Matthew 11:23

And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? thou shalt go down unto Hades: for if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in thee, it would have remained until this day.

See notes on Matthew 11:22, above. This indicates that if Christ, instead of an angel, had visited Sodom, the people would have repented, and the city would have been spared. How favored, then, must be considered those men who have the privilege of knowing Christ and his saving gospel! Conversely, how reprehensible shall they be held who reject his word! A more terrible punishment awaits those who sin against the light. Let men lay it to heart. The gospel will either bless or curse those who hear it. Paul wrote, "For we are a sweet savor of Christ unto God, in them that are saved, and in them that perish; to the one, a savor from death unto death, to the other, a savor from life unto life" (2 Corinthians 2:15,16). Note too another reference to "the day" of judgment. See on Matthew 12:41ff.

Exalted unto heaven ... refers to the prosperity and general favor in which Capernaum reposed. This appears from the fact that her debasement is not to be in Gehenna, but in Hades, indicating a loss of her position and destruction of her beauty. The literal fulfillment of the Saviour's prophecy can be attested by any traveler who has stumbled over doubtful rubble and sought among ruins to find even the site of that unfortunate city that rejected the Christ. Moreover, an even more awful fate than her physical destruction awaits her citizens in the day of judgment, as may be seen by a glance at the following verse.