{"id":1591,"date":"2015-11-16T11:34:11","date_gmt":"2015-11-16T17:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/focuspressblog.com\/?p=1591"},"modified":"2015-11-16T11:34:11","modified_gmt":"2015-11-16T17:34:11","slug":"jesus-response-to-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2015\/11\/16\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus&#8217; Response to Tragedy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">As bullets ring out and bombs go off, whether it be in Paris or an American school, our nation temporarily pauses as we tune in for details, and share our emotions on social media. Twitter and Facebook light\u00a0up with Christians arguing for a response that fits their political worldview. Some make strong statements about defending our borders or defending our families. Others turn toward a more pacifist or libertarian response, as they point out the government is not the answer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Oftentimes, in the heat of emotion, we neglect the one response that Christians should constantly turn to\u2014what does God\u2019s inspired Word say on the matter? The Bible is the source for all Truth (John 17:17; Psalm 119:160), so what does the Bible have to say about such tragedies?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">We arrogantly believe that we are the first one\u2019s to experience such tragedies\u2014and that somehow our tragedies are worse than all that have come before. This humanistic\/narcissistic response is expected from a generation that proudly wears t-shirts declaring that \u201cIt\u2019s all about me.\u201d But the reality is tragedies have been present since Eve made the decision to eat of the fruit in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3).<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">During the time Jesus walked the earth there were tragedies just like we experience today. Now there were no 24\/7 news agencies to cover the events like we have today, but these events were still well-known enough that all Jesus had to do was reference them to His listeners:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span class=\"s1\">There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, \u201cDo you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all <i>other<\/i> Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all <i>other<\/i> men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.\u201d (Luke 13:1-5).<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Jesus\u2019 response was not necessarily what many might expect. He did not spend hours and hours in sympathy, discussing the virtues of those who were tragically killed. He did not spend hours eviscerating Pilate and his wicked actions. Instead, Jesus reminded those around Him that the victims had not suffered this evil and suffering because of something they did\u2014but rather because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But notice where Jesus did focus His energy. In both instances above He reminded His listens to repent\u2014to get their lives right.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">If we were to strip Jesus\u2019 name from that response and simply say that a \u201cChristian\u2019s\u201d response was that people should repent, we would quickly be labeled as cold-hearted or judgmental. However, nothing could be further from the truth in the case of Jesus. Jesus cared so much about people\u2019s souls that He wanted to make sure they were prepared to meet His Father. Jesus\u2019 message was one of repentance\u2014changing one\u2019s life to walk in accordance with God!<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Some have seen the horrible images of blood spread all over the floor of the theater in Paris. Sadly, this will not be the last time blood is spilt and lives are cut short. But thankfully, there was blood shed roughly 2000 years ago that gives everyone hope.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">While much energy will be expended on how we stop the shooters, maybe we should redirect our attention on the souls of those in Paris (or wherever tragedy strikes), and instead demonstrate the love and concern Jesus had for souls. What this world desperately needs is not a solution to guns or fighting, but it needs the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ\u2014both the victims and the shooters. For without that blood that was shed no one would have hope.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>By Brad Harrub, Ph.D.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As bullets ring out and bombs go off, whether it be in Paris or an American school, our nation temporarily pauses as we tune in for details, and share our emotions on social media. Twitter and Facebook light\u00a0up with Christians arguing for a response that fits their political worldview. Some make strong statements about defending [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1592,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,35],"tags":[720,145,24,721,722,723],"class_list":["post-1591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-culture","tag-bombing","tag-brad","tag-jesus","tag-paris","tag-shooting","tag-tragedy","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Jesus&#039; Response to Tragedy - Focus Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2015\/11\/16\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jesus&#039; Response to Tragedy - Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As bullets ring out and bombs go off, whether it be in Paris or an American school, our nation temporarily pauses as we tune in for details, and share our emotions on social media. Twitter and Facebook light\u00a0up with Christians arguing for a response that fits their political worldview. Some make strong statements about defending [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2015\/11\/16\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-11-16T17:34:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/iStock_000064063783_Small-e1447695232814.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"402\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"focus\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"focus\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/16\\\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/16\\\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"focus\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13\"},\"headline\":\"Jesus&#8217; Response to Tragedy\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-11-16T17:34:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/16\\\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":664,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/16\\\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/iStock_000064063783_Small-e1447695232814.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Bombing\",\"Brad\",\"Jesus\",\"Paris\",\"Shooting\",\"Tragedy\"],\"articleSection\":[\"All\",\"Culture\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/16\\\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/16\\\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\\\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus' Response to Tragedy - Focus Press\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/16\\\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/16\\\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/iStock_000064063783_Small-e1447695232814.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-11-16T17:34:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/16\\\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/16\\\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/16\\\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/iStock_000064063783_Small-e1447695232814.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/iStock_000064063783_Small-e1447695232814.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":402},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/16\\\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Jesus&#8217; Response to Tragedy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/\",\"name\":\"Focus Press\",\"description\":\"Renew Your Mind\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13\",\"name\":\"focus\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"focus\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/author\\\/focus\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Jesus' Response to Tragedy - Focus Press","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2015\/11\/16\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Jesus' Response to Tragedy - Focus Press","og_description":"As bullets ring out and bombs go off, whether it be in Paris or an American school, our nation temporarily pauses as we tune in for details, and share our emotions on social media. Twitter and Facebook light\u00a0up with Christians arguing for a response that fits their political worldview. Some make strong statements about defending [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2015\/11\/16\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\/","og_site_name":"Focus Press","article_published_time":"2015-11-16T17:34:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":402,"url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/iStock_000064063783_Small-e1447695232814.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"focus","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"focus","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2015\/11\/16\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2015\/11\/16\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\/"},"author":{"name":"focus","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#\/schema\/person\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13"},"headline":"Jesus&#8217; Response to Tragedy","datePublished":"2015-11-16T17:34:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2015\/11\/16\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\/"},"wordCount":664,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2015\/11\/16\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/iStock_000064063783_Small-e1447695232814.jpg","keywords":["Bombing","Brad","Jesus","Paris","Shooting","Tragedy"],"articleSection":["All","Culture"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2015\/11\/16\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\/","url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2015\/11\/16\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\/","name":"Jesus' Response to Tragedy - Focus Press","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2015\/11\/16\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2015\/11\/16\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/iStock_000064063783_Small-e1447695232814.jpg","datePublished":"2015-11-16T17:34:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#\/schema\/person\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2015\/11\/16\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2015\/11\/16\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2015\/11\/16\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/iStock_000064063783_Small-e1447695232814.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/iStock_000064063783_Small-e1447695232814.jpg","width":600,"height":402},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2015\/11\/16\/jesus-response-to-tragedy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Jesus&#8217; Response to Tragedy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/","name":"Focus Press","description":"Renew Your Mind","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#\/schema\/person\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13","name":"focus","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"focus"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus"],"url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/author\/focus\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/iStock_000064063783_Small-e1447695232814.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}