When Bad Things Happen to Good People was popular because it flatters a self-pitying narcissistic generation. For us, any suffering is unfair. Any tragedy is undeserved because a long time ago we quit trusting the God whose presence makes all suffering and tragedy bearable. Probably for no good reason. Maybe just being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Truth is, bad things happen to both good and bad all the time.
But the notion that good things happen to good people was laid to rest for all time when they nailed Jesus to the cross. Jesus is the one who wants to know if we can love God without linking our love to the cards life has dealt to us. They want to connect tragedy with ideology. Jesus wants to talk about repentance and theology. Their question is an attempt to take Jesus someplace he isn t willing to go.