Matthew
11:20-30
“Then began he to upbraid the cities
wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto
thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, 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. But I say unto
you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than
for you.” (Matthew 11:20-22)
Bethsaida
was the home of Philip, Andrew and Peter.
Chorazin was only about three miles away, just north of the Sea of
Galillee. Tyre and Sidon were ancient
Phoenician cities in present day Lebanon.
Baal worship had been their main religion for many years, yet Jesus said
that if the same miracles had been done in Tyre and Sidon as had been done in
Chorazin and Bethsaida, the people would have repented long before.
“And thou, Capernaum, which art
exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works,
which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained
until this day. But I say unto you, That
it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than
for thee.” (Matthew 11:23-24)
Capernaum
had received perhaps more of Christ’s miracles than any other city, they
flocked to bring him sick or crippled and demon possessed people but did not
accept his message. Jesus said that if
the same things had been done in Sodom, the people there would have repented
and the city never have been destroyed.
Sadly, those
who know least about God are often more ready to listen than those who know
most. Nineveh repented at the preaching
of Jonah and Egypt heeded Ezekiel’s warning to surrender to Babylon in 565 BC,
when The Jews refused. As a result, the
prophesied destruction of Nineveh and Egypt did not occur, but the Jews were
killed. People today are no different,
presuming on God’s love and ignoring his righteousness.
“At that time Jesus answered and
said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid
these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy
sight.” (Matthew 11:25-26)
Jesus
thanked God that he had made things so simple even the simplest could
understand them, although those who were more sophisticated and better educated
considered them too simple to be of value.
Those who consider themselves
smarter or better than others seem to believe that if their inferiors can
believe something it must be wrong. God
wanted everyone to be able to understand.
It is not his fault that some think they are too sophisticated to
believe it.
“All things are delivered unto me of
my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man
the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.”
(Matthew 11:27)
Understanding
of who God is or who Jesus is can come only from God. God has revealed those things to Jesus, who
reveals them to others as he sees fit. In
John 6:65, Jesus said, “…Therefore said I
unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my
Father.” According to I Corinthians
2:14, humans are incapable of understanding these things without God’s
intervention. “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for
they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned. As a result,
John 6:44 says “No man can come to me,
except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the
last day.”
No amount of
human explanation or emotional or psychological appeals can produce understanding or salvation. Paul
was concerned that emphasis on these things would produce a false faith based on
human wisdom. In I Corinthians 2:4-5 he
said, “And my speech and my preaching was
not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and
of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the
power of God.” It is troubling that
today so much emphasis is placed on college degrees and motivational speaking.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I
am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30)
Fulfilling the
standards of the Jewish law in order to please God was a burden no sinful human
could ever meet, even when they modified the interpretations to suit
themselves. Human flesh could never
consistently overcome the power of sin.
Fortunately God accounted for that as Romans 8:3-4 t3lls us. “For
what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending
his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the
flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Christ has
done all the hard work for us, and now he just asks us to believe him. While we ought to live according to the
standards God has set, our salvation does not depend on our success. Much of the pressure has been removed.
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