1. Our Lord referred to six cities here in our text:

• Chorazin (11:21) was a village in northern Galilee, just about two miles from Capernaum.  It is only referred to twice in Scripture -- here in Matthew 11:21, and in Luke 19:13, an identical parallel passage.
• Bethsaida (11:21) was a small fishing village on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee; it was the home of the apostles Andrew, Peter, Philip and John.
• Tyre and Sidon (11:21, 22) were ancient Phoenician cities located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea.   Many of the Old Testament prophets denounced the idolatry and wickedness of Tyre and Sidon.  Queen Jezebel came from Sidon. In fact, her father was the king of the Zidonians. Ezekiel looked at the king of Tyre, and saw the real power behind his throne -- Satan himself (Ezekiel 28:12-19).  These were very wicked cities, yet our Lord upbraided Chorazin and Bethsaida, and said, "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida!... But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you" (Matt. 11:21, 22).
• Capernaum (11:23).  Matthew 4:13 says that when our Lord left Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum. He then made Capernaum the center of His activity during His public ministry.  Our Lord said this city, His adopted home town, would "be brought down to hell" (11:23).
• Sodom (11:23, 24).  The wickedness and moral depravity of Sodom and Gomorrah is proverbial. Sodom gave us the word "sodomy," which means perverted sex.  The LORD rained down fire and brimstone upon Sodom because "the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly" (Genesis 13:13; 19:24). God has a "zero tolerance policy" for sodomites.  Deuteronomy 23:17 says, "There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel."

2. When our Lord spoke these words in Matthew 11, He was looking back to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and He was also looking ahead to the future judgment of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum.
3. The message here is simple: privilege brings responsibility. Matthew 11:20 says, "Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not."
4. These cities heard Him preach and saw His wonderful miracles and mighty works, but "they repented not."

I. PRIVILEGES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Sodom did not have the same privileges as Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum.
2. Let us consider Capernaum, our Lord's adopted home town.  It was at Capernaum where many of His "mighty works" were done (Matthew 11:23).
3. These "mighty works" would include healing the centurion's servant (Matthew 8:5-13), and the nobleman's son (John 4:46-54), and Simon Peter's mother-in-law (Mark 1:30, 31), and the man sick of the palsy (Matthew 9:1-8).
4. It was in the synagogue at Capernaum that our Lord cast out the unclean spirit (Mark 1:21-28).
5. It was there in Capernaum that our Lord took that little child and set him in the midst of the crowd, and said, "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3, 4).
6. The great Bread of Life Discourse, recorded in John 6, was given at Capernaum.
7. Now contrast these great privileges with Sodom.  The citizens of Sodom did not get to hear our Lord preach, nor did they see His mighty works.
8. Over 30 years ago, Leonard Ravenhill wrote a book entitled, Sodom Had No Bible. In this book, he points out that Sodom had no preachers, no Bible schools, no prayer meetings, and no Gospel broadcasts.
9. The only believer in Sodom was Lot, a carnal and backslidden believer.  Lot was so backslidden that when he pleaded with his sons-in-law to get out of Sodom they didn't take him seriously.
10. Genesis 19:14 says, Lot said, "Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law."
11. Our Lord pronounced judgment upon His adopted hometown of Capernaum, and said in Matthew 11:23 and 24, "And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee."

II. GREATER JUDGMENT FOR THOSE WHO ARE PRIVILEGED

1. The interpretation of Matthew 11:20-24 is very simple and easy to understand.  Therefore, let me move from the interpretation to the application.
2. Our Lord spent much time in Chorazin, and Bethsaida, and Capernaum. They saw His "mighty works" (11:21), but they would not repent (11:20).
3. The word "repent" is used twice here (11:20, 21).  It is the key word here, and in a similar passage in Matthew 12 (cf. 12:41).
4. There is very little fear of God today. Many professed Christians have no fear of God.  They use bad language, listen to garbage music, and watch smutty television shows and movies.
5. Nowadays it is getting hard to see any difference between Christians and unsaved people.
6. According to the Bible, those who receive the most light receive the greater punishment. Think about the privileges of Great Britain, the country that gave us Wycliffe, and Tyndale, and Wesley, and Whitefield, and Bunyan, and Spurgeon, and the King James Bible.
7. Our Lord says, "If the mighty works which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes" (11:21).
8. Speaking of the great privileges of England, British Pastor W. Graham Scroggie said this back in 1917:

   "If they had a measure of privilege at Sodom, and of great privilege and responsibility at Capernaum, we have the most supreme opportunity, and greatest and grandest of all privileges in this Christian land, at this late hour in the Christian dispensation, with all the accumulated blessings of the past.  Capernaum knew Christ only as the Messiah and miracle worker and teacher.  We know Christ as the One who died and rose again and ascended into glory, who has sent His Spirit and has given us His Word -- and has built His Church.  He has been building it during 1,900 years (2,000 now) by mighty operations amongst people in a series of revivals and outpourings of grace and of the accumulated riches of all the years that have gone.  We have come into a vast spiritual heritage; our opportunity is a much greater than Capernaum's, as Capernaum's was than Sodom's" (Olford on Scroggie).

