“Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.” (Matthew 11.20)

New Testament Challenge - Day 2
Matthew 8-12


In this reading of Matthew we hear the Lord speaking difficult words of rebuke to those whom, although He had blessed them, did not repent from their sinful lives. There are two points in this passage that we should take special note of:

1. Even sinners receive and witness blessings from God

2. God expects a new life of repentance in thanksgiving for His blessings

Here the words of Saint Paul ring loudly, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5.8) Haven’t we been blessed by God? Isn’t there anything in our personal life that we can recognize as a blessing from God? Too often we can’t think of things, not because we have not been blessed, but because we can’t see that our good fortune and health are gifts from God. We somehow think that we are to be credited with the greatness that we have accomplished in our lives. The reality is that each one of us has been blessed by God, in ways we don’t always understand.

The reality of our blessings brings great cause for reflection over point #2 above. We cannot thank God for the blessings if we don’t recognize His hand in them. In this case we don’t live a life of repentance either because we don’t think we need to repent or because we don’t recognize God’s love acting in our lives.

Here is our deepest challenge….to see the love of God acting in our lives and then to offer Him thanks by living new lives. If we can learn to see our blessing for what they are, giving thanks comes a great deal easier. And when we live a life of repentance then God will not rebuke us as He did those in Chorazin or Bethsaida.