Matius 11:23-24

11:23 And you, Capernaum, ¹  will you be exalted to heaven? ²  No, you will be thrown down to Hades! ³  For if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom, it would have continued to this day. 11:24 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom ⁴  on the day of judgment than for you!”

Lukas 12:47

12:47 That ⁵  servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or do what his master asked ⁶  will receive a severe beating.

Yohanes 9:41

9:41 Jesus replied, ⁷  “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin, ⁸  but now because you claim that you can see, ⁹  your guilt ¹⁰  remains.” ¹¹ 

Yohanes 15:22

15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. ¹²  But they no longer have any excuse for their sin.

[11:23]  ¹ sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.

[11:23]  map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[11:23]  ² tn The interrogative particle introducing this question expects a negative reply.

[11:23]  ³ sn In the OT, Hades was known as Sheol. It is the place where the unrighteous will reside (Luke 10:15; 16:23; Rev 20:13-14).

[11:24]  ⁴ sn The allusion to Sodom, the most wicked of OT cities from Gen 19:1-29, shows that to reject the current message is even more serious, and will result in more severe punishment, than the worst sins of the old era. The phrase region of Sodom is in emphatic position in the Greek text.

[12:47]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:47]  ⁶ tn Grk “or do according to his will”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity. This example deals with the slave who knew what the command was and yet failed to complete it.

[9:41]  ⁷ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[9:41]  ⁸ tn Grk “you would not have sin.”

[9:41]  ⁹ tn Grk “now because you say, ‘We see…’”

[9:41]  ¹⁰ tn Or “your sin.”

[9:41]  ¹¹ sn Because you claim that you can see, your guilt remains. The blind man received sight physically, and this led him to see spiritually as well. But the Pharisees, who claimed to possess spiritual sight, were spiritually blinded. The reader might recall Jesus’ words to Nicodemus in 3:10, “Are you the teacher of Israel and don’t understand these things?” In other words, to receive Jesus was to receive the light of the world, to reject him was to reject the light, close one’s eyes, and become blind. This is the serious sin of which Jesus had warned before (8:21-24). The blindness of such people was incurable since they had rejected the only cure that exists (cf. 12:39-41).

[15:22]  ¹² tn Grk “they would not have sin” (an idiom).

[15:22]  sn Jesus now describes the guilt of the world. He came to these people with both words (15:22) and sign-miracles (15:24), yet they remained obstinate in their unbelief, and this sin of unbelief was without excuse. Jesus was not saying that if he had not come and spoken to these people they would be sinless; rather he was saying that if he had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of the sin of rejecting him and the Father he came to reveal. Rejecting Jesus is the one ultimate sin for which there can be no forgiveness, because the one who has committed this sin has at the same time rejected the only cure that exists. Jesus spoke similarly to the Pharisees in 9:41: “If you were blind, you would have no sin (same phrase as here), but now you say ‘We see’ your sin remains.”