Luke 13:4
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? 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?
The report about the eighteen came to Jesus amid great excitement over a recent calamity, when the measures of Pontius Pilate had given offense, there had been popular tumult in Jerusalem, and soldiers had invaded the precincts of the temple and cut down Galilean pilgrims in the very act of slaying their sacrifices. Those crushed by the tower in Siloam were treated as sinners above all others in Jerusalem, as though their affliction proved they were guilty of greater sin and was a judgment for their sin. Those who reported the calamity told it with secret satisfaction, took personal safety and good fortune as proof of being much better and more favored by God, counted themselves favorites of heaven for whom the message of reproof was not meant, and expected Jesus to condemn the sufferers as richly deserving their punishment.
The verse belongs to Jesus' warning about the coming kingdom of God, in which people could read signs in the sky that foretold the weather yet failed to recognize the signs of the times pointing to His mission, showing ignorance and indifference. The verse is part of the setting for the parable of the barren fig tree, which illustrates how Christ's mission of mercy relates to God's justice and judgment. The eighteen killed when the tower in Siloam fell were not sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem, were not greater or more sinful than others living there, and their death was not deserved suffering for special wickedness.
Sudden calamity does not prove greater guilt or that its victims deserve more punishment, for good and evil people alike experience calamities in this present time, which is not the time of retributive judgment. Sometimes people pass beyond God's protecting care, allowing Satan to exercise his power without God intervening. A person's character is not to be judged by the suffering they endure.
Calamities are warnings meant to lead people to humility and repentance, and Jesus uses the death of the eighteen as a warning that except all repent they shall all likewise perish. Jesus applied the warning to Jerusalem that unless its people repented they too would perish when the city was besieged, though a short time remained for them to turn to God. Telling suffering people that their hardships are judgments for their sins adds to their burden.