"At that time,some people came and reported to him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And he responded to them, 'Do you think that these Galileans were more sinful than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well. Or those eighteen that the tower in Siloam fell on and killed — do you think they were more sinful than all the other people who live in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well.'" Luke 13:1-5 (CSB)
There was a very common understanding people had, and it still persists today, as an attempt to explain why bad things happen - Retribution Theology. Job's friends held it. We can see Eliphaz attempting to "comfort" Job by saying, "Consider: Who has perished when he was innocent? Where have the honest been destroyed? In my experience, those who plow injustice and those who sow trouble reap the same." He basically tells Job he must have done something bad for this to happen to him. Later God holds the three friends of Job accountable for their bad theology. But it's not just there, the disciples' thinking was tainted by it as well. In John 9:1-3 we have Jesus approaching a man who was born blind and his disciples asked Jesus, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus informed them that this situation wasn't due to retribution of sin, but rather so that God's works might be displayed in the blind man.
Here in Luke, we have recorded the instance when Jesus used current events to correct the pop culture logic of the day. Some people came to him and were telling him about a group of people who were murdered by Pilate as they were offering sacrifices. Jesus offers them another recent event of tragedy and drives home the point by asking if those discussing the happenings imagine themselves better people than those who suffered such graphically tragic fates. Jesus knows the human heart. He knew they were shaking their heads at the tragedy but while judging in their hearts that those slain must have clearly reaped what they had sown. Instead of getting into the details of cause and effect, explaining how sometimes things happen as judgment of our own actions (which is something only God, and perhaps the one in the action knows) Jesus addresses the fact that we cannot interpret the purposes of God being on the outside looking in. However, there is something to realize - Bad things don't happen to good people; bad things happen to bad people, and we are all bad.
Jesus uses the suddenness of the death of those who were slain as they were offering sacrifices, having no time to repent. He reminds the crowd that those who were crushed under the collapse of the tower had no time to rethink their life. He condemns the arrogance that imagines those people must have been really bad to have something so tragic happen to them and calls everyone present to repent as they are JUST AS BAD as those victims of inexplicable horror.
Calamity can come suddenly. It doesn't exclusively come on the Hitlers and the Dhamers of the world. Jesus reminds us that it is not for us to judge the badness of those who suffer, but rather take heed that we are just as sinful and unless we repent from our sin and turn to Jesus, we will meet a devastating end ourselves. The realization that we are just as sinful as "them" will also spur us to compassion for those who are in the throes of suffering. It's hard to sit in condemnation of others when we understand that we are just as wicked as they are. When we look past the pride-comforting stance of Retribution Theology, and know that it is only by the grace of God that we are not involved in like actions as some others may be, are we all the more compelled to proclaim God's grace to others.
"Do you think they were more sinful than all the other people…? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well."
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