Miracles and Repentance – 3/2/25

Five or six years ago, my wife and I intended to take three trips to Israel. There were so many people from North Hills that wanted to go. We knew we couldn’t do it in one or even two. We have taken two groups to Israel. However, the third trip kept getting postponed for obvious reasons (a large terrorist attack and ensuing war). But my friends in Israel tell me it’s a really good time to come right now. Low crowds. Come on, no lines. So it is safe, and when I say that, I’m saying it is as safe as safe can be in a fallen world. We are planning to go this Thanksgiving, which is actually a really good time to be there for a number of reasons. November 25 to December 4. You can grab a brochure in the lobby if they’re still there or use that URL code to go to Pilgrim Tours website and get all the information. Also, it’s on our website. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me or my assistant, Susan, and we’ll be glad to help.

Why would a Christian want to go to Israel? Is there something magical, like when your feet touch the holy land, do you become a super spiritual Christian? No, don’t go for that.

There are a lot of good reasons. Let me just mention one: history. You might have noticed I love history. I think it’s really important for us to know history. It’s one of the reasons I start a lot of my messages with historical references. I think it’s important for Christians to love history, primarily because Christianity is a historical religion, and by that I don’t just mean it’s old, which it is, but it’s rooted and grounded in real people, real events from the past.

And in that sense, this is so vital for us to get, especially since we live in what could be called an ahistorical age. Dr. Sarah Irving-Stonebraker establishes this in her new book, “Priests of History: Stewarding the Past in an Ahistoric Age.”

Sarah grew up in a non-Christian home. She was an atheist. She earned a Ph.D. from Cambridge and was doing a fellowship at Oxford when her world view began to be upended. She writes this:

“What strikes me now is the extent to which I was living an ahistorical life during my mid-20s at Oxford… I had no grounding in any larger narrative; my life was primarily a quest for self-discovery, self-fulfillment, and personal happiness.”

And she began to see that her atheistic concerns for social justice were just being pulled out of thin air. From her world view there was no basis for this concern. Her assumptions about science and Christianity being at odds began to fall apart.

The more she studied, most of the major pioneers in modern science were driven by and shaped by their faith. She began to meet Christians at Cambridge and Oxford who really kind of blew apart her stereotype of what Christians might be. Listen to the way she describes them.

“They were seriously intellectually engaged, and their faith meant that they lived differently. Their witness and kindness made a powerful impression upon me, breaking down my own intellectual snobbery and suspicion of Christians.” She lamented,

“I did not see myself as a part of any enduring historical communities that might help frame a deeper purpose for my life. In fact, I would have been deeply suspicious of such an idea.”

That’s big. Why would she have been deeply suspicious of such an idea? She explains that if you hold a contemporary secular worldview, you are ahistorical at heart. What does that mean? Without history. She gives five major characteristics of an ahistorical age, an age without history.

1. Our age. We believe that the past is merely a source of shame and oppression from which we must free ourselves.

2. We no longer think of ourselves as part of historical communities. We’re all about a radical individualism. You find-you-has nothing to do with us.

3. We are increasingly ignorant of history.

One study done recently showed Americans don’t even know their own history. A simple History of America quiz was given. And interestingly, the results were different depending on demographics. 65 years and older did the best. 45 years and younger did the worst. And when I say the worst, I mean 82% failed a simple, simple quiz on American history – 82. Which lets you know, and I know there are exceptions. But in general, we’re not teaching young people history, we’re teaching them propaganda, which is very different from history. And so therefore,

4. We do not believe history has a narrative or a purpose.

5. (This is big) We are unable to reason well and disagree peaceably about the ethical complexities of the past. That is, the coexistence of good and evil in the same historical figure or episode. In other words, we tend to either idolize or demonize people and events from the past. We have a really hard time actually studying them objectively, learning what we can learn, and rejecting what we need to reject. All five of these have massive implications for how we live our lives and the health of our society.

What does this have to do with Israel and Matthew 11? As I read today’s passage, listen for history. Real people, real places, and why it matters. Matthew 11:20,

“Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

This is the Word of the Lord.

