Woe to You!

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0:19Would you join me as we pray? Father, we pray again asking that you would come in power, open our eyes and give us hearts that already receive this hard word of warning from the lips of Jesus. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. During World War II, there was a German industrialists by the name of Oscar or Oscar who was a member of the Nazi party. He was wealthy and he profited significantly employing cheap Jewish labor in his factories. And he enjoyed power and security and safety as being a member of the Nazi regime. And he owned several factories and he was originally only concerned with making money.

1:14But later on he began to see how the Jewish people were being exterminated. And so he used his wealth and his various connections to bribe officials so that he could keep his employees and workers safe. And he's credited with saving about 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. And this story was later adapted into a film by the name of Schindler's List. This account illustrates Jesus' teaching to whom much is given, much will be required to whom much is given, much will be required. There's greater responsibility when one has access to influence and power or wealth. Or in the words of I think it's Spider-Man, with great power comes great responsibility.

2:12It. It also means that there's gonna be a harsher judgment for those who don't take care with that responsibility. And that's precisely what Jesus calls out in our passage this morning. The cities that reject Jesus will be judged much more harshly. So we come to a text primarily of judgment and we see the woes that Jesus calls out. And this is universally true in James chapter three, verse one. He writes, those who teach will be judged with greater strictness. It means it's worse if a teacher, a pastor, engages in false teaching because he's supposed to guard sound doctrine. It's worse when a police officer drives under the influence 'cause he's supposed to protect public safety.

3:07It's worse when a judge accepts a bribe because they're supposed to advance justice. The judgment and punishment will be greater for those who have more responsibility. And in our passage, Jesus calls out several Jewish cities. What he's trying to say is that these cities full of Jewish people should have known better of all the cities in the world at that time. These cities should have known, these cities, should have known their Old Testament, seeing what was unfolding right before them with Jesus walking around in their towns, seeing him heal people. And they should have said that is the siah.

3:55They saw him cast out demons. And the Pharisees themselves say, no one can do this except God. And yet they still don't make the connection. Here is God before us in the flesh. And so our main point this morning is fairly straightforward, but it's quite sober. Judgment will be harsh for those who reject the Messiah. Judgment will be harsh. For those who reject the Messiah, they will face harsher consequences, bear greater responsibility, and they will be under greater condemnation for what they saw ignored or rejected. And and that's a sobering word for us this morning because if we think of our place in redemptive history, this is a warning not just for those in Jesus time, but this is a warning for us.

4:51This is a warning to every generation. Don't miss the Messiah. This generation of all generations with all that we have received should be able to do the math as well and see in the pages of this book and conclude this indeed was the Messiah. And so don't reject Jesus this morning. So here's our plan. This morning I wanna kind of first walk through this passage and then I wanna spend a little bit of time just talking and thinking about final judgment from several texts. And then third, I wanna apply this to us together. So the stage is set in verse 20. Look with me at verse 20. Here comes the setting. Then Jesus began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done because they did not repent.

5:45And so Jesus is rebuking the people's unbelief. Verse 20 tells us that these cities are where Jesus did most of his miracles and yet they did not repent. And so just imagine with me, these entire neighborhoods or cities were very familiar with Jesus. They would see him walking the streets regularly. Uh, they would gather and see him do these various miracles. And as a whole, these cities rejected his message and his ministry. Now, there were isolated individuals who responded and followed Jesus, but by and large, the entire cities said, nah, we don't want you, Jesus. And this leads to the first of two woes.

6:29Look with me at verse 21. Woe to you Cozen woe to you Beth Saya, for if the mighty works done in you had been done entire and side on they would've repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. The word woe occurs this first time, and it occurs 10 times in Matthew. And every time it shows up in the Old Testament, it's used with judgment. Oracles prophecies of judgment from God, lamentation or curses. And here Jesus use it, uses it, employs it to condemn Israel's unbelief. Now, the two cities that are called out Corin and Bethsaida, Razin is mentioned nowhere else in the gospels, we don't know that much about it other than in the parallel passage in Luke.

