Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And as for you, Capernaum, ‘Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.’ 16 Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
Jesus gives a serious warning to towns that saw His works and did not repent. In v.13 He addresses Chorazin and Bethsaida, Galilean towns that had witnessed the light of His teaching and healings—His truth and saving power made visible. He compares them with Tyre and Sidon, ancient seaside cities known in the Bible for pride and wrongdoing. “Woe” here is a warning and a sorrowful cry, not a curse; it calls people to turn back while there is still time. “Sackcloth and ashes” (v.13) was a public sign of repentance in the ancient Near East. The penitent wore rough cloth and placed ashes on the head to express sorrow for sin and a decision to change (cf. Jon 3:5-6). Jesus’ point is plain: when God’s actions are made clear and we still refuse to turn back to Him, our guilt is greater and the judgment we face is more severe, because we have rejected clearer light.
In v.14 Jesus says it will be “more tolerable” for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for those Galilean towns. This is not a human ranking of sins. It is a simple rule: the more light God gives, the more responsible we are to respond. This comparison is moral, not ethnic or national—Jesus measures our response to God’s revealed action, not geography or ancestry. Chorazin and Bethsaida stood near the light of Christ’s works. By refusing to repent, they face a heavier judgment than cities that did not receive such light.
In v.15, He turns to Capernaum, the lakeside town that served as a base in His Galilean ministry. “Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.” “Netherworld” translates the Greek word Hades, the realm of the dead. Here, Jesus is warning about the final judgment after death: without repentance, a person (or city) is brought down to judgment rather than raised to life with God. The phrasing also echoes the prophets’ way of describing a city’s downfall in history. The contrast shows that special favors can lead to pride. Capernaum received Christ’s presence and teaching closely. If a place so favored stays unrepentant, its fall will be great. This is prophetic language that exposes pride and warns against staying close to the things of God—hearing Scripture, joining in worship, receiving ministry, even seeing God’s help—yet refusing to repent and obey.
The same is true for individuals. When God gives clear help—health restored, doors opened, skills and opportunities—these are His gifts (cf. Jas 1:17; 1 Cor 4:7). If we take credit instead of giving thanks and turning to Him, pride grows, and the gift stands as evidence against us. Greater favor calls for deeper humility and repentance.
Verse 16 links the warnings to the mission discourse. Jesus had just sent the seventy-two (vv. 1-12). Now He declares: “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” Jesus gives His messengers a share in His own authority. To hear them is to hear Him; to reject them is to reject Him and the Father who sent Him. This is not human status. It is the weight of God’s word carried by those He sends. To those who listen to Jesus and His messengers, He gives a share in His divine life—the life God gives by grace.
Jesus’ messengers today are those whom the church sets apart and sends to preach and teach the gospel and to serve—pastors (also called elders/overseers), preachers and teachers of Scripture, missionaries, and other commissioned ministers. When they faithfully hand on the apostolic message found in Scripture, we hear Christ through them; when we reject that faithful witness, we reject Him (cf. Lk 10:16; Mt 28:18-20; Eph 4:11-12; 2 Cor 5:20; Acts 13:2-3; Heb 13:7).
Read together, vv. 13-16 teach two firm truths. God gives real light through Christ’s words and works; that light calls for repentance, faith, and concrete obedience. And because Christ truly sends His witnesses, listening or refusing them is listening or refusing Him. Where the light is greater, accountability is greater. This explains the strong “woe” over Galilean towns that saw what others did not see, yet did not repent.
Lord Jesus, You made the Father’s works clear among us. Give us humble minds to receive Your word, firm resolve to turn when corrected, and steady obedience to live by the light we have received. Amen.
________________
Sources and References:
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011), Lk 10:13-16.
- The Navarre Bible: St. Luke (Faculty of the University of Navarre, 2008), on Lk 10:13-16.
- The Paulist Biblical Commentary, ed. José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al. (Paulist Press, 2018), on Luke 10:1-16.
- Raymond E. Brown et al., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (Prentice Hall, 1990), on Lk 10:1-16.
- Bernard Orchard et al., A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (1953), on Lk 10:13-16.
Comments