Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Politics and Religion
The Tower of Siloam: Jesus, Injustice, and Insurrection

The Tower of Siloam: Jesus, Injustice, and Insurrection

Last updated on: March 20, 2025 at 9:21 am by Herb Montgomery

The Tower of Siloam: Jesus, Injustice, and Insurrection 2025-03-20T09:21:23-04:00 Herb Montgomery

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Tower

What we do know is that Luke’s Jesus connects the falling of this tower to the insurrection named in Galilee for some reason. | Image courtesy of Canva

The Tower of Siloam

The second case in this passage is about Judea, specifically Jerusalem and the tower of Siloam. This example is much more cryptic. We have no historical accounts about the falling of this tower, but do know that it was connected to aqueducts that fed the pool of Siloam (John 9:7). We also know that there were many Roman soldiers stationed in Jerusalem at that time. Were the people the tower fell on using the aqueducts to stage a rebellion? We know that some insurrectionists tried to use the aqueducts that way during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Or was the tower a storage place for military weapons? Was this case another insurrection gone horribly wrong with the tower collapsing on top of them? Honestly, we do not know, we may never know, and I’m always reluctant to make arguments from silence. What we do know is that Luke’s Jesus connects the falling of this tower to the insurrection named in Galilee for some reason. The tower in Siloam was connected thematically somehow.

Part 2 of Social Repentance Not Private Piety

Welcome Readers! Please subscribe to Social Jesus Here.

(Read this series from its beginning here.)

In the wake of every insurrectionist attempt, Rome’s propaganda machine was quick to defend the Pax Romana. It always presented a narrative where those slaughtered were enemies of the republic. Their death was necessary and a brutal warning to anyone considering the same.

Poor People’s Revolt

This may be why Jesus asks whether the people who died were really worse “sinners?” No, he explains. They were just like everyone else. They simply had had enough and were attempting to liberate themselves from oppression. They were just as innocent as others Rome had massacred. But then Jesus turns the focus back on those raising the examples.

Rome’s violence was indiscriminate. Rome could and would to do the same to others, to them, unless they made a social course correction. Remember, Luke was written after the events of 70 C.E. It was an effort to explain how things could have escalated to such deep levels of devastation for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Luke is working backward in this passage. Rome razed the Temple to the ground in 70 C.E. in response to the Jewish-Roman War (66-69 C.E.). The Jewish-Roman war had evolved out of the success of the Poor People’s Revolt in Jerusalem in the late 60s, and the Poor People’s Revolt was a response to the systemic economic exploitation that Jesus called the elites of his day to repent of.

The point of all of this is that simply that systems of injustice are never sustainable for the long term. At some point, there is whiplash and too often that whiplash is violent and innocent people suffer as a result.

How might this apply to us today? We’ll consider that in Part 3.

Are you receiving all of RHM’s free resources each week?

Begin each day being inspired toward love, compassion, justice and action. Free.

General Christian

Politics and Religion

About Herb Montgomery

Herb Montgomery, director of Renewed Heart Ministries, is an author and adult religious re-educator helping Christians explore the intersection of their faith with love, compassion, action, and societal justice. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

March 18, 2025

Social Repentance: Jesus' Call Beyond Private Piety

Next Post

March 20, 2025 When Repentance Means Changing the System, Thoughts For Lent

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Ableism Abolition Advent Anti Semitism Christianity Christmas Climate Justice Criminal Justice Democracy Disability Justice Distributive Justice Easter Economic Justice Environmental Justice Equity Feminism Government Immigration Justice Indigenous Justice Interfaith Law and Order LGBTQ Affirmation Liberation Theology Migrant Justice Myth of Redemptive Suffering Nonviolence Prayer Racial Justice Reparation Resistance Resurrection Social Gospel Social Justice Survival Uncategorized Womanism

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did the Israelites eat in the wilderness?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Manna Honey and milk Bread and fish Grapes and figs