Tyre and Sidon - Singapore

I happened to tune in to St Helen's 6 pm service on YouTube on 14 Jan 24.

The pastor mentioned flying into Singapore (I confess I had not been paying attention as I was writing another post for this blog) and I immediately stopped to listen more closely.

Matthew 11:21 
"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes."

The context is that the sermon was about God's judgement, and how it would be tempered according to circumstances (or mitigation, if you like) e.g. how much of the gospel had been revealed to the subject in question? The pastor said that in the early days of the church, there were obviously limits to how far and how fast they could spread the word.

And so God's judgement would depend on the exposure. Tyre (an island city) and Sidon (coastal city) were prosperous cities that the pastor said reminded him of Singapore, with all the ships waiting in the harbour. And that was it. I thought there would be some interesting analogy, but it was just a passing reference.

There were two parts to the message. One was that these were cities that were trading hubs, exposed to different cultures and ideas from the ships that called at their ports, and were centres of excellence in many fields. They would have heard the gospel. They would have had no excuse though Christ is not known to have set foot there.

Chorazin and Bethsaida on the other hand were near Capernaum and witnessed Christ's ministry first hand. They were said to be less immoral than Tyre and Sidon, but because they had been blessed with Christ's ministry and yet refused to accept him, would suffer a harsher judgement. 

John 12:37 "Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him."

There is also the underlying message that God knows how we will respond individually. He knows our hearts and so Christ said even Tyre and Sidon would have repented if they had been privileged to have heard his ministry first hand.

Today the situation is reversed. First, there are very few corners of the world that have not been exposed to the gospel. But we no longer have the privilege of seeing Christ in person and listening to His ministry. We only read about his ministry and miracles and taught it is far better to believe in faith than to demand proof.

A demand for proof is rooted in disbelief and scepticism, It is not really the posture of a seeker. A seeker understands he has no answers, and humble enough to accept that someone else might have one.