JESUS PRONOUNCES WOES UPON CITIES

Matt. 11:20-24

Morning Meditation 10/5/16

Verses 20-24 say, “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. 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.”

On our trip to the Holy Land, one of the places we visited was the ancient city of Chorazin. Rather, the remains of that city. Our guide, Avi, told us that Jesus cursed this city and it has never been rebuilt. The rocks and ruins tell the story of past economic boom and fluency. But something happened. One might say that it was destroyed as a result of ancient invaders. This would only be partially true. The root problem was their rejection of Christ and His message.

Let’s look at the context of Jesus’ woes. He had given what is called a limited commission. First, He called His disciples to Him in chapter 10 and verse 1. In verses 2-4 He gives the names of the Apostles. Next He limits where they will be going. He says in verses 5-6, “. . . Go not in the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Israel must hear first. Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” The words “to the Jew first” is not stating a priority but history. The gospel came to the Jew first. He rejected it, and the Jews are not necessarily to hear the gospel first today. The middle wall of partition has been taken down (Eph. 2). There is no difference in Jew or Gentile in this church age. The Jew is still His people and He will save the NATION ultimately. But any Christ rejecting Jew will be eternally lost just like Christ rejecting Gentiles. This is the reason Jesus limits the commission to the twelve at this time. Historically, the Jew received the gospel first.

Jesus told the Twelve, “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of God is at hand” (vs 7). The words “is at hand” translate “eggizo” and means “to draw near, to approach.” It is a perfect active indicative verb. The perfect tense is completed action in the past with the result that it is still true. To me this means one of two things, maybe both. John introduced the kingdom and it began with Him. Luke 16:16 says, “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it” This verse definitely tells us that the law and the prophets were UNTIL John. Then it says, “since that time the kingdom of God is preached.” So the perfect tense means that the kingdom age began in the past with the result that it stood pleading to be accepted. The second thing is that the laws of the kingdom began in the past from the standpoint of where and when Jesus was speaking at the time and He was drawing attention to the manifestation of the kingdom age in operation at the time.. We know that the kingdom age that was promised to the Old Testament Jew is still to come. It has not taken place yet. But it is because of the Jew’s rejection of Jesus as their Messiah that there has been this long wait and chastisement. The spiritual aspect of the kingdom has been in effect since John the Baptist (Luke 16:16). This kingdom is entered by faith in Christ and no other way (John 14:6).

Then Jesus gives the Twelve the power to work authenticating miracles. The miracles that He gave them power to work are named in verse 8. They had a message and they had power to heal the terminally ill, raise the dead and do all kinds of miracles. These things caused people to listen. But in spite of the miracles, they rejected the message. This brings us to the woes Jesus pronounced upon Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. And what reason did Jesus give for these woes? Verse 29 says, “. . . because they repented not.” Repentance is a willingness to come back under the authority of the throne. Repentance means I accept what God says about me, the world, and everything in life. Even when what He says condemns me. It is seeing me through His eyes. It is a willingness to accept His remedy for the condemnation I feel because I have just changed my mind and accepted His views (His Word). The repentance that Jesus and His Apostles preached is no different for us today. Those so called scholars who come along and make Jesus’ message of repentance different than the one that is to be preached today are brain dead. In this age of apostasy, there are those who deny the need of repentance as a condition to salvation. They suggest that repentance is a work and that it in effect perverts the gospel, and those who claim to have repented are not really saved because they did not exercise “faith alone.”

Chorazin is in ruins and under a curse today because they refused to repent and receive Christ as the true Messiah. God hasn’t changed His mind about the unrepentant. Salvation is not putting a new patch on an old garment. It is creating a new garment (the new birth). It is not fixing the old. It is making all things new (2 Cor. 5:17). Jesus is not just a crutch that helps you limp your way to heaven. He is the SHIP on which you ride. He is the sole responsible and willing One to get you there. But He WILL NOT TAKE YOU IF YOU ARE UNWILLING TO CHANGE YOUR MIND. Unsaved people are wrong. God is right. How can the wrong and right get together. Do you think God will compromise? He doesn’t have to change and won’t. He is not in need of a change. I am the one who has to agree to a change. He will change me but I must be willing. That is what repentance is. It is seeing myself as God sees me. It is seeing that I cannot change myself. It is impossible. It is a willingness to let Him save me by His grace and humbly accept by faith His Son and my Saviour. It is a willingness to live in faith, that what He has promised, He is also able to preform. Amen, amen and amen!

As I stood and looked at the ruins of this ancient city, I thought, it didn’t have to end this way. These people could have repented and received Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Had they done this, the story would have ended differently. And one of these days, men will stand before God to be condemned to hell eternally (Rev. 20:15). We will watch this scene and we will say in that day, “It didn’t have to end this way.” No one has been elected to damnation. “God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Jesus is loving and willing. He sent the Twelve on this limited commission because He love the Jewish people. He knew something they didn’t. But they were unwilling to change. At the close of His earthly ministry, before He went back to heaven, He gave an unlimited commission to His local church. It is the same message of repentance and faith in what He did for the world on the cross. It is a message of grace. It is a saving and transforming message. It carries with it the same solemn responsibility. If one receives it by faith, his whole world will change along with his final destiny. But I must also add. Those who reject Him and His message are under the same woe that He gave to Chorazin.

May God enlighten and encourage our hearts with these worlds.

In Christ

Bro. White