Strangely, there is no other ancient record of this atrocity. Another group had been killed by a falling tower, part of Jerusalem's fortifications near the important water source, the pool of Siloam and its reservoir. Such tragedies would naturally produce great fear among common people. In the simplistic conventions of the times, these incidents would be used by religious leaders to warn the general populace that such events resulted from sin on the part of the victims. Jesus explicitly refuted this traditional belief.
Calamity can happen to anyone, sinner or righteous alike.
As Messiah, Jesus used these incidents to call his fellow Jews to repent and believe in him. He saw disaster ahead for his people. Their only hope was to accept him for who he was and fulfill their historic mission of making God known to the world. In saying this, he clearly challenged the traditional view that the Jews held of their election as God's covenant people. All Jews regarded this divine favor with great pride.