Now, notice, Jesus is rooting his rich and controversial teaching in history, real places, real times. You can visit these cities, most of them, today, at least what remains of them.

For example, Chorazin is about two miles north of the Sea of Galilee. It’s about 1,000 feet above the Sea of Galilee. So there’s a bit of a breeze, it’s a little cooler and has a beautiful view of the Sea of Galilee. There is a synagogue there, the remnants of, that dates shortly after Jesus.

Bethsaida was known as the “house of fishing.” It’s a few miles from Capernaum, and this is where Philip, Peter, and Andrew originally came from. Jesus fed the 5,000 not too far from here. Today, Bethsaida is no longer on the Sea of Galilee. It’s actually, it seems to have been up a little inlet that has since been filled in with silt.

Capernaum was a trading center on a major highway between Tiberias and Damascus. Capernaum was also a booming fishing town located on the Sea of Galilee. More fishing piers dating from the time of Christ have been discovered near Capernaum than anywhere else on the Sea of Galilee.

Here’s one of our groups catching some shade in Capernaum, learning its history. The White Stone Synagogue that still partially stands is built on the remains of a first century synagogue. Archeologists have discovered the original synagogue, which would have been the one that Jesus taught in. It just blows your mind when you’re standing there next to the space that Jesus regularly taught in. These three cities form what some scholars describe as the Evangelical Triangle where Jesus spent most of his ministry.

Why does this matter? Real people lived in these cities and saw Jesus perform miracles. And many of the people, if not most, were unmoved. And that history forms the basis of where we’ve come in our journey through Matthew today, to this passage in Matthew 11:20-24. Let me summarize what I think Jesus’s point is here, and then we’ll walk carefully through the passage.

When we experience miracles without repentance, we will experience judgment without mercy.

When we experience miracles without repentance, we will experience judgment without mercy. And Jesus unfolds this argument in three parts.

1. More miracles don’t necessarily result in more repentance and faith.

By the way, repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin. When we repent, we turn from, when we believe, we turn to. Same thing, two sides of the same coin.

Jesus is saying there isn’t a direct correlation between the quantity of miracles and the quantity of repentance. Jesus did some of his, or many of his, greatest miracles among the least receptive. Why is that an important thing?

Well, you often hear today, especially health/wealth preachers, who will talk about faith as if it has the power to shut Jesus down or not. Now, please, let me be clear. Faith is vital. And there are times, like in Mark 6:5, where Jesus describes himself as choosing not to do miracles in Nazareth because a lack of faith. He did very few.

But there are also many examples, like in John 9, for example, when he healed the blind man, there’s no reference to the blind man’s faith. He had no faith, he didn’t have a clue who Jesus was. He believed later. But when Jesus did the miracle, he didn’t know who he was. Something like that is happening here. The cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum witnessed a tidal wave of miraculous power, yet they did not repent or believe. Look at verse 20 again.

“Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.”

What’s the takeaway here? Unbelief is more than a lack of evidence.

Unbelief is more than a lack of evidence. Because many of us are convinced the reason we are not believing is because simply we haven’t been given enough evidence. But Jesus is arguing that there are — and this continues some of our expectation discussion over the last few weeks — that there are expectations within our active hearts, assumptions that tend to act like autoimmune diseases, that shut down repentance and faith. In these towns, you can behold indescribable, miraculous power and still not repent and believe. In Romans 1 language, this is called suppressing. Suppressing the truth. Verse 19,

“For what can be known about God is plain to them,”

Plain to people who haven’t even heard the gospel. Why?

“because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.”

What is he talking about there? Stars, mountains, eyeballs, DNA.

“So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Paul goes on to describe the idolatry and the immorality that characterizes this darkening. And Paul is saying that these people are not rejecting God for lack of evidence, it’s plain to them. There’s something else. There’s a lack of gratefulness. They refuse to give thanks to him.

Thomas Nagel, a professor of law and philosophy at New York University many years ago, said it candidly.

“I speak from experience, being strongly subject to this fear myself: I want atheism to be true am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that.”

Do you see how those atheistic assumptions are filtering out evidence and suppressing?

