A Warning to Nations

 


Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you.nd you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades.For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.”

We have often seen Jesus calling individuals to conversion, but in today’s passage we find him calling out for the conversion of societies. Talking to the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, he warns them of what will happen to them if they don’t repent. These three cities lay just north of the Sea of Galilee. This is the only time Chorazin is mentioned in the Gospels. Capernaum, however, is mentioned many times in the Gospels and was the site of many of Jesus' healings and miracles. It even served as the center of his public ministry for a time. Bethsaida is where Philip, Andrew, and Peter came from, and where Jesus healed a blind man.

Jesus tells the people of these towns that unless they repented they would suffer the fate of three other towns: Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom. Tyre and Sidon were two cities in the ancient Near East. Both are now located in Lebanon, a few kilometers north of the Israeli-Lebanese border. Alexander the Great (remember him?) destroyed half the city of Tyre after a long siege in 332 BC and sold most of the population into slavery. Sidon was also conquered by Alexander, but it had suffered destruction before at the hands of the Assyrians and several others. There was hardly anything left of either city after these invasions.

As for Sodom, most of us know what happened to this city. Along with Gomorrah, it was situated in the land of Canaan. The land was often compared to the Garden of Eden because it was green and lush and beautiful. But the people were very wicked and both towns were destroyed in fire because of it (see Genesis 19). In today’s passage we find Jesus warning the people that what these cities went through would be like a kiss on the cheek compared to what THEY would go through if they didn’t come to their senses. 

Jesus wasn’t cursing them; he was warning them. There is a famous phrase that says that "those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. This means that people who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are going to make the same mistakes. The saying is true of both world history and of personal history. In warning these cities about impending destruction, Jesus is trying to get them to come to their senses before it would be too late for them to do anything. He didn’t want them to perish. He doesn’t want us to perish.

We need to repent as individuals, but we also need to repent as societies. To do this leaders of nations need to step forward in humility on behalf of their people. A few years ago, the newly elected president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, publicly repented for his nation’s sins, listing them all out one by one. The president then asked God for a new beginning. Other leaders need to follow in his footsteps. What is happening around the world today is a warning. Our chance to repent is now. When Judgement Day comes, only a verdict is going to be delivered. 

Which way will it go for us?

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/r9pX1Vj61rw



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