Tragic Events
Devotions for Growing Christians
Tragic Events
Luke 13:1-5 – Now there were present at that time some 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."
Questions about Tragic Events
How can a good, all-powerful God allow “innocent people” to suffer and die? Whenever tragedy strikes, this question is raised by believers and unbelievers alike. It’s raised when the tragic event is caused by natural calamity, such as an earthquake or flood, or when it’s caused by intentional human evil, such as a serial killer or a terrorist attack. If God is all-powerful, why doesn’t He prevent these tragic events? And if God is all-good, how can He allow these events to hurt innocent people?
Does the Bible give us answers to these questions? It certainly does! But the answers are not simple, and they’re not complete and exhaustive and final answers. In fact, the Bible refers to the “mystery of iniquity or lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:7). In the Bible, the term “mystery” refers to something that is concealed from human knowledge and reason, and can only be known from what God reveals in Scripture. So we should not expect to know everything about the “why’s” of tragic events in this life. But we can gain some understanding from what God has revealed in His Word. So what does the Bible say about what’s going on behind the scenes when tragic events occur?
The Cause of Tragic Events
First of all, we can be certain that there would not be one single tragic event if there were no sin in this world. After God completed His work of creation, “He saw all that He had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). Before the Fall, there were no tragic events - and there will be no tragic events in Heaven, because there will be no sin there.
So sin is the root problem behind all tragic events. Romans 5:12 says “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, for all have sinned.”
Notice that this verse also has something to say about “innocent” people. According to the Bible, there is no such thing as an “innocent” person, because all have sinned. Everyone falls short of God’s absolute holy standards (Romans 3:23). And Romans 8:20-22 says that sin affected the natural world as well, so tragic events like violent storms or volcanic eruptions are the result of sin that humans brought into this world.
Discipline and Tragic Events
There is no doubt that God can use tragic events to judge wicked people, and discipline His own people. God brought judgment on the whole world of wicked people through the natural disaster of the world-wide Flood (Genesis 6:5-7). The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19) was likely a natural event that God synchronized with His timetable for judgment.
God can also use intentional human evil to accomplish His purposes of discipline or judgment. In Isaiah 10:5, God referred to the pagan nation of Assyria as the “rod of My anger,” and in Jeremiah 51:20, God called Babylon “My war-club.” God used the intentional human evil of these cruel pagan nations to bring about tragic events of judgment. Death, destruction and captivity were God’s judgment on Israel and Judah because of their persistent wickedness.
However, the fact that God can use human evil does not mean that God is responsible or morally culpable for the evil. The fact that God allowed the actions of pagan nations tone used for His purposes did not justify the evil intent or actions of Babylon or Assyria. Furthermore, God held these pagan empires accountable for their evil ways, and they in turn were judged. (See Isaiah 10:12 and Jeremiah 51:24.)
God can use tragic events to judge cities and nations, and He can use tragic events to judge the wickedness of individuals as well. God used the natural disaster of an earthquake to deal with the rebellion of Korah (Numbers 16). He used a natural calamity - a horrible illness - to strike down proud Herod (Acts 12:21-23). And He used the evil intent of Jehu to deal with the wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel (2 Kings 9-10). Make no mistake about it! The Bible teaches that God can use all kinds of tragic events to judge the sin of mankind - right down to the individual sinner!
Misjudging Tragic Events
Having established the biblical concept that God can use tragic events to discipline His people or judge the wicked, let’s not jump to the conclusion that every tragic event is God’s discipline or judgment. Certainly not! In fact, in Luke 13 the Lord Jesus strongly cautioned against this thinking when He rebuked people who had wrongly concluded that all tragic events are God’s judgment for sin.
In Luke 13 Jesus was questioned about two tragic events. One was a natural calamity, and the other was the result of intentional human evil. The tragic event in which eighteen people were crushed under a collapsed tower in Siloam was an accident. It was a natural calamity. Whether the tower fell because of a faulty construction or years of wear and tear is not important. There was no intentional moral evil involved. It just happened. It was a natural disaster.
The other tragic event, in which some Galilean pilgrims were killed by Pilate as they were offering their sacrifices, was caused by intentional human evil. The people who were questioning Jesus assumed that those killed in both these tragic events were worse sinners than everyone else, and that their deaths were God’s discipline or judgment upon them. Notice that the Lord Jesus gave the same answer for both events. In both cases, the Lord emphatically said, “I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
So when tragic events occur, either as the result of natural calamity or human evil, let’s not jump to the conclusion that the people who suffer the results are more guilty of wrong-doing than others who escape tragedy. Just as “God causes His sun to shine on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45), so God sometimes allows tragic events to occur, regardless of the moral condition of the people who are caught in the tragedy. While God can and does use tragic events for His sovereign judgment, Luke 13 teaches us that this is not God’s normal operating procedure. In fact, unless there is a clear indication of direct judgment, we should assume that the tragic events are not the judgment of God for some specific sin.
