Luke 13:1

παρῆσαν … ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ καιρῷ. ‘There arrived at that very season.’ The curious phrase (comp. Luke 12:12) seems to imply that they had come on purpose to announce this catastrophe. Hence some have supposed that they wished to kindle in the mind of Jesus as a Galilaean (Luke 23:5) a spirit of Messianic retribution (Jos. Antt. XVII. 9, § 3). But Christ’s answer rather proves that they were connecting the sad death of these Galilaeans with their imaginary crimes. They were not calling His attention to them as martyrs, but as supposed victims of divine anger. Their report indicates a sort of pleasure in recounting the misfortunes of others (ἐπιχαιρεκακία). But Jesus teaches ‘the Pharisaic heart’ that the agonies and misfortunes which fall on others should be the source not of proud self-satisfaction but of contrite humility, and that they are a σημεῖον τῶν καιρῶν which they failed to read.

τῶν Γαλιλαίων. Galilaeans regularly attended the Jewish feasts at Jerusalem, John 4:45.

ὧν τὸ αἷμα Πιλάτος ἔμιξεν μετὰ τῶν θυσιῶν αὐτῶν. This may be a brachylogy for μετὰ τοῦ αἴματος τῶν θυσιῶν. The catastrophe may have occurred at some Passover riot, during which the Roman soldiers had hurried down from Fort Antonia. This incident, which was peculiarly horrible to Jewish imaginations, often happened during the turbulent administration of Pilate and the Romans; see on Luke 23:1; Acts 21:34. At one Passover, “during the sacrifices” 3000 Jews had been massacred “like victims,” and “the Temple courts filled with dead bodies” (Jos. Antt. XVII. 9, § 3); and at another Passover, no less than 20,000 had perished (id. XX. 5, § 3; see also B. J. II. 5, Luke 13:1). Early in his administration Pilate had sent disguised soldiers with daggers among the crowd (id. XVIII. 3, § 1; B. J. II. 9, § 4). The special massacre here alluded to was too insignificant to be specially recorded by Josephus; but in the fact that the victims in this instance were Galilaeans, we may perhaps see a reason for the “enmity” between Pilate and Herod Antipas (Luke 23:12).