Tale of Three Cities

Gale Brown, Biblical Archaeology June, 2013. The Three Woes is a tale of three cities. There was a popular book written by Charles Dickens, “A Tale of Two Cities”. This is nothing like that! The title and much of the contents are taken from the article “Three Woes!” by Henry B. Smith Jr., MA, Associates of Biblical Research, August 15, 2007. This archaeological and comparative study of three thriving ancient villages has in common their relationship to Jesus Christ and their decisions for their own destiny. In these three “cities”, called the Evangelical Triangle, was where Jesus performed a major portion of His miracles. God in flesh was in their towns. The objective is to relate their stories to our own lives, our present day communities, our own cities, our own nation, and the nations of the world. The three cities are Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. Other things they have in common are: They all existed at the time of Christ on earth, they all are near the north end of the Sea of Galilee, they all had significant purpose and function, they probably were all proud of their greatness, and they all are ancient ruins today. Chorazin on the north side has never been excavated. A major highway runs between the north side and the south side. The south side has had significant excavation, but yet only a small percentage of its 80-100 acres. It sits 2.5 miles from the Sea. Chorazin was known for its grain. There were two synagogues, one a 1st century and another 4th century. The 1st would be in existence when Jesus was there. One item uncovered was the “Seat of Moses” carved from basalt block. The rulers would “sit in Moses seat”, read the Torah, judge the people, and demand strict obedience to the law, but did not obey it themselves. Jesus renounced their hypocrisy in Matthew 23:1-3 while teaching in the Jerusalem temple. Bethsaida dates back to around 10th century B.C. and back to the time of David. It was destroyed 732 B.C. (Tiglath-Pileser). It was once rebuilt since it appears much in the New Testament. It is known as the home of Peter, Andrew, and Philip (John 1:44; 12:19). According to Josephus, Bethsaida was involved in the revolt against Rome, 67 A.D. (Smith) It was considered a fishing village, though its location is 1-1/2 miles from the Sea of Galilee. This is generally thought to be because of sediment movement, volcanic or tectonic activity. There are two proposed sites, one closer to the shores; but its exact location is disputed, having faded into history. Both proposed locations have significant reasons and evidence for their claim. (1. Bethsaida Excavation Project; 2.Nun, Mendul) Capernaum’s location is basically undisputed, its archaeological ruins and literary information provide its validation. Traditionally, the name came from it being the birthplace of Nahum the prophet. Peter owned a home in Capernaum. (Mk.1:29-31; Mt.8:14-15) It was Jesus’ home in Galilee (Matt. 4:13-14), though He did not own any property as the Son of Man (Matt.8:20). The central focus of Capernaum was its synagogue. It was built in 1st century A.D. of basalt block. After this structure was destroyed, another synagogue of limestone was built on top of its ruins around 4th century A.D. The 1st century synagogue was in use when Jesus was on the earth, where He cast out a demon (Mark 1:21-28) and spoke the parable of the Bread of Life (John 6:25-59). In Capernaum, He cast out demons, healed the sick, and fulfilled at least two prophecies there concerning Himself (Matt. 8:5-17), and raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead (Luke 8:40-56). However, the religious leaders refused to believe Jesus was the Messiah, and refused to repent of their sin and idolatry. Jesus denounced these three cities for their lack of faith and refusal to receive Him: “Then Jesus began to rebuke the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the Day of Judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the Day of Judgment than for you.” Matthew 11:21-24 The New Testament tells us that Jesus performed many of his miracles in the "evangelical triangle. In Mark 2:1-12, a paralytic was let done through the roof by four of his friends so they could get him in front of Jesus, the room being so crowded. When Jesus “saw their faith”, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you.” The religious rulers, who were always trying to trip Him up, said “This is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Jesus said, “which is easier, to say ‘your sins are forgiven you’, or to say, rise, take up your bed, and walk?’ But that you may know the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins, He said to the paralytic, ‘Rise, take up your bed, and walk.” The man was healed, and forgiven, but the rulers hated Him still. They failed to see it was God Himself standing before them in the person of Jesus Christ. (Jn. 8:58) Jesus fulfilled prophecy, spoke prophetically, revealed the secrets of people’s hearts, worked miracles, healings, and even raised the dead. Then died and rose from the dead, according to the Scripture, to pay the penalty of the sins of the whole world. Although Scripture was filled with the knowledge of Christ and His coming, they would not believe. Today, there are people, cities, state governments, and leaders of the United States rejecting Jesus Christ. It is to the point where you can say or do most anything, except say that you believe Jesus is the only Way to God, the only means of forgiveness, and the only Way to heaven and eternal life with God the Father. If you do, persecution will usually follow. However, persecution is to be expected as a follower of Christ, and it appears that it will only get worse. Regardless, it is a sad thing to watch your home and country fall, the way so many have cities, nations, and empires have fallen before. In our land we have groups and movements that demand their freedom from the Words of Scripture. We stand on the brink of destruction from a multitude of enemies; other countries are buying up our own land, there is threat of nuclear war, and we have surrendered to a host of voices except to the only One who can halt our demise. Note that Jesus said it would be worse for these cities, which once had great synagogues, who said they believed in God, who said they believed the Scripture, but then denied Him; than for the ones who were known to be just plain wicked. In this United States of America, we were built on the principles, standards, and faith in God and His Christ. Now there are enemies within who want to change history and deny this truth. Did we make some mistakes as a nation? Yes, we all know that. However, our mistakes then and now cannot be a reason to say we were not and are not a Nation under God. We need to seriously heed this lesson. God is not our enemy, He is our friend! “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) But in no way will He allow man to rule over Him! The thought is absurd! It is better to go to God every day and say, “God forgive us, help us!” than to try to justify our wrongs. We do not want our lives, our families, our Churches, our cities, our state and nation, to go the way of Chorazin, Basaida, and Capernaum. We don’t have to let it happen, and we cannot allow anti-Christ voices, groups, special interest movements, and other nation’s belief’s take over and control the USA. This is not a joke. We cannot stick our heads in the sand, and think “everything will be alright.” We don’t want our own to suffer untold miseries. We can turn to Jesus, and fight the fight of faith. That was what He was asking of those three cities, and that is all He is asking of us.