The Life of Christ

You shall descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. 24 “Neverth eless I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”

There are different degrees of punishment, each depending upon how much knowledge one was exposed to and how they responded.

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Deut. 32:22 refers to the "lowest hell."

• Mk. 12:40 says that the religious leaders will receive "greater damnation."

• Lk. 12:47-48 speaks of being beaten with “few stripes,” as opposed to "many stripes."

Each of these variations in punishment corresponds to the amount of truth to which one was exposed.

• Sodom was exceedingly wicked but had virtually no truth to draw from.

• Their lack of exposure to the truth doesn’t condone their evil, but it does reduce their potential judgment.

On a historical note, among the cities that Jesus ministered to located around the Sea of Galilee, remarkably none of them remain today except Tiberius.

• All that is left of Capernaum is a milestone, noting that an ancient city at one time existed here.

• The only reason that Tiberius still survives is because Jesus rarely ever went there. The city belonged to Herod, and Jesus wanted little to do with this man or the many Gentiles who lived there.

• Because He never ministered there, they were not under the same level of accountability, thus explaining why they were not cursed like Bethsaida or Chorazin.

• The simple truth is that the more we know the more we are accountable.

Mt. 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.”

One of the many items made by a Jewish carpenter was a farming yoke.

• Jesus knew all about yokes, having fashioned many of them used for connecting oxen.

Those who are weary and heavy laden are invited to come unto Jesus.

• Once we come to Jesus, we are then invited to take His yoke upon us.

• His yoke resembles a harness put over cattle; Jesus positions Himself into one side of the harness, while we come under the alternate side of the harness.

• While we walk in harnessed position, we learn of Him; we discover His pace, where He leads, and what He does.

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