2,14, Experience without Repentance--Matthew 11:20-24

Experience without repentance

is of little value

In Matthew 11, Jesus conducts a tour of the towns of Galilee. John the Baptist, who is imprisoned, sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus whether He is indeed the Messiah (Matt 11:3). Jesus responds by recounting the deeds and message of His recent tour: the blind received sight, there were other healings, and the gospel was preached. Jesus continues speaking to the crowd to extol the virtues and ministry of John the Baptist, seemingly to counteract John’s questioning and apparent lack of faith.

This theme of faithlessness is continued as Jesus begins to scold the residents of some Galilean villages for their lack of proper response to His ministry and message. Jesus compares Chorazin and Bethsaida to the non-Jewish Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon. He also compares the village of Capernaum to the notorious city of Sodom. Jesus declares that if the miracles done in the Galilean villages had been done in Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom, the residents of these cities would have responded with proper repentance.

Capernaum, Chorazin and Bethsaida formed what is called the “Evangelical Triangle, the small area where most of Jesus’ miracles were displayed.

Capernaum, Chorazin and Bethsaida

Capernaum

“Woe unto thee Chorazin”

A Furnace of smoke— a city that Christ denounced.

Jesus scolds the inhabitants of Chorazin for their failure to repent despite the miracles done in these villages (Matt 11:21; Luke 10:13). Also referred to as

Chorazin is located 2.5 miles north of the Mount of Beatitudes—it is where Jesus lived after He left Nazareth.

Chorazin is mentioned only twice in the New Testament (Matt 11:21 and Luke 10:13)—both times it concerns the curse Jesus placed on it.

The Babylonian Talmud mentions Chorazin as a source of wheat that would be suitable for Jerusalem temple offerings. This indicates that Chorazin may have been primarily a farming community—different than the lakeside villages of Bethsaida and Capernaum.

Other evidence also suggests Chorazin was a prosperous city. It was likely located a little over two miles from the north shore of the Sea of Galilee and the village of Capernaum. Remains of a synagogue, probably from the 4th century ad, include a carved seat with an inscription, an example of a “Moses’ seat” (Mt 23:2).

NOTE—place where Jesus lived

—place of miracles

—place where resources were grown to be used as temple offerings

Woe unto thee BETHSAIDA

Bethsaida- “house of fishing”. A fishing village located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The hometown of the disciples Philip, Andrew, and Peter. (John 1:44)

—The Gospels mention the town of Bethsaida by name seven times (Matt 11:21; Mark 6:45; 8:22; Luke 9:10; 10:13; John 1:44; 12:21).

— Three of Jesus’ disciples, fishermen by trade, were from Bethsaida. For example: “Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter” (John 1:44.

Jesus performed several miracles in Bethsaida, including:

• Feeding the 5,000 (Luke 9:10–17);

• Healing a blind man (Mark 8:22–26);

• Walking on water (Mark 6:45–51).

— The Gospels portray the townspeople as fickle and narcissistic; although they saw Jesus’ miracles and received His blessings, most people did not believe in Him (Matt 11:14–24).

The “House of the Fisherman” produced a large number of fishing-related items. These included several different types of lead fishing weights, iron fishing hooks, large bronze and iron needles for repairing nets or sails, basalt fishing net weights, and basalt anchors (Fortner, “Fishing Implements,” 269).

The “Woe” in this scripture represents “denunciation”! The inhabitants of Chorazin and Bethsaida had personally witnessed Jesus miracles and everyone knew about His mighty works.

BUT,

The number who responded in faith was small.

When people have the opportunity to hear God’s Word, even see it demonstrated, guilt for rejection is great!

Hebrews 10:26-27

Jesus’s marvelous works, His miracles, should have shaken the foundation of every Jew and Gentile, but most Galileans didn’t respond to Christ at all, much less repent!

“Tyre and Sidon”

—Vs 21-22—

they epitomized pagan, Gentile corruption and worthlessness. The people in those cities were descendants of the ancient Phonecians, renowned seafaring merchants and colonizers of the Mediterranean.

Both cities were seaports, noted for their immorality and godlessness, deeply involved in Baal worship.

Immorality, godlessness and Baal worship

In Ezekiel 28:11-15, a certain king of Tyre was so proud and evil that Ezekiel used him as a picture of Satan.

The city’s violence, profanity, pride, injustice, greed and immorality were so excessive that the Lord destroyed it.

Yet, they would have REPENTED long ago in sackcloth and ashes, Jesus said, if they had had the privileges of Chorazin and Bethsaida.

The self-righteous, traditional religion of Galilean Jews blinded them more to God than the heathen religions did the Gentiles of Tyre and Sidon.

Vs22—Imagine hearing those words—At the great white throne judgement, the dead of all the ages will be brought before the throne of God to be judged and sentenced to eternal punishment—the unbelieving Gentiles of Tyre and Sidon will fare better than the unbelieving Jews of Chorazin and Bethsaida.

NOTE—

—There will be degrees of punishment in hell

—those who will receive the harder punishment will be those who have received the divine revelation of God and been the most religious and outwardly upright.

And thou CAPERNAUM

Capernaum means “the house (or, town) of Nahum”; however, the identity of this Nahum is unknown.

