Luke 13:1-5 Human suffering

Jesus deals with two kinds of suffering: First, that inflicted by the hand of man; second, that which results from unforeseen calamities. One might argue that if the tower fell because of defective design or construction, that was the hand of man, but it seems likely Jesus' focus was on whether the men who were killed were somehow deserving of what happened. This directly addresses the commonly held belief that God either causes or allows suffering to come to those who have sinned, as a means in this life of bringing justice. This is epitomized in human lore as "Though the mills of God grind slowly, they grind exceedingly small; Though with patience stands He waiting, with exactness He grinds them all" attributed to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, although he was quoting an ancient poet. Its antiquity is confirmed by Plutarch, who criticized the concept. We see this thought also expressed in Deuteronomy 27, Job 4, and even Acts 28:4.

          Jesus tackles this head-on. He specifically says, "... do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” It is not that the men were innocent. The point He is making is that all are equally guilty before God, and if God truly meted out punishment in this way, all would perish. (Rom 3:23, 6:23) It is therefore the grace of God that we do not all experience the same kinds of disaster. He does not directly address why the grace of God did not protect these people. He is simply rejecting the concept that we can determine the state of a person's character by the consequences of what happens to him or her. We cannot, because there is too great a multiplicity of causes in the world.

          There seem to be two ways in which disaster comes upon us. One is that as a result of natural cause and effect, the results of certain actions lead to disaster. If we drive while drunk, or ride as a passenger in a car whose driver is drunk, there is a much higher likelihood of being involved in a serious accident than if we do not. If we commit armed robbery, there is a very high likelihood of being injured or killed by police. If we have sex with many partners, there is a much higher likelihood of being infected by some very serious sexually transmitted disease. This is cause and effect. Nothing supernatural about it. The second source of disaster is the fallen state of nature and the world, which results in essentially (seemingly) random calamities. People who build shoddy buildings do not usually have a specific victim in mind, but someone will eventually be affected. Tornadoes do not judge the moral character of the people in their path; they are indiscriminate destroyers.  We might think that there is a causal relationship in the spiritual realms that connects our moral or immoral actions to what happens to us. And to some extent there is. (See, for example, Matthew 18:10.) But in this passage Jesus puts the shoe on the other foot. It is God whose grace protects us from these calamities. We do not and cannot know why His grace sometimes does not protect us, as in the two examples He cites in Luke 13:1-4. There are some mysteries in the spiritual realm. But we are all equally vulnerable in light of our sin and God's standards.