Woe? Whoa!

I'm sure you've all read the texts from Matthew where Jesus pronounces "woe" on towns in Israel like Chorazin and Capernaum (Matt 11:21-24). They had His miracles performed in them and spurned Him. It was going to be worse for them than for other well-known sinful cities in the judgment.

The text brings up an interesting principle. "It will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you," He told them (Matt 11:22). "More tolerable"? It will be hell for both; what is "more tolerable"? It would appear, then, that there is lesser and greater sin that will receive lesser or greater punishment. All sin earns hell, but there will be more or less torment depending on the nature of the sin. Interesting principle. Our aim, of course, is salvation -- forgiveness based on faith in Christ. No hell. But Jesus considered it worthwhile to warn them that there is greater and lesser torment, so I suppose we should concur.

There is, in here, another point almost always missed. The previous paragraph referenced Jesus's words to Chorazin, but Jesus says something similar Capernaum. He assures them "You will descend to Hades," but goes on to say, "if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day" (Matt 11:23). Okay, we got it. Capernaum had the Son of God in their midst doing miracles in their faces and they missed it. Bad ... really bad. Got it. But what about Sodom? Did you see what He said? "If the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you," they wouldn't have been so harshly judged. They wouldn't have been so spectacularly annihilated by God. They would have repented. "Yes, okay," I can hear you saying, "so?" If God knew (and He did) that if Jesus had come to Sodom as He did to Capernaum and Sodom would have repented (and it would have), why didn't He do it?

To be honest, here, He doesn't say, so we cannot know. We can only surmise. It wasn't the right time for the Messiah. God had other plans. Things like this seem likely. But one thing ought to be clear. For whatever reasons (and whatever they are they are God's, so they are good), God did not intend to bring Sodom to repentance, or He would have. This kind of thing sounds really wrong, I know, but it's not unbiblical. John wrote that Jesus told Israel to believe and then "departed and hid Himself" (John 12:36). John said that He did it "so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled" (John 12:38). John says that only those to whom the arm of the Lord as been revealed can believe (John 12:38-39). John wrote "They could not believe. For again Isaiah said, 'He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them'" (John 12:39-40). John clearly has no problem suggesting that God blinds eyes and hardens hearts to prevent understanding.

The truth is no one can come to Christ unless it is granted him by the Father (John 6:65). The truth is God is willing to demonstrate His wrath and power on vessels of wrath prepared for destruction (Rom 9:22). And the truth is that God is not obligated to save anyone ... at all. All of us have judiciously and carefully earned nothing but wrath, have personally earned the status of "vessels of wrath prepared for destruction." If God saved not one, He would have been perfectly just. Saving any is remarkable. Woe to Chorazin and Capernaum for failing to see His Son at work? Yes. Woe to Sodom for refusing to repent with lesser input? Yes. It serves to magnify God's grace and mercy to the "few" who are shown the narrow gate that leads to life (Matt 7:14). Bottom line -- is it okay with you of God does what He pleases with His creation?