What Would Jesus Say?

What would Jesus say about the mass murder which happened this past weekend in the Orlando?

"There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Luke 13:1-4

The context of this passage, according to Matthew Henry, is Roman governor Pontius Pilate being enraged by the sedition of a band of Galilaean Jews under the leadership of Judas Gaulonitis, "sent a band of soldiers, and slew these his followers; who were come up to the feast of the passover, as they were offering their sacrifices in the temple, and so mixed their blood with the blood of the passover lambs."

One must note that Christ in no way excused the rebels, or took their side. He did not call for Israel to bestow honors upon the slain, such as we often do in this age by lowering our flags to half mast. On the contrary, his statement seems to confirm that this was indeed the judgment of the Almighty, but uses the opportunity to point out that except we each repent, we will each likewise suffer judgment.

Then our Lord goes directly on to point out that "natural disasters" too may be used of God as an act of judgment, but points out that rather than dwelling on the question of whether or not those who die in such a manner were under God’s judgment, we need to focus on repenting of our own sins.

"God is too loving to ever do such a thing," our modern christain ethic cries out!

Read the book of Isaiah. Study the book of the prophet Jeremiah. God’s chosen people moved continually toward apostasy and wickedness. They worshiped the false idols of the surrounding nations. They committed acts that the LORD calls abominable. When God, after much patience and many warnings, rained down judgment upon his chosen nation, he did so in the form of another nation; but not another nation more righteous than Judah (as one might expect), but one at least as wicked. That nation’s actions in the destruction of Jerusalem, despite being used as an instrument of God to punish, would in turn be judged by him for those very actions, because they were not done to serve the Living God, but to serve their own sinful desires.

If you cannot see the parallels, you might consider having your eyes checked (at least your "spiritual" eyes). As a nation, we have embraced child sacrifice (abortion) and sodomy (the "gay" agenda) and a multitude of other forms of lawlessness. If the LORD chose to allow the Orlando murderer to punish some of those who are in flagrant rebellion against the God who made them, he did so simply by allowing that Muslim to act on his sinful hatred. That man now faces God’s judgment, as do those he killed. As do each of us.  In fact, except we repent, we will all likewise perish.