Today’s message will be better understood if you read yesterday’s post first. The text we’ve been reading from is found in Luke 13:1-5. It’s the one where Jesus seems to be drawing a connection to ‘sin and suffering’. Trust me, this is not some ‘new revelation’ either. (Ps. 38:1-5; Ps. 107:10-11; 119:67-71; Lam. 3:39-40; 1 Cor. 11:29-32; John 5:14; Rom. 6:23; 8:13; Eph. 5:5-6)

News of some tragic events are center stage here and the question being posed, by Jesus, is...”Did these people suffer in this manner because they were ‘worse’ sinners’ than anyone else?”

The part we did not get to yesterday was how Jesus doubles-down with a follow up example involving another tragic event that took place in nearby Siloam, where a tower collapsed and killed 18 people. (4) Again, Jesus asks: “Do you think these who died were any ‘worse sinners’ than all the other men who dwell in Jerusalem?”

Now this is the ‘meat’ of this exchange that you don’t want to miss. Not only did Jesus pose both questions, questions we have all entertained at times, but then He answers them both with the same exact response. Let’s examine closely:

“I tell you, ‘No’; but unless you repent...you will all likewise perish.” (3,5). Other translations bring out...’you will die or be destroyed in similar fashion’...unless you repent.

I’m not taking any liberty here to twist scriptures, but Jesus is in effect saying...they were ‘destroyed’ because of ‘sin’,  Not... because they were ‘any worse sinners’ than all the other sinners out there. And it’s His follow up statement that supports my point here- If we fail to ‘repent’...we too...will suffer, perish, and/or be ‘destroyed’ as well.

Would you take a moment with that and let it sink in. I realize the various directions this can lead your thoughts down, but may I encourage you to just stay focused on what the word says and resists the temptation to start wanting to apply this to all those ‘what ifs’. There is no need to ‘jump to conclusions’ with anything here with what Jesus is saying; just fight the urge to want to dismiss or reject what He is saying. The Holy Spirit will ‘connect all the dots’ later for you if you indeed hunger for truth.

What is the promise made there in that well-known Psalm 91, to those who ‘abide under the shadow of the Almighty’ (1)? You can read the answer to that question in vs. 7,10-12.

What does John state, emphatically, in 1 John 5:18?

What did Jesus warn that man whom He healed, in John 5:14?

And what is Jesus telling us, twice in a row, that will happen if we don’t...’repent’?

I’m not so sure we have truly understood the meaning of ‘repentance’, which means we ‘turn from’ something so that it is not a part of our lives anymore. And friends...we are talking about turning from sin, and all that is associated with sin that comes from our ‘flesh nature’. Dare I say once again, the only way we can truly overcome all sin, is to surrender fully to Jesus so that He can lead us to deal with that ‘flesh nature’ and put it to death, once and for all? Because that is what those who truly belong to Christ, have done, or are doing. (Rom. 8:13-14; Gal. 5:24)

Now I can hear some of you wanting to bring up the exchange that Jesus had with His disciples in John 9 regarding the man who was born blind. “Was it this man’s sin, or his parent’s sin that caused this blindness”, they asked. And Jesus answered them, saying ‘Neither’ (3). That case was an exception, and not the rule as it was being used for a divine purpose, much like the death of Lazarus which you can read about in John 11:4.

If the ‘tone’ of what we have been looking at here of late, and for some time now, is causing you to feel a bit ‘anxious’...maybe inspiring an uptick when it comes to the ‘fear of God’, that is not a bad thing; honestly. (Prov. 1:7; 9:10)

Tomorrow, this should become even more insightful and beneficial to anyone who ‘has ears to hear’. Feel free to read ahead there in Luke 13:6-9 and meet me back here.