20 Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21“Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.(NIV)
This is a scripture that is often read but not thought about too much. It is Jesus denouncing certain cities that had the privilege of His presence and His miracles but refused to repent at the revelation of the Messiah. Jesus knew who He was and that He had given more than enough reason for these cities to repent because the Messiah had come and exhibited Himself to them in such a way that even some worse cities would have responded with repentance. I am amazed at how blessed some are to have been in the presence of the Savior but not respond with repentance, until god showed me that we in today’s world have greater revelation and still do not respond with repentance. God has our church focused in on repentance during this Lent season because of the sacrifice that was made for the whole world by Christ. Here is the revelation that God has given to us and that we need to meditate on during this time: We have the privilege of the Word of God in all of its revelatory power, we have heard God speak, seen the life of Christ and have it all accounted for in the Holy Bible and yet we do not repent. So many before us did not have the privileges that we enjoy now but they repented. Jesus is telling these cities what he is telling us today, that if the works that if others had the revelation that we have now they would have repented because of the power of the revelation to their lives. Here we sit in 2007 with all of the technological advances that we have seen and all of the wonderful things that currently exist in our world that still pale in comparison to the creations of God and yet we are still reluctant to change our behavior to please Him in all areas of our life. God continues to reveal more of Himself daily through medicine, science, and life yet we are hesitant to give Him the glory that belongs to Him and repent of the behavior that is contrary to Him. As everyday goes by God is revealed to be even more faithful, loving and forgiving and we should honor this revelation with a lifestyle that is repentant and reflective of our new found revelation of Him. It is easy to look back and say that the Israelites should not have spent 40 years in the desert and that Peter should not have denied Him, but what will be said about us who lived in a world that got to see the prophecies of old come to pass, who had the privilege of the Bible to study and the life of Christ to imitate. We do not want God to say about us that I revealed more of myself to you than other generations so there is no excuse to not respond to me with repentance.
Let us respond to the revelation of God with repentance. You and I have the privilege of living in the age in which we do to see God like others have not and that ought to cause us to respond with repentance by living a life that represents the revelation of God that we have been given. There really is no excuse for God reveals Himself to us daily.
This is a scripture that is often read but not thought about too much. It is Jesus denouncing certain cities that had the privilege of His presence and His miracles but refused to repent at the revelation of the Messiah. Jesus knew who He was and that He had given more than enough reason for these cities to repent because the Messiah had come and exhibited Himself to them in such a way that even some worse cities would have responded with repentance. I am amazed at how blessed some are to have been in the presence of the Savior but not respond with repentance, until god showed me that we in today’s world have greater revelation and still do not respond with repentance. God has our church focused in on repentance during this Lent season because of the sacrifice that was made for the whole world by Christ. Here is the revelation that God has given to us and that we need to meditate on during this time: We have the privilege of the Word of God in all of its revelatory power, we have heard God speak, seen the life of Christ and have it all accounted for in the Holy Bible and yet we do not repent. So many before us did not have the privileges that we enjoy now but they repented. Jesus is telling these cities what he is telling us today, that if the works that if others had the revelation that we have now they would have repented because of the power of the revelation to their lives. Here we sit in 2007 with all of the technological advances that we have seen and all of the wonderful things that currently exist in our world that still pale in comparison to the creations of God and yet we are still reluctant to change our behavior to please Him in all areas of our life. God continues to reveal more of Himself daily through medicine, science, and life yet we are hesitant to give Him the glory that belongs to Him and repent of the behavior that is contrary to Him. As everyday goes by God is revealed to be even more faithful, loving and forgiving and we should honor this revelation with a lifestyle that is repentant and reflective of our new found revelation of Him. It is easy to look back and say that the Israelites should not have spent 40 years in the desert and that Peter should not have denied Him, but what will be said about us who lived in a world that got to see the prophecies of old come to pass, who had the privilege of the Bible to study and the life of Christ to imitate. We do not want God to say about us that I revealed more of myself to you than other generations so there is no excuse to not respond to me with repentance.