Matthew 11:20-24 The cities reject the Light.
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: March 18, 2019, Matthew 11:20-24
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in 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.”
(Understanding the Text / Revelation of God) Jesus brings in the principle that we are judged by the light we are given. Capernaum had God living in the middle of it, performing miracles, teaching them, demonstrating His love, and yet many of the people living there chose to remain in ignorance. Sodom and Gomorrah were more violent and sexually deviant, but God does not look at these sins as being worse than the sins of Capernaum. For God, sin is about the broken relationship with Him and the actions are symptoms of that broken relationship. Many in Capernaum were offered the opportunity to have a relationship with Jesus again and again, and they refused.
Not all places receive the same opportunities to access God, but we all receive opportunities to follow God. As we choose to do so, we are led into knowing Him better. In the end, we will be judged by whether we accepted or rejected the light we did receive. As such, these towns in Galilee received great blessings from God. They had multiple opportunities to interact with Him, and many people rejected those opportunities.
(Understanding the Text) I wonder if this happened in the same conversation where Jesus was defending John the Baptist, or if Matthew put it in here since he already had a denunciation of the people who were rejecting John the Baptist and Jesus before this, so this just seemed to be a natural place to put in this denunciation of the cities that just kept on going their own way rather than repenting after receiving Jesus’ message.
Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum were all near the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus stayed in Capernaum as His home base, so these cities were the places where He had spent a lot of time. Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Chorazin no longer exist while Nazareth and Jerusalem remain and prosper, even though Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. Bethsaida was the home town of Peter, Andrew, and Philip. However, Peter and Andrew had moved to Capernaum before they came into contact with Jesus.
(Application / Prayer) My application for myself is that I should not feel discouraged when my words fall on deaf ears and do not have the results that I wish. If Jesus with His great signs and greater love could not reach the hearts of many of the people around Him, how would I expect my words to have 100% effectiveness? I need to simply go where I am supposed to go and do what I am supposed to do and say what I am supposed to say, and then not worry about the results. The only thing I should worry about is my relationship with You. Help me to trust You and be close to You. Teach me not to stress about other people or my own inadequacies. Instead, teach me to look to You for approval and results.