Luke 13:1 Commentary and Bible Study

(Synoptics: Luke 13:1-5)The mention of Pilate places this event in Judea, over which he had jurisdiction. These Galileans were therefore on pilgrimage from their home region. The Romans suspected them of being insurgents: maybe they were, maybe they weren’t, but as a result they were brutally slaughtered, and to drive home the point, their blood was mixed with that of their sacrifices. What point are they making? Those who report this to Christ have already made up their minds about why this has happened. We know that from the answer that Christ gives them. He who knows the heart of every man tells us what they were thinking. They had concluded, ‘These must be serious sinners to have something so bad happen to them. Such a great calamity could only happen to those who have sinned and not repented. This doesn’t apply to us. We are not great sinners. Only great sinners are in trouble with God like this. We are Jews. Only non-Jews will go to hell.’ They seem to be looking for confirmation from Christ. They didn’t think that they needed to be one hundred percent righteous; they had already reached a standard which was acceptable to God, so that they could look down on these Galileans from a place of superiority. Are they not the people favoured by God? That is exactly what so many think: hell is for Hitlers of this world, or for extreme criminals. Christ breaks into their talk. ’And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?’ You have got it completely wrong, he tells them. These Galilaeans were no worse than the generality of people. You have misread what has happened, and interpreted God’s providences in a way you are not entitled to. There is a lesson, and a very powerful lesson, but it is certainly not that they were worse than all others to suffer such a death. Suppose they were insurgents, who had come to Jerusalem to carry out sabotage. Even if that is so, the point of the Lord is that they are no worse than one who wallows in the sin of self-love or covetousness.