance isn’t about self-loathing—it’s about surrender. It’s admitting we’ve driven ourselves to this place and handing the wheel over to the only one who knows the way out. When Jesus is driving, the dead end becomes a roundabout, and we are led back onto the road that leads to the cross—where the old man dies—and to the resurrection—where new life begins.

We’re not at Easter yet. We’re not at the cross yet. But if you’ve wandered off, feeling stuck or tired of trying to drive yourself out of a dark place—repent. Turn around. Let Jesus drive. Let Him lead you home.

This is the way forward in Lent. Not by your effort but by His grace. Not in your strength, but in His Spirit. And not by staying where you are but by letting the roundabout lead you back onto the road that ends in resurrection.

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Journey on,

Pastor Bruce