Matthew 10:15

10:15 God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness (Gen 18:16–19:29). Now, with a more complete revelation in Jesus Christ, a town that rejected the disciples’ preaching would receive a more complete judgment. • such a town: An entire village or city is culpable when a significant majority rejects the message (see Acts 13:45-47, 50-51; 14:1-7). However, individuals who respond in faith are saved (e.g., Lot; see Gen 19:1-29; 2 Pet 2:6-9).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mat 10:15. Ἀνεκτότερον, more tolerable) Therefore it is worse not to believe the Gospel, than to imitate the men of Sodom; see ch. Mat 11:22; Mat 11:24. There appears to be an hypallage, viz.: that city shall, on the day of judgment, undergo a heavier punishment than the land of Sodom and Gomorrha either endured of old, or shall receive at the judgment. If merely a brief[463] repulse shall be so heavily punished, what shall be their fate who resist more obstinately.

[463] In the original, “Si perbrevis repulsa tam graviter punietur:” where “perbrevis,” “very short,” does not imply that the impenitence and unbelief of the persons indicated was of short continuance, but that their actual refusal to receive the Gospel occupied only the same time as the brief visit of the Apostles whom they rejected.—(I. B.)

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat_10:15. Γῇ Σοδ., κ.τ.λ.] the land (those who once inhabited the land) where Sodom and Gomorrah stood. The truth of this asseveration is founded on the principle in morals, that the more fully the will of God is proclaimed (Luk_12:47; Mat_11:20 ff.), the greater the guilt of those who resist it. Notice how the resurrection of the wicked also is here assumed (Joh_5:29); observe likewise how Jesus words bespeak the highest Messianic self-consciousness.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 10:15 . γῇ Σ . καὶ Γ .: Sodom and Gomorrah, a byword for great iniquity and awful doom (Isa 1:9 ), γῇ , land for people. ἀνεκτότερον : yet the punishment of these wicked cities, tragic though it was, or the punishment still in store, more endurable than that of city or village which rejects the message of the kingdom. This may seem an exaggeration, the utterance of passion rather than of sober judgment, and a dangerous thing to say to raw disciples and apprentice missionaries. But the principle involved is plain: the greater the privilege rejected the greater the criminality. The utterance reveals the high value Jesus set on the good tidings He commissioned the Twelve to preach.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable--more bearable.

for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city--Those Cities of the Plain, which were given to the flames for their loathsome impurities, shall be treated as less criminal, we are here taught, than those places which, though morally respectable, reject the Gospel message and affront those that bear it.

Directions for the Future and Permanent Exercise of the Christian Ministry (Mat 10:16-23).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. In the day of judgment] Or, punishment, - κρισεως. Perhaps not meaning the day of general judgment, nor the day of the destruction of the Jewish state by the Romans; but a day in which God should send punishment on that particular city, or on that person, for their crimes. So the day of judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, was the time in which the Lord destroyed them by fire and brimstone, from the Lord out of heaven.

If men are thus treated for not receiving the preachers of the Gospel, what will it be to despise the Gospel itself - to decry it - to preach the contrary - to hinder the preaching of it - to abuse those who do preach it in its purity - or to render it fruitless by calumnies and lies! Their punishment, our Lord intimates, shall be greater than that inflicted on the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah!

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(15) For the land of Sodom and Gomorrha.—The thought implied in the previous verse is now expressly asserted. The cities that stood out, in the history of the world, as most conspicuous for their infamy, were yet less guilty (as sinning less against light and knowledge) than those who rejected the messengers of the King. The same comparison reappears with the addition of Tyre and Sidon in Mat_11:21.

In the day of judgment.—The phrase, like the Old Testament “day of the Lord,” is wider in its range than the thoughts we commonly connect with it, and includes the earlier and more earthly judgments, as well as that which is the great consummation of them all.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. Comp. ch. Mat_11:24.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Behold, I send you forth, as sheep among wolves,.... This, and the following verses, chiefly respect the troubles, afflictions, persecutions, and sufferings which should befall the apostles after the death and resurrection of Christ; when their commission was enlarged, and they afresh sent out by Christ to preach his Gospel; of which he gives a faithful account before hand, that they might be prepared for them, and not be surprised when they came upon them. He compares them to "sheep", because they were meek and humble in their spirits, harmless, and inoffensive, in their lives and conversations; were weak, and unable to protect themselves, and were sent out by him unarmed and defenceless; and their oppressors and persecutors to "wolves", because fierce and furious, voracious and ravenous, cruel and hurtful, as these creatures are, especially to sheep; wherefore Christ gives them this wholesome advice,

be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. Much such an expression as this God is represented as saying of Israel (a):

"Says R. Judah, in the name of R. Simon, the holy blessed God said, concerning Israel, with me they are , "harmless as doves"; but among the nations of the world, they are , "subtle as serpents".''