-Capernaum is recognized as “Jesus own city” (Matt 9:1)

In New Testament times, Capernaum was a center of commerce. Fishing and trade were important, and the town was a Roman tax polling station.

In comparison to the neighboring city of Magdala, Capernaum was very small, but it was a vibrant community on the northern edge of the lake on the international highway to Damascus.

The Gospels reference Capernaum 16 times, but it is not mentioned in the rest of the New Testament. The Gospels also speak of Jesus’ mother having been in Capernaum (John 2:12), and Matt 17:24–27 demonstrates that, as a good citizen of the town, Jesus paid the temple-tax there.

The lake on which Capernaum was built has four different names in the Bible:

1. Sea of Chinnereth (Num 34:11; Josh 12:3; 13:27)

2. Sea of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1; Josephus, Antiquities 13)

3. Sea of Tiberias (John 6:1; 21:1)

4. Sea of Galilee (Matt 4:18)

When Capernaum is mentioned in the New Testament, it is often in conjunction with the Sea of Galilee (Matt 4:13–22; 8:5–24, Mark 1:16–21; John 6:17, 24).

Although not as prominent as the city of Jerusalem in the Gospels, Capernaum looms large in the events of the upper Galilee region.

In Capernaum,

—Jesus called Matthew as a disciple. The Gospel of Matthew also shows that other tax collectors were at least temporarily stationed in Capernaum: (Matt 17:24 NASB).

—That a ruling Roman official lived in the city is seen in Matt 9:1, 18. (came into His(Jesus) own city—Capernaum)

—Capernaum was also known as a bustling fishing center (Matt 4:18–22). Jesus is seen often in the Gospels in connection with the sea, boats, and fishermen, and

—Capernaum is the primary location for this connection in the Gospels.

Jesus’ Ministry

According to Matthew 4, Jesus went to the town of Capernaum after the initial threat on His life made by the people from his hometown of Nazareth threatened him (Matt 4:12–13; Luke 4:31).

Jesus ministered in the area of Capernaum for a while. He taught many times in the synagogue, and it was here He proclaimed Himself to be “the living bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:26–59).

Additionally, Jesus preached the following sermons while in Capernaum:

•Teaching on humility, stumbling blocks, relationships, and forgiveness (Matt 18)

•Exorcism and healing (Matt 8:5–13; Mark 2:1–12; and John 4:46–54)

-Jesus also predicted the ruining of the city (Matt 11:23–24; Luke 10:15)

- In Capernaum, Peter, Andrew, James, and John, who were fishermen, joined Jesus as his disciples; Matthew, who was a tax collector, also joined him.

Calling the Disciples

-The Apostle Peter, his brother Andrew, and the disciple Philip were originally from the neighboring village of Bethsaida. By the time Jesus moved to Capernaum, Peter and Andrew were already living there.

Healings/Miracles

Jesus performed the following miracles in Capernaum:

• Healed Jairus’ Daughter (Matt 9:18–26; Mark 5:21–43; Luke 8:41–56)

• Caught a miraculous amount of fish (John 21:4–14)—not able to draw them in.

• Healed a demon possessed man (Mark 1:21–28)

• Healed Peter’s mother-in-law (Matt 8:14–15)—she was sick with fever

• Healed a paralytic (Matt 9:2–8; Mark 2:1–12; Luke 5:17–20)

• Healed the centurion’s servant (Matt 8:5–13; Luke 7:1–10)

• Healed the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:21–43)

The man with the paralyzed hand was likely also healed at Capernaum (Mark 3:1–6).

Vs23—All of the above had little impact on most citizens of Capernaum—and because of their indifference, they would not be exalted to heaven but rather brought down to hell—the place of eternal punishment for the unsaved.

Jesus went on to say that the miracles He performed in Capernaum, were so amazing that had they occurred in Sodom—it would have remained. Its people would have repented of their sins, turned to God and been spared destruction.

Sodom-a synonym for “moral depravity”- infamous distinction of lending its name (sodomy) to the most extreme forms of homosexuality and sexual bestality. When a group of Sodom’s worst perverts tried to rape the angels at Lots house, they were struck blind.

However, the people of Capernaum didn’t have the homosexual issues, but most of the people were upright, law-abiding and decent.

YET—because they ignored and dejected the Son of God, their fate on the day of judgment will be worse than Sodom.

Capernaum exceed Chorazin and Bethsaida in privilege; Sodom exceed Tyre and Sidon in wickedness—

Jesus makes plain that people who are the most blessed by God will receive the worst punishment if they reject Him.

—Judgment against the moral abominations of Sodom will be exceeded by judgement against the spiritual indifference of Capernaum. For the upright unbelievers in Capernaum, Hades will be hotter than for the immoral believers of Sodom.

First, God judges peoples according to the opportunities they have had to respond to his truth

Second,

God often judges corporately for corporate sin. When entire cultures perpetuate a hardness against God for generation after generation, judgment may be God’s primary means of gaining the people’s attention

Third, those who claim to be God’s people are often the most hard-hearted hearers of all. Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom would have repented, but God’s people took the signs for granted.

Experience without Repentance==Judgment

Experience with Repentance==Obedience and Salvation