20 Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 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. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”REFLECTIONSWritten by Jess LeWhen was a time you chose to ignore a piece of advice or information given by someone more experienced? For me, it was when I purposely chose not to follow a recipe for a cake and significantly reduced the amount of sugar and butter. Not surprisingly, I was left disappointed at the result – it tasted more like bad bread than cake.Imagine how much more foolish I would have been if, instead of just ignoring a recipe, I had Jamie Oliver standing next to me telling me what to do – and I still did my own thing!Although this example is trivial, it does reveal a deeper issue: the ignorance and arrogance of the human heart. As today’s passage shows, ignoring God always makes us deserving of judgment, but the most foolish stubbornness of all is rejecting Jesus when we know who he is and what he has done.Verse 20 says, ‘Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed’. In the towns where Jesus lived, many people clearly saw who he is and yet still chose to reject his identity as the Messiah. Because of that, Jesus said their condemnation will be more severe than the most wicked pagan towns in the Old Testament.Now we may think this doesn’t apply to us because we’re Christians, and in a way that’s true: we haven’t rejected Christ’s identity. We know and believe He is our Lord and King, and the Bible assures us that we will not come under God’s condemnation if are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).But do we live our lives in a way that truly reflects what we believe? If we have faith in Jesus, we ought to also be obedient – an outward expression of the inward reality. Faith and obedience go hand in hand.Of course, all of us fail and need to repent constantly. But if we won’t repent of the sin in our life, even though we know of who Christ is and what he did in dying for us, isn’t our hypocrisy worse than the sin of those who’ve never heard of Christ?It's so easy for us to prioritise and chase after things that temporarily give us satisfaction like our career, popularity or physical appearance. But let's pray to our Father for the Holy Spirit to work within us to align our hearts to His and to love God more than anything else in this world. QUESTIONWhy is knowing about Jesus not enough for us to be saved? What does God ask us to do?ABOUT THE AUTHORJess is a member of our Fairfield night congregation.