1. Miracles don’t necessarily result in repentance and faith.

2. More miracles are not always provided.

I want to give you a little trigger warning here. This section, this point that Jesus is making, if you will hear him, it will flip your world upside-right. It will de-center humans, and it will center God as sovereign in your world.

What do I mean? What does sovereign mean? Sovereign means there is not a molecule in the universe that is not under his authority. Very simply, he’s the boss. He is in charge. Let’s look at verse 21.

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.”

And then he says the same thing in verse 23 of Sodom.

The takeaway is Jesus is sovereign in salvation.

Where do we get that? Well, Jesus is creating a scenario where he imagines doing mighty works in places like the Phoenician coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon, and he knows that if he does those mighty works, they will repent, in contrast to Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, but he doesn’t do them. He doesn’t do the mighty works that would have led Tyre and Sidon to repent. Now let that sink in. This means a couple things.

First, Jesus doesn’t just know the future, he knows all the various possibilities of the future. He knows the mighty works he could do in a particular people that would lead them to repent or that he doesn’t do and that would lead them not to repent. That’s called comprehensive contingent knowledge. He knows exactly what mighty works would cause them to repent and believe, and he chose not to do them in Tyre and Sidon.

Do you feel the weight of that? And many of us rightly will ask, well, what about I Timothy 2:4? Look at that.

“This is good, and it’s pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

If he desires all people to be saved, including people in Tyre, and Sidon, and Sodom, and if he knows that there are extraordinary or ordinary means that would lead them, hypothetically lead them to repent, why doesn’t he do them? I’ve complained to him about that numerous times.

Sidebar discussion. This is usually where debates about Calvinism and Arminianism happen in dorm rooms over questions like this. If you’re not familiar with those terms, they’re just two different groups of people trying to make sense of questions like this.

Arminians generally turn toward free will. That’s why he… But in this case, that doesn’t really help because he still could do the mighty works and they would freely repent. He even said they would.

Calvinists generally turn toward passages like Romans 9:18. God “has mercy on whomever he wills.” Interestingly, the word “wills” there is the same word as “desire” in 1 Timothy 2:4. The Bible is stating the tension we all feel. And you could say it this way.

God desires things he doesn’t decree, or he wants things he doesn’t will.

There seem to be two different aspects of his will. And I’ve heard many people mock that idea, but I think we get that in our daily lives.

For example, when our firstborn was first born and still a tiny infant, we had to decide whether he would undergo emergency surgery. We did not want our tiny little infant going under the knife, but we willed it. Why? We signed the waiver and he went under the knife because we knew something bigger was at stake. If he didn’t go under the knife, he probably wouldn’t survive. If he did — and he did — he would live. There’s something bigger that is causing me to will something I don’t necessarily want.

Now I know it’s not a perfect analogy. We’re talking about God, a completely different level. But something like that is happening here. When God chooses to reveal himself through mighty works, or not, he has really good reasons. And I think this — we need to pause for a second, I know we’re still on a sidebar — but it really comes down to this question: do you believe Jesus knows what he’s doing? And that’s a hard one, when our brains are still flying and feeling unresolved.

Sidebar on our sidebar. Fascinating that even though Jesus didn’t do those mighty works when he was on earth, later he did mighty works in Tyre and Sidon through his disciples, and that area that became known as Lebanon has a long, rich Christian history, even today with groups like Hezbollah trying to wipe out Christianity. If you go to Lebanon today and interview people, one out of every three people will still identify as Christian. That’s just stunning with the kind of intense opposition. Jesus is saying one more thing.

3. More miracles can result in more judgment.

Verse 22, “But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.”

Notice that, more bearable.

Verse 24, “But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Jesus is contrasting the Jewish cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum with the Gentile cities of Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom. The Jewish cities saw many miracles. The Gentile cities saw fewer miracles.

The point is, when we experience miracles without repentance, we will experience judgment without mercy. More miracles with less repentance leads to more judgment.

Jesus seems to be describing something many of us might not have thought about, and that is that there are various degrees of judgment. For example, Paul seems to allude to this in Romans 2, when he is arguing that it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. And when we refuse the kindness of God that leads us to repentance, we are actually, “storing up wrath for yourself.” That implies you can actually increase the intensity of the judgment.

