You did not study real hard for the math test. After all, you are a pretty sharp guy and you have always gotten good grades in the class. The test seemed pretty easy, and you are fairly certain you aced it. The teacher is handing the tests back right now. You glance over at Jimmy at the next desk. His paper has a big "D-" on it. What a loser that Jimmy is. He will probably flunk the class. Oh, here comes the teacher. She puts your paper upside down on your desk. You turn it over, expecting to see a nice, big "A"...but no, it says 37%, "F." You flunked the test. A very unpleasant surprise.
Friends, today we are going to take a look at some folks who had an even more unpleasant surprise. As we continue our study of Matthew, we come to Chapter 11:20-24. This is a very interesting passage, where Jesus warns some people of the con-sequences of rejecting Him. I believe there are also some very important lessons for us, so let's pray that the Lord would help us to learn them today.
We are going to look at Jesus' words concerning six cities. Matthew 11:20-24 Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! 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. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you." Here Jesus gives a very stern warning to the people in three cities, really just villages where He had been ministering: Korazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. These towns were located in northern Israel, along the north side of the Sea of Galilee, about 20-25 miles northeast of Nazareth, which was Jesus' home town. Capernaum was a fishing village which kind of became the home base for Jesus once He had left Nazareth. In Chapters 8 and 9, Matthew reports a number of tremendous miracles that Jesus did in this town, including raising the centurion's daughter from the dead. Korazin is a town we know really nothing about, other than it was a couple of miles north of Capernaum. Bethsaida was probably the home town of the disciples Peter, Andrew and Philip. None of the Gospels tell us about any specific miracles that Jesus performed in the last two towns, but Matthew implies there had been many. This reminds us that none of the Gospel writers ever pretended to give us an exhaustive account of Jesus' life and min-istry. As John says at the end of his Gospel, 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 that would be written. Anyway, these three villages were average Jewish towns, full of lots of what seemed to be nice, ordinary God-fearing people.
In contrast, Jesus refers to three other cities. Tyre and Sidon were large Phoenician cities on the Mediterranean, not far away, but places often denounced by the Old Test-ament prophets for their worship of Baal, a perverse religion which included child sacrifice and religious prostitutes. Isaiah 23 and Ezekiel 26-28 are two prophecies against these pagan cities. Sodom, of course, is the most notorious city of all. Genesis 19 describes the great wickedness which oc-curred there, including the homosexuality, and then tells how God destroys Sodom and its sister city Gomorrah. These cities are the bad guys. Any godly person would say that the people who lived there deserved every ounce of punishment they got. The folks living in those three Jewish villages would think, "Hey, it is obvious. They deserve to experience God's wrath, but we don't." That is why it is a shock, a very unpleasant surprise, to hear Jesus say that one day, on the day of judgment, things are going to be worse for the people in these quaint Jewish villages than it will be for the folks in those wicked pagan cities.
Now, before we focus on the main point of this text, I want to note three important truths about God upon which Jesus bases His teaching. These are things that are very relevant for us, because they are still true.
#1) God knows everything. He even knows what the people in Tyre and Sidon would have done if they would have witnessed Jesus' miracles. 11:21b "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." He also knows how the folks in Sodom would have reacted. 11:23b "If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day." This is called "contingent knowledge." God knows all the "what if's." So often we wonder, "What would have happened if this had occurred?" That is usually an impossible question for us to answer, but it is not a difficult one for God at all. Whenever I play my favorite com-puter game, John Madden Football, I'm amazed by all the contingencies the computer knows. When I'm coach of the Packers and the computer is coach of the Vikings, it knows whether the Vikings should punt, try a field goal or go for the first down. When the Vikings are 4 and 10 on their own 40, the computer will punt, but if they are behind with only a couple of minutes to play, then it will go for the first down. How can it know all those things? But God's knowledge is far greater than even the most powerful computer in the world. The God who knows what would have happened if....is a God who can be trusted. As the song says, "He is too wise to ever be mistaken." He always knows exactly what is best for us. And He is a God worthy of our worship. As Paul says in Romans 11:33,34 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"
Recently there have been some people, including a couple of professors in our denomination, who claim God doesn't know what choices human beings are going to make in the future. They say, "God knows everything that can be known, but our future decisions don't exist, so they can't be known." I wonder how these folks under-stand Jesus' words in this text? Jesus claims to know what choices people in the past would have made if they had been in different circumstances. Now I think they would say, "Jesus should not be taken literally, that He was only guessing how the people in the pagan cities would have responded." But, I don't think that was what Jesus was doing. The Lord's knowledge is far beyond what we can comprehend. Yes, this is America and people are free to believe whatever they want, but they should not pretend that the Bible says God's knowledge is limited. This is a teaching that those of us who believe what Scripture teaches about God need to reject. Because as Jesus makes clear, God does know everything.
