Are You Glad Its Them And Not You Series

Luke 13: 1 – 5

Are You Glad Its Them And Not You

There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, no; 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 sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

To better understand what is going on here as we begin in chapter 13 it is good to see from what had just happened. Let us take a look at the last teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ in chapter 12.

“54 Then He also said to the multitudes, “Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is. 55 And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. 56 Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time? 57 “Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? 58 When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite.”

We see from these verses that our Holy Master was teaching about the coming judgment. Our Great King warns that we must not see the unfortunate people involved in catastrophe as having been selected out by God because they were particularly sinful. Rather it should reveal to all of us that God’s judgments are continually in the earth and that we should therefore learn righteousness from them. For He points out that no one knows when it is their turn or time to whom such things occur, and besides, in the end all who are unrepentant will definitely perish. Thus everyone should take these awful events as a warning and repent before it is too late. All should come to Him to be ‘made straight’. As described in the previous verses let them ensure that they are reconciled to their Accuser before it is too late.

There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

Our Precious Holy Spirit gives us a history lesson as to how evil Pilate was. We see here how news had arrived from Jerusalem of Pilate’s latest atrocity against the Jewish people. Galileans offering their sacrifices in the Temple were at the very time of their bringing their sacrifices slain in the Temple courtyard on Pilate’s orders. We have no details of this particular occurrence, but it is typical of Pilate. It may be that they had already been marked men, and that Pilate had simply been waiting for them to arrive at the Temple where he could be sure of finding them at the particular feast, or it may be that while in the Temple they were seen as having fermented trouble resulting in a quick and merciless reaction.

Our Precious Holy Spirit teaches us that others have used this type of evil trickery to slay certain groups. In the book of 2 kings chapter 10 we read this about the king of Israel who set a trap for the false prophets of Baal, “18 Then Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now therefore, call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. Let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu acted deceptively, with the intent of destroying the worshipers of Baal. 20 And Jehu said, “Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they proclaimed it. 21 Then Jehu sent throughout all Israel; and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. So they came into the temple of Baal, and the temple of Baal was full from one end to the other. 22 And he said to the one in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out vestments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out vestments for them. 23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rechab went into the temple of Baal, and said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search and see that no servants of the LORD are here with you, but only the worshipers of Baal.” 24 So they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed for himself eighty men on the outside, and had said, “If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes, whoever lets him escape, it shall be his life for the life of the other.” 25 Now it happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, “Go in and kill them; let no one come out!” And they killed them with the edge of the sword; then the guards and the officers threw them out, and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal. 26 And they brought the sacred pillars out of the temple of Baal and burned them. 27 Then they broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the temple of Baal and made it a refuse dump to this day. 28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel.