The I-35 bridge collapse: Asking the wrong question
I wrote this article a few days after the bridge collapse. I reviewed it again on the 1 year anniversary of the tragedy and thought I would post it here for others to consider.
SH
On August 1, 2007 a section of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, MN collapsed into the Mississippi river. As of August 5, five persons are confirmed dead and eight still unaccounted for [The eight unaccounted for were later confirmed dead, bringing the total to 13 with 145 injured]. As far as natural and man-made disasters go, the number of casualties in this one is relatively small. Nevertheless, the numbers are not small for those who lost loved ones and the collapse of a major structure no doubt seems to be particularly meaningless and absurd to them. Events like this cause all of us to ask many questions, for example: Why did God let this happen to people who were doing nothing more than driving their cars across a bridge?
A similar question was asked of Jesus by a group of Jews and the story is told in Luke 13. Jesus’ answer (or lack thereof) suggests he thought there was a more important issue, or question to address…
Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
What happened in this story? Obviously, the people were troubled by an incident in which some Galileans were murdered. We don’t know exactly what happened but it sounds like the victims were simply offering customary sacrifices when Roman soldiers stormed the temple, killed the Galileans and mixed their blood with the blood of the sacrificial animals. This murder was almost certainly an act of state-sponsored terrorism. Jesus’ response to hearing the story was to ask a question: Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? Do you see that the way Jesus phrased that question tells us something about the way the people reported the tragic story? They were wondering what horrible sins those Galileans must have committed for God to allow them to suffer such a fate. Jesus doesn’t really answer that unrecorded question, but instead responds: “unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” He then references a second tragedy in which the tower of Siloam suddenly toppled over and 18 people sitting by it were killed. I thought of this part of the story when I first heard of the recent bridge collapse because they both appear not to be human-initiated, but rather a case of catastrophic and random bad luck. Jesus answers his own question again and in the same way, “unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
Jesus’ nonanswer
Why did Jesus answer in this strange way? In fact, if we were to be really honest, we would have to admit it is really no answer at all; it’s more of a statement and a bit of a harsh one at that. Jesus has a clear track record in the gospels of caring for people-he healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, raised the dead, etc. So we know Jesus cared about their everyday aches and pains, not to mention mass murder. But Jesus doesn’t sound the least bit compassionate when these people are merely wondering about the purpose for seemingly meaningless tragedies. Rather, he curtly says, “If you don’t repent, you will all die just like them!”
Let’s look at that answer. We can paraphrase it as an if/then statement:
If you don’t repent, then you will all likewise perish….
Likewise perish
Does Jesus mean that if they don’t repent they will all die by being murdered by a Roman governor or crushed under the weight of a falling building? No, that cannot be what he meant, that doesn’t make sense. In fact, when Jesus talks about perishing here, I don’t think he was talking about physical death at all. That’s because the statement implies that if they do repent, then they will not all likewise perish and we know that repentance does not allow us to avoid physical death. But, repentance does allow us to avoid spiritual death. So when Jesus talks about perishing in this passage, it sounds like he is talking about spiritual death and separation from God. It’s the same word he uses in John 3:16…. that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Why does Jesus correlate the perishing of the victims of Pilate and the tower of Siloam with spiritual perishing that results from an unrepentant heart? I think there are two reasons:
1) Maybe because those victims were caught utterly by surprise when they perished physically. They were not expecting it, they thought they would have more chances to offer sacrifices, bathe in the pool of Siloam, etc. When people die spiritually (die without Christ) their end will no doubt be a shock to them. The apostle Paul writes about this spiritual separation in I Thessalonians 5, “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly…and they will not escape.”
2) I think another similarity is that their last breath was not a pleasant one; they did not die peacefully in their sleep with arms folded and loved ones around them. They died in a violent, horrible event (especially those murdered by Pilate). When the unrepentant die and realize the permanency of their separation from God-that reality will be an unspeakably torturous moment of anguish for them.
The wrong question
We are told in school that there are no dumb questions. That may be true, but I suggest there are wrong questions. I think in this case, the Jews were asking Jesus the wrong question. They were asking how terrible the victims’ sins must have been to merit such a horrible death. However, Jesus has a way of bypassing peripheral issues and ‘going for the jugular’. He focuses his response on the real issue they should have been concerned with: the condition of their own hearts. The fact that the victims in the stories died by especially grisly means does not mean they were especially evil. According to God’s standard of measure, we are all especially evil: “There is none righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10), and those who refuse to repent will experience awful, grisly, spiritual death.
Of course, when terrible things happen to our fellow man, we mourn our dead and comfort the living and I think it is only natural for us to wonder and even be confused about the tragedies that befall us; this article is not an attempt to trivialize or explain away the incalculable suffering and death in our world today. Indeed, followers of Christ need to address that issue in particular, since that is one of the chief obstacles to belief in God. But if we want something to be really perplexed about, instead of asking ‘What did those people do to deserve that?’ we should ask ourselves: ‘Why is God so patient with us?’ ‘Why does he give us so many undeserved chances in this life to repent?’ ‘Why does he love us in our sin and give us even one more breath to use to call on him for forgiveness?’ The true wonder is not that some die tragically, but that we are given so many chances in this life to turn to God and repent.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? Romans 2:4
What do we do?
♦ Repent
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9
♦ Cultivate an eternal perspective
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. II Corinthians 4:16-18
The apostle Paul wrote II Corinthians and he suffered a great deal during his life. Yet he likens that suffering to “light and momentary troubles” in comparison to his eternal life with Christ.
♦ Tell the Good News to the perishing
I think this motivation should be at the forefront of all our thoughts when we read about the bridge collapse. There are people all around us who are spiritually perishing, just like the Jews who were telling the story to Jesus.
The greatest tragedy of life is not dying young; the greatest tragedy is to live a long, full life, and in the end die without Jesus Christ. Let us be intentional and risk-taking in our efforts to share the Good News, the Best News, with the perishing while we can.
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.”