Albert Barnes Commentary Luke 13:2-3

"And he answered and said unto them, Think ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they have suffered these things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all in like manner perish." — Luke 13:2-3 (ASV)

Suppose ye, etc. From this answer, it would appear that they supposed that the fact that these men had been killed in this manner proved that they were very great sinners.

I tell you, Nay. Jesus assured them that it was not right to draw such a conclusion about these men. The fact that men come to a sudden and violent death is not proof that they are especially wicked.

Except ye repent. Unless you forsake your sins and turn to God. Jesus took the opportunity, contrary to their expectation, to make a practical use of that fact and to warn them of their own danger.

He never allowed a suitable opportunity to pass without warning the wicked and urging them to forsake their wicked ways. The subject of religion was always present to his mind. He introduced it easily, freely, and fully. In this, he showed his love for the souls of men, and in this, he set us an example that we should follow in his steps.

Ye shall all likewise perish. You shall all be destroyed in a similar manner. Here he was referring, no doubt, to the calamities that were coming upon them, when thousands of the people perished. Perhaps there was never any rebuke more delicate and yet more severe than this. They came to him believing that these men who had perished were especially wicked. He did not tell them that they were as bad as the Galileans but left them to infer it, for if they did not repent, they must soon also be destroyed. This was remarkably fulfilled. Many of the Jews were killed in the temple; many while offering sacrifice; thousands perished in a way very similar to the Galileans (Compare to Matthew 24:1 and following).

From this account of the Galileans we may learn:

1. That people are very prone to infer, when any great calamity happens to others, that they are especially guilty. See the Book of Job and the reasonings of his three "friends."
2. That such a conclusion, in the way in which it is usually drawn, is erroneous. If we see a man bloated, haggard, and poor, who is habitually intoxicated, we may openly infer that he is guilty and that God hates his sin and punishes it. So we may infer from the effects of licentiousness. But we should not infer this when a man's house is burned down, or when his children die, or when he suffers a loss of health; nor should we infer it concerning nations that are afflicted with famine, plague, or the ravages of war; nor should we infer it when a man is killed by lightning or perishes in the explosion of a steamboat. Those who perish in this way may be far more virtuous than many who live.
3. This is not a world of retribution. Good and evil are mingled; the good and the bad suffer, and all are exposed here to calamity.
4. There is another world—a future state—a world where the good will be happy and the wicked punished. There, all that is irregular on earth will be regulated; all that appears unequal will be made equal; all that is chaotic will be reduced to order.
5. When people are disposed to speak about the great guilt of others and the calamities that come upon them, they should inquire about themselves. What is their character? What is their condition? It may be that they are in just as much danger of perishing as those whom they regard as so wicked.
6. WE MUST REPENT. We must ALL repent, or we will perish. No matter what happens to others, we are sinners; we are to die; we will be lost unless we repent. Let us, then, think of ourselves rather than of others; and when we hear of any significant calamity happening to others, let us remember that there is calamity in another world as well as here, and that while our fellow sinners are exposed to trials here, we may be exposed to more dreadful woes there. Woe there is eternal; here, a calamity like that produced by a falling tower is soon over.