LUKE 13:1–5 — THE CLOCK IS TICKING
They came to Yeshua, maybe with fear, maybe with a smug smirk, maybe trying to trap Him. And they said something like this:
“Did You hear what Pilate did? Those Galileans? He slaughtered all of them right there—while they were offering sacrifices! Their blood got mixed with the lamb’s blood on the altar!”
It was Murder on the Altar.
And don’t you think Yeshua didn’t already know! The Son of Elohim walks the earth and He knows every drop of innocent blood spilled. He sees it. He records it. He weeps for it. And He answers.
Not like a politician. Not like a priest. Not like a coward.
He says:
“Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered like that? I tell you, NO! But unless YOU repent, YOU will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:2–3)
Wait… what? He didn’t comfort them? He didn’t point fingers at Pilate? He didn’t explain away the horror?
Nope. He threw a mirror up in front of every person listening and said:
You think they died because they were worse than you? You think you’re still alive because you’re good? Wake up.
Then He takes it deeper. “What about those eighteen people the tower fell on in Siloam?”
Eighteen. Not stabbed. Not executed. Just crushed by falling stone. Maybe they were on lunch break. Maybe they were building it. Maybe they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. A freak accident, people said.
And Yeshua said again:
“Do you think they were more guilty than everyone else in Jerusalem?” (Luke 13:4)
Then, the same thunder strikes again:
“I tell you, NO! But unless YOU repent, YOU will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:5)
Twice He says it. Twice. So that not one dull mind or hardened heart can say, “Oh, I didn’t catch that.”
Let’s put it plain. When something is said twice, that means it IS established and will be completed. No doubt about any of it!
You want to talk about evil leaders?
You want to talk about senseless tragedy?
You want to count bodies and argue about guilt?
Yeshua says, Fine. Look at the blood. Look at the rubble. Now look in the mirror.
You’re alive today not because you’re better.
You’re alive because God is giving you one more day.
This isn’t about Galileans. This isn’t about Siloam. This isn’t about how others died.
This is about how you’re still alive, and what you’re doing with it.
You think death comes only to the guilty? You think a sudden death means sudden wrath? Listen close: every person who refuses to repent is walking under a tower ready to fall.
Whether it comes through the government’s sword or a crumbling wall or your own heart giving out in the middle of the night—you don’t get to choose how you go.
But you do get to choose what you do before it happens.
And the command—not a suggestion, not a nice idea—the command from Yeshua Himself is:
“Repent. Turn around. Come back to God. Right now. While you still can.”
Because the Galileans died in church, and the Siloam eighteen died in the streets. So it doesn’t matter where you are when it hits.
It matters if you’re ready.
And the only way to be ready is repentance. The Greek word there is μετανοέω (metanoeō)—it means to change your mind, your heart, your whole direction. It means stop running toward sin and start running back to God. Now. Not tomorrow. Not when you clean yourself up. Not when you feel more spiritual.
Right now.
This is the message that rattles religion, shakes the pews, and breaks every excuse we’ve got.
Because when the tower falls… when the sword comes… when the heart stops beating… there’s no time left.
You don’t need to be smarter. You don’t need to be richer. You don’t need to have the whole Bible memorized.
You need to hear what Yeshua is saying here:
“Except you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Not “might.”
Not “eventually.”
You. Will. Perish.
Not just die. Perish…in Greek, ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi), means to be destroyed, ruined, lost beyond recovery.
And that’s not what God wants. That’s why He sent His Son. That’s why He gave you this moment right now. So you wouldn’t wind up buried under your own version of Siloam’s tower.
So the question isn’t: Why did they die?
The real question is: Why are you still alive?
And the answer is: So you can repent.
That’s the message. That’s Luke 13:1–5. Simple enough for the foolish. Powerful enough for the wise. Urgent enough for every soul still drawing breath.
Don’t waste your blood.
Don’t waste your breath.
Don’t wait for the stones to fall.
Repent.
While the door is still open.