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MATTHEW - Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand!
A Bible Study Course on the Gospel of Christ according to Matthew
PART 2 - Christ teaches and Ministers in Galilee (Matthew 5:1 - 18:35)
D - The Unbelieving Jews and Their Enmity to Jesus (Matthew 11:2 - 18:35)
1. The Elders of the Jews Reject Christ (Matthew 11:2 - 12:50)

b) Jesus Rebukes the Unbelieving Cities (Matthew 11:20-24)


MATTHEW 11:20-24
20 Then he began to denounce the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they didn’t repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Hades. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, on the day of judgment, than for you.”
(Jonah 3:6, Isaiah 14:13, 15; Luke 10:13-15)

A society may be divided into good people and bad people; notable people and those who stir dissent; sinners and righteous. He who obtains and holds a high level of status or a significant office of leadership deems himself above poor and simple people. Yet Christ, who loves everyone, has a different standard.

In His rebuking of the cities, Jesus teaches us that our standards are wrong in principle. Tyre and Sidon, for example, were two important centers of idolatry. Their professors were proud of their stone idols, and prayed to them, for they did not know the living God. In spite of this ignorance and idolatry, Christ said that the punishment of the people of these two cities will be less than that of the cities and towns that had seen Him and heard His words but did not accept and believe in Him. Rejection of Christ is the greatest sin in the world, because it means rejection of God’s love, grace, salvation, and forgiveness, which leads, in the end, to rejection of the heavenly Father Himself.

All people are, without doubt, corrupt and worthy of destruction, but Christ’s blood cleanses us from all sin, and the Holy Spirit changes the reprobate into a saint. Woe to everyone who neglects God’s grace in Christ, for hell has shown its teeth to all that reject the Son of the Almighty.

The greatest offense at the time of Christ was committed by Capernaum, the city of Christ, where He revealed most of His miracles. The majority of its people did not believe in the Son of God who was in the midst of them. They did not believe in Him though they had seen His incarnate love and heard His powerful words. They did not mourn over their sins, and Christ exposed the hard-heartedness of its people and called them filthier than the Sodomites, who were destroyed with the fire of God’s wrath for their impurity. The eternal Judge Himself had informed the people of Capernaum of their punishment and made it clear to all that unbelief is a greater sin then homosexuality.

The great doctrine preached by John the Baptist, Christ, and the apostles, was repentance. The purpose of repentance, both in the proclamation and in the mourning, was to lead people to change their minds and their ways, to leave their sin and willfully turn to God. In doing this they would not be brought to eternal damnation.

Christ reproved the cities for their many sins so that He might lead them to repentance, but when they did not repent, He rebuked them for their refusal to be healed.

Woe to our cities and peoples if they did not accept Christ in spite of hearing the Word of God through broadcasting, books or testimonies of believers among them. Judgment is nearer to them than they may imagine, and Christ, the eternal Judge is warning you. Have you yielded to Christ’s call to repentance? Are you conscious of your spiritual duties?

PRAYER: Holy Father, We worship You and repent with tears of our wrong deeds. We beg Your pardon for our small and weak faith. Free us from our dullness and sanctify our intents that we may accept Your Son with His salvation, be filled with Your Holy Spirit, and testify openly about the forthcoming judgment so that everyone will repent.

QUESTION:

  1. Why does Christ consider unbelief in Him filthier than the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah?

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