Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. "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. Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 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. Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you." [Matthew 11:20-24 NASB]We generally agree that grace is a wonderful thing. Our sins are forgiven and we receive he love of God through no merit of our own. But there is another side to grace. Jesus gave this parable.
"And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
But if that slave says in his heart, 'My master will be a long time in coming,' and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few.
From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more." [Luke 12:42-48 NASB]
Before Jesus came into their midst, the residents of these towns were ignorant of grace. By coming to them, preaching the kingdom of God, and performing miracles in their midst, Jesus extended His grace. This required of them a response, either for or against Him.
Had they chosen to follow Jesus, how blessed they would have been. The few who, indeed, became His followers were indeed blessed. And the twelve apostles will be memorialized in Heaven for all eternity.
Since they chose to denounce Jesus - and rejected grace - they received a curse. The residents of these cities will stand before God individually in the time of judgement. As for the cities themselves, they are all in ruins to this day.
Before Jesus came, no one could have imagined the world of grace that we live in today. The gospel is preached in all the world. God's love has been offered to us freely. We have forgiveness of sins. It is ours for the asking.
Even so, the world overwhelmingly rejects Him. In the judgement, it will be worse for all the generations after the coming of Jesus than for those before.
If you have never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I urge you do do so now. We are told, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved: [Romans 10:9 NASB] He will forgive your sins, and call you His child. Please don't wait. You never know what tomorrow will bring.
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