Luke 13:1

1. Were present Had come with the intelligence from the metropolis. Jesus is now in eastern Judea.

At that season So as to retail the news in the hearing of Jesus at the close of his discourse.

Told him The Greek word implies that they announced it to him as news. Galileans These importers of news from Jerusalem doubtless know that our Lord is himself a Galilean. He is “Jesus, the prophet of Galilee .” (Matthew 21:11.) If they heard his discourse, they might have recognized the Galilean traits of articulation. His twelve, whom he addressed alternately with the people, are all Galileans; and their dialect, whenever they might chance to utter anything, (as Peter did, Matthew 21:41,) would bewray them. Hence we see a reason why these news-men may have been ready to furnish Jesus a bad piece of information about his fellow Galileans. In the second place, there seems very fair reason to believe, with the best commentators, that these slaughtered Galileans were the fanatic partizans of Judas the Galilean or Gaulonite. This man was an ultra Jew, who took ground against paying tribute to any foreign power, as treason against Jehovah. Pilate would be very well disposed to improve the opportunity to aim a deadly blow at such a set of men upon very slight pretexts. These informants, be it farther noted, are on the side of Pilate, holding that the sinners in the case are undoubtedly the Galileans. They see, therefore, chance to taunt Jesus, as if implicating him in the fanaticism and treason of the Gaulonite’s followers, and warning him of a similar danger.

Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices From the tower of Antonia, which we have elsewhere described (see note on Matthew 21:12; Matthew 26:5,) as having been so built as to command the temple, for the very purpose of instantly repressing all tumults and seditions, for which its courts rendered it a favourite and advantageous place, Pilate was able to pour a destructive volley upon the occupants of any part. These Galileans were in the court of the temple, near the great altar; and probably the process of slaying their sacrificial victims was going on. The arrowy shower of death came, and the blood of the sacrificers and of their sacrifices blended in the same stream!

It was an awful omen! On the victim lies the weight of the worshipper’s sin; but here his own blood is made to mingle with the sin-atoning blood of the slain beast!