Same thing with Hebrews 10:29, if you despise Christ, turning from him, “how much worse punishment,” implying more. Luke 12, Jesus tells the parable about servants with different levels of knowledge regarding their master’s return. And they acted improperly, but Jesus says they will be punished lightly or severely depending on their knowledge. And then he concludes this way, Luke 12:48, second half,

“Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”

What’s the takeaway here? We have received much; therefore, much is expected of us.

Let’s look back at that evangelical triangle. Does that, not the shape, but the concept remind you of anything? I was thinking of the Bible belt. Okay, wasn’t good at geometry, is that where we learn about shapes? Okay, not the same. But what is similar, and I know all of America has received much, but there does seem to be a concentration of blessings that leads to an increase in expectations.

When we experience mighty works without repentance, we will experience judgment without mercy.

What is God calling us to do based on what we’ve just seen in Matthew 11:20-24? Before we answer what is he calling us to do, let’s see what he is not calling us to do. At least three responses I believe are inappropriate.

1. The perfectionist’s response

This is not helpful. And many of us who are wired that way, you will hear in your head the word “enough.” Do I know enough to really take a step of faith? Have I done enough with what I’ve been entrusted? That becomes a black hole.

2. The prognosticator’s response

Second response that’s not helpful is the prognosticator’s response. And this is the person who’s trying to figure out who is savable or unsavable. Am I or you? Is she? Not helpful.

3. The procrastinator’s response

Or the procrastinator’s response. Do I have enough time to deal with this later? I have some things on my plate, fun things I want to accomplish, don’t really want to think about repentance and faith right now. That is not wise. This is what he is not calling us to do.

What is he calling us to do? Let’s look, because actually we’re going to most specifically answer the question next week with the final passage, it’s the climax, but maybe we could dip our toe into it today. Look at verse 27.

“All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

There’s a clear statement of Jesus’s sovereignty in salvation.

Question: has the Son revealed the Father to you?

Now, I think many of us struggle with this question because mainly the words “mighty works.” Especially if you grew up in a Christian home, you can tend to feel like you kind of just evolved into Christianity and you wonder, where are the mighty works?

I’ve been thinking a lot about this over the past few months and thinking about the difference of mighty works in what I would call the difference between microwave miracles and crockpot miracles.

Microwave miracles are instantaneous and they truly fit the definition of miracles. You pray over someone who has tumors and the next scan, they’re gone. Or someone who has dabbled in the darkness and is experiencing demonic oppression, bound, chained in soul, thinks Christianity doesn’t make any sense, someone lays hands on them, prays over them in Jesus’s name, the shackles are broken. Suddenly sermons that didn’t make sense before suddenly make perfect sense. We see those kinds of miracles. Those are what I would call microwave miracles. And we need to keep praying for those every day. Jesus is still doing microwave miracles.

But what caused me to think about crockpot miracles, which are slow and often indiscernible, was my recent journey through the wilderness wanderings of Israel. Forty years, God miraculously sustained them, but it did not feel that way to them. What’d they do a lot? They grumbled. A lot.

Deuteronomy 8:3, “And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

I love that. “Which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know.” He is working miraculously in your life through means that you might not know, that might not feel like mighty works, but they are.

Imagine a couple who comes to North Hills for the first time. They grew up in a Christian home, so they know the gospel, put their kids in Kidstuff. But their marriage is hanging by a thread, characterized by a lot of distrust. The husband is dabbling in porn. The wife is super frustrated and discouraged because it just feels like marriage is not what she had hoped for. They do very little intentional discipleship of their kids.

But over many months they join a Life Group. They begin to experience community. They join re:gen or Re|engage, and they begin to see how we are broken most often together, and we are healed most often together. They begin to share and explore some of the darker parts of their hearts that they had never really faced or dealt with. And they begin to see that the gospel goes into those places, and the love of Jesus, the grace of Christ, transforms us.