7:19We just know that it's a town two miles north of Capernaum known for its wheat production. Bethsaida is known as the hometown of some of the disciples. John 1 21 says, now, Philip was from Beth Saya, the city of Andrew and Peter, and it was on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. And in Luke's gospel, Jesus and his apostles withdrew to a town called Bethsaida. And it's where he feeds the 5,000. It's where he heals a blind man. And so very clearly, these are two prominent Jewish towns where Jesus had traveled and performed many of his miracles. Now what, what's the significance of sackcloth and ashes?

8:04This is like a potato sack. It was cheap and rough made of camel or goat hair and it symbolized mourning. It's like the funeral that I went to yesterday. Most everybody was wearing black. It's the cultural way in which we express our mourning and grief. Ashes would've been placed on people's heads to signify sorrow and repentance. And what Jesus is saying is that these two Old Testament cities, tire and siden would've repented long ago with great lamentation and repentance and contrition if they had seen what these two cities have seen. Now, what's the significance of tire and side? My guess is most of us are unfamiliar with these two cities.

8:48It's not common knowledge. Well, tire was an ancient city on the Phoenician coast and a portion of it was on an island. And in our Bibles, Ty claim to fame shows up in kind of first and second Samuel and first and second kings because Hiram, the king of tire, was the one who provided all of the wood to King David and then later to King Solomon in order to build David's house. And then to later build the temple, he, he supplied all the wood and all the laborers and transported all the wood there. And they built these beautiful temples, David's amazing home. And Solomon supplied Hiram, the king of tire with food.

9:28And so it was a rich and powerful city, a trade center, and it had grown wealthy and arrogant. And in particular it gets called out in Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel by God for becoming arrogant. So I don't have time to read all the passages, but let me just give you a couple of verses from Ezekiel chapter 26. So you get a sampling of how God spoke of ti. Behold, I'm against you Otti and will bring up many nations against you as the sea brings up its waves you shall never be rebuilt for I am the Lord, I have spoken, declares the Lord God, I will bring you to a dreadful end and you shall be no more though you be sought for you will never be found again, declares the Lord God.

10:16So judgment is being pronounced on these two cities. And so the question becomes, well why? What's their sin? Oh, what have they done? Ezekiel 28, verses one and two, the word of the Lord came to me, the prophet Ezekiel son of man say to the prince of Tyre, thus says the Lord God. So this is God speaking now quote, because your heart is proud and you have said, I am a God. I sit in the seat of Gods in the heart of the seas being an island. Yet you are but a man and no God, though you make your heart like the heart of a God. What does that mean? Jesus is calling out these two Jewish towns and said, if these two arrogant pagan cities would've seen what I had done in your towns, they would've repented these arrogant Pagan cities will receive a lighter judgment than Korazin and Beseda.

11:20And the reason is because these Israelite towns have committed the worst offense. Though these pagan cities were arrogant and full of boasting, they did it out out of their ignorance. And yet for Corin and Beth, they have rejected the Messiah. They knowingly reject Jesus. And I think Jesus' words here in this passage are stunning for several reasons. And I'm gonna share three very significant realities that I think are revealed here in this text. The first is that Jesus has contingent knowledge. Do you see that? Jesus says, if the things that I did, the miracles that I performed were done entire inside, they would've responded in sackcloth and ashes.

12:17Meaning Jesus doesn't just know what happens, he knows what might have happened. And it reveals that he indeed is the sovereign Lord of the universe. Second God does not owe revelation to anyone. He didn't do these miracles entire inside him. And they were indeed judged. And Jesus is saying, God's judgment will indeed be just there will be none, nothing unjust with the God of the universe. The judge of all the Earth will do what is right and good. And that leads to the third one, which is judgment Day will take into account opportunity Judgment Day will take into account opportunity. Corin and Beth Sayda will be judged more harshly because of their rejection and unbelief, because they had Jesus standing among them, walking around doing these miracles, and they rejected the Messiah because of their hardness of heart.

13:19Whereas tire and sadden, they too will come under judgment. But they didn't see as much, they didn't experience as much. And so it reveals that God's judgment will be perfectly just no one on judgment day will be able to say, I have a good excuse. Uh, I never saw, I didn't see it. 'cause we can go to Romans one for what can be known about God is plain to all because God has shown it to them for his invisible attributes. Namely he's namely His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

14:05No one on judgment day will be able to say, well, I never heard. I never saw no one ever shared with me. The scriptures make clear you saw enough and you should have recognized God as the creator and sustainer of the world and his sense, son Jesus. So judgment day will be fair, impartial and proportionate, and no one will have an excuse. Now look with me back at verse 23. And you Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades for if the mighty works done and you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.

