Mat 11:20-21 | KingComments | STEP | If the Lord is going to make reproaches, they are perfectly justified. Every person who has not repented will be reproached of not having repented. Not repenting is a sign of reluctance. The reproach that one person receives may be heavier than the reproach that another person receives. This has to do with the degree of culpability. A judge who trespasses the law that he himself must apply is guiltier than someone who ignorantly trespasses the law. This is the case with the cities in which the Lord Jesus has shown Who He is in the clearest way. If these cities, despite the multitude of evidence, reject Him, they are guiltier than cities in which He has not revealed Himself in this way. Those pagan cities will also receive the judgment that they deserve because of their immoral behavior. Yet their judgment will be lighter than that of the cities where Christ has given such a clear testimony of Himself and have nevertheless rejected Him. We might wonder why God did not give such a testimony to the pagan cities the Lord mentions here, for then they would have repented. The answer is that Tyre and Sidon, and Sodom and Gomorrah, according to the wisdom of God, had a testimony of His revelation that was perfectly appropriate for them. They have seen God’s testimony in creation ( ), but they have not bowed before him. They have acted according to their corrupt nature, and have not taken any notice of His revelation in creation. They will be judged on the basis of this rejection of God’s testimony. Thus, each people is subjected to a test of their obedience to God in a way that perfectly fits their responsibility. Something special is said about Capernaum. That city has rejected an even greater privilege than all the cities of Israel. The Lord Jesus lived there. They have experienced Him daily. The city is elevated to heaven by His presence, for in the Son of God heaven has come to them. But in reality they will not come into heaven. The opposite is the case. They will be descend to Hades. They have done nothing with the enormous privilege that God lived among them. It has had no effect on them.

‏ Matthew 11:20-21

‘Woe’ to the Cities of Galilee

If the Lord is going to make reproaches, they are perfectly justified. Every person who has not repented will be reproached of not having repented. Not repenting is a sign of reluctance. The reproach that one person receives may be heavier than the reproach that another person receives. This has to do with the degree of culpability. A judge who trespasses the law that he himself must apply is guiltier than someone who ignorantly trespasses the law.

This is the case with the cities in which the Lord Jesus has shown Who He is in the clearest way. If these cities, despite the multitude of evidence, reject Him, they are guiltier than cities in which He has not revealed Himself in this way. Those pagan cities will also receive the judgment that they deserve because of their immoral behavior. Yet their judgment will be lighter than that of the cities where Christ has given such a clear testimony of Himself and have nevertheless rejected Him.

We might wonder why God did not give such a testimony to the pagan cities the Lord mentions here, for then they would have repented. The answer is that Tyre and Sidon, and Sodom and Gomorrah, according to the wisdom of God, had a testimony of His revelation that was perfectly appropriate for them. They have seen God’s testimony in creation (Rom 1:19-20), but they have not bowed before him. They have acted according to their corrupt nature, and have not taken any notice of His revelation in creation. They will be judged on the basis of this rejection of God’s testimony. Thus, each people is subjected to a test of their obedience to God in a way that perfectly fits their responsibility.

Something special is said about Capernaum. That city has rejected an even greater privilege than all the cities of Israel. The Lord Jesus lived there. They have experienced Him daily. The city is elevated to heaven by His presence, for in the Son of God heaven has come to them. But in reality they will not come into heaven. The opposite is the case. They will be descend to Hades. They have done nothing with the enormous privilege that God lived among them. It has had no effect on them.