Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum: Matthew 11:20-24, Luke 10:13-15
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Jesus condemns Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum in these two separate quotes from Matthew and Luke. Matthew’s reference comes just after he honored John the Baptist and seems to extend the discussion of evangelism. In a similar text, Luke refers to Jesus’ condemnation when he refers to the Seventy-Two who have been sent out to spread the Gospel.
The consistency in their transcription of Jesus’ words is startling. These are the very towns where most of the miracles of Jesus were witnessed and yet the people still reject him as The Way. My first reaction is one of despair, but that is immediately replace by confidence in Christ–the story is here to bolster our hope in Christ, not destroy it! Part of the answer for 1 Peter 3:15 is wrapped up in this discussion. There will be many who will reject Jesus, but most will simply not accept him passively, that is, they don’t even know they’re rejecting him. This is one of the reasons why our preaching must be precise, must be engaging and provocative (to some extent). We need to compel people to act.
Complacency must be replaced by action, but not crazed reaction to worldly decisions. We should not be surprised by our own Supreme Court’s decisions when we are not more involved in people’s lives. More than anything, their inability to articulate Christian principles must be view on the whole as a failure on our part to embed the same principles in the hearts of our fellow countrymen. We should not be surprised that our legal system is broken in this regard. Years ago, I spoke with a wonderfully talented young man who had great aspirations to be mayor, governor and possibly president. After returning from a mission trip abroad he redefined his goals to say he wanted to become a missionary. I challenged him on this position to become a missionary as president, as governor, as mayor!
In all parts of our culture, we as Christians need to rise up strongly. The recent surge in Apologetics is one great example–great Christian thinkers must stand out. This needs to cross all lines and become a part of our society lest we become Chorazin, Bethsaida or Capernaum. We have witnessed the power of Christ in our lives, we must not keep this to ourselves.
Lord, give us the bold confidence to spread your gospel in all corners of the world–even our own small corner!!