Jesus lectures people throughout today’s reading who failed to take the presence of God’s messenger seriously. They heard it, they benefited from it, but they ultimately did not change their lives. Jesus goes as far as  to compare them to cities that were known for their evil, and explain that these modern locations would be worse off than even Sodom and Gomorrah!

For my part, I have the entire story of God available to me. I have it in multiple English translations, I hear it preached on Sundays, and I can get to it every second of the day through a free Bible or an electronic search. There’s no excuse for it not to impact my life, except that I don’t pay it enough attention.

We must strive to let God’s word change us…and we must help others to do the same. They face the same judgment. We need to help them take God seriously.