The Cities of Destruction

Introduction

Have you ever heard someone say they don’t believe the Gospel but they agree with the teachings of Jesus? Most likely, they haven’t read all of Christ’s teachings. The same person who said, “do unto others what you would have them do to you,” also said, “But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgement for the land of Sodom than for you.” When speaking of the city Capernaum, a city he had done much of his ministry in and even resided there. How can someone say that they like the teachings of Jesus but don’t follow him, if Jesus pronounces a curse on the people that don’t follow him? This text most prominently calls out the cities that did not believe him, the kind of places where the Disciples were to shake the dust off of their feet. He does not call down hellfire upon them like he did on the day of Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction, but he condemns them, pronounces the verdict and brings down the sentence. Destruction beyond the punishment of Sodom.

What this text gives us is a stern warning on those who have heard the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who have heard the call to a submissive heart and life to him, who have heard the call to a life submissive to the teachings of Christ and to Christ himself as the King proclaiming his Kingdom and have not submitted to that message. His calling was one that blesses the persecuted, the one who puts all his trust in heavenly treasure, who follows a homeless Christ, and who really follow Christ with all their heart and life. May we carefully examine ourselves lest we be numbered among these cities as those who heard and yet did not believe.

The Reason for the Selection of These Cities

What makes these cities worthy of the judgement that Jesus is going to pronounce on them? They were not hubs of wickedness. They were not the centre of sin in the world. This was not Rome or Corinth or many of the pagan cities that were around their world at the time. They were not the most sinful places in the world. They were mostly full of faithfully practicing Jews, many had been baptized by John, and were not involved in large political movements. They are barely noted on any historical record apart from Scripture.

The main reason Jesus mentions these cities is found in examining where we have heard their names before. Jesus lived in Capernaum. Jesus had often been to Bethsaida. He doesn’t merely target these towns alone, but uses them as examples of places where he has been and where the Gospel he preached had not been accepted.

It shows what Jesus puts on the line in this teaching. Jesus didn’t come merely to teach us to love our neighbour and turn the other cheek. He came to establish the true Kingdom of Israel in the hearts of God’s people. Unfortunately, it seemed that God’s chosen people didn’t want to hear it. In fact, Gentiles had more faith than the inhabitants of these cities. The message of the good news of the Kingdom had come to those who claimed to believe in it, who claimed to look forward to it, and it was not welcome when it came.

John 1:11–12 ESV

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

It is clear that the reason Jesus mentions these cities is that they were the places where the Gospel of the Kingdom was preached and yet not accepted. This doesn’t mean they were persecuting Jesus or the disciples, it doesn’t mean they were full of wickedness compared to other cities of the time or compared with other cities today. It is simply that they, the very descendants of Abraham according to the flesh, heard that God had established his Kingdom, they saw the miracles, they heard what was preached, they saw the same prophecies fulfilled that were pointed out to John’s disciples in the previous text, and yet did not believe.

The Comparison of These Cities

The shock of this text is in the comparison of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum to the infamous city of Sodom and the cities of Tyre and Sidon.

Tyre was an ancient city, one of the oldest in the world, that at one time was allied with Israel, but during the Assyrian and Babylonian conquests became enemies of Israel. After that, they are often the target of many judgments by the prophets, especially Ezekiel who prophesied its utter destruction 1900 years before it happened. It was a city known for trade and commerce and was associated with pride, the prince of Tyre even seeing himself as a god. It was also a centre of sexual immorality and all other kinds of wickedness. Oddly enough, it was around this region where Jesus would heal the Syrophonecian woman, proving his point that these cities were more ready to repent and have faith than Israel was.

Sidon is often associated with Tyre in Scripture and was located 35 km up the coast from that city. Sidon was known as a place of idolatry and wickedness, with the evil queen Jezebel being the daughter of the King of Sidon. Many of the gods that Israel would worship in their idolatry throughout the OT were gods specifically worshiped in Sidon, making it likely that Sidon was the corrupting influence to Israel in those times. Thus, it is a place associated with idols and false gods after whom the people of God were led astray.

Not much needs to be said about Sodom. Although there are debates about its actual location, the Biblical story of its destruction stood in the minds of the Israelites as an example of God’s fiery judgement on the wicked. They were known for sexual immorality, especially homosexuality, and pride in their prosperity due to the flourishing vineyards that grew near the city.