#2) God does not owe His grace to anyone. Of all the Bible teachings, this is one of the most difficult to understand and accept. We know that God is a loving God, Who shows compassion and mercy to all His creatures. The Bible clearly says this. Yet here, Jesus tells us that 11:21b "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." and 11:23b "If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day." This raises a very important, but hard, question: Why didn't the Lord do great miracles in these pagan cities if that would have caused the people there to turn to Him? That is a tough question. Some might say, "Well, the reason God didn't do miracles in those places is because the people there didn't have faith. You have to have faith if you expect to see miracles." But Jesus' whole point is that the faith He sees in Capernaum and other Galilean villages is no better than what He would find in a pagan city.
I think the only answer to our question is that God doesn't owe miraculous signs to anyone. When people reject the evidence nature gives us that God is the Creator, when they reject His Word as it is either pro-claimed by prophets or written in the Bible, when they continue to declare their independence from God and say, "God, leave us alone, we want to do things our way," then they justly deserve God's punishment. He has been more than fair with them. God was more than fair with the people of Tyre, Sidon and Sodom. There is no one who is going to be able to say on the day of judgment, "God, You never gave me a chance. I would have trusted and followed You if only I would have had the chance." The Lord will say, "You had plenty of chances. You just kept ignoring and rejecting Me."
But, the fact remains that God gives some folks more chances than others. He gave the people of Capernaum, Korazin and Bethsaida more chances than those who lived in Tyre, Sidon and Sodom. He has given those of us in this room many more chances, many more opportunities, to hear God's Word than most people who have lived on this planet have had. This is all part of the marvelous mystery of what the Bible calls "election." The topic is a little too deep for us to try to plunge into this morning, but it is an important one. I will simply sum it up this way: God owes His grace to no one. He chooses to give a portion of grace to every-one. And He chooses to give more grace to some than others. Is that fair? I think so. Let me ask you a couple of questions: How many of you had a birthday during the last twelve months? How many of you received a birthday present from me? I am a nice person, maybe a little frugal, but nice. I did give birthday presents to my wife, my boys, my Mom, my secretary, and to a few close friends. Was that unfair? Is it unfair if I give a birthday present to Nancy, but not to you? Of course not. Gifts are gifts. No one de-serves them, and it is never unfair when we don't receive one...even if we gave them a gift on their birthday. God's grace is a gift. It is never unfair when God does not give as much of His grace, as many chances, to one person as He does another. That is His choice.
#3) At the final judgment, God will punish unbelievers in different degrees. That is what Jesus says in 11:22,24 "But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you...it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you." People of Korazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, those who had seen Jesus do great miracles and yet had refused to believe, will receive a much harsher punishment than those unbelievers who had not received as much revelation. Again, I see no reason not to take Jesus literally. In fact, this is very consistent with what Paul says in Romans 2:1-16. There he talks about how each person will be judged on the basis of the information which he has about God. Now, exactly how this is going to work out has been the subject of much discussion. Dante, the great medieval poet, pictured descending circles of hell. The deeper and deeper one went, the more horrible it got, so the worst sinners were consigned to the lowest levels. On the other hand, cartoonist Gary Larsen, of The Far Side, depicts one compartment of hell reserved for ax murderers and another, a less uncomfortable one, for people who drove too slow in the fast lane. I don't think it will be that way. Now, all those who end up in hell will be separated for eternity from God. That is at the heart of this most terrible punishment. But, apparently somehow God will work it out so that those whose rebellion against God was greater will receive a more severe punishment. This is not a pleasant topic, but it is a truth that the Bible teaches. Though I would much rather talk about positive and encouraging things, like next week when we look at how Jesus offers rest to the weary, I can't just focus on the good news. As a pastor, God has called me to present the whole truth which is contained in His Word. The reality of hell is part of that truth, whether you or I like it or not.
