People Must Repent; God Wants To Forgive
People must repent
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.
The towns called Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum
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:
20 In some of the cities Jesus had done many powerful things. But some people in those cities did not want to stop doing wrong things. They did not want to change how they lived. So Jesus spoke against those people. 21 He said to them, ‘You people in Chorazin, it will be very bad for you! And it will be very bad for you, people in Bethsaida. I have done great and powerful things in your cities. If I had done such great things in Tyre and in Sidon, the people there would have changed how they lived. They would have shown they were sorry for their sins. They would have put on clothes made from goat's hair. They would also have put ashes on their heads. 22 Yes, when God judges everyone, he will punish the people from Tyre and Sidon. But he will punish much more you people from Chorazin and Bethsaida. 23 And what will happen to you people in Capernaum? You think that God will lift you up to heaven, do you? No! He will throw you down to Hades, the place for dead people. I did powerful things in your town. If I had done these powerful things in Sodom, it would still be there today. 24 I tell you this. When God judges everyone, he will punish the people from Sodom. But he will punish you people much more!’
11:24One day, God will punish those people who do wrong things. Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum were towns and cities in Israel. The people in Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum had heard Jesus speak. But they did not believe him. The people in Sodom had never seen Jesus or heard his message. God will punish the people who refuse his message more than those who have not heard it.
Matthew 11:20-24 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
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.
Do not waste your opportunity to trust God
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.
God wants to forgive
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.
