Sunday Leftovers From Luke 10:13-15

In Sunday’s sermon on Luke 10:13-24, we saw the following in verses 13-15: 

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, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.

 

There are four implications from this text that we did not have time to cover. Here they are. 

 

First, there are different levels of judgment for those who will be in hell, just as there will be different levels of rewards to those in heaven (see also Mt. 5:19; 11:22, 24; Luke 20:47; Mt. 11:22, 24; Rev. 2:23). No one should be comforted by this—as if you conclude that you will be under the least level of judgment. Instead, it should be a warning to those who have so many benefits, growing up under the hearing of the gospel,  and facing the worst judgment in hell!

 

Second, we are reminded that God is omniscient, knowing all things and having all wisdom (see also Ps. 139:1-6; Jer. 32:19; Rom. 11:33). What we discover here in Luke 10:13 is that God not only knows all that happens and will happen. He also knows all that would happen if there were different events preceding that outcome. Jesus displays divine knowledge here in that he knows that if Tyre and Sidon would have seen the mighty works of Jesus done among them, they would have repented and trusted in him in a large-scale manner across their cities. 

 

Third, we see that even though God is aware of a set of events that would have led to the faith and repentance of Tyre and Sidon, for reasons known only to him, he did not decree these events. This demonstrates that God does not decree what happens in a manner dependent upon man’s future choices. The ultimate moving force is found in the decrees of God (his sovereign will of decree), not human choices. 

 

Fourth, we discover especially in these verses that cultures of cities and/or countries can have an impact upon how citizens think and respond (or don’t respond) to the gospel (this is implied in Isaiah 25:3 and Acts 17:16 also). In other words, it appears to be the case that Jesus is affirming that in Chorazin and Bethsaida there were cultural influences that led to their large-scale rejection of Jesus and the kingdom. Most likely this influence revolves around shared false expectations about the coming Christ, as well as a false elevated view of their own standing before God—all which led to the thought they did not need a Christ and Savior like Jesus. Conversely, if a different set of cultural influencers were present in Tyre and Sidon, there would have been a wide-scale turning to Christ, just as there was a wide-scale turning to God in Nineveh, as seen in Jonah. 

 

If I am correct about this fourth implication, it demonstrates to us the importance of shaping the public square through things like education and public policies. Of course, these are not absolute, nor do they form a sure-fire formula. After all, the New Testament church was born out of two key cultural influences (the Jewish and Greco-Roman worlds) that were antagonistic to Christian doctrine. Likewise, in our own time we see the church growing much in places as antagonistic to Christianity as can be imagined, such as North Korea and China. These examples remind us God is God and we are not. Nevertheless, we should also remember the strong positive influence Christianity has had upon cultures, that in turn, have had positive influence on the spread of Christianity in those cultures (e.g. 16^th c. Germany and Geneva, Switzerland, as well as 18^th c. colonial America). 

 

By way of summary, we can say these four implications bring two other discoveries. To begin, many theological concepts arise as secondary implications in texts. They may not be the primary thrust of the passage, but they are nonetheless present. Finally, we see the importance of paying careful attention to the details of Bible texts we read or study. 

 

Joyfully Discovering God’s Truth In His Word With You,

 

Tom Barnes