Luke 13:1-9
Tragedy at the Tower of Siloam
1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 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? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”
Mark 6:14-29
John the Baptist Beheaded
14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
15 Others said, “He is Elijah.”
And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”
17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.
21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Romans 6:23
The Wages of Sin is Death
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Pain, suffering, and death is present in this world...The existence of pain, suffering, evil, and death are sometimes reasons given for not believing in God....And included in the pain, suffering, and deaths of this world, tragedies happen around the world and seem to affect all our lives...When I read about the Tower of Siloam falling and the eighteen deaths, I thought Jesus might address the deaths and why they might have happened...It seemed to me that it was a natural disaster like a tornado, or hurricane...And I think of these verses when I read about the tragedies of a tornado or hurricane...
Pain, suffering, evil and death were here during Jesus' time on earth...Evil even played a role in Jesus' cousin's, John the Baptist's death...The evil King Herod's wife Herodias did not like John the Baptist for talking to her and her husband about marrying (her) his brother Philip's wife...John was put in prison directly or indirectly for his comments...For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”...So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him...But she was not able to, because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man...When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him... Finally the opportune time came to get rid of John the Baptist...On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee...When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests...The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.”...And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”...She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”...“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered...At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”...How evil of a thing to ask for and then to do...So even evil was seen in the family of Jesus, around John the Baptist's death...Jesus was not excluded from suffering and the evil things of this world...
Jesus told His Disciples that there was a tragic accident in a tower in Siloam...But He talks about this tragedy in a very broad sense...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.”...
Evil, pain, suffering and bad things happen to good people...Does that mean the God is not near?...Or do we just believe more in God when good things happen to us, or just believe in Him on our good days...Sometimes it is easier for me to believe in God on my good days...I have less questions for Him in my bad days...And surrounding my bad day questions, it may mean I trust Him less...Why would I question and ask more questions of Him, and maybe doubt Him on my bad days?...If God is here and near, He certainly is here on good and bad days...He is here both on sunny days and rainy days...He is either here all the time or not at all...
People questioned Jesus about Pilate and how he had tainted the sacredness of their sacrifices with the blood of other things, maybe even people were involved tragically or were being killed, as they brought forward their sacrifices...Jesus has the opportunity to speak on why good things happen to bad people, and why tragedies like the falling of the tower of Siloam happened and killed the eighteen...But Jesus does not answer the question about Pilate and his evilness and the people making the proper sacrifices, but instead tells the people and us to repent...And then He continues His story with this tragedy of the Tower of Siloam and how eighteen people had died...Jesus said, “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.”...
Bad things had happened to the eighteen Galileans in a tower accident...The Tower of Siloam fell and eighteen died...Seemingly for no reason the tower killed them, other than being a natural tragedy...And the eighteen suffered and died, yet Jesus tells us that their sins were no worse than other Galileans who did not have to suffer...Jesus is telling us that the tragic event was not related to sinning, yet they suffered...But Jesus stays on point with His thought and does not tell us why the eighteen had to die at this particular time in their lives...How and when people die is not as much related to sin, as our sinful nature, which will cause us to die...The wages of sin is our death, not necessarily about the timing of our death...And Jesus remains on point with His teaching telling us, because of our sins we must repent or we to will perish...But He does not answer the broader question of why people die in tornadoes, hurricanes, cyclones, and other accidents -or why God allows these tragedies to happen, like the falling tower...Yet, we know that there is a reason why He does not get off the point He is wanting to make...
Jesus tells us the time has come...He will minister us for three years...We will be taught so much, and that is enough...And He told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any...So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any...Cut it down!...Why should it use up the soil?’...“‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it...If it bears fruit next year, fine!...If not, then cut it down.’”...The clock is ticking toward judgment day, and we as sinners want more time...Each day we get closer and closer to the day of judgment...Sin can be a master to us, but our Master should be God...There is death and there is an eternal life...Those who believe in Jesus can have eternal life...
Jesus does not give us details on why the things had to happen to John the Baptist and to the people to the Tower of Siloam...We do not want pain, suffering, evil, and death in ours lives and try to avoid these things, and sometimes put we these things out of our minds...A life with little suffering may not be as close to God as one who suffers...While happiness and our good days happen, we sometimes may take them for granted....While pain and suffering get our attention...And when they come, we think more about God and His Son...