No one knows when their life will end. Jesus assures us that we must be ready. He stresses that just because someone dies in a tragic way, it doesn’t mean they are being judged; instead, it serves as a reminder for us to be prepared. Jesus reminds us that God is longsuffering, but His patience has limits. Therefore, we must make things right with God now.

Key points

1. Believing in God does not guarantee immunity from hardships: As hard as it is to acknowledge, we must remember that there are no “good” people, in the absolute sense of the word.

2. Jesus warned His audience not to assume that the victims of those tragedies had been judged for their great evil: Jesus emphasized the importance of caring for the vulnerable, particularly the poor and marginalized.

3. God is long-suffering, but there is an end to His patience. Within one generation, there was no more temple in Israel. The fall of the city marked the effective conclusion of a four-year campaign against the Jewish insurgency in Judaea. The Romans destroyed much of the city, including the Second Temple.

Main Text

Luke 13:1-9 (ESV)