After Jesus encourages John the Baptist and criticizes the Pharisees, He talks about 3 cities. The three cities, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, were all located in Galilee. They were made up mostly of descendants of Abraham. Let’s see what He says about them, and then we’ll see a very interesting application for us.

Matthew 11:20-24

20 Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent.

Notice, Jesus did most of His miracles in these cities, but still they failed to repent. The word translated repent is the Greek METANOIA, and it simply means a change of mind or change of thinking.

What exactly was a miracle? Let’s use this definition: a miracle was an exercise of the sovereign omnipotence in grace to validate who the Savior was and what He taught. The Greek word is actually DUNAMAIS, which means power (It’s where we get the word dynamite!) The inhabitants of these cities saw the miracles, and failed to change their mind and recognize Jesus for exactly who He was. Look what He says:

21 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

Tyre and Sidon were Gentile Phoenician cities. They were very wealthy because of their location on the Mediterranean and on the trade routes. Look what is promised for them in Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 28:22-23

22 and say, "Thus says the Lord GOD,

"Behold, I am against you, O Sidon,

And I will be glorified in your midst.

Then they will know that I am the LORD when I execute judgments in her,

And I will manifest My holiness in her.

23 "For I will send pestilence to her

And blood to her streets,

And the wounded will fall in her midst

By the sword upon her on every side;

Then they will know that I am the LORD.

Sounds pretty terrible, doesn’t it? But look what He says next about these 2 Israeli cities:

22 "Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.

One interesting side note: this shows that there are degrees of judgment! But why would Jesus say it would be worse for Chorazin and Bethsaida than Tyre and Sidon?

Because they had greater opportunity! They saw the miracles (the power of God) and had a chance to recognize Jesus as who He said He was; their Savior. But they didn’t.

Make no mistake about it: God hold you accountable for your opportunities!

Now look what He says about Capernaum. Jesus, after his (earthly) father’s death, had moved His entire family from Nazareth to Capernaum. This was His headquarters. Imagine the opportunities they had to witness the miracles, and accept Jesus because of them.

23 "And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day.

Wow! This is not Jesus just using Sodom as an extreme example, but an actual statement of fact! Remember, God is omniscient, and knows exactly what the residents of Sodom would have done if they had seen the same miracles that Jesus had performed in Capernaum!

24 "Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you."

It’s hard to believe that Capernaum, where Jesus actually lived, would get a worse judgment than Sodom! But they were given much greater opportunities to believe, and still rejected Him.

And now, the scary application for ourselves. God holds you accountable for your opportunities, including opportunities to apply the principles you learn. For example, when you learn about forgiveness, and fail to apply that principle when you are wronged, then He holds you accountable! “To whom much is given, much is required.”

How about us? What kind of opportunities do we have today? How has God blessed us beyond people in other places and other times? Don’t think that God will not hold us all accountable for our greater opportunities!

It’s all a question of what you do with what God gives you.