Curses

Matthew 10:14-15, 11:20-24

My church experience has had very little to say about curses. Suddenly, in reading the Gospels, I realized that Jesus had some very powerful things to say about curses. He even appears to utter a curse.

Jesus had been preparing his twelve disciples to embark on an itinerant ministry of healing, casting out demons, and resurrecting the dead. He instructs them to go to Jews throughout Israel and minister in His name. If people accepted them, they were to bless that community with the miracles Jesus had authorized them to perform. If people rejected them, they were to move on to another locale that was more accepting of their message and methods.

Jesus issues a chilling condemnation when He comments on the fate of those who would reject the words of His sent ones.

“And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” (Matthew 10:14-15 NKJV).

And it happened just like Jesus prophesied in His instruction to His followers. Some villages listened, received, and obeyed His teachings and those of His followers. Some did not. Most troubling to Jesus were three Galilean towns in which He had done most of His ministry: Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. These villages were situated along the north coast of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus testified that He had performed many miracles in this region. So many miracles, He says, that if Sodom had seen them, its wicked residents would have repented.

“Then He 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 will 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 which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you’” (Matthew 11:21-25 NKJV).

Sounds like a curse to me. What do you think?

I cannot imagine the horror of living under a curse from Jesus. Some have. More will. But it’s not for me. And I pray it’s not for you.

So what are the lessons here? The Beatitudes (Matthew 5) teach us how to live under God’s blessings in the midst of a sin-cursed world. Now (Matthew 10 & 11), Jesus provides us with a clear warning as to what brings His curse upon our lives. Here are some observations.

• Living under the curse of Christ is brought about by a series of acts of rejecting God’s truth.
• Refusal to listen to Christ’s messenger.
• Abusing Christ’s messenger.
• Taking Christ’s messenger before courts and tribunals for the sake of their message.
• Killing Christ’s followers.
• Persecuting Christ’s followers.
• Blaspheming Christ by alleging that his messengers speak the words of Satan.
• Failing to recognize Christ’s miracles as from God.
• Pride.

As I read the words of Jesus describing these curses, He seems to say, “I am pained by the consequences of your sin and rebellion. I want to stop you from destroying yourself. I want to prevent you from living under a curse. But if you insist upon the path of rebellion, you will bring judgment down upon your own heads.”

Jesus cursed those who cursed themselves through rejecting Him. This truth is sobering. I choose to live under Christ’s blessings by following a path of obedience and service through faith in His Name. By God’s grace, I reject the path that brings Christ’s curse upon me, and I seek to warn others, lest their sin curses their lives.