It is not a message for a select few, but a practical exhortation to all men for all time. In Luke we find the news of the day relayed to Jesus. It seems storytellers have come to inform Him of the recent political atrocities of Pilate.
Pilate, as well known at the time through secular writers including Josephus, was sometimes engaged in massacring innocent people as a result of his political power. In this instance, as reported by Luke in , Pilate had killed some Galileans while they were in the midst of the temple offering their sacrifices. Even if metaphorically stated, or exaggerated, Pilate is portrayed as a wicked man, and the Galileans are made out to be the victims, or heroes, of the tragedy.
The response of Jesus is exceptionally keen. He engages the storytellers, and others listening to Him, with a poignant reversal — something they are not expecting at all. He does not side with the reporters and agree with them that Rome is wicked.
If He had, these men, who I believe may be trying to trap Him, would use this information against Him later. He would be categorized as a dissenter of Rome, and one speaking against Caesar himself. The reason I think they are involved in the entrapment against Christ is the fact of their silence.
They would have found his uncompassionate response to the death of a fellow Jew in light of the Roman tyranny repulsive. Instead, they are silent. He intended the reply to be so. Instead of praising the innocence of the martyrs, or heroes, He makes a total reversal of the intent and sets the context in its rightful eternal perspective. He rearranges their thoughts in a way to reflect ultimate reality and the power of God over the lives of every man. First, He comments on the Galileans.
Jesus knows Pilate executed these men, but the reason behind their killing is unknown. It seems the storytellers assumed the men were innocent since they were in the midst of offering up sacrifices to God. How could such men be villainous while engaged in worship? Jesus, though, shows they are sinners by comparing them with the entire classification of Galileans.
All men are fallen; all Galileans are fallen. Their death, though at the hand of a political monster, was not special in an eternal sense. These men were not unusual, they were sinners who died like all sinners die, and the cruelty of Pilate makes little difference in their standing as sinners before God.
Yet, Jesus then transitions their temporal death, the breaking news of the day, into eternal death by stating that if the storytellers did not repent, they would all likewise perish. They would all perish in the same way these Galileans perished. Being executed at the hand of a political tyrant is bad; in fact, it is an evil and wicked act.
But Jesus, to be sure His point is plain and clear, then gives a news report of His own. It concerned 18 men who were crushed to death by a falling tower. The tower of Siloam was near the pool of Siloam. This was where the blind man was healed by Christ and told to wash his eyes in John In the midst of a busy section of the city, a tower fell and killed 18 people.
It is true that these men were sinful, indebted to God. They were as sinful as any other men, having a debt of sin before a God who requires righteousness. His point is that these men, debtors to God, sinful in their hearts, were not any more sinful than most men in Jerusalem, but God chose to kill them in His providence. Jesus will continue His emphasis on repentance and life as a result of the next parable against the rulers of the nation, but here, He keeps to the individuals listening the exhortation.
The storytellers hearing this, and those listening in, even the disciples, need to keep eternal perspectives in view.
They are more important than whether or not men are heroes. Men are sinners and need to be saved. Jesus makes no distinction between the Galileans, the men killed by the tower, and those listening.
All men are sinners. Jesus has raised the stakes on both stories to be of eternal significance and not simply temporal. The word of judgment he presents is both sobering, distressing and horrifying. The silence of the men proves this. We should always take notice of extraordinary circumstances in the providence of God. The Lord makes judgments in these circumstances. He was aware of current events.
He certainly had no intentions of reading Bible prophecy into the situation, as many of the dispensationalists do today. This is not the intention of Christ at all. Jesus is simply making a sweeping statement, and a generalization based on Scripture, and then ascribing the action to the sovereignty of God. The pious or religious should not be the only ones familiar with words such as judgment and repentance.
These terms are for all men everywhere. How does this apply though to current events? It was unexpected and unanticipated at the time. The 18 crushed by the tower were taken by surprise. They had no idea that their day was going to include an appointment with death and judgment. Neither had the Galileans, so far as we know, expected to be executed during worship. In both cases repentance is exhorted since men never know when God may call them to judgment.
All men must be aware of this. What could God possibly be doing, if anything? Some have even questioned the extent of His sovereignty over the situation. Yet, we can easily apply the principles found in Luke to the tragic circumstances.
First, we must be persuaded that God is completely sovereign. There are hundreds of Scriptures attesting to His awesome Sovereignty, and every book in the Bible demonstrates this fact. God is sovereign over all men everywhere since all men are His possession.
They are His possession to dispose of, or lift up, as He desires. They are His creation, and His workmanship whether they be vessels unto honor or dishonor. He rules them, leads them, guides them, punishes them, damns them, saves them, rescues them, and fits them all for eternity in one manner or another. God also does whatsoever He desires. He is never thwarted or hindered. He is all sovereign and will do all things as He so desires and delights to do. It is not as if things take Him by surprise.
He knows all and sees all. He knows when men are plotting to deceive others, or even plotting to kill others. He knows all and sees all and nothing is hidden from His sight. He is sovereign over the very wills of men. This does not mean He creates sin in their hearts, this is something they do without Him quite willingly. God cannot be tainted with sin, nor does He tempt other men to sin.
But the heart of men is still in His hand, and He does sovereignly rule those hearts to accomplish His purposes. The Lord, though, holds his heart in hand like a winding river. God is able to move the king in whatever way He desires.
But this restraint is ascribed to God. He held him back from sinning. If God is sovereign, even over the hearts of men, why then did He not stop the attack on our country? Why would He allow such a horrible act to be committed where thousands lost their lives?
It is always safe to begin generally. The attack on the American nation was, without doubt, decreed from old.
If it was not decreed it would have never taken place. It may be enacted by foreign men. He calls these men from a far country to come and establish His will, in this historical instance, on the nation of Israel.
In our own day, God called foreign men from across the ocean to live among us, deceive us, and then kill many of us. Is this too horrible for God? Some of them are devastating. Such is the case with The Flood which destroyed the world.
And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. He does not send an angel down to us, or continue to deliver new revelation to us each time a catastrophe is realized.
Rather, we must rest on the principles and teachings of the Bible, and the revelation of His will which He has already given to us. In this way a variety of principles may be seen. First, Christians know that in everything He does, it is all for the glory of His name. They are primarily a means to glorify His various attributes.
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There were no iPhones or smartphones nineteen years ago, so news came only through TV or radio. And it came more slowly. A chapel prayer service was quickly organized, and the pastor, Jim Denison, led the staff members and all church workers in a time of prayer.
One of the staff members had a son who worked across the street from the WTC, and we prayed for his safety. One of the tasks I had during those days was proofing and then sending out the daily email articles Dr. Denison had begun writing the previous year now known as The Daily Article.
At that time, it was still done manually, with multiple sendings to accommodate the growing numbers. His words nineteen years ago today still ring true today as we face different attacks in our world.
Questions race through our minds and blur our thoughts. How could this happen to America? Who would commit such horrific, cowardly, evil atrocity? How many have died?
How many will? What is the future? How will it change? He is as close as a prayer and a Bible. Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. And God did.
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