Other Reasons for Tragic Events
A tragic event may be God’s warning. It may be a wake-up call for individuals who have drifted into self-centered, complacent or sinful lifestyles. It may be a warning for nations that have deliberately turned away from God’s moral standards. Unfortunately, a tragic event may be the only way God can get people’s attention!
In Zephaniah 3:6-7, the Lord revealed that the calamities that befell other cities were a warning to Jerusalem. Unfortunately the warning was not heeded: “I said to the city, ‘Surely you will fear Me and accept correction! Then her dwelling would not be cut off, nor all My punishments come upon her.’ But they were still eager to act corruptly in all they did.”
The violent events mentioned in Luke 13 were a wake-up call to the Jews of Jesus’ day, and Jesus’ message to them was “Repent!” Their failure to repent resulted in the overthrow of Jerusalem in 70AD by the Roman armies. It is a great blessing when a tragic event brings people to their knees in repentance! Thus one tragic event may actually serve to prevent further and greater tragic events.
God may use tragedies of illness or death to display His power and glory - to bring unbelievers to salvation. John 9 tells of the tragedy of a man who was born blind blind. In that culture, a physical disability or illness was thought to be God’s judgment for sin, but Jesus explained to His followers that sin was not the cause of the man’s blindness. No! The Lord revealed that it “happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (9:3). When the man’s sight was restored, he became a believer and a witness for Jesus (9:38).
John 11 describes the tragedy of the illness and death of Lazarus. Jesus explained the Lazarus’ death was permitted to happen for a specific purpose: “for God’s glory, so that God’s Son may be glorified through it” (11:4) and “so that you may believe” (11:14). God permitted the tragedies of John 9 and 11 to display His power and glory - for the purpose that people might believe in Jesus.
God can even use man’s intentional moral evil to result in praise to Him! Psalm 76:10 says that God ‘makes the wrath of men to praise Him.” The Pharaoh of Egypt refused to free the Hebrew slaves, and thus allowed God to work mighty miracles for His people (Exodus 5:1-2 and 11:9). In Acts 16, God used both the evil intentions of men and a natural calamity to bring about the salvation of the Philippian jailer, and the establishment of the church at Philippi. And the Roman persecution and dispersion of the early Christians caused the gospel to be spread throughout the known world!
Living faithfully in the midst of tragic events develops God’s people into mature and disciplined believers. “For a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith…may be proved genuine and may result in praise, honor and glory when our Lord Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:6-7). The tragic events in Joseph’s life were caused by the intentional evil actions of his brothers and Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 37 and 39). Through tragedy and suffering, Joseph learned to trust God more deeply, and to gain great spiritual maturity (Genesis 50:20). Job’s understanding of God grew and his faith matured through the natural disasters that befell him (Job 42:1-5). Martha’s faith and Mary’s trust were strengthened by the tragic death of their brother. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).
Sovereign Control of Tragic Events
Ephesians 1:11 declares that God “works all things after the counsel of His will.” If He works all things according to His will, then He is in purposeful sovereign control of every event - including tragic events. Nothing happens by chance! God has a reason for everything He allows to happen. We may not understand His reasons now, but we may be assured that He has His reasons. Remember that God said, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
While we finite creatures do not understand all of God’s reasons for allowing tragic events, we can be sure of one thing: God’s reasons are good reasons. God is good (Luke 18:19), and God is love (1 John 4:8), and God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). So whether tragic events are God’s judgment or they “just happen,” we know that God is in control and has His reasons.
The Supreme “Tragic Event”
The greatest demonstration of how God caused good to triumph over evil was the tragic event of the Cross. Here God used the intentional moral evil of man and of Satan to backfire into triumph over sin and Satan. At Pentecost, Peter captured the concept concisely when he said, “This Man [Jesus Christ] was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing Him to a cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (Acts 2:23-24).
Notice - even when the intentional evil of man nailed Jesus Christ to the cross, the situation was never out of God’s control. God’s plans were not disrupted by an evil government or the hostility of unbelievers. In fact, the death of Jesus Christ was accomplished according to God’s predetermined plan. God’s ultimate purpose was to conquer death, the penalty for sin. “Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!” (Romans 11:33).
The End of All Tragic Events
Because of the triumph of God’s plan at the cross, tragic events won’t be around forever. When sin and its effects are removed from this universe, tragic events will cease. The creation that “groans” because of sin will no longer produce natural calamities and disaster (Romans 8:18-23). Moral evil will be completely judged and eliminated (Revelation 20:10-15). “God will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
Our present world is subject to the tragic events of natural disasters and intentional moral evil, but God calls us to trust Him and live faithfully in the midst of the sin and suffering. And we look forward to a glorious future when evil will be gone forever - and tragic events will be gone forever!
- Dave Reid