Avoid Perishing Likewise

At that time, some people came and reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And He responded to them, “Do you think that these Galileans were more sinful than all Galileans because they suffered these things? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well! Or those 18 that the tower in Siloam fell on and killed—do you think they were more sinful than all the people who live in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well!”
(Luke 13:1-5 Holman Christian Standard Bible® ©)

“At that time” in this Scripture is describing the surroundings as the same as Luke’s description in chapter 12 of the gathering of many thousands to listen to Jesus teach. Pilate had stolen some money from the Jewish temple treasury to build an aqueduct. When some Jews had gathered to protest it, he had them murdered. Some people in this crowd brought accusation to Jesus against Pilate about the deaths . Their motives in bringing it up were not mentioned by Luke.

This part of the teaching Jesus gave the crowd opens a window and lets in a little light on what Jesus meant when He instructed people to repent. It was not their sinfulness that caused the dead people to have been killed. Still, Jesus instructed the people that unless they repented, they would likewise perish. The dead had perished, some from murder, some from an accident.

Jesus implied that His listeners could avoid those ends by repenting. He made it clear that He was not connecting the deaths to sin. Remember that “repent” means to have a changed mind: I thought a certain way, something happened, and it changed the way I now think. Jesus was instructing the people to change the way they used their minds so that they could avoid murder and accidental death.

When we learn to listen to the King of the Kingdom of God, to think the way He leads us to think, with changed minds, we will be led into wisdom and delivered from error. We will be shown escape even before we see danger on days! Seeking His Kingdom includes seeking His authority over our lives and His direction for our steps.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding;
think about Him in all your ways,
and He will guide you on the right paths.
(Proverbs 3:5,6 Holman Christian Standard Bible® ©)