15:00This is a shocking statement, shocking condemnation. Again, the same logic applies. Jesus did his ministry in Capernaum. It was the center of his ministry and mission. Matthew four 13 says, Jesus lived in Capernaum by the sea. It's where he healed the unclean spirit, the centurion servant. He regularly taught in the synagogue in Capernaum. So the town had Jesus all the time, in and out, in and out. And Jesus condemns Capernaum with this phrase, will you be exalted to heaven? You'll be brought down to Hades. What does that mean? Well, Jesus is alluding to Isaiah chapter 14 verses 13 and 15. And so I'm gonna read verse 13 and 15 from Isaiah 14 and listen to see if you can hear it.

15:51And before I read it, let me just give you the context it the context is God tells Israel after the exile, I want you to say to the evil city of Babylon, this is how you should taunt it. This is how you taunt Babylon, this evil wicked city. Okay, so you said in your heart, so this is the nation of Israel being told by God Almighty to say to Babylon, Babylon, you said in your heart, Babylon, I will ascend to heaven above the stars of God, I will set my throne on high. In other words, Babylon, you're this boastful, arrogant city that thinks you're the greatest city in all the world, but God is telling Israel, this is what you say to it, but you are brought down to shol, to the far reaches of the pit.

16:42In other words, God tells Israel to go to Babylon and say, T this city, you think you're so great, judgment is coming and God's swift judgment will be painful and terrible and awful in that day. You think you're the greatest city in the world, you will be struck down just like every other kingdom because the kingdom of God is coming. And what Jesus does is he takes that context and that passage and he says, Capernaum, you're even more wicked than the epitome of wickedness Babylon. That is just shocking that Jesus would say that to the town where he did most of his miracles. And the reason, uh, they're in a sense more evil than Babylon itself is because they've rejected the Messiah.

17:36They've rejected Jesus, they see him in the flesh. It, it's a little bit like if you wanted to insult the city of Minneapolis, which you know, we, we love the Twin Cities and but someone could say, you know, we like to boast. We have lots of Fortune 500 companies and we have some of the best biking states and look at our parks and you know, the North Shore like we can boast other than winter, you know, but it's minor part of Minnesota. But we, we, we like to boast about how great Minnesota and the Twin cities are. And someone could say, well, with the pollution that you guys have experienced the last couple of months, you're like a developing third world country into that.

18:17We would say yes. And, and and, and that's what Jesus is doing. But much significant measure. Capernaum, you think you're so amazing and great, and Jesus has made this town his hometown in a sense. He, he born in Bethlehem, man of Nazareth, but he's ministered in Capernaum and he retreats there whenever he's not out and doing his ministry. And you think, yeah, we're pretty amazing and great. And Jesus says, you're worse than Babylon. And it gets even more surprising. He says, if the mighty works that I've done here, were done in Sodom, Sodom would be still standing because they would not have been destroyed.

19:00And we know Sodom Genesis 18 and 19, it was the epitome, it was synonymous with evil and corruption and depravity. You know, Genesis 1820, because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave. Jesus says that the people of Sodom had a more sensitive conscience and greater discernment than the people of Capernaum. That is utterly shocking for Jesus to say about the town where he lived and ministered, this is a damning condemnation of their rejection of Jesus. And it's striking at the heart of rejecting the Messiah at the heart of Babylon sin and tire and sadden and even Sodom and Gomorrah.

19:51What's at the heart of all of that sin? It's pride and arrogance. We think we know better than God. We refuse to repent because I'm not that bad of a person. I haven't done what other people have done. Do you see the news? There's a lot worse people out there. And we refuse to come and repent to the God of the universe because we think I'm not that bad. I I do pretty good.

20:20We seek to justify ourselves, we compare ourselves with others, and if we seek to justify ourselves, we will stand condemned by our own sins. This is true of ti and Sidon, Babylon and Sodom of the twin cities and all of its surrounding suburbs. Jesus makes clear that each one will be judged according to what was revealed to them. All will be accountable. No one will be treated unfairly at final judgment. And so this is a very sobering word for us this morning. Now, lest we think final judgment is just some creation of those fire and brimstone preachers meant to scare people, uh, I want to show several texts from the Bible that talk about final judgment because it's been there from the very beginning.

