Did Jesus believe in karma? In Luke 13, Jesus responds to two tragic current events and challenges a deeply human assumption: that bad things happen to bad people while good things happen to good people.

When Jesus hears that Pilate had killed a group of Galileans while they were offering sacrifices at the Temple, he asks a surprising question: Were those people worse sinners than everyone else? His answer is clear—no. He then points to another tragedy, the collapse of the tower of Siloam that killed eighteen people, and makes the same point again.

Jesus rejects the idea that suffering is always a direct punishment for personal sin. We naturally want life to operate like a simple spiritual transaction: do good and good things happen; do bad and suffering follows. That idea shows up in traditional concepts of karma, in the assumptions of Jesus’ disciples, and even in some modern forms of the prosperity gospel.

But Jesus teaches something very different.

We can’t measure our sinfulness by triumphs and tragedies. Suffering does not necessarily mean someone is being punished by God, and prosperity does not necessarily mean someone has earned God’s favor. Comparing ourselves horizontally to other people will always give us the wrong picture. Instead, Scripture calls us to measure ourselves vertically against the perfect righteousness of God.

That leads to Jesus’ uncomfortable conclusion: none of us can claim moral superiority. We are all sinners in need of repentance. The real question isn’t why tragedy happened to someone else, but whether we ourselves are ready to turn to God.

And that’s where the gospel gives us something far better than karma.

Under the myth of karma, every person ultimately carries the weight of his or her own spiritual debt. The gospel says we could never pay that debt ourselves, so Jesus paid it for us. Romans 5:8 says that God demonstrated his love by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

In this episode, we unpack Luke 13:1-5, the biblical difference between karma and the gospel, why suffering isn’t a reliable measure of someone’s spiritual condition, and what Jesus really meant when he said, “Unless you repent, you will perish, too.”

Key Takeaways:

• We can’t measure our sinfulness by triumphs and tragedies.
• Bad things happening to someone does not mean they are worse sinners.
• Wealth and success are not proof of God’s favor.
• Every person falls short when measured against God’s righteousness.
• Jesus offers something better than karma: forgiveness and grace through the cross.
• The proper response to our sin is repentance and faith in Jesus.