Journeys Through the Word
“To what can I compare this generation?”
Verse(s) considered:
Matthew 11:20-24
(20) Then Jesus began to denounce the towns where He had done so many of His miracles because they hadn’t repented of their sins and turned to God.
(21) “What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse.
(22) I tell you, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you.
(23) “And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead. For if the miracles I did for you had been done in wicked Sodom, it would still be here today.
(24) I tell you, even Sodom will be better off on judgment day than you.”
Thoughts along the road:
Jesus takes the time here to lay out some contrasts. He had done many miracles in many places. But, in most of them, people just did not believe. They wanted a political and/or military hero. They wanted to be healed of their diseases. They wanted to be fed. They were not interested in being saved from their sins. Jesus points out the awful truth that choosing to look at him the wrong way and refusing to believe in him as the true Messiah, will have devastatingly permanent and horrible results.
Where to go from here:
We have the same choices that they did. No Jesus is not physically here teaching and doing miracles, but he is here working in people’s lives. He heals us, not so much from our physical illnesses but from the sin that racks our souls and ruins our lives. He feeds us with himself so that we can have eternal life that begins at the moment we accept him as our Lord and Savior.
If we are looking for something else other than who he really is, we delude ourselves. Many people will only choose to believe in a version of him that fits their specifications and ideas. Many people today want a Jesus that is just an all around good guy, that loves us in the midst of our sin and is willing to accept it and leave us that way. That is because we love our sin more than we love him. They want a Jesus that allows abortions because that makes their lives more convenient and allows them to escape the consequences of their choices. They want a Jesus that allows them to despise and hate others because they do not believe the same way they do. They want a Jesus that allows them to revel in the sins that they love and does not hold them accountable. They want a Jesus that allows everyone into heaven because no good God would condemn anyone to hell, even if they fully deserve it.
This Jesus, those people have made up for themselves is not one that can save them from their sins. This Jesus, people have made up for themselves cannot comfort them when they are hurting or sad. This Jesus, people have made up for themselves is not God. They have painted themselves into a corner and condemned themselves to a horrible and agonizing future because they wanted a comfortable and pleasant present of their own making. Someday their house of cards will come crashing down on them and their make-believe Jesus in their make-believe world will disappear in the harsh light of reality without the comfort and salvation of the one and only real Messiah—Jesus.
It would behoove you to take a look at the Jesus you worship and then look at the real Jesus that we are told about in the Bible. Which one do you really want? Which one can really and truly save you?
Journeys Through The Word 