…some…told Him [Jesus] about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices…He answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?
Luke 13:1-5
Again, Jesus deals with a false belief by the people regarding sin and punishment meted out. Two historical disasters, recorded in non-Biblical accounts, described a murderous killing of Jews worshiping and offering sacrifices when Pilate killed the worshipers and spilled their blood along with the blood of the animals sacrificed by the worshipers and another account was of a tower being built in Siloam and the tower collapsed upon 18 people killing them all. The Jewish mindset was that such incidents had to be a result of some person, or persons, sin, similar to the question posed by the Disciples regarding the man born blind. With this crowd, the people were looking for some “formula” to follow which would prevent them from such disasters. Another issue was that the Judeans “looked down upon” the Galileans. Though they were fellow Jews, the two groups differed in their lifestyles, even, the clothing they wore. Judeans were more “cultured” while the Galileans were more rural in their ways. Even their voices sounded different, like how southerners talk. In dealing with their question, Jesus bluntly tells them that the Galileans were NOT any worse sinners and, further, that, unless the people there repented, they would all perish! Then, Jesus turns the tables on the Judeans by reminding them of the Siloam tower disaster, in Judea, which killed 18 people. For Christians, today, superstitious thinking is ungodly. There are no fool-proof formulas that can keep any human safe from the evils of this fallen world. We might think of September 11, 2001, or any number of other events, in the same way the people of Jesus’ day thought. Jesus’ warning is just as applicable today as it was then, ” but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” A saved soul is the only way to avoid an eternity of death in the fires of hell!
Source: S C Ball February 24, 2023
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