Luke Chapter 13, Verse 3
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3: ουχι λεγω υμιν αλλ εαν μη μετανοητε παντες ωσαυτως απολεισθε
3: I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish.
3: No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all
likewise perish.
I tell you, Nay. Jesus assured them that it was not right to draw
such a conclusion respecting these men. The fact that men come to a
sudden and violent death is not proof that they are peculiarly wicked.
Except ye repent. Except you forsake your sins and turn to God. Jesus took occasion, contrary to their expectation, to make a practical use of that fact, and to warn them of their own danger. He never suffered a suitable occasion to pass without warning the wicked, and entreating them to forsake their evil ways. The subject of religion was always present to his mind. He introduced it easily, freely, fully. In this he showed his love for the souls of men, and in this he set us an example that we should walk in his steps.
Ye shall all likewise perish. You shall all be destroyed in a similar manner. Here he had reference, no doubt, to the calamities that were coming upon them, when thousands of the people perished. Perhaps there was never any reproof more delicate and yet more severe than this. They came to him believing that these men who had perished were peculiarly 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 likewise be destroyed. This was remarkably fulfilled. Many of the Jews were slain in the temple; many while offering sacrifice; thousands perished in a way very similar to the Galileans. Comp. See "Mt 24:1" and following.