The serpent is a very sharp sighted, cunning creature, and uses various arts and stratagems for its own preservation, and especially of its head; and is so far to be imitated by the followers of Christ, as to make use of all proper methods to preserve themselves from the insults and rage of men, and not expose themselves to unnecessary dangers: and, as much as in them lies, they should be careful to give no just occasion of offence, or irritate, and provoke them to use them ill, and to avoid all snares and traps that are laid for them; and, at the same time, maintain the innocence and harmlessness of the dove, being free from all wicked cunning and craftiness, without rancour, malice, and wrath; not meditating and seeking revenge, but meek and humble in their deportment, leading inoffensive lives, and proceeding in the course of their calling, though liable to many insults, and much oppression.

(a) Shirhashirim Rabba, c. 2. 14. fol. 12. 1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

Ver. 15. It shall be more tolerable] God can better bear anything than the abuse of his free grace in the offers of mercy. Profligate professors and profane gospellers shall one day wish, "Oh that I had been a Sodomite, that I had never heard a sermon!" or, "Oh that I might hear but one sermon more!" &c. Should Solomon forsake that God that had appeared unto him twice? Good turns aggravate unkindness, and nothing more torments those in hell than to think that they might have been happy had they been worthy their years, as they say.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. Sodom and Gomorrah — Genesis 19. For their sins these cities were destroyed by a miraculous fire from Jehovah. But, as Jude informs us, this was but a symbol of eternal wrath, by which they were set forth as suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. The temporal fire is a visible emblem of the invisible fire never to be quenched.

It shall be more tolerable — It is to be remarked that our Lord here speaks in the future; that is, a time is coming at some future day. What future day that is, he now specifies. The day of judgment — Of that day of judgment Jesus gives a vivid description in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew. See also Revelation 20. Than for that city — Our Lord is not here threatening the innocent bricks and walls, but the guilty inhabitants of the cities who reject his Gospel. And from his words we learn: 1. That there is a future day in which the inhabitants of the earth, at the different periods of its history, are to stand before the judgment-seat of God and receive their sentence. 2. The degree of punishment will be measured according to the privileges enjoyed and the guilt incurred. 3. Acceptance of the message of God when sent is the only method of escape and the only means of salvation.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. Verily I say unto you. This formula always introduces a very emphatic saying. More tolerable for the land of Sodom, etc. The cities of the Jordan valley destroyed for their sins in the time of Abraham (Gen. 19:1–28). These cities did not have the opportunity, and hence, not the responsibility, of those to which Christ or his apostles preached.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

15. Comp. ch. Mat 11:24.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15.] The first ἀμὴν λέγ. ὑμ.; with which expression our Lord closes each portion of this discourse.

ἡμέρα κρίσεως, the day of final judgment, = ἡμέρα ἐκείνη, Luk 10:12. The omission of the articles does not alter the definiteness of the meaning; as in the case also of υἱὸς θεοῦ. See note on ch. 4:3.

It must be noticed that this denunciatory part, as also the command to shake off the dust, applies only to the people of Israel, who had been long prepared for the message of the Gospel by the Law and the Prophets, and recently more particularly by John the Baptist; and in this sense it may still apply to the rejection of the Gospel by professing Christians: but as it was not then applicable to the Gentiles, so neither now can it be to the heathen who know not God.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15-16.

(L) 15. Verily, I say to you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrhah in the day of judgement than for that city.] Lk. has similar words in the charge to the Seventy: “I say to you, that for Sodom in that day it shall be more tolerable than for that city.” Sodom is used in the N.T. as a typical instance of the execution of divine judgement; cf. 11:23, 24, Luk 10:12, Luk 17:29, Rom 9:29, Rom 9:2 P 2:6, Jud 1:7. So in Jub. 36:10 “On the day of turbulence, and execration, and indignation, and anger, with flaming devouring fire, as He burnt Sodom, so likewise will He burn His land and His city.”—ἡμέρα κρίσεως.] For the omission of the article in a technical phrase, see Blass, p. 151. For the end of the world as a day of judgement, see the references in Volz, Jüd. Eschat. p. 188; Charles, Enoch, p. 126; and cf. Ps.-Sol. 15:12 “The sinners shall perish in the Lord’s day of judgement for ever”; Jub. 4:19 “until the day of judgement”; Secrets of Enoch 39:1, 2 Es 7:102, 113, 12:34.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.