21:14We just don't like to talk about it much in North American Christianity. So in the Apostles creed, the Apostles creed is the summary statement of what Christians have believed from the very beginning. It says this of Jesus, he ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. And then from there he will come to judge the living and the dead or the nine seeking creed. He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will never end. Now I'll go to four scripture passages. I wanna move very quickly. First one is Matthew 25, and it's verses 31 to 46.

21:52You could turn there or you could just listen. I'm not gonna read that whole section. We'll eventually get there in our series in Matthew, but that's where Jesus is pictured in all of his glory. He's seated on a throne surrounded by all of his angels. And it says this in verse 32 of Matthew 25, before him, before Jesus will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people from one another as a shepherd. Shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and the sheep will be blessed and inherit the kingdom and the goats will be cursed and sent to the eternal fires of torment. And so this passage tells us that a final judgment is indeed coming.

22:33It will be permanent, decisive, and eternal. And what will it be based upon? Jesus says, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. In other words, Jesus is the litmus test. How you treat Jesus will determine your eternal destiny. Second passage, John 5 28 and 29, do not marvel at this. Jesus says, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out. And those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment, again, a day of judgment, an hour is coming when those will, some will be resurrected to life and others to judgment.

23:22Or Romans two, verse five and six, Paul anticipates this day of wrath, when God's righteous judgment will be revealed, he will render to each one according to his works. In other words, there will be a day of reckoning where we'll have to settle our accounts and everyone will be judged according to their works. Some will obtain glory and honor and immortality in eternal life and others will experience wrath and theory and tribulation and distress. And so again, it, it's really clear from the scriptures that a final judgment awaits all and, and there's only two ways to live. Either you're hidden in the blood of Christ, you've been baptized into his death, you've been risen with him to new life.

24:09You've been washed clean by his blood, or you live your own way. It doesn't matter how good you are, you will suffer and stand under his wrath and condemnation. Revelation 20, verse 15, John sees this vision of Jesus seated on this great right throne, great white throne with all the dead standing before the throne and the books are opened and it says, if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. So again, final judgment awaits it's coming and it all is based upon what we did with Jesus. Did we repent and believe or did we reject him? Jesus says in this passage, woe to these cities because they committed the greater sin.

25:07They showed more arrogance, more pride than even Sodom and some of these other wicked cities of the Old Testament. Why? Because they rejected the Messiah, Jesus himself in the flesh walking among them. And so the crucial question for us this morning is, are you ready for the day of judgment? Are we ready for the day of judgment? Are you ready to meet your maker? We will all die in many ways. This is the bad news before we get to the good news of the gospel. The good news of the gospel is so often not good news to people when you share it with them because they don't understand the bad news. It's so much easier to tell people that God loves them.

26:04And they usually say, well, of course he does. I'm so lovable. But when you say you're under his wrath, under his condemnation, you're a sinner destined for eternal torment and punishment. They just look at you with a bewildered look. How could you possibly say something like that? And yet, this is the bad news of the gospel, that we are sinners, that we're enemies of God, we're estranged from him that there's nothing we can do that can earn our salvation. That there, there's nothing inherent in us that God looks at and says, that's what I want. You're you're doing exactly what I want. Our works condemn us.

26:45We're under his burning hot anger and wrath and his justice demands that sin be punished. And only when we understand that bad news will we then begin to grasp in a greater way the beauty and the wonder of the gospel. That because God is so gloriously holy, so that the most wicked cities of the Old Testament, Babylon and Sodom, uh, we would put them up there on the Mount Rushmore of wicked cities. There are none more wicked. And Jesus says they're gonna have a much tamer judgment because of these cities that rejected the Messiah. And it shows the greatness and the holiness and the wonder of the Messiah, Jesus, how great is he and how wicked is it to reject him?

27:39And the same is true today. How wicked is it if we neglect such a great salvation this morning, if we reject King Jesus who offers out to us forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with the Father, that you can have your sins forgiven as far as the east is from the west. That's how far I'll separate your sins from you. They were as scarlet. I'll wash them white as snow. And we said, no Lord, I don't want that. Let me do it on my own. Let me earn your salvation. Let me work a little harder on my own as if that would work. Only when we see how wicked and heinous it is to think that way, will we then read a passage like Romans eight, one, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus and marvel that sinners can be uncondemned because of what Christ has done.

