15: It is very important to properly understand what is being said here. In order to get it right we must keep several things in mind. First of all, Jesus is the judge. He alone can properly measure man’s reaction to the Truth. He alone knows every heart. He alone understands every reaction. He alone can be trusted to be completely fair and equitable in his judgments. He alone will stand to judge all of mankind.
Secondly, Jesus was not accusing all of the Jews of Sodomy. He was not comparing their individual sins, but their reaction to those sins. Though there may have been some homosexuality among the Jews at the time, this sin was not even the basis of the judgement upon Sodom and Gomorrah.
This is the third thing to keep in mind. It was the lack of righteousness in these two cities that brought their destruction. You must remember Abraham’s discussion with the Lord about how many righteous people were in Sodom. Jesus was going to see about the cities. He didn’t have to do that. He already knew what he would find. But, he is always very merciful. He was waiting for repentance, and none came. He knew it wouldn’t, but for his glory, he waits anyhow. He found no hearts tender to him. He found sent angels to the city. It made little difference what he did. These cities were sold to sin. So, they were destroyed. The type of sin mattered little in comparison to the reaction to the Truth that he found. Nineveh in Jonah’s day is a perfect example. You can be sure that all kinds of wickedness went on there, and yet, Almighty God spared the city because they repented. When he explains his reasons to Jonah, he mentions the children, and the animals. He loves everyone.
Fourth, the Jews in that region had experienced more direct revelation from Almighty God than, basically, anyone in history. God himself was there, living among them. Jesus performed many miracles and proclaimed the Truth to them. In the same way, his disciples were his personal representatives to the cities in the area. They were to be accepted as he would be accepted. If they were rejected, it would be a rejection of him. This is still true today. The rejection of faithful ministers of the gospel is the same as the rejection of Christ himself.
Fifth, it is useless to speculate too much on the word ‘tolerable’. What we must do is use Scripture to back up our claims. Jesus will judge individuals. However, he is here speaking of whole cities. This is initially puzzling until you consider his reasoning. Individuals are influenced by their surroundings. If a person living in Gomorrah, for example, did repent of their sins at some point, this would be quite an exception to the rule. Whereas, if someone in the region where the disciples ministered did the same, it would only be expected, given the spread of the gospel.
What then, does this mean? Well, we must say first that we cannot know exactly. Jesus does not explain in detail how the difference works. However, what we can say is that salvation has always been based upon faith. In Sodom and Gomorrah, repentance, and a different attitude towards sin than what was the norm in those cities, would likely be connected with genuine saving faith. In Jesus’ day, however, simply repenting would not be enough. To evidence faith, one would need to accept Jesus as the Messiah. This is not a double standard. And that is exactly the point Jesus is making. If Jesus had himself preached to Sodom and Gomorrah, and done the miracles there that he did in these Jewish cities, they would have responded better. Jesus says this himself in the next chapter, Matthew 11. Thus, the standard is always what a person does with what a person has. Our response to the Truth is the heart of what faith means.
Daily Bible Reading: John 19:1-20:31
Daily Memory Verse: 1 John 2:2 “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
Daily Tidbit: There are those who do not believe that Christ died for all of mankind. 1 John 2:2 is the best verse to refute this mistake. Propitiation is a loaded word. It describes all that Almighty God has ever tried to teach us about how sin must be dealt with. It describes all that the Old Testament law of sacrifices was about. It includes all that must be done to deal with sin. Nothing is left out. Thus, to apply this word to the ‘whole world’ as John does is to say that forgiveness is genuinely available for all of mankind. To deny this is to miss the very essence of what Christ’s sacrifice has done.
Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, the glory of Your Son overshadows this world! Father, thank You for revealing Him to us! The world many not understand it, but He is our only hope. He is all that we need. He is Your provision for us. Thank You for Jesus! We will live our lives for him, proclaiming the truth of the gospel about him to all the world. He is worthy of our attention, and adoration. Knowing that Jesus understands everything we have ever done is at once scary and comforting. We know his judgments are fair, and that is the great comfort. Oh Father, thank You for Jesus in my life! He makes such a difference. Though I am not as good as I would like to be, without Jesus, I could never be pure in Your sight. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for a family that just lost a loved one.
Personal Journal Entry #13052