INTRODUCTION
“Repentance” and “Perish” are the two keywords in this gospel passage. Because of the fall of the first parents, all people are born in sin and are under its bondage. Jesus declared that it is time to repent and reconcile with God to escape the last destruction. Showing two tragedies that happened in Jerusalem for some Galileans and 18 inhabitants of Jerusalem during his public ministry as examples, he said that all who reject the Messiah and his message would also perish. Jesus prophesied two calamities, viz., the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem (fulfilled in 70 AD) and the eternal punishment of the evildoers at his second coming. Though baptized, we need repentance and constant spiritual renewal as we await the second coming of Christ.
BIBLE TEXT
Settlement with the Opponent
(Luke 12:57) And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? (58) When you go with your accuser before the court, try to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge and the judge deliver you to the jailer, and the jailer throw you in prison. (59) I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last copper coin.
A Call to Repentance
(Luke 13:1) One day some people told Jesus about the Galileans whom Pilate had killed in the temple, mingling their blood with the blood of their sacrifices. (2) Jesus replied, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this? (3) I tell you, No. But unless you change your ways, you will all perish as they did. (4) And those eighteen persons in Siloam who were crushed when the tower fell, do you think they were more guilty than all the others in Jerusalem? (5) I tell you, No. But unless you change your ways, you will all perish as they did.
INTERPRETATION
Background of the gospel passage
Jesus talked about the signs of times. He acknowledged how the people were good in forecasting rain from the rising cloud in the west and the onset of heat based on the wind blowing from the south. He then asked, “You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearances of the earth and the sky. How is it that you cannot interpret the present times?” (Lk 12:56). “The present times” for Jesus was the Messianic time of “repentance and belief in the gospel” for which John the Baptist prepared the Jews.
Settlement with the Opponent
(57) And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
The implied understanding was that Jesus’ listeners knew what was right, but they were not willing to act on it. They knew that Jesus came as the Redeemer. However, they rejected him because of their selfishness and unwillingness to change their lives.
(58) When you go with your accuser before the court, try to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge and the judge deliver you to the jailer, and the jailer throw you in prison
Jesus told a parable from the ordinary life to illustrate the need for timely reconciliation with God to avoid punishment. The parable implies that the one who went with the opponent was the culprit. Unless he reconciles on the way, the judge might punish him. The challenger is the righteous person represented by Jesus. He might seem like an adversary to the selfish and sinful people. They need to reconcile with the Messiah before they reach God, the judge. Time was running out for reconciliation. This applies to us who are also nearing death and approaching God for our judgement.
(59) I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last copper coin
This parable is a Biblical proof for the existence of purgatory. In the parable, the accused person is not in prison for lifelong but until he paid the last penny, the least valuable coin. Most humans are mixed and not wholly good or bad in their spiritual status. Though God absolves sins through sacraments like confession and anointing of the sick, the penitent must cleanse the stains of sins through compensations for the damages done.
A Call to Repentance
Unlike usage of parables, Jesus here made use of two tragic accidents that happened. The victims could be innocent people, and the tragic death might not be divine punishment. However, such a tragic death or calamity will happen later for those who do not keep up the commandments of the Lord.
(Lk 13:1) One day some people told Jesus about the Galileans whom Pilate had killed in the temple, mingling their blood with the blood of their sacrifices
The punishment that Jesus mentioned had a double meaning. Revolution was developing among the Jews against the Roman rule. Groups like Zealots organized such revolts. According to the Holy Scripture, the Israelites suffered attacks and slavery from enemies because of their disloyalty to the covenant they and their ancestors had made with God. When they sinned, God withdrew his protection, and they fell prey to their enemies. When they repented and turned back to God with a humble plea for help, God raised leaders from among them and rescued them from their powerful enemies.
So, Jesus’ concern was not with eradicating Roman rule but resolving the root cause. Reconciliation with God is the solution since the separation happened between God and humans through sin. The conversion of the Jews would lead to their spiritual and political liberation. Jesus had predicted Jerusalem’s destruction along with its Temple because of their denial of him as the Messiah. It happened in 70 AD, 40 years after Jesus’ prediction. Besides this political destruction, those who do not follow Jesus’ message of reconciliation would also face eternal punishment at the last judgement.
When Jesus mentioned the need of reconciliation before the punishment, some people from the audience brought to Jesus’ attention a tragic massacre of some Galileans in Jerusalem. There is no historical attestation of this event, though similar slaughters on Pilate’s part during the religious gatherings have been documented. For example, Josephus reports that Pilate had killed some Samaritans while they were worshipping on Mount Gerizim (Antiquities 18:86-87). On another occasion, Pilate had killed many Jews who opposed him for using the Temple money for the reconstruction of an aqueduct in Jerusalem (Jewish War 2:175-77; Antiquities 18:60-62).
A group of pilgrims from Galilee who came to worship in the Temple of Jerusalem were revolutionaries against the Roman rule. Pilate’s soldiers might have killed them, and thus their blood got mixed with the blood of the Passover lambs. This might have caused enmity between the Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee and Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea.
Those who presented the massacre of the Galileans in the Temple of Jerusalem brought that up to agree with Jesus that opposition with Rome could bring severe punishment or disaster for the offenders. Jesus added a spiritual application to it in his message that followed.
