“Now on that very occasion there were some present who reported to Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus responded and said to them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans just because they have suffered this fate? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you think that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse sinners than all the other people who live in Jerusalem? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:1-5)

Jesus was not issuing ‘threats’ here to those in attendance; He was pleading with them by warning them. “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish”. You should note that He repeated Himself twice there, and whenever God repeats Himself...it’s usually for good reason. Something else we should all know about the Lord...He is ‘longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:9)

Repentance was the message in which Jesus ushered in His news with... that the kingdom of God had arrived, when He began His earthly ministry (Mark 1:15; Matt. 4:17). Truth be told, He was simply picking up where His cousin, John the Baptist had left off: “Produce fruits of repentance...because even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees...and every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”(Matt. 3:8,10)

Let me say it again- Jesus was not threatening anyone here with this message, because He did not come to condemn anyone (John 3:17-18). He was simply warning...’whoever had ears to hear...let them hear’.

The other night, Kathy and I watched a documentary detailing an event that took place in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine) back in 1986, which many of you probably remember. This film was made in 2022, called ‘The Lost Tapes of Chernobyl’, and it recounts in great detail what was to become to the ‘worst' nuclear plant disaster that has ever occurred.

A flawed reactor design combined with human error during a safety test caused several explosions and a fire released significant radioactive contamination across the immediate area, and eventually parts of Europe. Watching some of the actual raw footage of what followed after the disaster was disturbing in many ways. But perhaps the greatest tragedy, if not ‘crime’ committed against the people in that region was the spread of misinformation (lies) by the government, along with the withholding of true information...that led to the death and suffering of untold thousands of people.

I do believe that there are numerous ‘natural disasters’ that take place in this world, that as tragic as they tend to be...are actually a ‘shadow’ of what is happening in the ‘spiritual world’ ...which many people remain blinded to. (Acts 26:18; 2 Cor. 4:3-4; 2 Tim. 2:25-26). These unfortunate events may have an assortment of causes as to why they occurred to begin with, but even Jesus used some local tragedies to relay some spiritual truths, as we read in our opening paragraph here today.

The thing I was struck with while watching this documentary was how many people who lived in the outlying areas were sorely affected by the radiation fall out ...simply because they were not warned immediately as to what was unfolding there in their city. And the thing about ‘radiation’ is it’s not something one ‘sees or hears’ or is even aware of with their ‘natural’ senses; but in due time...it takes its toll on those affected by it. Call it a ‘slow burn’ of both their external and internal organs. The lingering and eventual symptoms of radiation sickness took its devastating toll on thousands of people who simply were lacking crucial information and/or ...’knowledge’. 

 Once again...Hosea 4:6 comes to mind - 'My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge...'.

So many directions I could go with this, but I’m sensing the Holy Spirit might do a better job of ‘connecting some dots’ for many of you reading here today; so I may just cut this short and leave you with a few reminders found in our beloved Bibles.

Paul wrote saying ‘the wrath of God is being revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men...today’ (Rom. 1:18). He also prayed that the ‘eyes of our understanding might be opened (Eph. 1:17-18) and that we might ‘consider what he is saying and perhaps the Lord will give further understanding in all things’ (2 Tim. 2:7; Luke 10:21).

And please remember...Jesus’s primary purpose in coming into this world was not to ‘improve the quality of our lives’...rather it was to ‘save us from the wrath of God’ (Rom. 5:9).