The Falling Tower

Today’s passage from Luke 13 gives us two incidents that we would call tragedies today. The first one in verse 1 took place when Pontius Pilate, the Roman colonial governor of Judea, evidently had fallen upon some political enemies and destroyed them. What was particularly grisly about this was Pilate had sent his henchmen to find his political enemies at a time they were making sacrifices so when they were killed, their blood was mixed with the blood from the sacrifices. Then in verse 4, Jesus tells about another incident in which 18 people drowned in a reservoir due to a tower collapsed. The question that comes up is a natural question, a very relevant and very contemporary kind of question. Why the asymmetrical way in which pain and comfort is distributed amongst the human race? Why is it that some people have all the “luck,” and why other people seem to have all the bad “luck”? Jesus’ answer, of course, is totally unique and completely counterintuitive. It’s absolutely counter to the wisdom of this world. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on August 13, 2000. Series: Hard Sayings of Jesus 2000. Scripture: Luke 13:1-9. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.