20 Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His
mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you,
Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre
and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable
for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to
heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done
in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more
tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”
Now the cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida were Northern cities of Galilee, Chorazin was located a couple of miles north of Capernaum and was infamous for the quality of it’s grains and wheat which were imported to Jerusalem for the Temple sacrifices there; while it was near Bethsaida that the Lord Jesus fed the five thousand (Luke 9:10-17), as well as healing a blind man there (Mark 8:22). But given the Lord’s Words here there must have been even many more mighty works done in these areas of Galilee as John makes it clear at the end of His Gospel that not every mighty work done by the Lord was recorded for us and so the Lord’s condemnation of them is just, because as He says the ancient pagan cities of Tyre and Sidon if they had seen His mighty works done in them would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes! Therefore, the Lord Jesus says it will be more tolerable in the judgment of Tyre and Sidon than for Chorazin and Bethsaida because they never had the opportunity to see the mighty works of the Lord Jesus Christ as they did. Think then too how we in the Western and “civilized” world have long had God’s Word and Gospel freely available to us all. In print, in media, and now in electronic devices right at our fingertips and yet for all that it largely goes ignored by people seeking to satisfy their souls with vain and empty and often vile things and images which cannot profit or deliver them. There will then be a reckoning for all the opportunities that we all have had to repent and believe and yet failed to respond to God too when He called us back to Himself. Having then addressed Chorazin and Bethsaida the Lord Jesus turns His denunciation to Capernaum, the largest and most influential city of Northern Galilee. “And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.” Vs. 23-24 Now Capernaum was the place where Jesus centred His ministry after His rejection from His hometown in Nazareth and so it was in and Capernaum that Jesus healed the centurions servant (Matt. 8:5-13), and the paralyzed man who was lowered down to Him by his four friends (Mark 2:1-12), also Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law when she was sick (Matt. 8:14-15), and the nobleman’s son (John 4:46-54). Not to mention it was near Capernaum that the Lord Jesus gave His bread of life sermon after feeding the five thousand in the wilderness. And so, Capernaum and the citizens of it was a city that had ample of opportunities to repent. And yet for all that the Lord Jesus did and preached there they were unmoved. Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ says that even Sodom that wicked ancient city that God destroyed along with Gomorrah with fire and brimstone will find it more tolerable on the Day of Judgment than Capernaum, because if the Lord Jesus had done His mighty works in it, it would’ve so moved them that it would’ve remained until this day! How about you will you be moved out of your sins and complacency to repent and to seek the Lord while He may be found so that you may salvation for yourself (Isaiah 55:6), or will you be like they were unmoved and unbelieving until God’s wrath comes. Don’t be that way! Instead consider everything the Lord Jesus Christ does and says and then by faith ask Him for salvation, seek Him for all that you need, for all who ask receive and all who seek Him will find Him (Matt. 7:7).
Commentary
In this "modern" and "civilized" and "enlightened" world where repentance
from what God calls and condemns as sin is often viewed as evil, The Lord Jesus Christ’s Warning here
needs to be heeded by us all who do fear God, because God reserves His wrath for those who
don’t repent and believe! Now the cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida were Northern cities of Galilee, Chorazin was located a couple of miles north of Capernaum and was infamous for the quality of it’s grains and wheat which were imported to Jerusalem for the Temple sacrifices there; while it was near Bethsaida that the Lord Jesus fed the five thousand (Luke 9:10-17), as well as healing a blind man there (Mark 8:22). But given the Lord’s Words here there must have been even many more mighty works done in these areas of Galilee as John makes it clear at the end of His Gospel that not every mighty work done by the Lord was recorded for us and so the Lord’s condemnation of them is just, because as He says the ancient pagan cities of Tyre and Sidon if they had seen His mighty works done in them would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes! Therefore, the Lord Jesus says it will be more tolerable in the judgment of Tyre and Sidon than for Chorazin and Bethsaida because they never had the opportunity to see the mighty works of the Lord Jesus Christ as they did. Think then too how we in the Western and “civilized” world have long had God’s Word and Gospel freely available to us all. In print, in media, and now in electronic devices right at our fingertips and yet for all that it largely goes ignored by people seeking to satisfy their souls with vain and empty and often vile things and images which cannot profit or deliver them. There will then be a reckoning for all the opportunities that we all have had to repent and believe and yet failed to respond to God too when He called us back to Himself. Having then addressed Chorazin and Bethsaida the Lord Jesus turns His denunciation to Capernaum, the largest and most influential city of Northern Galilee. “And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.” Vs. 23-24 Now Capernaum was the place where Jesus centred His ministry after His rejection from His hometown in Nazareth and so it was in and Capernaum that Jesus healed the centurions servant (Matt. 8:5-13), and the paralyzed man who was lowered down to Him by his four friends (Mark 2:1-12), also Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law when she was sick (Matt. 8:14-15), and the nobleman’s son (John 4:46-54). Not to mention it was near Capernaum that the Lord Jesus gave His bread of life sermon after feeding the five thousand in the wilderness. And so, Capernaum and the citizens of it was a city that had ample of opportunities to repent. And yet for all that the Lord Jesus did and preached there they were unmoved. Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ says that even Sodom that wicked ancient city that God destroyed along with Gomorrah with fire and brimstone will find it more tolerable on the Day of Judgment than Capernaum, because if the Lord Jesus had done His mighty works in it, it would’ve so moved them that it would’ve remained until this day! How about you will you be moved out of your sins and complacency to repent and to seek the Lord while He may be found so that you may salvation for yourself (Isaiah 55:6), or will you be like they were unmoved and unbelieving until God’s wrath comes. Don’t be that way! Instead consider everything the Lord Jesus Christ does and says and then by faith ask Him for salvation, seek Him for all that you need, for all who ask receive and all who seek Him will find Him (Matt. 7:7).
Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
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