All of these cities were filled with Canaanites, enemies of God’s people, idols, immorality, and are all known throughout the OT as places where God’s just judgement either had come or would surely come. They were the places where the prophets had spoken of wrath for their great ungodliness. And yet, Jesus compares these small Jewish towns and concludes that they are worse than the wicked cities of Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom.

The mark of these cities which Jesus decries is given to us in verse 20: they were where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. What this shows us about God is this: God does not judge based on the level of outward depravity, but rather he judges based on the unbelief of people who have witnessed the mighty power of God through Christ.

Do not look for great sinners in the world, the deprived, addicts, people attending pride parades, in the bedrooms of the adulterous, in those who have rejected the truth of Jesus Christ for a false religion. Instead, look at those who sit in Church pews for many years and yet continue to reject the truth that they hear. Look at those who know the Bible backwards and forwards, who can discuss theology, who have witnessed the transformation of many sinners in saints, and yet continues to reject the message of the Kingdom of God. They will not have that Kingdom come into them. They know the Kingdom, they have seen the power of the Kingdom, they may even sit in pews alongside the citizens of the Kingdom, but they refuse to enter the Kingdom themselves. They continue to rebel against the truth in their hearts, they continue to hold onto sin despite the call to repentance. They continue to lean on their own strength or on the strength of others rather than on the strength of God. They continue to delay baptism, commitment to the Church, repentance, and godly living. Many of them profess to know Christ, but they have not come to see Him as their Lord, their King. Rather, they think of God as a fellow ruler, they see themselves as the ruler of the one thing they think God doesn’t have authority over: their own life. They want God’s Kingdom to cover 99.9 percent of all things, but that 0.1 percent is their own life.

It is not enough to know about Christ, you must know Him through child-like faith. Have you humbled yourself and submitted your life to Christ? Here at Faith Baptist we believe in what is called Lordship Salvation. That those whom Jesus saves are under His authority, and all those under His authority are saved. Submitting to the King that has come to save us is how we inherit salvation in Christ.

If we do not submit to Christ, our high amount of knowledge about God and our experiences of his power and glory are held against us as judgement. Their judgement is greater, not because you may go on to do horrible and immoral things, but because you had heard the Gospel, you had seen it’s power in the lives of the saints, in the Lord’s Table, in the Baptism of believers, in the love we have for one another, and you refuse to submit to Christ and follow Him.

The Fate of These Cities

What is the fate for such people, and such cities as these?

First, see Jesus compare what these cities would have done if they had experienced what these Galilean towns had experienced. Tyre and Sidon would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. They would have humbled themselves under such wonder and power shown in the ministry of Jesus Christ. If these things had been done in Sodom, it would have remained to this day, meaning it would have repented and therefore God would have relented his wrath. This shows the deep depravity of the hearts of these Galilean cities. The people in them have committed the greatest sin: hardening their hearts to God. Rejecting the truth of the Gospel. Knowing that the power of God had come and yet refusing to believe.

So as to the punishment of the inhabitants of these cities, in comparison with the infamously wicked cities of the Gentiles, the cities Jesus preached in deserve the greater judgement. There are different measures of punishment, Jesus is clear on this point. On the day of judgement, these cities will have less to answer for and less to suffer for than the cities that didn’t accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God knows the hearts of all people, and he sees the hearts of these Jews as hard beyond repair, whereas even the inhabitants of Sodom were not so depraved in their hearts that they would have rejected the Gospel.

Jesus draws our attention to the day of judgement. This is that day that many of the Jews thought would come with the appearance of the Messiah, and we start to get the NT idea of the already not yet. There are two appearances of the King of God’s people, the first for redemption and the second for judgement. The day of judgement is described in many places throughout the NT, but perhaps the most comprehensive description is found in Rev 20:11-15

Revelation 20:11–15 ESV

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Notice that each are judged according to what they had done. That is, they are judged when their actions are measured against their knowledge. What they knew about God, His law, His nature, and the Gospel of Christ contrasted with how they lived. Those who did evil things but knew little of God’s nature and did not know the Gospel are punished more mildly, but those who did know the Gospel, who knew how to be saved and yet rejected the King of kings receive a greater punishment. The evil of their hearts is shown to be greater, and thus it is clear to us that the greatest sin one can commit is the rejection of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. The rejection of Jesus as the Christ, the rejection of forgiveness from sins in His name, the rejection of the truth of His Word, the rejection of the holiness which the Spirit leads all believers into. In a sense, the sins of a believer are greater than the sins of an unbeliever because we sin with full knowledge of Christ our Lord and Saviour, the world sins without this knowledge. Oh how great it is to know that our sins are forgiven, and how prudent we must be to put what is sinful in us to death, lest we should find ourselves guilty of sins greater than those of Sodom, Tyre, and Sidon.

