The "Woes to the unrepentant cities" is a set of significant passages in The Gospel of Matthew and

Luke Luke may refer to: People and fictional characters * Luke (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Luke (surname), including a list of people with the name * Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luk ...

that record

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

' pronouncement of judgement on several Galilean cities that have rejected his message despite witnessing His miracles. This episode marks a crucial moment in Jesus' ministry, highlighting the consequences of refusing to repent and the responsibility that comes with receiving divine revelation. Jesus' criticism of these cities reflects His frustration with their lack of

faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

and unwillingness to change, despite the numerous signs and wonders He performed among them. These passages provide insight into Jesus' expectations for His followers and the seriousness with which He viewed the rejection of His message.

Text

Matthew's account

Luke's account

Historical Context

The Galilean Cities

Chorazin Chorazin ( ; also Chorazain) or Korazim (; also Chorizim) was an ancient village in the Roman and Byzantine periods, best known from the Christian Gospels. It stood on the Korazim Plateau in the Upper Galilee on a hill above the northern shore ...

: Located about two miles north of the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee (, Judeo-Aramaic languages, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ), also called Lake Tiberias, Genezareth Lake or Kinneret, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth ...

, Chorazin was a small town known for its

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

stone buildings. Archaeological excavations have uncovered a

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

from the 3rd century AD, suggesting a thriving

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community. #

Bethsaida Bethsaida ( ; from ; from Aramaic and , , from the Hebrew root ; ), also known as Julias or Julia (), is a place mentioned in the New Testament. Julias lay in an administrative district known as Gaulonitis, in modern-day Golan Heights. Histor ...

: Situated on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, Bethsaida was the hometown of apostles

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

, and

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

. It was also the site where Jesus healed a blind man (Mark 8:22-26). #

Capernaum Capernaum ( ; ; ) was a fishing village established during the time of the Hasmoneans, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It had a population of about 1,500 in the 1st century AD. Archaeological excavations have revealed tw ...

: Often called Jesus' "own city" (Matthew 9:1), Capernaum served as the center for Jesus' Galilean ministry. It was home to a synagogue where Jesus taught and performed miracles.

Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom

Tyre and

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

were ancient Phoenician cities on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

coast, known for their wealth and maritime trade.

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

prophets often denounced them for their

pride Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

and

wickedness Wickedness is generally considered a synonym for evil or sinfulness. Among theologians and philosophers, it has the more specific meaning of a profound evil committed consciously and of free will. It can also be considered the quality or state ...

(Ezekiel 26-28, Isaiah 23). Sodom was infamous for its wickedness and destroyed by

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

in the time of

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

(Genesis 19). It became a byword for

divine judgment Divine judgment means the judgment of God or other supreme beings and deities within a religion or a spiritual belief. Ancient beliefs In ancient Sumerian religion, the sun-god Utu and his twin sister Inanna were believed to be the enfo ...

and extreme sinfulness in Jewish and Christian Tradition.

Theological implications

# Responsibility of Knowledge: Jesus' words imply that greater knowledge and exposure to divine truth bring greater responsibility. The Galilean cities had witnessed Jesus' miracles firsthand, making their unbelief more culpable than that of notoriously wicked Gentile cities. # Nature of Repentance: The passage emphasizes the importance of repentance as a response to

divine revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and theology. Types Individual revelation Thomas A ...

. Jesus expected that His miracles would lead to a change of heart and behavior. # Divine Judgment: Jesus' words affirm a future day of judgment, with degrees of punishment based on the opportunities given and rejected. #

Messianic In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach' ...

Authority: By pronouncing judgment on these cities, Jesus implicitly claims divine authority.

The concept of "woe" in the Bible and related literature

The term "woe" (Greek: "ouai") is often used in prophetic literature to express divine displeasure and impending judgment. It appears frequently in the Old Testament prophets (

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

) and in Jesus' teachings. The "woes" serve as both a lament and a warning, expressing sorrow over the cities' current state and educating the audience on the future consequences of such a state.

Interpretations and scholarly perspectives

Cornelius a Lapide Cornelius Cornelii a Lapide (''né'' Cornelis Cornelissen van den Steen; 28 December 1567 – 12 March 1637) was a Flemish Catholic priest. He was a Jesuit and exegete of Sacred Scripture. Life Lapide was born in Bocholt, Belgium. He studied hu ...

comments on the verse "Truly, I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable..." writing that the citizens of Tyre and Sidon will be punished because of their wickednesses, but that the Galilæans will be punished more severely: "1. Because ye had greater knowledge of God’s law, and virtue. 2. Because ye have often heard Me preaching and exhorting to repentance, and have beheld Me doing many miracles, none of which things the Tyrians have either seen or heard." He draws the further moral point that Christians will be punished more severely in the day of judgment than Jews; the Roman citizens, than Indians; priests, nuns and monks, than laymen; if the former lived sinful lives, because "they have received greater degrees of grace and knowledge from God, and would not make use of them, but abused them to their own greater damnation."

References

Doctrines and teachings of Jesus Bethsaida Capernaum Sea of Galilee Gospel of Matthew Gospel of Luke Chorazin {{Bible-stub