St Matthew, Chapter 11, verse: 25, The Revelations.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Jesus draws men gently to himself) Part 1.  

Christ is mournful as he looks back at the towns and villages that did not repent.  He sees their damnation in the day of judgment and calls them out.  Yet, he is mournful at the sorrow of their condition.  Attempts were made to open their eyes, to open their ears, to help them understand the signs of the times, but they remained impenitent.  They were a hard lot.  The devil had infiltrated their defenses and turned them, so that, they could not see, or hear, or understand with their senses.  So they will face the consequences in the day of judgement.

Christ goes on to give praise to his heavenly father for the decisions that were made.  For these things were not revealed to the wise.  They were not revealed to the prudent.  They were revealed to the laborer, to the field hand, to the street sweeper, to the farmer.  They were revealed to the little ones, those who were without hope, without faith.  Christ says,   "I praise thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and prudent, and didst reveal them to little ones."  

For it was God's knowledge that the wise rejected.  It was God's wisdom that the prudent refused to believe.  They knew of the existence of God but refused to believe.  They knew of the power and majesty of God but rejected him and replaced him with gods fashioned after human likenesses and the likeness of animals.  They knew of the glory of God but refused to give glory but instead set themselves up to receive glory from the people.  And this was Christ's revelation of the will of the father to hide the mysteries of the kingdom from those who were wise and prudent and to reveal them only to the little ones.

Do you consider yourself wise?  Do you think of yourself as prudent?  God looks for the little ones to reveal his mysteries.  He seeks the clean of heart to whom he will show himself.  Blessed are the clean of heart for they shall see God.  For the wise do not know him.  Their earthly wisdom is a stumbling block.  The prudent do not know him.  Their worldly knowledge prevents them from having faith.  The rich do not know him.  For their riches blind them.  The famous do not know him for their arrogance make them unworthy to receive him.  But the little ones believe.  The little ones know.  The little ones open themselves to the wisdom and the knowledge of God.  For it is by God's grace that the little ones receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit from God.  Wisdom comes from the mouth of babes and fools.  Faith is the belief in the desire to be one in Christ as Christ is one in the Father.  Are you wise in the world or a fool?  Are you a baby in the world but a child of God?  We are all his children!!!

St Matthew, Chapter 11, verses: 23 - 24, The Reproach.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The impenitent towns) Part 2. 

Christ continues with the appraisal of his work.  For he has traveled through many towns and villages.  And he has sent his disciples through many towns and villages preaching the kingdom of heaven.  Yet there are those towns that do not repent.  There are those towns that have had great miracles and wonders completed in them and they reject the gospel.  Those are the towns Christ looks back and calls damnation upon.  Those are the towns that Christ remembers their unwillingness, their unbelief, their sin, and Capharnaum is one of them. 

Christ says about Capharnaum, "And thou, Capharnaum, shalt thou be exalted to heaven? Thou shalt be thrust down to hell!"  No glory for this town.  No honor for this village.  It shall be cast into hell for its sins and iniquities.  For it is an evil town.  It is a town filled with the dark forces.  It is a town where the people are blind and cannot see.  They are deaf and cannot hear.  Their understanding has been taken away from them by the evil one.  Many miracles were completed in Carpharaum.  Many demons were cast out.  Many sick were cured and many lame were made to walk.  Yet they did not repent.  They did not turn to the true God.  They continued to worship pagans and live in sin.

Christ told his disciples that Sodom would fair better in the day of judgement.  Sodom would receive a lesser penalty than this town because Sodom had no miracles, Sodom had no signs, Sodom had no prophets come to them.  But Capharnaum had Christ.  Capharnaum had the miracles.  Capharnaum had the light of the world come to its doorstep and it still did not repent.  And Capharaum has the wrath of God upon it because of its impenitence.  Christ says,  "For if the miracles had been worked in Sodom that have been worked in thee, it would have remained to this day.  But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for thee."   

Christ is doing an appraisal of his work.  He is reviewing the towns and the cities and the villages where his message is being preached.  Do you live in an impenitent town?  Do you live in a place where sin abounds and the message of the kingdom is not preached?  Miracles are being worked.  Wonders are being created. Signs are being sent to those who have eyes to see and those who have ears to hear.  Do you live in a house of peace?  Or is your house a house of lies and deceit?  Christ is doing his appraisal.  Will your house be exalted to heaven or cast down to hell?  Christ is doing an appraisal and life hangs in the balance.  Which way will the scales fall for your house?  Your house is your temple.  Does Christ live in you?  May the gift of God be in your heart.

St Matthew, Chapter 11, verses: 20 - 22, The Reproach.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The impenitent towns) Part 1. 

Christ has traveled throughout the region preaching and performing miracles.  He has sent his disciples through the towns and villages on their solo journey casting out devils, healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, making the lame walk, and raising the dead.  Christ gave them the power to perform these miracles.  They have encountered the dark forces of evil in these places and overcome, because of the training that Christ gave them.  Now Christ looks back upon the completed work and makes his observations.

He says, "Woe to thee, Corozain!  Woe to thee, Bethsaida!  For if in Tyre and Sidon had been worked the miracles that have been worked in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes."   Christ mourns for those towns and villages that have not repented when the message of the kingdom was preached in them.  For he has told his disciples to kick the dust from their feet as a sign of those who do not receive the message.  Those towns and villages will receive the wrath of God on the day of judgement and Christ laments for them.  For what would it take to bring about repentance.  Corozain did not repent.  Bethsaida did not repent.  Tyre and Sidon did repent but without miracles.  Great will be the wrath in those towns and there will be no mercy.

Christ says to them,  "But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you."   For on that day there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth and the wrath of God will come upon them.  They have rejected the message sent from God through Christ.  They did not hear the call for repentance because their minds were closed and their hearing was blocked by the evil one, and they refused to turn from their evil ways.  The call was upon them and they did not listen and in the day of judgement they will know their sorrows, they will know their pain, they will know the one true God who came down from heaven to offer salvation.

How true is this message today?  What cities and towns live in evil and do not heed the message of Christ?  Will the sin city see repentance?  Will the sun bathing capitol see repentance?  Will the city of angels see repentance or the new jack city come to life?  All have had the message preached in them and they do not heed the message of wrath that will come upon them.  You who believe escape to safety.  You who heed the message leave the cities and live outside the gates. Live according to the spiritual precepts preached by Christ.  Forsake the sin and evil ways of the world.  For we live in a time of destruction.  We live in a time when mankind is held in captivity by the evil one and the world knows not Christ. 

Depart from them children of God.  Leave before the wrath of God comes upon you.  You are the chosen ones.  You are the lost sheep that Christ came down from heaven to redeem.  Let not his redemption be in vain.  Christ mourns for all his children, for all his brothers and sisters.  For their will be great suffering on that day of judgment.  But until that time God is merciful.  God is patient.  God is loving and he wants all his children to have the opportunity to repent.  He wants all his children to have the opportunity to turn from their wicked ways.  Be ever thankful for that opportunity and let others know that they have the same opportunity.  The Holy Spirit will guide you and protect you if you open the door and welcome him into your heart.  For he will teach all.  Christ mourned for the children in his time.  Let him not mourn for us in our time.