4/9/21

"There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things?
I tell you, Nay: but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
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?
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." (Luke 13:1-5)
When we hear of an awful thing happening to other people, often we think that they had committed some egregious sin, and that God's wrath had come upon them because of it. That is something that we need to stop doing! We don't know enough to make that type of judgment.
The Bible mentions some current events, here in this passage.
1) Some people from Galilee were executed by Pilate while worshipping. (v. 1) Their blood was mingled with their sacrifices!
2) A tower that was under construction collapsed, and killed eighteen people. (v. 4)
Jesus asked the question, "Do you think that these things happened because these individuals were worse sinners than other people?" (v. 2, 4)
Isn't that what we think? We "suppose" that the reason people have problems, or die, is because God has punished them for sinning. We want to believe that they got what they deserved!
Jesus expressly says, "No! That is not the reason the Galileans died in 'church'! That is not why those eighteen men died on the job!" (v. 3, 5)
Well, just think about it.
1) How many have died while preaching the gospel?
2) How many have died while building a church building?
And, if Pilate committed the sin of murdering the Galileans at worship services, why didn't he fall from his seat of judgment after ordering their deaths?
Why didn't those soldiers who killed them fall from their horses on the way back to Jerusalem?
Didn't they do something awful?
Hear is what Jesus teaches us in this passage:
1) Do not make such an assumption. We are not equipped to understand why things happen the way they do.
2) All are sinful! If God was "zapping" people for their sin, there would be no one left on earth.
3) Everyone should repent, and get right with God! Death can come to us at any moment, and in thousands of ways! We need to be ready to go when death comes to take us!
Just this past weekend, Easter weekend, a little six year old boy was grievously injured in his own yard in a freak accident. Six years old! He was just playing in his yard, and was almost lost to his family. He endured emergency surgery, and will be crippled from the incident. His family saw this terrible thing. They will face difficult days because of it. And there will be hardships because of it.
Was this six year old boy such a terrible boy that he incurred the wrath of a loving and forgiving God? No!
We live in a very dangerous world! Paradise ceased to exist on the earth after Adam and Eve sinned! This is a place of pain and death. And at any moment, something awful could happen to us, or in our family!
We need the Lord to watch over us, but more than that, we need to be ready to leave this world.
"I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." (Luke 13:5)
None of us will live here forever. How many people do you know who made it to 100 years old? A few.
But, how many do you know who made it to 110 years old? Just ten more years? I don't know any.
But, I have known many who died before they were ten years old.
We need to be ready to go!
From my heart to your heart.