Briefing: Law enforcement personnel are familiar with warning signs. I am always amazed at how people try to justify that the warning applies to everyone but them.

Dispatch (Assignment): Warning, there is a fork in the road! Which path will you chose? Read Matthew 11:20-30.

On the Street: Let your light shine! A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Are we being compared to a city here? Is it possible that we could meet the same fate as unrepentant cities?

Let's take a look at some of the towns Jesus mentions. Capernaum was the town that Jesus made His home in. This city was compared to Sodom. Sodom was a disgusting city that was known for the vile sexual perversions that took place there, yet Jesus said that it would have remained to this day if the miracles were performed there.

When Jesus is pronouncing woes on cities, Bethsaida is one of them. Not everything associated with Bethsaida was negative. Bethsaida is believed to be the site of the feeding of the 5,000. John 1:44 says that Peter, Andrew and Phillip all came from Bethsaida. I can't imagine all people from this town being condemned as a whole and not as individuals. The Bible tells us that we will be judged according to our own decisions and choices.

Have you had an experience with Jesus, maybe even got excited for a short while, only to go back to your old life and old familiar way of living? This is what these cities did. It seemed as if they treated Him like a traveling carnival, just temporary entertainment.

Jesus would prefer that the people of these cities would have given themselves whole heartedly to Him, but He does not continue to dwell on it. He turns His attention to thanking and praising God. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 the Bible says, "Be thankful in all situations".

Jesus tells us that in order to know God we have to know Him, Christ. John 14:6 tells us that Jesus is the only way to God. You can't just believe in the God of Abraham and be saved. The people of the Islamic faith believe in the God of Abraham but they don't believe that Jesus is His Son. If you find yourself in a religion that believes you can get to heaven any way other than Christ Jesus, you are headed down the wide road that leads to destruction.

Highlights from this Read: Do you get weighed down by the struggles and problems of this world? Verse 28 gives us the assurance that we can take rest in Jesus.

Korazin was a major city in Jesus' day. It was famous for wheat production and was only two miles north of Capernaum.

Investigational Resources: John 14:6 and Luke 10:13-15.

Officer Safety Principle: If heaven were a big castle, there would be only one door to get in. Jesus is that door, there is no other way in.

from The Gospel of Matthew Through the Eyes of a Cop
©by Charles Gilliland. Used by permission.
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