WHICH TOWN ARE YOU?
20 Then
Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been
performed, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you,
Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you
had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in
sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more
bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And
you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to
Hades.[e]
For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it
would have remained to this day. 24 But I tell you that it will
be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”
CHORAZIN, BETHSAIDA AND CAPERNAUM are the towns where Jesus perform the miracles
but still did not repent.
CHORAZIN
- A town near
the Sea of Galilee
- Witnessed
Jesus’ works
- Yet remained
unrepentant
BETHSAIDA was the hometown of apostles Peter, Philip
and Andrew. It was also the site of feeding of the 5,000 (Luke 9:10-17) and
healing of the blind man (Mark 8:22).
- Home of some
disciples
- A place of
miracles and teaching
- Still, many
hearts were hardened
CAPERNAUM
was Jesus’ base and even called his
own city (Matthew 9:1). It was also the residence of several disciples like
John, James and Matthew the tax collector. Capernaum witnessed notable
miracles, such as healing the Roman centurion’s servant, restoring Peter’s
mother in-law from fever, healing a paralytic man who was lowered through the
roof, raising the daughter of Jairus from the dead. Jesus himself frequently taught
in the local synagogue. But they did not repent, they didn’t care. They went on
to their wicked ways.
- Jesus’ “base
of ministry”
- Saw the most
miracles
- Yet became proud
and spiritually indifferent
So
Jesus, in deep sorrow, mentioned these three gentile communities Tyre, Sidon
and Sodom. Jesus says that if cities like Tyre and
Sidon had seen these miracles, they would have repented because:
· The more you know about God
· The more you experience His presence
➡️ The greater your accountability
These three towns proved that Miracles Don’t
Guarantee Repentance
- They saw
healing, power, and truth, yet their hearts did not change
Therefore, It’s possible to experience God and
still resist Him
HOW ABOUT
US?
We have read the bible from Old Testament to
New, from cover to cover, have known all the recorded miracles Jesus had done.
We know that those are only few or partial of what Jesus had done, as Apostle
John said in John 21:25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were
written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the
books. And in John 20:30–31 Now Jesus
performed many other miraculous signs in the presence of the disciples, which
are not recorded in this book.31 But these are recorded so that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have
life in his name.
The
record is partial, the bible is partial, but it should be enough. Enough for us
all to believe.
Jesus
didn’t just show us His miracles in the bible, but we have witnessed it
ourselves- in flesh, with our bare eyes. We have been to city ministries where
pains were gone in Jesus name, where deliverances were performed in the power
of the name of Jesus. During missions, we did what Jesus did, shared the
gospel, healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead churches. Was it
enough to believe in the power of Jesus?
Let
us reflect.
· Is the partial knowledge of Jesus enough for
us to care?
· Is it enough for us to believe in Him?
· Is it enough for us to truly repent?
· Is it enough to fully follow Him?
· Is it enough to fully surrender?
· Is the firsthand experience of miracles still
not enough for us to truly follow and fully surrender?
Jesus
clearly expected us to respond to his message and miracles, with true
repentance - which is totally turning from sin and turning to God- with total
surrender. Failure to repent and believe in Jesus is greater sin than anything
ever done in the three notorious Gentile cities. We have read Jesus’ miracles,
we have witnessed it by our own eyes, we have experienced His presence, are
those not enough for us to fully surrender? Or should we remain in our state of
spiritual obesity (taking all the equipping, listening to all the sermons but
never moved to follow) and spiritual indifference – where we do not care to
whatever we hear and whatever we witnessed? We go on with our life doing our
favorite sin, being Christian on Sundays but have different personality on
other days, surrendering some aspect of our lives but never the finances, no, I
cannot give my tithes, I am short this month and my budget is tight. Did we
forget to put God first? It is better for us not to hear and not know God’s
words, than knowing but not following. 2 Peter 2:21 (NIV): "It would have been better
for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and
then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. James 1:22, Luke
12:47-48, Matthew 7:26
It is not what you have seen or
heard about God that matters most—it is how you respond. The greatest danger is
not ignorance, but a heart that refuses to change.
Let us pray.
Papa God,
Thank you for the
revelation of Your word and for the conviction it brings.
Help us to be not
spiritually obese, help us to move, help us to act upon what we believe in your
words. Help us to care others, help us to be loving enough to find the lost
souls, help us to follow you without hesitation. Help us to be sensitive enough
of your presence, help us to see you in everything around us, help us not be
spiritually indifferent, help us to care on what you care, help us to
appreciate you and your deeds. Help us to follow you in total surrender.
These I ask in
the mighty name of Jesus.
Thank you my Lord,
my God and my King. Amen.
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ELDER MAYEN – JCRC CAMBODIA
