Being Near Jesus Is Not the Same as Turning to Jesus Matthew 11:20–24

Being Near Jesus Is Not the Same as Turning to Jesus

Matthew 11:20–24

Jesus began to rebuke the towns in which most of His mighty works had been done.

The reason is surprisingly simple:

They did not repent.

These were not people who knew nothing about Jesus.

They had heard His words. They had witnessed His mighty works. They had seen signs of the kingdom of God appearing among them.

Yet they did not repent.

Seeing Much Does Not Necessarily Mean Believing Much

Jesus said:

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!”

Then He made a shocking comparison.

If the mighty works performed among them had been done in Tyre and Sidon, Jesus said, those cities would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

Tyre and Sidon were Gentile cities that had faced prophetic words of judgment in the Old Testament.

Yet Chorazin and Bethsaida had received something greater.

They had not merely witnessed miracles.

They had encountered the Messiah to whom those miracles pointed.

The blind received sight.

The lame walked.

The unclean were cleansed.

The dead were raised.

The poor heard the good news.

These were the very signs Jesus had pointed out earlier in Matthew 11 when John the Baptist asked whether He was the One who was to come.

The problem, therefore, was not a lack of evidence.

The problem was that all this light had not led them to repentance.

Greater Light Brings Greater Responsibility

Jesus continued:

“It will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.”

Receiving God’s Word is grace.

Hearing the gospel is grace.

Having opportunities to study Scripture is grace.

But grace is not merely a privilege to possess or something about which to boast.

The light God gives calls us to repentance and faith.

What matters is not simply how many sermons we have heard, but how we respond to the Word we hear.

What matters is not simply how much Scripture we know, but whether that Word is continually bringing us back to Christ.

Capernaum Was Close to Jesus

Jesus’ warning becomes even stronger when He addresses Capernaum.

“And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades.”

Capernaum had a remarkable privilege. It was closely connected with Jesus’ Galilean ministry, and its people repeatedly encountered His teaching and mighty works.

Yet being close to Jesus did not save them.

Jesus said that if the mighty works done in Capernaum had been done in Sodom, Sodom would have remained until that day.

Sodom represented divine judgment in Israel’s memory.

Yet Jesus declared that on the day of judgment it would be more bearable for Sodom than for Capernaum.

Why?

The passage does not say that every kind of sin committed in Capernaum was worse than every sin of Sodom.

The difference was the light they had received.

Above all, Christ Himself had been among them.

Being Near Jesus Is Not the Same as Turning to Jesus

This warning speaks powerfully to those of us who have been around the church for a long time.

We know the language of the cross.

We know about the resurrection.

We speak about grace and salvation.

We listen to sermons and study Scripture.

But familiarity with the gospel is not the same as living by the gospel.

Knowing much about Jesus is not the same as trusting and following Jesus.

Being near Jesus is not the same as turning to Jesus.

Capernaum was near.

They saw much.

They heard much.

Yet they did not repent.

One of the dangers for Christians can be becoming so familiar with the gospel that its wonder no longer moves us.

We can hear about the cross without being humbled.

We can speak about grace without repenting.

We can study Scripture without obeying it.

Having Questions Is Different from Refusing to Hear

There is an interesting contrast earlier in Matthew 11.

John the Baptist was in prison.

He could not see Jesus’ works for himself, and he had questions.

So he sent his disciples to ask:

“Are you the one who is to come?”

John did not understand everything, but he wanted to hear Jesus’ answer.

Capernaum was different.

They were close to Jesus.

They saw and heard again and again.

Yet they did not repent.

There is a difference between having questions and refusing to listen.

Faith can have questions.

But faith brings those questions back to Christ.

Even the Warning of Judgment Calls Us to Repentance

Jesus speaks repeatedly of the “day of judgment” in this passage.

But His warning is not merely intended to create fear.

A warning given before judgment is also a call to turn while there is still time.

It says:

Turn to Christ now.

And here the gospel becomes even more precious.

The reality of judgment helps us understand why the cross is necessary.

Repentance is not paying for our own sins.

Repentance is turning from sin to Christ because Christ bore the judgment sinners deserve.

We do not make ourselves good enough to escape judgment and then come to Jesus.

We come to Jesus because we need His mercy.

Where Is the Light I Have Received Leading Me?

We live with even more of the completed story of redemption before us.

We know about the cross.

We know about the resurrection.

We know about Pentecost.

We know how the gospel began to spread among the nations.

And we have the completed Scriptures.

So the most important question is not:

“How much do I know?”

It is:

“Is what I know continually bringing me back to Christ?”

Is studying Scripture making me more humble?

Does hearing God’s Word make me more willing to repent?

Does knowing the grace of Christ make me more gracious toward others?

Does knowing Jesus make me love Him more?

Seeing much does not necessarily mean believing much.

Hearing much does not necessarily mean obeying much.

The light God gives us is not given so that we can boast about how much we know. It is grace meant to lead us in repentance and faith to Christ.

So today, once again, I turn to Christ.

I do not want merely to be near Jesus.

I want to turn to Jesus.