9. Yes, God has blessed England, but sadly, England has turned away from God.  Soon there will be no more Great Britain.  According to Bible prophecy, it will soon be swallowed up by the European Union. All over Europe, the Gospel light is going out.  They now call Europe "post-Christian" and secular.  God calls it godless.
10. And what about the United States of America? The songwriter said, "America, America! God shed His grace on thee." And God did indeed shed His grace on America -- abundantly.
11. America rapidly became the greatest nation on the face of the earth. How? The grace of God. But America has turned its back on God.
12. Our Lord rebuked these cities, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum (11:21-24), and this is the principle: Those who reject the most light receive the greater punishment.
13. Everyone receives a certain amount of light. John 1:9 says that our Lord was "the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."
14. Every person who walks through the door of this church has some measure of light, because John 1:9 says that our Lord was "the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."
15. Now if a person has the opportunity of sitting in a meeting like this and hearing the Gospel being preached, then he has been given even more light.  But with more light comes more responsibility!
16. Spurgeon said, "Those who perish with salvation sounding in their ears perish with a vengeance."
17. The Bible contains many warnings about those who hear the Gospel but turn away from it (cf. Proverbs 1:24-29; 29:1; II Peter 2:20-22; Hebrews 10:29, 30).
18. "The Lord shall judge His people."
19. Here in this world there are some good judges and there are some bad judges. In Luke 18, our Lord referred to an unjust judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man.
20. But the God of heaven is far above all the judges of this world.  And Genesis 18:25 says, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
21. God takes into consideration the privileges and the guilt of Chorazin, and Bethsaida, and Capernaum, and Tyre and Sidon, and Sodom.
22. Sodom was very wicked and was judged accordingly.  The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is recorded as an example and as a warning (cf. II Peter 2:6-9; Jude 7).
23. Tyre and Sidon were wicked heathen cities, but our Lord said in Matthew 11:20 and 21, "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you."
24. Chorazin, and Bethsaida, and Capernaum were judged more severely than Tyre and Sidon, and Sodom because they had far more privileges.
25. With greater privileges comes greater responsibility, and greater judgment (cf. Matt. 12:41).

III. THE INEVITABLE DAY OF JUDGMENT (11:24)

1. Which "day of judgment" is our Lord referring to (11:24)?  He is referring to the great white throne judgment (Rev. 20:11-15).
2. The lost will be "judged according to their works" (Rev. 20:12, 13). Those who have rejected the most light shall receive the greater punishment.
3. Those who have heard the Gospel and have had other privileges (e.g., Christian friends and relatives) will be worse off than those who have not had those same privileges and opportunities.
4. The Bible teaches that there are greater degrees of punishment in hell for those who have heard the Gospel time and time again and have rejected it (cf. Luke 12:47, 48).
5. In Matthew 23:14 and 15, our Lord said there will be a "greater damnation" for religious hypocrites who are guilty of leading people into hell.
6. "Greater damnation!"  What a terrible thought!  We think the word "damnation" by itself is frightening enough.  When I was young, children got their mouths washed out with soap and water if they used the words, "damn or damnation or hell."
7. The word "damnation" reminds us of what Jesus said in Matthew 13:42.  He said sinners shall be cast "into a furnace of fire," where "there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."  That is eternal damnation.
8. Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."  That is eternal damnation.
9. Jesus said in Mark 9:43 and 44, "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
10. "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
11. As terrible as it sounds, we can imagine a fire that is never quenched.  Revelation 19:20, and 20:10-15, and 21:8 warn of a "lake of fire."
12. We can imagine a fire that is never quenched, but "where their worm dieth not"? Worms or maggots that never die!
13. Strong's Concordance says these are worms which prey upon dead bodies, emphasizing their punishment after death will never cease.
14. Many people think these warnings about eternal damnation only refer to very wicked men like Adolph Hitler or Joseph Stalin.  But that is not what Jesus said.
15. Our Lord said in Mark 16:16, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."
16. "Damnation" is a frightening word, but in Matthew 23:14 our Lord warned about a "greater damnation."
17. He told the hypocritical scribes and hypocrites, "Therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation."
18. Consider the horrible judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 19:27 and 28 says Abraham got up early in the morning to take a look. "And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace." Sodom and Gomorrah were completely destroyed.
19. And then consider our Lord's words in Matthew 11:23 and 24, "And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee."

CONCLUSION:

1. In the days of our Lord, there were four prominent cities in Galilee: Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, and Tiberias. In Matthew 11:21-24, our Lord pronounced judgment upon the first three, but not Tiberias.
2. Now consider this: The destruction of Chorazin and Bethsaida has been so severe that to this day no one knows for sure exactly where they were even located.
3. The ISBE says this regarding Chorazin, "It must have been a place of some importance, and highly privileged by the ministry of Jesus. It was already deserted in the time of Eusebius...It is utterly desolate: a few carved stones being seen among the heaps."
4. Capernaum, our Lord's adopted home town had been "exalted unto heaven," but was "brought down to hell" (Matt. 11:23).
5. And today the ruins of Capernaum remain as a testimony to the accuracy of God’s Word.
6. But Tiberias still stands. This is just one of many remarkable prophecies which prove the Bible is the Word of God.
7. A number of years ago, a prominent preacher said, "If God doesn't judge America he'll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah."
8. That statement has been repeated by other preachers over the years.  But God does not have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah or to anyone.
9. Sodom and Gomorrah engaged in wicked immorality. Because of their filthy and detestable sins, they deserved the righteous judgment of God, and so God did judge them.
10. Capernaum had much more light than Sodom. They enjoyed more advantages, more privileges, more opportunities -- and so God judged them more severely.
11. They were "exalted unto heaven," but they were brought down to hell.
12. Our Lord said if the mighty works which have been done in Capernaum had been done in Sodom, Sodom would have remained until this day (Matthew 11:23, 24).