Luke 13:1-2 (ESV) There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?
Pontius Pilate was a brutal Roman prefect who slaughtered some Jews as they worshipped and sacrificed at the temple. Jesus asked the people the question whether those who died were worse sinners that others? There was a popular belief in Jesus’ day and today, that disaster tends to fall on the worst sinners.
Luke 13:3 (ESV) No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Jesus tells the people, that no, those who died were not worse sinners than others who were spared. When there is a disaster, Jesus says, don’t think about those who died as worse than you. Examine your own life and repent of your sin or you will perish eternally as well.
Luke 13:4-5 (ESV) Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Jesus now speaks of another disaster, not caused by murder but by an accident. A brick tower collapsed and fell on eighteen people and killed them. Was that because those eighteen were the worse sinners in Jerusalem? No, that’s not why they perished. Rather than thinking about how bad these sinners were, Jesus was instructing them to look at their own lives. Unless they repented before they died, they would perish eternally. Each person must repent in this life or perish in hell forever.
Are violence, natural disasters or illnesses God’s judgement on the victim’s sins? No necessarily and not in these cases. Sometimes, illness, death, violence and disaster are God’s judgement. But that is in God’s hands, not for us to speculate and think of ourselves as better. Rather, whenever someone dies and goes into eternity, we should examine our own lives. Have we repented? Are we living for God? Are we ready to meet our maker?
Are those around us that we have influence over ready for eternity? Every person on earth must repent before they pass on or they will eternally perish. Repentance is turning away from sin and putting God first in your life.