They must have done terrible things in their lives to bring about such a disaster. Jesus tells a story that brings it closer to home for them, a local story. During the construction of the pool at Siloam there is a terrible disaster. Eighteen of the construction workers are killed when a wall collapses on them. The story has naturally created a sensation.
People are outraged.
After all, these were people just like them, upstanding citizens of Galilee. He sat there with me in church just last week. There is a tendency when terrible things happen in a community to lay blame. We either blame the victim, or we blame God. Jesus asks them to consider the possibility that the whole of society is responsible for what happened.