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Last Admonitions to Repentance.
The lesson of the Galilean tragedy:
v. 1. There were present at that season some that told Him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
v. 2. And Jesus, answering, said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things?
v. 3. I tell you, Hay; but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
v. 4. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
v. 5. I tell you, Nay; but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
At the same time, upon the same occasion, when Jesus had spoken the words of solemn warning concerning the Judgment and how to avert it. The current opinion was that there was a direct connection between the greatness of the transgression and the severity of the punishment. Some of the people present, therefore, gave Jesus an interesting piece of news which they had received from Jerusalem through some pilgrims that had recently returned. Pilate, the procurator of Judea, had punished subjects of Herod, the tetrarch of Galilee. A heathen governor had polluted the Temple of God with human blood. The incident is not related by Josephus, but fits in well with the character of the Galileans and with the disposition of Pilate. The Galileans were very restive under the Roman yoke and strongly inclined to sedition. And Pilate had the vice of most weak natures: when his temper snapped the leash, unbridled passion held sway. There had probably been a demonstration in the Temple which threatened to assume the proportion of a riot, and Pilate had promptly dispatched some soldiers and executed speedy punishment. Some commentators think that this incident caused the enmity between Pilate and Herod, Luk_23:12. The questioners implied that so sudden a death in the midst of so sacred an employment must be regarded as a special proof of the wrath of God upon those so slain. But Jesus corrects this notion. The slain Galileans were no sinners in an extraordinary measure, above all other Galileans, since they had suffered these things. A similar case, from the standpoint of the present discussion, was that of the eighteen persons upon whom the tower of Siloam, probably one built over the porticoes of the pool, fell. It was wrong to suppose that these were guilty above all the people that lived at Jerusalem. Very emphatically Jesus says, in either case: Not at all, I tell you. All the Jews, and also His hearers, were equally guilty, and a like fate might befall them at any time; unless they repented, they all might perish and be destroyed in the same way. The Lord here gives a rule according to which we may judge and measure the misfortunes and sufferings of others. The suffering of the world is the result of sin. In the case of the unbelievers the suffering is nothing but punishment, with a view, however, of leading them to repentance. In the case of believers suffering of every kind is chastisement at the hands of the Father, who punishes in time that we may be spared in eternity. If a Christian is struck by misfortune, he will not use the word "trial" in order to justify himself. Rather will he say, in true humility, that his many sins have merited far greater and more severe punishment, and will never ask the question with regard to his own crosses or those of others, Wherewith have I earned this? But above all, one thing must never be done, and that is to argue from the severity of the suffering, drawing conclusions as to the greatness of the guilt, Job_42:7; Joh_9:2-3.