Luke 13:3 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Luke 13:3

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‘But except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish’ – what powerful words! Your life will be taken suddenly in the same manner. There is prophecy here, for the city of Jerusalem was to fall when God’s patience was finally exhausted with the nation. Was the death of these Galileans a punishment from God? Yes, the unavoidable implication is that these Galileans died in unbelief, and in their case death was a judicial punishment. That is certainly not the case in every early death, but these men had perished physically, and they had perished eternally. It was a token punishment. Certain people were selected for early death, and it is God’s warning to the rest. Some are worse, some are better, but none are free from sin. In some cases his sovereign will decides to send a token early judgement. Most are judged at the end of life, but many are taken before their time – even converted people. Before any Roman soldier moved his hand against them, it was God’s choice that these men should die. We cannot read the mind of God, and he does not give an account of his sovereign ways to his creatures. What? We are all sinners? Revolutionary idea to Jews. People have much good, but so much evil. What makes all the difference is repentance. The believer repents daily of sin, but what is spoken of here is that first act of sincere repentance that brings us to know God and to receive his salvation. We can then speak of the portion of life before repentance, and the life after repentance. Without repentance we are subject to judgment, and every day we risk being snatched away by death, and taken to that place from which there is no return. With repentance and faith in Jesus Christ we are beyond the reach of harm. We have been justified from all our sin by the blood of Christ, and we have received the promise of eternal life. In Revelation 6 Christ is the speaker and he describes the situation in the world throughout its remaining history. It is the Lord explaining why things will take place as they do. One thing characterising world will be death and wars. Some is due to inequality and shortage, human grasping for more. Other is caused by murder, famine, and illness, which always carries away a proportion of human life. Natural catastrophe will continue, because God withdraws his hand of protection on the world.

Application

Why does this happen? Because without them we become impossibly arrogant. In an age of technology there are wonderful things, but then we receive a warning from God. In a sense, it is a kindness. Imagine that we all died as old people. When we stood before God in judgment, we would say, ‘It isn’t fair. I had no inclination of death or judgement.’ Through disasters and catastrophes, we learn that we are sinful people. We need the forgiveness of God. If we seek him and find his salvation, it is no ultimate tragedy if we die early. D L Moody is known to have said, ‘Sometime you will read of my death in the papers. Don't you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now.‘ For Christians the loss of life is turned to gain.

The media’s response to natural disaster is often to talk up human nature. There is a certain amount of truth in that, but in human nature we also see the worst. They say, ‘So much has been given.’ Has it really? The captains of industry could give tenfold more than they do. Or think of celebrities spending tens of thousands on New Year parties. You drive past a very big club in full swing – the liquor is flowing. How much will be given from that quarter? Most are as hard as nails, and consumed with self-love. How much more could be given if all the adult population gave? Are you saying there is no good in humans? No. Of course there is some good. God sees to it, or else we would destroy ourselves. Thank the Lord that there is still some good in the human race.

Of course there is some good in all people, but we don’t focus on that. We can all show some kindness, do some good, but this is a tiny speck compared to all the self-love, the jealousy, the lying, the cunning, the impurity, and the violence that is found in us. All this will condemn us, and that is why we need a Saviour.

Questions

When will the end come? (Luke 21:9). We do not know, but we are warned that wars and commotions will continue throughout history. Earthquakes and other disasters will go on throughout time. Will there be some great catastrophe marking the end and telling us in advance that the end is upon us? No.

There are two kinds of tragedy. The first type is caused as a result of the curse which God imposed on the creation when man fell. This beautiful earth was transformed and became turbulent, subject to tragedy. The second kind is caused by human sin. Life for many is shortened – they go to judgment early. This happens in every generation, so that all are reminded of the inevitability of death. Without this, death is pushed out of sight because men prefer to forget about it. It is God’s reminder to us that we are people born to die.

There are so-called natural disasters, and there are man-induced disasters. These man-induced disasters cause far more deaths. We need to remind ourselves of this. The American Civil War saw over 600,000 deaths. 800,000 died in Stalingrad, over 200,000 in Berlin, over 400,000 in Normandy, and 6 million as a result of the Holocaust, between 40 and 80 million under Mao Zedung’s rule in China, and 9 to 20 million under Stalin in the Soviet Union. The total number that died in the same century due to natural disasters, including earthquake, flood, famine, and pestilence, is estimated at 3.3 to over 8 million, with earthquakes accounting for 1.5 to 2 million. Far more lives were lost due to human cruelty, ambition, and greed.

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Luke 13:3 Commentary and Bible Study