That brings us to the main point of what Jesus is saying: "Good" people who reject Jesus as Lord and Savior are in for a terrible surprise. This is Jesus' message to the citizens of Galilee. They were proud of their religious heritage, they saw themselves as good people, much better than those terrible pagans in places like Tyre, Sidon and Sodom. But, Jesus says that one day they will be in for a terrible surprise. These folks had so many opportunities to see and hear Jesus and still they didn't embrace Him as the Messiah. Though on the outside they looked like good people, on the inside their hearts were just as cold and hard toward God as their pagan neighbors. And because God had given them so many more chances, Jesus says their punishment will be even greater than what immoral pagans will suffer.
This last point is very sobering for us living in the United States today. No people in history have had as many opportunities to hear the truth about God, to learn how salvation can be found by turning to Jesus Christ, than those who live in this country at the end of the 20th Century. Do you realize there are 450,000 churches in the United States. In fact, 24% of protestant congre-gations in the world are in this country. There are 600 religious radio stations, the vast majority run by evangelical Christians, who daily broadcast the message of Jesus Christ to people across the land. Christian TV, Christian publishing, Christian music recording, all communicate the Bible's message. God has given us so many chances. But, there are so many folks who continue to reject the truth. Oh, yes, if you ask them, almost all of them will say they believe in God. Most of them pray and believe a lot of things the Bible teaches. A large percentage of them go to church, at least on occasion. But, so many of these folks, because they have not received Jesus as their personal Savior, have really rejected the Lord. They often think of themselves as good people, and on the outside they seem like good people, but on the inside their hearts are cold and hard toward the Lord. Because of this, they are in the same boat as those people in Korazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. And when the day of judgment comes, as it most certainly will, they will be in for a most unpleasant surprise.
So, what do Jesus' words mean to us today? Well, first, we need to heed the warning. There may be some of you who realize that you could be facing an un-pleasant surprise. Yes, you have been coming to church for years, you were baptized, the people who know you consider you a fine individual. Yes, you are a much better person than lots of other folks around here. But, because you have never really put your trust in Jesus Christ, you are not ready to stand before the Lord. Friends, the good news I have for you today is that it is not too late. The reason that Jesus spoke those harsh words to the people of Galilee was so that they would realize the danger they were in and would repent and turn to Him. That is the same reason I have preached this sermon today. I know talking about God's judgment may seem harsh to some, but I want to warn folks of the very terrible fate that those who are not believers in Jesus Christ will one day face. And if you have not received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, now is the time to do so. Instead of becoming discouraged, or angry at the Lord, my hope is that as God enables you, you will turn to Jesus and experience His grace and forgiveness in your life. No matter who you are, no matter what you have done, no matter how old you are, this is something you need to do. It is not too late.
This week I was delighted to hear how the grandmother of one of our members put her faith in Jesus Christ just hours before she died. There are some who question the value of a conversion like that, but believe me, to that woman it made all the difference in the world. Rather than spending eternity separated from God and experiencing His wrath, because of His amazing grace, she will enter His glorious eternal kingdom. Even a few hours before her death was not too late for her to receive Jesus Christ. But, don't wait. We never know how long we are going to be on this earth. Now is the time to turn to Jesus.
Secondly, we need to warn others. Those of us who are believers in Christ need to talk about how dangerous it is to go through life and try to ignore Jesus Christ. I have a feeling most of us know a number of people who have a lot in common with the folks in those villages in Galilee. They are good people, they may be religious, but despite the fact they may have heard the Gospel many times, they have not embraced Jesus Christ as Messiah and Savior. They face a most unpleasant surprise. If we care at all about these folks, if we care about the glory of the God who made them, we will make use of opportunities to warn them about what is ahead. They may not like it, they may not heed our warnings, but that is clearly what God calls us to do.
Before the unsinkable Titanic sank, warning after warning had been sent to tell them they were speeding into an ice field, but the messages were ignored. In fact, when a nearby ship sent an urgent warning, the Titanic was talking to officials at Cape Race about the time chauffeurs were to meet arriving passengers at the dock, and what menus would be served. Preoccupied with trivia, the Titanic responded to the warning: "Shut up. I am talking to Cape Race. You are jamming my signals."
Friends, let's not make that type of mistake. We have heard Jesus' warning. Let's take it seriously. Let's heed it ourselves, and let's warn of the unpleasant surprise that awaits those who reject Jesus Christ.
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Go to www.life.1stbaptist.org/sermons.htm for Pastor Dan's full text Bible based sermon site