And over several years, they begin to have a hunger for God’s Word. They come to church expecting God to speak to them. They begin having times in the Word with their kids. They’re walking in purity. Over several years, when you look at them today, they are not the same as they were today. And I’m arguing, that is a mighty work, a mighty work of transformation. But it didn’t happen instantaneously.

It’s kind of like when you put the pot roast in the crockpot, and it doesn’t smell like anything for a while. Nothing’s happening in there. And you run an errand, and you come back, and the house has a delicious aroma. That’s a crockpot miracle.

Sometimes God does crockpot miracles and microwave miracles together. A pastor called me a week and a half ago. He and his wife had come to see me ten years ago. Their daughter had just turned 21 and declared herself a lesbian, and they were being counseled to cut her off, have nothing to do with her. And so we talked about a different approach. What does the way of Jesus look like? A way full of grace and full of truth. What does it look like to maintain that relationship without compromising who we are in Jesus, but to keep that door open?

And so they communicated to their daughter, no matter what, we love you. Nothing’s going to change that. But we are going to follow Jesus, and he’s super clear on what marriage is.

Well, she left, she married her girlfriend and for seven-and-a-half years they prayed, they loved, they longed. And I think we need to pause right there, because right there in that moment of waiting, longing, praying, loving, no-strings-attached loving, that is a crockpot miracle in itself, isn’t it? Because we’re praying for this person we long for, and God ends up doing miracles in our hearts, changing us. The smell of pot roast. Mmm, sorry.

The reason he called me a week and a half ago was after seven-and-a-half years, the marriage, “the marriage,” because Christians know it’s not a real marriage, the marriage fell apart, and the first people their daughter called were her parents. And she said, “Can I come home?” And they said, “Sure.” She came home.

After a couple weeks she said, do you have a Bible I could borrow? I think we can do that. Another week, she came to her mom and said, I’m reading through the book of Romans and got to chapter 6 and had to repent. Look at 6:1,

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?”

Now, I know it’s a different context. Here it’s talking about Christians, Romans 11, non-Christians, but underneath is the same idea. God is pouring out his miraculous, his gracious kindness and power on you, and you refuse to repent, and receive, and be transformed.

Well, she did. She repented, believed, began to grow in Jesus, began to help lead worship in their church, and next month is marrying a godly man committed to follow Jesus together. That, I don’t know whether that’s crockpot or a microwave miracle, but we’ll take it either way.

Back to our question. What is Jesus calling us to do? Look at verse 28, and we’ll develop this more next week, but this is the clearest answer.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Come to me with all your questions, all your uncertainties, all your skepticism, all your sin, all your addictions. Come to me. What does that mean? Repent. I can’t go my own way. Believe. Jesus isn’t just preaching judgment on you, he took your judgment on the cross so that you wouldn’t experience judgment without mercy. He’s pleading with you and me to come. Come to me with all your weariness and restlessness.

Could we bow our heads in prayer for a moment? Spirit of God, please continue to move among us. I believe you are calling people to yourself — here, online. You are inviting us to come. You have shown us mighty works. Some of them may be very long-term, like crockpot miracles. Others may be quite instantaneous. But the mightiest of works is your death, burial, resurrection. Please, Father, draw us to yourself.

With your head still bowed, I know I don’t do this very often, but I would love to pray for some of you who might say, I feel like the Spirit of God is calling me to repent and believe today, and I would like prayer.

Anyone, would you just hold your hand up? I’m not going to embarrass you, I just want to remember. Yes, okay. Anyone else? Okay. Just hold it up. Good. Anyone else? Okay. Yes, okay. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, many hands.

And even if you didn’t raise your hand, Lord, please see these hands. Hear our cry, Lord. You know what you’re doing. We have such a limited understanding. But we’re saying, Lord, we want to follow you. We turn from our own way. We put our faith in you, Jesus. You’ve proven your love through your death, burial, and resurrection. You wash away our sins. You cleanse our conscience.

I pray for each one, especially who raised their hands, that Lord, you would hear their cries this morning. Save them. Deliver us. We can spend our whole lives waiting for more evidence and miss the miracles right before our eyes, miss the grace that you are pouring out, the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. Please. We thank you in Jesus’s name, amen.