Daily Devotional For Thursday, October 30, 2025
Good morning Southside. We are making our way through Matthew’s Gospel and today we pick up with Matthew 11:20-24:
"Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. (21) Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. (22) Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. (23) And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. (24) Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment, than for you” (NASB).
When we come to this section of Matthew, we may be shocked that Jesus denounces 3 cities here: Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum until we know why. When we read how other cities openly criticized Jesus and these did not, why the rebuke? Jesus had done miracles in all 3 cities and though they did not openly criticize Him, they had ignored Him. While Jesus did all kinds of miracles in all 3 cities, the people in them went about business as usual as if nothing significant had even happened. From our perspective, their indifference may seem foolish on their part, but not such a terrible sin, right?
In Scripture indifference is a terrible and hideous form of unbelief. Meaning Jesus was not taken so seriously to even be criticized. When the young godly king Josiah experienced the same thing from the Jews, he said this in 2 Kings 22:13, “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for great is the wrath of the Lord that burns against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us” (NASB).
We see this again in the New Testament in the Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matt. 22:1-14). Some in this parable did not kill or mistreat some of the king's servants and slaves (vs. 6), but their indifference is what is condemned and punished. This parable reminds us of the number of people Christ calls but due to their indifference they are never chosen (vs.14). Indifference to the Lord is a cancer even in the church. The Lord mentions what punishment comes to people who are indifferent to Him in Luke 17:26-30. Pastor and author John MacArthur writes this:
“Some of the people in Noah’s day doubtlessly criticized him abusively for building a ship in the middle of the desert; and some of the worst inhabitants of Sodom tried to homosexually attack the angels who came to rescue Lot. But most of the people in the days of Noah and of Lot paid no attention to the Lord or to His servants. Yet they, too, were totally destroyed, because they rejected God just as totally as those who actively expressed their unbelief” (Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Bible Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 263).
All 3 of these cities had heard Jesus’ teaching, seen Him perform miracles and some had even personally experienced Jesus’ miracles, but they were indifferent. Jesus said their punishment would be the same as that of Sodom. The truth is it may be better to have never heard the truth about Jesus than to hear it and reject it. Some of these cities were seaports, known for their immorality and sin.
Of all cities, these 3 should have been more open and receptive, but they all chose to be indifferent to the Gospel and His message. They should have been eager to repent and come to Christ, instead, they chose to reject Him. Then Jesus mentioned two cities God totally destroyed: Tyre and Sidon (see Isaiah 23, Ezekiel 27, Ezekiel 28 and Amos 1:9-10. The destruction of Sidon came at the hands of the Assyrians in 67 BC. The destruction of Tyre came at the hand of Alexander the Great in 332 BC. Jesus mentions “sackcloths and ashes.” New Testament scholar Bruce B. Barton writes this:
“Sackcloth and ashes” were symbols of humiliation, grief for sin, and repentance. Sackcloth was a cheap cloth made of camel or cattle hair, worn under or in place of garments during times of grief. For extreme grief, a person might also wear ashes on his or her head, or sit and wallow in ashes. Such would have been the display of repentance in these evil cities” (Source: Bruce B. Barton, The Life Application Bible Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 226).
Jesus point was the cities that had heard Him and see His miracles would have a greater punishment than those that did not. The same judgment comes to churches that are indifferent to Jesus Christ. This passage reminds me of Isaiah 29:13014. Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll writes this:
“When people hear the message of Jesus, they have a choice—either accept it and go on to have their lives transformed or follow the majority and reject it altogether. Such rejection is expressed in one of two ways: active resistance or passive indifference. Those who are active in their resistance aggressively—sometimes loudly and violently—stand against it. The rest express their indifference by completely ignoring Jesus’ message. This dual response was evidenced in the first century, when Jesus preached the coming kingdom, and it remains operative today” (Source: Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary, “Matthew 1-15, Vol. 1A, p. 219).
Assignment: If you actively read the Word of God, if you actively attend church and hear sermons, are you ever indifferent to the Word of God? When does your pride get in the way and you hear the word, but you simply ignore it? Jesus makes it clear that anyone who hears His word and ignores it or is indifferent from it, will experience the judgment of God in very severe ways. Would the Lord ever say this is you? Why or why not?
Scripture To Meditate On: James 1:22, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, I do not want to ignore or be indifferent to You or Your Word. I want to be a doer of it. Please forgive me when I do ignore it or I am indifferent to You and Your Word. I never want my pride to cause me to fall out of fellowship with You. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly