Lucas 13:4-5

Jesus reinforced His point by citing another apparently recent tragedy and repudiating the common view of judgment again. The pool of Siloam lay in the southeastern quarter of Jerusalem. [Note: See the diagram "Jerusalem in New Testament Times" at the end of these notes.] The Greek word opheiletai ("culprits" or "more guilty") means debtors. The Jews used this term as a synonym for sinners (cf. Matthew 6:12; Matthew 18:24). Jesus asserted that people who experience calamities are not necessarily worse sinners than people who do not. More important, all people face God’s judgment unless they repent.