Luke 13:1-5 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them — do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Unless you repent, you too will all perish. Throughout history, Christians have used this scripture and others to do much harm rather than good. Equating disasters to something that someone, or some class of people did wrong has caused many people to lose their lives at the hands of Christians. In the Dark Ages during the Black Plague, many Jews lost their lives because they supposedly brought the contagion upon the Christian people. This action was a precursor to the holocaust. As with Jonah, who was thrown overboard because the sailors believed his presence brought the storm, many people through the ages have met their demise for the same reason: to appease an angry God. In the past, people offered human sacrifices to placate the vengeful God who has brought tragedy upon them. Even today when people are sick, healthy onlookers will say that the ill have lost favor with God in some way. They must have displeased God; a Jonas must be on board. Probably they sinned or they do not have enough faith for healing; maybe they are not dedicated fully to God. Something must be wrong, a reason for their sickness, even down to eating the wrong food or not exercising enough. So when disaster befalls a people or a person, carnal man places the blame on the victims, who must have done something wrong or God would not treat them so dastardly.

In the natural, people try to find reasons for disasters, sicknesses, and deaths. In today's passage we see Jesus ignoring this mode of thinking. Rather than speculating divine reasons for the deaths of the Galileans at the hands of Pilate and why eighteen people died when the tower collapsed, He just warns them about the reality of experiencing eternal death, not terrestrial death. The people who died in or around the tower were not more guilty than the rest who lived in Jerusalem. They happened to be there that day, but they did not deserve death anymore than any of the people who escaped. In chapter twelve, Jesus warned us to fear God, not death: fear the one who has your eternal destiny in his hands. Jesus says, be more concerned about your God than the vicissitudes of life.

What then is the answer to living successfully? “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39) If we do that, we know we have favor with God: freedom from sin, peace in our souls, and life eternal. As his children with the promise of eternal life within us, God gave us THE EARNEST, the Holy Spirit himself before our personal demise. Does that mean our lives will progress smoothly? Not at all, but we do have the GREAT COMFORTER within us. God is our protector, not a magic talisman against trouble, including tragedy and death. A believer lives IN CHRIST, entirely by faith, not by outcomes. We believe regardless, not because. And we know our Redeemer lives.

Jesus and the disciples met a man who was blind. The disciples wanted to know the reason for his blindness. Was it sin? Jesus said, no one sinned to bring this infirmity upon him. However, this blindness was Christ's opportunity to reveal God's goodness and mercy by healing him, that the work of God might be displayed in his life. (John 9:3) Christ revealed himself and God's heart by healing him. His infirmity was Jesus' opportunity to reveal himself to the world. Sometimes our sicknesses are healed, sometimes we endure through them, but neither situation is more spiritual than the other. What is spiritual is that in all situations we glorify God and reveal Jesus to the world. We are not to fear death or illness; we are to fear God with a righteous respect for all that He is in our lives. We are not to fear tragedy, for through great tragedy we will see the senselessness of living only for this world. Dear Christians, our lives are eternal and secure; we will not perish. We have a Father who takes care of his own.