And *thou*, Capernaum, who hast been raised up to heaven, shalt be brought down even to hades. For if the works of power which have taken place in thee, had taken place in Sodom, it had remained until this day.
Of the three towns the Lord names here, Capernaum gets the heaviest word. It had seen more of Him than any other place on earth, and now He sets it beside Sodom — with Sodom coming off better.
Capernaum's height came from one thing — what it saw and heard. The writers quoted here follow older versions, which read the opening line as a statement: "which art exalted to heaven."
It was exalted to heaven — how? Because it witnessed His mightiest works. It saw the display of divine power in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ as well as in His works. And so it was privileged. But Matthew 11, where this verse occurs, shows you how little they gained by it. It shows that it was all, so to speak, given to them in vain.
One writer traces both the rise and the fall to the same Presence.
Capernaum, the city of His choice, had come near to heaven by the Presence which indeed makes heaven for those who have received His grace. It would sink down under the weight of its rejection of Him, into a mere home of death and desolation. And such it has long been, whether the identification of its site is correct or not.
Older translations put "hell" here; the ESV keeps the Greek word, Hades. One writer sees the fall covering two things: the ruin of the town itself, and where its people stand before God.
Capernaum did not repent at the preaching of Jesus. Its unbelieving people must still answer for themselves, one by one, in a day of judgment yet to come. Meanwhile this, the Lord's own city in Galilee, has been so completely overthrown that no one can identify its site with certainty.
Sodom was the standard example of wickedness that God wiped out. Yet in the Lord's comparison it is Capernaum that stands in the worse place.
They refuse the voice of heavenly wisdom. So the judgment must be more unsparing than the one that long ago made Sodom the monument of God's vengeance. Which city in the land was the most favoured? Capernaum, where most of His miracles were done — and yet this very city would be brought down to hell. Even the notoriously depraved Sodom had not come under so fearful a sentence. The Lord only comes in judgment when the means and calls to repentance have run out. But when He does judge, who will be able to stand?
Capernaum was not an indifferent town. Crowds came.
Capernaum was indeed brought near to heaven, and to the power and grace of heaven. But it was all in vain, so far as most of the people were concerned. As in that day, so in this, mere crowds do not mean that souls are stirred or consciences awakened. The Lord's coming among them was only a passing wonder in their eyes. But before God, their lack of repentance under such a ministry left them in a more terrible position.
Why is Capernaum's case worse than Sodom's? One writer sums it up in a single line.
In other words, the measure of privilege is always the measure of responsibility.
One writer turns that rule on his own readers, and on Christendom — the whole Christian world.
But, dear reader, does it not occur to you that the "woe" of Matthew 11 may reach further than Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum? Should it not fall with even deeper force on the ear of Christendom, with more power to subdue the soul? For our part, we cannot doubt it for a moment. We cannot try to list everything that makes the guilt of the professing Church heavier. Scriptural knowledge and gospel light have spread widely. Spiritual privileges lie scattered along the path of this generation in countless, nameless forms.
- Raised — one thing lifted Capernaum to heaven: Christ Himself, His words and His works, among its people.
- Wasted — crowds came, miracles happened, hearts stayed the same. Attendance is not repentance.
- Reversed — the same Presence that raised the town sank it, once the town refused Him.
- Measured — privilege sets the level of responsibility. Sodom saw far less light, so its reckoning is lighter than Capernaum's.
- Applied — the same measure falls on any generation that has Scripture and gospel light in abundance.
But I say to you, that it shall be more tolerable for [the] land of Sodom in judgment-day than for thee.
Jesus has just named the towns where He did most of His miracles. He ends with Capernaum, the town He used as His base, and sets it beside Sodom — a name that stood for wickedness. The verdict is startling. The city that watched the Son of God work day after day will fare worse than the city God wiped out.
This "woe" does not fall on people who only broke rules. It falls on people who refused grace itself.
How deeply and terribly solemn the word "Woe!" sounds when it comes from the lips of the Son of God. It is the woe that follows grace refused. This is no longer only a question of a broken law. It is no longer only about God's commands dishonoured and abused. It is no longer only about His institutions shamefully corrupted, His prophets and wise men rejected and stoned.
This sentence is not His first move, but His last. He had already used every appeal.
Was there one place or city in the land more favoured than another? It was Capernaum, where He did most of His miracles. Yet this very city would be brought down to hell. Even Sodom, famous for its corruption, had never received so terrible a sentence. The Lord comes in judgment only when every means and every call to repentance has been used up. But when He does judge, who will be able to stand?
Some read the word "tolerable" as if Jesus were promising Capernaum a bearable future. The word does the opposite work.
The word "tolerable" here is not a positive promise; it is a word used to bring out a contrast. The Saviour did not say that Capernaum would have a tolerable time. On the contrary, He showed the extreme gravity of its sin by contrasting its greater privileges with the lesser privileges of Sodom.
Sodom no longer existed when Jesus spoke. So this comparison cannot be about anything that happens in this world.
In verse 24 the Lord must be speaking of eternal judgment. Sodom was completely destroyed, so it had already received its full judgment in this world. It will be more tolerable for her on the day of judgment than for Capernaum. Luke 12:47-48 shows that all unbelievers will go to hell, yet their punishment will come in different degrees. The measure of each one's responsibility decides it.
The same holds for the other cities Jesus named. Being destroyed once did not close their account.
God had already judged Tyre and Sidon. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed them, for example. But God has not finished with them. Judgments in this world are not eternal judgments. They will still have to stand before the Great White Throne.
If one sentence is heavier than another, then God weighs guilt case by case. Jesus names what weighs most.
What the Lord says about Sodom is very solemn and very striking. Those who rejected Christ will face a harsher judgment and a harsher penalty at the Great White Throne than even the filthy people of Sodom. God alone knows how to measure out the guilt of each person. So it will be more tolerable for Sodom itself than for those who rejected Christ. The greatest guilt that can rest on any soul is the rejection of Him.
We expect open sinners to be the worst off. Jesus says otherwise. Light given and refused weighs more.
It is God's people, when they are in a bad state, who are worse than anybody… They talked about how horrible Sodom and Gomorrah were. "Oh," said the Lord, "it is you that are worse than they."… Capernaum was the place where He lived. It was counted as His own city in Galilee. What He thought worse was the rejection of all His light and all His love. And therefore the nearer you are to the blessing, if the blessing is not yours the more guilty you are.
The warning does not stay in Galilee. One writer turns the question on his own country.
Privileges that are not valued bring the severest judgment from God. How far does this principle apply to our favoured land?
- Grace first. This woe is not the law's verdict but grace's. It lands only after God has spent every call to repentance.
- Privilege next. Capernaum had the most. Privilege given sets the exact measure of responsibility owed.
- Contrast, not comfort. "More tolerable" is a comparison that exposes guilt. It is not a softer sentence for anyone.
- Beyond the fire. Sodom's ruin settled nothing eternal. Both cities still meet God at the Great White Throne.
- Rejection weighs most. God alone weighs guilt. The heaviest weight any soul can carry is having refused Christ Himself.