Wed, 29 November, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Luke 13:1-5

¹ There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ² And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? ³ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. ⁴ 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? ⁵ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Why do people suffer? Is there always a one to one correspondence between our sin and the things we experience in life? When something bad happens to us, is it a direct result of our sin?

People were talking about a great tragedy that had recently occurred when Pilate had killed some worshiping Galileans. Jesus used that episode to teach the people about sin and punishment in this life and in the afterlife.

What do we learn from this?

Although suffering can be a direct result of personal sin, it is not always so. We can not identify the greatest sinners among us by looking for the people who are suffering the most. Good and bad happen to us all. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. And sometimes the tower does too.

Jesus is teaching that we should not try to identify the greatest sinners around us by these tragedies, but instead, we should consider our own lives. We are guilty of sin before God. We need to deal with our own sins instead of looking around for others to shake a judgmental finger at for their great sin.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Although not all suffering is not directly linked to our own personal sin, all suffering is ultimately the result of the fall. We are all sinners, and so what we receive in life is all much better than we deserve, even if it involves some suffering.

The only person who has suffered unjustly is Jesus Christ. He was perfectly sinless. Yet He suffered greatly. His suffering was the direct result of sin, but not of His own sin. His suffering was the result of the sins of His people. He bore the punishment for all their sins on the cross. It is through His suffering that we are made right with God.

If we do not repent of our sins and we reject the salvation that He offers to us through faith in Him, we will perish.