Conclusion: Which City Are You In?

So the question you must ask yourself is this: which city are you in? Are you in the New Jerusalem, the city of the Eternal God which in this age is called the Church? Have you believed on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins? Have you come through the Baptism waters in faith and do you partake of the feast of the Table in faith? Do you submit yourself to the Lordship of Christ and see everything in your life as belonging to Him? Do you love Him, heart and soul, and follow His will in all your behaviour? Do you earnestly repent of sins, confessing and forsaking them as you seek to walk by the Spirit? Are you in Christ?

Or, do you remain outside the city of God? Are you a member of the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum? Jesus asks whether Capernaum will stand in the heavens, answering His own question by saying that they will be brought down to Hades. This is a recollection of the judgement of Tyre found in Ezekiel 28:17

Ezekiel 28:17 ESV

Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.

Like Tyre, who thought that because of their great wealth they would ascend into heaven but was cast out of God’s sight, the city of Capernaum was proud in their religion but would be thrown down on the day of Judgement because they lacked the wisdom that begins with the fear of God. Are you a member of this city, parading around religious deeds and finding pride in your good works. You come to church regularly, you may even be a member, you love to show others how devoted you are to the Word of God and fill your life with good deeds by which you are pleased to pride yourself as one of God’s best servants. But in your pride, you reject the Lordship of Christ. You hypocritically hide sin or excuse it under a pretense. You do not hunger or thirst for righteousness because you are satisfied with your religious works. You do not mourn over your sin, but rather you see it as not really a big deal and besides your good works outweigh that sin. You know God would have you surrender that one thing in your life you haven’t surrendered to Christ, but you think, “well I’ve submitted 99% of my life to the Lordship of Christ, what does it matter if I keep that 1% to myself?” If your heart is a member of the city of Capernaum, you are a great fool. I’m not saying you are stupid, but you are a fool for rejecting the call of the Kingdom of God in your life. You refuse to submit the knee to Christ and although you have seen the power of God work mightily in the lives of His saints who surround you here in our fellowship, even though Christ dwells among you in the church just as Christ resided in Capernaum, even though you are in the midst of where Jesus does His most mighty works, you refuse to submit completely to the will of God and the Lordship of Christ. I hope this text brings a great fear in you leading to repentance.

Perhaps you are a citizen of Bethsaida, often hearing the Word of God preached, having seen many from among your friends and family repent and come to know Christ just as the citizens saw members of their own cities become Jesus’ disciples, but you refuse to take that step and join in the Kingdom of Christ. Take care, for you are in the city of destruction. You know the things which the Bible speaks are true, but something still holds you back. I warn you that whatever is holding you back will drag you straight to hell so deep that Sodom will seem to be in heaven compared to where you are in the depths of God’s punishment, for you knew and witnessed so much of God’s goodness and the message of his love. You perhaps grew up in the church or else came into contact with the truth, but your heart remains cold towards Jesus and you refuse to worship Him. Let the words of verse 24 be a fearful warning to you that I earnestly hope will bring you to repentance, for time is short. It took 1900 years for Tyre’s judgement to come upon it, but you have no idea how long you have left until you stand before the judgement seat of Christ.

So I earnestly call on all of you today to examine which city you are in, whether you are a member of the city of Zion or of the cities that heard the Word preached, even when those who know less of the Gospel have repented, and refused to acknowledge Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

Soon we will approach the Table of the Lord and in it we find the beautiful message of the Gospel played out. We mourn for and repent of our sins in our hearts, we take the elements and as we take this lowly bread and the unassuming cup our hearts will be transported to the Throne of Grace where we spiritually feed on Christ, since this is the right of the Children of the Kingdom of God. If you do not know Christ, taking of these elements will be a further judgement on you. Instead, carefully examine yourself and be filled with the terror of the one who will judge you based on what you have heard today and know that while God allows breath in your lungs there is grace. You may be welcomed into the city of God, into his Kingdom, today if you will trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and follow Him as your King. My greatest desire this morning is that this warning will not go unheeded, but that it will stir your hearts to repentance and a renewed trust in Christ and desire to follow Him into a Kingdom that will one day be revealed to us, and we will inherit it, for Christ has bought those who trust in Him and allowed them to be called citizens of Heaven.