But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.
All Commentaries on Matthew 11:24 Go To Matthew 11
John Chrysostom
AD 407
It is not for nothing that Jesus mentions Sodom along with the others. He does this to heighten the charge against these cities. This stood as proof of their very great recalcitrance. For they were found to be as bad not only as other cities that currently existed but also as bad as any that ever existed! Thus elsewhere Jesus also makes incriminating comparisons, censuring them by the Ninevites and the queen of the south. In those cases, however, the comparison was with those who did seek to do right, and in these cases with those who had grossly ignored God’s coming. Ezekiel anticipated this intensity of expression when he condemned Jerusalem: “You have justified your sisters in all your sins.” These were cities where Jesus was prone to linger as a favored place. And not even at this does he hold back his speech. He makes their dread even more intense by saying that they would suffer things more grievous than Sodom and Tyre. Jesus alarmed them when he used every possible means to reclaim them to repentance. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily
