Matthew 10:14-15 (Injustice, Cruelty)
Q: In Matthew 10:14-15, Jesus says that when the apostles are rejected by the inhabitants of a city in Galilee, after the disciples shake the dust off their feet as they depart, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city. This is unjust and cruel, since Sodom and Gomorrah were bywords of utter destruction.
A: I dont think well have enough evidence to gauge the fairness or unfairness of this statement until we see it applied in judgment. Do we have any evidence that any city rejected the apostles in the course of this particular preaching-tour? Mark 6:13 reports that the apostles preached repentance and exorcised, anointed, and healed people. Luke 9:6 likewise says that the apostles preached the gospel and healed everywhere -- which may indicate that they found at least one household willing to receive them in each place they went. Later in Matthew (11:20ff.) Jesus delivers some stern and specific rebukes and condemnations of cities where most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent, but that was after He had personally toured the area (in 11:1). As far as I can tell, this statement in Matthew 10:14-15 is an if/then proposition, and since the if -- the rejection of the apostles -- never seems to have materialized, the then never did either. So, as far as this particular passage is concerned, none of the Galilean villages and cities in view here inevitably await a judgment worse than Sodom and Gomorrah received.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
Q: In Matthew 10:14-15, Jesus says that when the apostles are rejected by the inhabitants of a city in Galilee, after the disciples shake the dust off their feet as they depart, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city. This is unjust and cruel, since Sodom and Gomorrah were bywords of utter destruction.
A: I dont think well have enough evidence to gauge the fairness or unfairness of this statement until we see it applied in judgment. Do we have any evidence that any city rejected the apostles in the course of this particular preaching-tour? Mark 6:13 reports that the apostles preached repentance and exorcised, anointed, and healed people. Luke 9:6 likewise says that the apostles preached the gospel and healed everywhere -- which may indicate that they found at least one household willing to receive them in each place they went. Later in Matthew (11:20ff.) Jesus delivers some stern and specific rebukes and condemnations of cities where most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent, but that was after He had personally toured the area (in 11:1). As far as I can tell, this statement in Matthew 10:14-15 is an if/then proposition, and since the if -- the rejection of the apostles -- never seems to have materialized, the then never did either. So, as far as this particular passage is concerned, none of the Galilean villages and cities in view here inevitably await a judgment worse than Sodom and Gomorrah received.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