(2) Jesus replied, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this? (3) I tell you, No. But unless you change your ways, you will all perish as they did”
Jesus, while acknowledging the tragic death of Galileans in Jerusalem, questioned whether they were greater sinners than all others in Galilee. Jesus said the similar tragedy could happen to all if they do not repent. It happened in 70 AD when the Roman army under the leadership of Titus attacked Jerusalem as a reaction to the Jewish revolt against Rome.
According to the historian Josephus, the Roman army killed 1.1 million people and took away 97,000 as slaves to Rome. Many fled to areas around the Mediterranean Sea. The Roman army destroyed the prestigious Jewish Temple. Some viewed it as a wrath of God against Jews and Titus as God’s instrument for the punishment.
(4) And those eighteen persons in Siloam who were crushed when the tower fell, do you think they were more guilty than all the others in Jerusalem?
This also was another tragedy not recorded elsewhere. The tower might be the one under construction to support the aqueduct for the pool of Siloam in Jerusalem. The tragedy happened this time to people in Jerusalem, the holy city. Since Pilate used the offering money of the Temple, some people considered it as a judgement from God for the sacrilege and God punished the victims who had accepted the Temple offering.
The Jews judged the victims as sinners and misfortunes as punishments from God for their sins. According to Jesus, the 18 people whom Pilate killed were not greater sinners than all the others. Jesus used this accident also to clarify that the tragedy or misfortune in this world is not in proportion to the sins of the victims or not God’s punishments because such disasters can happen even to the innocent.
(5) “I tell you, No. But unless you change your ways, you will all perish as they did”
The prophecy of the destruction came true within 40 years. The Christians escaped the Roman attack. Many had fled from Jerusalem because of persecution from Jews, and others, believing in the words of Jesus about the imminent destruction of Jerusalem, fled when they saw the sign of Roman attack. “Now, those who had been scattered because of the persecution that began over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, telling the message, but only to the Jews” (Acts 11:19). According to the ancient Christian historians Eusebius and Epiphanius, the Christians in Jerusalem escaped to Pella, a Decapolis city before Jerusalem’s destruction by the Romans in 70 AD.
The Biblical Meaning of Repentance
Repentance is a prevalent theme in the Old and New testaments. Whenever Israelites broke away from God, He sent prophets asking them to repent and reconcile with Him. The message of John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way for the Lord, was also repentance. The baptism he administered was the official sign of accepting repentance. Jesus and his disciples also called people to repent.
Jesus presented repentance in the vivid parable of the Prodigal Son (Lk 15:11-32). The son had deviated from his father by his own mistake. He came back to his senses, returned, and reconciled with his father. However, the father was generous to accept him as his son with full rights far beyond what the prodigal son expected. In the parable, repentance presumes sin, which deviates from the intimate relationship with God due to our fault. Our reviewing of faults, regret for the wrong actions, a resolution to change our behaviour, meeting God through baptism, and receiving absolution through the sacrament of reconciliation are necessary.
The Greek word for repentance is Metanoia. It implies a change of mind and a change of conduct. The prodigal son changed his behaviour and relation with his father. Jesus said to the adulterous woman: “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and do not sin again” (Jn 8:11). Repentance and reconciliation become complete only with our willingness to change our sinful life and God’s acceptance of our repentance.
The Biblical meaning of perish
The influence of Satan, sin, disease, and death came into the world because of the fall of the first parents. Jesus has redeemed us. However, if we reject his salvation, we will perish for eternity. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). The Greek word for perish is “apollumi” which means “to lose.” The original sin caused the loss of grace. Only Jesus can redeem us through his liberating action.
The expulsion of the first parents from paradise was a temporary removal with the hope of reprieve through a saviour. So,
God sent Jesus in search of the lost sheep (Mt 15:24). Just like the fall of the first parents was a free-will decision, our acceptance of salvation through repentance is also a free-will choice we have to make. If we opt not to, we are forgoing our chance for rescue and condemning ourselves to irreversible and everlasting destruction. So, our destruction is not from God but by our own choice.
Here are some examples of choosing between life or death: Careless parents might destroy the life of a child. A lazy student might opt for a less quality adult life. A patient who denies taking medication or required surgery for terminal illness is hastening his demise. A driver disregarding the traffic signal can endanger life and property – his own as well as others’. In each of these examples, there is an external guidepost for a better life. Jesus is that guidepost and sure safety net for regaining our sonship with God.
MESSAGE
1. Jesus’ call for repentance applies to both non-Christians and Christians. Even after baptism, we are prone to sin. We need to use the sacrament of reconciliation for our spiritual cleanliness.
2. We should not put off repentance because we are not sure whether we would get a chance later. Every day we reach closer to the end of life.
3. We are like a person floating in a river that would soon become a waterfall. Jesus sends his church and the sacrament of reconciliation as a lifeboat to rescue us. If we cannot make use of them, we might soon fall into the waterfall and destroy ourselves.
4. Jesus confirmed reward or punishment at the time of the last judgement based on our acceptance or rejection of the Word of God.
5. Like Zacchaeus, compensation for sins committed should be a part of repentance for washing away the stains of our sins.
6. Repentance is not just expressing our sorrow for sins. It also requires a change of mind and lifestyle like what Saint Paul and Saint Augustine did. They compensated for failures by loving God and caring for His people. We also should follow them for genuine conversion.