All throughout Biblical History there are consequences when
human hearts turn from God’s revelation.
Over and over in scripture we hear that when God’s people turn their
hearts from God, there are disastrous results. God’s people become vulnerable
to invasion, their kingdom is divided, they are subjected to foreign rule, they
are enslaved and exiled from their land.
Yet, particularly when they were in exile, God sent prophets
to preach the message of repentance. The
prophets often employed a harsh, direct tone conveying that there are serious
consequences for failing to repent and remaining ignorant or hostile to God’s
ways.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus’ tone is much like those Old
Testament prophets. He says “Woe to you
Bethsaida, Woe to you, Chorazin!” Jesus
compares the fate of Chorazin and Bethsaida to that of Tyre and Sidon, two
Phoenician cities on the Mediterranean coast north of Israel. They were two of the most wicked cities in
history, and Jesus is saying that the fate of Bethsaida and Chorazin will be
worse!
Jesus calls the people of Bethsaida and Chorazin to
repentance. Repentance is at the heart
of the Gospel. Jesus begins his public
ministry with the words, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at Hand”. If Bathsaida, Chorazin and Capernaum refuse
Jesus’ offer to repentance, Jesus announces that there will be disastrous
consequences for them.
In delivering these scathing rebukes, the Lord wasn’t just
having a bad day. There is urgency to
the message of repentance because failure to repent will have eternal
consequences.
The good news, Jesus says, that Tyre and Sidon would have
repented if presented with this message.
These wicked, fallen cities, would have repented had they heard the
Gospel. It would have been shocking to
hear that these two cities would have repented and been saved. We have many modern day Tyres and Sidons who appear
wicked and resistant to the Gospel, but which are just waiting for us to
present the Gospel in a clear and compelling way. We might be surprised at just how quickly
many would convert if we brought the Gospel to them.
We also have many Bethsaidas and Chorazins who will harden
their hearts to the Lord’s saving Gospel.
And when the Lord comes in Judgment, there will be consequences for
rejecting the Good News. But that
shouldn’t stop up from spreading it. No
one ever caught any fish by staying at home.
Perhaps those places and people whom we think have no hope
for conversion are precisely to whom we need to evangelize. Fallen away family members, coworkers,
neighbors, public schools, government institutions, corporate America.
May we be courageous in proclaiming the urgent call to repentance
for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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