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19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners! But wisdom is justified by her children." 20 Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: "21 Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you." ~ Matthew 11:19-24
Today, we return to our study of Matthew 11 where the kingdom of God is shown by the Lord Jesus to be quite different than any other kingdom of this world. Mankind was flung into darkness when Adam and Eve ignored God's definition of life. The darkness triumphed in the lives of those who knew no repentance. At this point in his gospel, Matthew records a change in the ministry of the Lord Jesus, and from this point on we see continual opposition to Him and His offer of salvation.
In v.19 of today's passage we read, "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children."
The Lord Jesus compared that generation to people who were childish, not childlike. When we want to avoid the truth about ourselves we can always find something in someone else to criticize. This is one way we justify ourselves. But God’s wisdom is not frustrated by these deflective arguments. This is demonstrated in the changed lives of those who believe. This is how true wisdom is proved to be of God and right.
The Lord Jesus came to this earth to earn the favor of God for sinful man. In fact in John 3:16-18 we read, "16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
This is incredibly good news worth celebrating but the people to whom the Lord Jesus spoke that day accused Him of not being of God. It was at that point that the Lord Jesus said, "But wisdom is justified by her children." In other words, truth will justify itself by what it produces. If you look at the ministry of John the Baptist that pointed to the Messiah and the Messiah Himself and those who follow the Messiah, the disciples of the Lord Jesus, and you see the changed lives and the healed bodies and the joy that is produced. God's wisdom and the truth that is produced by this duo, John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ justified their ministry is what that truth and ministry produced.
In v.20-24 of today's passage we read, "20 Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: "21 Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."
Here, the Lord Jesus isolated three Jewish Galilean cities, Capernaum, Chorazin and Bethsaida where most of His teaching was heard and most of His miracles had been witnessed. Yet it did not change the hearts of the people there. These three cities were located at the Sea of Galilee on the northwestern shore just about two and a half miles from each other right where the Lord Jesus spent three years ministering. When these people didn't respond to God's wisdom, they were driven further into the darkness. They rejected God's wisdom because it is most often counter-intuitive to the human mind. It is not what seems sensible to many.
Capernaum had become the headquarters of the ministry of the Lord Jesus while Bethsaida was the home town of Peter and Andrew. The folks in these three cities saw enough of the Lord Jesus miracles that they all should have believed on Him as their Messiah. When truth is presented to us and we respond positively to that truth, more truth is therefore given to us. But, when we do not respond to it correctly, we become hardened in our heart to the truth. To whom much has been given, much shall be required.
The Lord Jesus therefore pronounced a "woe" upon each of these cities. The word "woe" in the Bible is often used by the Old Testament prophets to convey a message of warning or impending judgment from God. This word is an emotive force that transcends mere vocabulary. The Jewish listeners who heard these words from the Lord believed the worst places in the world were in gentile areas. They believed this because they did not understand the nature of sin, they didn't understand that they were as wicked and in need of the Savior as were the gentiles.
Tyre and Sidon were notorious cities having been condemned by Old Testament prophets for the most heinous crimes. The Lord Jesus likened Capernaum, Chorazin and Bethsaida as worse than Tyre and Sidon and even Sodom. Though hell will be bad for everyone who will end up there, there will be degrees of punishment even there. All men have some light, but light refused increases darkness. The wisdom of God leads us to salvation. Salvation wisdom is vindicated by what it can produce. The spiritual children of John the Baptist were the ones with the most wisdom for they heard what John had to say and they responded to the invitation of God to enter into eternal life.
