“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.” Matthew 11:21 ESV
To wear sackcloth and ashes is an outward demonstration of an inward heart of mourning, repentance, humility, and grief. Could you imagine grieving about your sin in this way in front of others? We live in a society where most people keep their chin up. Furthermore this material was very uncomfortable to wear. But we modern society love our comfort.
Jesus, as always, was and is more interested in what’s going on in the heart of the person. And he knows if these people in Chorazin and Bethsaida recognized their sin, they’d be humbled and repent. Jesus noted that those other cities would have repented long ago if they witnessed the works he shown to these two cities.
So I leave this section of scripture reflecting on the work he’s done in my life. Have I walked with a repentant heart? Am I humbled by the love of God through Christ Jesus? In todays culture as a gentile believer chances are you won’t see me in sackcloth and ashes, but if truly humbled by God’s love, I should be wearing something. Perhaps humility and a heart of repentance, daily recognizing that I sin against God more than I know. Pride, living in comfort instead of living more selfless, considering my ways instead of considering and loving others. I catch myself building or planning my little Heaven here, instead of trading it all in for the pearl of great price. (see Matthew 13:45-46). I don’t know about those reading this, but I have plenty of faults that can keep me walking in a place of repentance. I am unworthy, but made worthy by the precious blood and love of Jesus Christ.
