The Life of Jesus Christ - Chapter 5 - Jesus tells people the good news and cures people in *Galilee - Part 9
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An online Bible Study course by Barrie Wetherill about the life of Jesus. This book is in EasyEnglish Level B. Use the links below for other online Bible Study books and commentaries that will help you. Or go to the Word List, which explains words with a *star.
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Jesus did many wonderful *miracles. But many people did not learn anything when they saw the *miracles. These people were not sorry for the wrong things that they had done. They did not ask God to forgive them. The people in the area of Capernaum heard Jesus speak to them. They had not changed the way that they lived. Jesus was angry and he blamed them for this.
In this passage, Jesus spoke about these towns as if they were people. He blamed the people from these towns for their weak reaction to his message:
Matthew 11:20-24 Then Jesus began to accuse the people who lived in these cities. He had done most of his *miracles there, but the people did not *repent. “This is not good for you, Chorazin! This is not good for you, Bethsaida! You have seen many *miracles. If such miracles happened in the cities of Tyre and Sidon, their people would have *repented. They would have shown how sorry they were. But I tell you that a day of *judgement is coming. Then it will be better for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, what will happen to you? Will God be pleased with you? Will he bless you? No, not at all. If Sodom had seen *miracles like these, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be better for Sodom on the day of *judgement than for you.”
The people in Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum had seen what Christ did. They had heard what he taught them. Many people before that did not have such an opportunity.
There is an important principle in the Bible. God expects people to use their opportunities wisely. The people in Capernaum had a great opportunity to trust God, because Jesus was there. But they wasted their opportunity.
Many *prophets said that Tyre and Sidon were proud. They were too fond of money and very cruel (Ezekiel 26-28, and Isaiah 23). Amos spoke against the people of Tyre. They had attacked the Israelites when they were weak. Then they sold the Israelites as slaves to their worst enemies, who were the people in Edom (Amos 1:9, 10).
In the same way Jesus compared Capernaum to Sodom and Gomorrah. The people in Sodom and Gomorrah were so wicked that God destroyed the whole area with fire. The Bible always refers to them as places which God has punished. Very evil things happened in these places. Jesus said that at the day of *judgement, everyone will know this. But it will be better even for people from Sodom and Gomorrah than for people from Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum.
Many people hear the good news about Jesus. And they can read God’s word (the Bible) for themselves. These people are responsible for the effect that they let this have on their lives. God offers to forgive those who *repent. We must all listen carefully to this! God loves us and wants to forgive us. He invites us to live with Christ as our friend and helper. So, we must *repent and we must trust God.
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