Jim Jackson is pastor of Shirley Friends Church.
By Jim Jackson
Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
— Luke 13:1-3
We will see that Jesus will also mention the tower in Siloam in the context of answering this question about a recent tragedy in Jerusalem. Some people told Jesus about a group of Galileans who had come to the temple to sacrifice, and Pontius Pilate slaughtered them, possibly due to a public disturbance the Galileans were causing.
The men who related this story to Jesus may have been trying to lure Him into taking sides, either for or against Pilate, or they may have simply been curious about Jesus’ reaction to the massacre. Whatever their motivation, Jesus’ response is sobering.
Jesus continues the conversation by mentioning another current event, this one involving the tower of Siloam in Luke 13:4-5 : “Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them — do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
The fall of the tower of Siloam is not mentioned in other historical records, and, since the Bible gives no more detail of the structure’s collapse, we cannot be sure what the tower was for or why it fell. The tragedy was obviously well-known to Jesus’ hearers. Siloam was just outside the walls of Jerusalem on the southeast side of the city.
Here are two current events, yet the same lessons are drawn from each. First, Jesus warned His audience not to assume the victims of those tragedies had been judged for their great evil. It’s always a temptation to assign sudden, unexplainable deaths to the judgment of God in response to secret (or open) sin. Jesus says not so fast; it is a mistake to automatically attribute such tragedies to the vengeance of God.
Whether it is a man-made tragedy (Pilate’s slaughter of the Galileans) or a naturally caused tragedy (the fall of the tower of Siloam), it is wrong to assume that the victims are somehow worse sinners than everyone else and thus deserved to die.
The second point Jesus made concerning both events is that everyone needs to repent. Repentance is a change of the way you think about your sins — that results in a change of action. You see that you are a
sinner and need to make a u-turn in your life – and start living a life pleasing to God through the help of
the Holy Spirit. In 2 Corinthians 7:9 Paul writes, “Yet now I am happy, not because you were made
sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance.” It is more than just being sorry
for past sins; it is being willing to turn your life around.
Jesus highlights the importance of repentance twice in this passage: repent or perish. Instead of trying to judge the Galileans’ sins, focus on your own sin. Rather than assigning wickedness to those killed by the tower of Siloam, examine your own heart.
When tragedies strike, it’s natural for people to start asking why. Thoughts creep in, such as, maybe the victims deserved it somehow. Maybe they were bad people, and that’s why bad things happened to them. But then sometimes, it really seems like the people affected by tragedies are good people. Especially when the victims are children.
In commenting on the fall of the tower of Siloam, Jesus nullifies four assumptions people often
make:
-Suffering is proportional to sinfulness.
-Tragedy is a sure sign of God’s judgment.
-Bad things happen only to bad people.
-We have the right to make such judgments.
To each of these assumptions, Jesus says no.
When we read of a tragedy in the headlines, we should resist the temptation to assign guilt to the
victims, as if they had received God’s judgment. Rather, Jesus bids us look to the sin within us and take
the headline as a warning to repent. The sudden death of someone should not be an occasion for blame
but for self-examination.
Jesus made it very clear that a relationship with Him is the only way that anyone will be saved and not
perish.
John 14:6: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.’”
Acts 2:38: “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”
Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.”
God’s Word says that we are saved through our faith in the finished works of Jesus Christ on the cross
of Calvary. No one will ever deserve to be saved. It is a gift from God, when we humbly repent of our
sins and accept what Jesus did for us so our sins can be forgiven. This is the only way we can make
peace with God and have the assurance of everlasting life in the presence of God our Creator.
Do what God asks of you and you will never need to worry about perishing.
God went to great lengths to provide salvation for us! Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Thank You, Jesus!
Jim Jackson is pastor of Shirley Friends Church.
