Luke 13:3

I tell you, Nay; but, except ye repent, ye shall all in like manner perish.

The great truth uttered here, and repeated in the same words two verses later, was for the purpose of removing the false security of his hearers, both Galileans and dwellers in Jerusalem. Israel had rejected God's call to repentance as delivered, first by John the Baptist and again by Jesus Christ; and the impact of this verse is that God rejects the human device of supposing that some are righteous in a relative sense, because they are not like such notorious sinners as the Galileans, and that the Almighty demands repentance of all men.

Shall likewise perish ... This prophecy focuses on the fact that Israel is the primary target of this commandment, although, of course, in the general sense it applies to every man on earth. These words mean that Israel would "perish in the same way that the Galileans did, that is, by the Roman sword."[5] As Wesley said:

And so they did. There was a remarkable resemblance between the fate of these Galileans and of the main body of the Jewish nation ... They were slain by the Roman sword ... perished in the temple itself, and literally buried under its ruins.[6]

However, it is a serious mistake to see God's call to repentance as a directive for Israel alone. Christ was here stimulating "all thoughtful people to repentance facing the prospect of judgment."[7]

[5] J. S. Lamar, The New Testament Commentary, Vol. II (Cincinnati, Ohio: Chase and Hall, 1877), p. 185.

[6] John Wesley, Notes on the New Testament, (Naperville, Illinois: Alec. R. Allenson, Inc., 1950), p. 253.

[7] Ray Summers, op. cit., p. 165.