Luke 13:4 - A Call to Repentance

Or those eighteen who were killed
This phrase refers to a specific historical incident where eighteen people died due to a structural collapse. The number eighteen is significant as it highlights the personal and tragic nature of the event, emphasizing that these were real individuals with families and lives. The mention of a specific number underscores the gravity of the incident and invites reflection on the unpredictability of life and death.

when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them:
The tower of Siloam was likely part of the fortifications near the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem. This pool was an important site for water storage and ritual purification. The collapse of the tower may have been due to construction flaws or natural causes, but it serves as a reminder of human vulnerability. The Pool of Siloam is also significant in the New Testament, as Jesus later heals a blind man there (John 9:7), symbolizing spiritual enlightenment and salvation.

Do you think that they were more sinful
This rhetorical question challenges the common belief that personal tragedy is a direct result of personal sin. In the cultural context of the time, many believed that suffering was a punishment for sin. Jesus refutes this notion, teaching that disasters are not necessarily divine retribution. This aligns with the broader biblical theme that God's ways and judgments are beyond human understanding (Isaiah 55:8-9).

than all the others living in Jerusalem?
Jerusalem, as the religious and cultural center of Jewish life, was home to many who considered themselves righteous. By comparing the victims to "all the others living in Jerusalem," Jesus emphasizes that no one is inherently more deserving of tragedy than another. This statement calls for self-examination and repentance, urging listeners to focus on their own spiritual state rather than judging others. It echoes the biblical call to humility and repentance found throughout scripture, such as in 2 Chronicles 7:14.

Persons / Places / Events

1. The Eighteen Victims
These were individuals who perished when the tower in Siloam collapsed. Their deaths are used by Jesus to illustrate a point about sin and repentance.

2. The Tower in Siloam
A structure in Jerusalem whose collapse resulted in the death of eighteen people. Siloam was a neighborhood in Jerusalem, known for its pool, which is mentioned elsewhere in the Gospels.

3. Jesus
The speaker of this passage, using the event to teach about the nature of sin and the necessity of repentance.

4. Jerusalem
The city where this event took place, significant in Jewish history and central to Jesus' ministry.

Teaching Points

Understanding Suffering
Jesus challenges the assumption that those who suffer are more sinful than others. This calls us to reconsider how we view suffering and divine justice.

Call to Repentance
The passage emphasizes the urgency of repentance. Jesus uses the event to remind us that life is uncertain, and we must be spiritually prepared.

Avoiding Judgment
We are cautioned against judging others based on their misfortunes. Instead, we should focus on our own spiritual state.

God's Sovereignty
The event underscores the sovereignty of God over life and death, reminding us to trust in His wisdom and timing.

(4) Upon whom the tower in Siloam fell.--Here, again, we have a reference to an incident not recorded elsewhere. It was clearly one that had impressed the minds of men with horror, as a special judgment. At or near to Siloam, the modern Birket-Silwan, is a swimming-pool, or tank (John 9:7), where the valley of Tyrop?on opens into that of the Kedron. It was supplied through artificial conduits, and appears to have been one of a series of pools so fed. It is not unlikely, connected as Siloam thus was with the water-system of the city, that the tower in question was part of the works which Pilate had planned, and partly executed, for the construction of an aqueduct, and for which he appropriated part of the Corban or sacred treasure of the Temple, and if so, the popular excitement which this measure caused (see Note on Matthew 27:2) might well lead men to look on its fall as an instance of a divine judgment on what they regarded as an act of sacrilege.

Verse 4. - Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? "You remember," goes on the Master, "the catastrophe of the fall of the tower in Siloam; the poor sufferers who were crushed there were not specially wicked men." The Lord used these occasions, we see, for something more than the great national lesson. Men are too ready, now as then, to give way to the unloving error of looking at individual misfortune as the consequence of individual crime. Such human uncharitable judgments the Lord bitterly condemns. Ewald's conjecture in connection with this Siloam accident is ingenious. He supposes that the rigid Jews looked on the catastrophe as a retribution because the workmen who perished were paid by Pilate out of the sacred corban money (see Josephus, 'Bell. Jud.,' 2:09. 4). The works were no doubt in connection with the aqueduct to the Pool of Siloam. Parallel Commentaries ...

Greek

Or
ἢ (ē)
Conjunction
Strong's 2228: Or, than. A primary particle of distinction between two connected terms; disjunctive, or; comparative, than.

those
ἐκεῖνοι (ekeinoi)
Demonstrative Pronoun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 1565: That, that one there, yonder. From ekei; that one (neuter) thing); often intensified by the article prefixed.

eighteen
δέκα‿ (deka)
Adjective
Strong's 1176: Ten. A primary number; ten.

who
οὓς (hous)
Personal / Relative Pronoun - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3739: Who, which, what, that.

were killed
ἀπέκτεινεν (apekteinen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 615: To put to death, kill; fig: I abolish. From apo and kteino; to kill outright; figuratively, to destroy.

[when] the
ὁ (ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

tower
πύργος (pyrgos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 4444: A tower, fortified structure. Apparently a primary word; a tower or castle.

of
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

Siloam
Σιλωὰμ (Silōam)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 4611: Siloam, a spring within the walls, in the south-east corner of Jerusalem. Of Hebrew origin; Siloam, a pool of Jerusalem.

collapsed
ἔπεσεν (epesen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 4098: A reduplicated and contracted form of peto; probably akin to petomai through the idea of alighting; to fall.

on
ἐφ’ (eph’)
Preposition
Strong's 1909: On, to, against, on the basis of, at.

them:
αὐτούς (autous)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

Do you think
δοκεῖτε (dokeite)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 1380: A prolonged form of a primary verb, doko dok'-o of the same meaning; to think; by implication, to seem.

that
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

they
αὐτοὶ (autoi)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

were
ἐγένοντο (egenonto)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1096: A prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be, i.e. to become, used with great latitude.

more
παρὰ (para)
Preposition
Strong's 3844: Gen: from; dat: beside, in the presence of; acc: alongside of.

sinful
ὀφειλέται (opheiletai)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3781: From opheilo; an ower, i.e. Person indebted; figuratively, a delinquent; morally, a transgressor.

[than] all
πάντας (pantas)
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3956: All, the whole, every kind of. Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole.

the
τοὺς (tous)
Article - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

[others]
ἀνθρώπους (anthrōpous)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 444: A man, one of the human race. From aner and ops; man-faced, i.e. A human being.

living
κατοικοῦντας (katoikountas)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 2730: To dwell in, settle in, be established in (permanently), inhabit. From kata and oikeo; to house permanently, i.e. Reside.

in Jerusalem?
Ἰερουσαλήμ (Ierousalēm)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2419: Of Hebrew origin; Hierusalem, the capitol of Palestine.

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