28:49The the extension of this is that if we truly believe in final judgment, if we truly believe that everyone will stand before infinitely holy God and have to give an account of all that they've said and done and thought, should it not make us more compassionate for the lost and more zealous to share the gospel, if we really believe that is coming for every single person on the face of this earth, do we then evangelize with urgency and zeal?

29:30You can almost hear the sorrow in Jesus' voice when he pronounces these woes. Uh, he's not doing it with a glib smile on his face. Jesus. Oh, how, uh, uh, would've gathered you like a mother hen to you Israel? Jesus looked out on the cities and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And so do we share that heart of compassion for all those who have not yet heard this message And that there are people in our families, in our workplaces, in our neighborhoods who consistently will stiff arm you or the gospel or church or Christ. And, and it's easy to say, let me wash my hands, shake off the dust from my feet.

30:21And I think a passage like this should again, give us Jesus' heart for the lost, oh, that we would have the heart of Christ and that our hearts would break with compassion for the lost. So, uh, I wanna end with two applications, two additional applications. The first is that we would beware, beware of thinking lightly about imminent judgment. Beware of pride and arrogance. It's pride that believes that I'm not that bad judgment day, not that concerned. Yeah, I've done a few bad things, a couple of mistakes, but you know, when all kind of shakes out, I think I'll be okay. A prominent lie today is that all sins are equal.

31:15We've all heard it before. We're all sinners. So it's no big deal if I keep on sinning. And the reality is that some sins are more damning and damaging. Sexual sin is against one's own body, which is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Murder takes a life. It's more severe than an angry word. What our passage reveals is that it's not our judgment of the severity of a sin, it's God's judgment. He's saying these cities of Israel will be judged more harshly than these Old Testament cities. And while all sin separates us from God, Jesus does indeed teach that some sins will receive greater condemnation, judgment and punishment.

32:00And so we should beware of minimizing our sin. We should never take our sin lightly. This happens all the time in marriage, doesn't it? Well, you did this well, you did this too. We, we we blame shift almost instinctually because that's who we are. Or you get called out. Well, I'm, I'm not as bad as so and so did beware of say, taking sin lightly beware, being tempted to think it's no big deal to sin. God's just gonna forgive me anyways. The smallest infraction against the infinitely holy God is a great insult to the creator and sustainer of the world. And so beware of thinking that our sin is light.

32:49And if we, again, think if tire and Soden and Babylon and Sodom were wicked and we're judged, and yet greater judgment comes to Cozen, Beth and Capernaum, what will the judgment be for us? Because we have 2000 years of church history, have this perspective in this place in redemptive history, we have a lot of responsibility. We have received a lot. And so we will be judged. So let us not scoff at or take advantage of the grace of God. The other is that I want us to believe and cleave and treasure Christ, believe and cleave and treasure Christ. This is a hard text. It's one primarily of judgment, of God's wrath that is to come of eternal conscious torment that is going to be poured out and everyone will face this judgment.

33:58And yet by God's grace, all those who are in Christ, all those who have hidden themselves in Jesus can say with the apostle Paul, I have been crucified with Christ. It's no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and the life that I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. That can be objectively true of all those who are hidden in Jesus. And judgment day will not be this terrifying, awful reality for all those who are hidden in Christ. It will be like that championship parade, king Jesus has come to return. We've been longing for you, king Jesus.

34:49You're here and we can't wait for you to take your rightful place. And so that is what awaits all of God's children this morning. We have been blessed with great riches and I don't want anyone, anyone to miss out on this. So final judgment will be a glorious day where Jesus will be seated on his throne. We will gather around and we will cry out and sing. It is done, it is finished. No more debt io paid in full, all sufficient merit, not my own. Let's pray. Father, may that be true, that every ear within reach of this voice would put their hope and faith and trust in Christ. And Christ alone. Give us compassionate hearts as we look out at the lost, knowing that final judgment awaits help us to fear and tremble and to revere you rightly, oh, that we would not sin against you, that we wouldn't t trample upon grace and oh, that we would love you because you are all our all sufficient merit.

36:21We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

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