“Woe Unto Thee, Chorazin!”

In Matt. 11:21, Jesus said,

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.

Chorazin was located just to the north of the Sea of Galilee. Note that it is spelled Korazin on our map:

Location of Chorazin, city condemned by Jesus. BibleAtlas.Org.

Location of Chorazin, city condemned by Jesus. BibleAtlas.Org.

One fascinating aspect of Jesus’ denunciation of Chorazin is that this was one of the Galilean cities in which he had done most of His mighty (miraculous) works. As the previous verse words it,

Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: (Matt. 11:20).

While we read of many miracles Jesus did in Capernaum, and only one in Bethsaida (the two other cities cited and condemned in our context), we read of none being done in Chorazin. This does not mean something in lacking in the Bible; to the contrary, we have all we need. But it does show there was divine selectivity in that which was recorded (cf. John 20:30-31 for this same principle as stated in regard to the Gospel of John).

The site identified as Chorazin is located 2 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. The ruins that are seen post-date the time of Jesus.

Entrance Sign at Chorazin. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Entrance Sign at Chorazin. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Here are the remains of the basalt synagogue at Chorazin,

Basalt synagogue at Capernaum. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Basalt synagogue at Capernaum. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Click on images for larger view. 

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