Nothing more
about this incident is recorded any other place in the New Testament. We do not
know specifically who the people were who were killed and we do not know the
occasion upon which this tragedy occurred. Apparently however, there had
recently been a confrontation with the Roman soldiers in the temple at the time
of a sacrifice. The outcome of this incident was that some of the Galileans
present at the temple were killed by the Romans, perhaps right at the altar,
since there is a mention of the blood of the people mingling with the blood of
the animal sacrifices.
Although we
know none of the details, this all certainly does sound like a horrendous
event. It was an event that was not only politically motivated, but there were
also religious overtones included in the circumstances. It affected the
residents in much the same way as we react when we are shown pictures of
Americans who have been decapitated by the Islamic State Terrorists. Even more
so, since these people of Galilee probably had even closer ties with those
killed.
“Were these
Galileans worse sinners than all the others?” the people asked Jesus.
In their
struggle to make sense of the events that had occurred, this was their
question. “Why did these people suffer in such a horrifying way? Was it because
these who were murdered were especially bad themselves?” The questioners were
implying that perhaps those people were so bad that God had allowed them to be
killed.