HOST: Ron House
SPONSOR: Start2Finish
Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”
While we do not know a great deal about Jesus’ activities in these towns, especially Chorazin and Bethsaida, there are two things that we can know for sure from this text: 1) Jesus had performed many great works in those places as a testament to His identity and power, and 2) Despite those works, these cities had remained hard-hearted and unrepentant, rejecting Jesus as the Son of God. The cities mentioned in comparison to those that Jesus had spent time in were among the most wicked and reviled of the Old Testament—cities filled with idol worship, immorality and ungodliness. But Jesus makes the cutting remark that, if those cities had been witness to His mighty works, they would have repented. These cities in which Jesus did much of His ministering work had been blessed with a great advantage and opportunity. They had been eyewitnesses to the power of God and had heard first-hand the truth from the Master Teacher. They were without excuse for not receiving Him and following Him. Much the same can be said of us. Christ has been revealed to us through God’s holy Word in such a way that we are also without excuse if we fail to come to Him!
Why do you think so many refuse to believe in Jesus?
Don’t forget to pray and have a great day!
