<p>11:20 <em>Then he began to chastise the cities-</em>&nbsp;The Lord also upbraided the disciples for their unbelief (Mk. 16:14 s.w.). Again we see the Lord being positive towards His disciples in the eyes of the world, and yet privately challenging them with the same language of criticism which He had for the unbelieving world. His imputation of righteousness to us doesn&rsquo;t mean He is blind to our weakness.</p>
<p><em>Wherein most</em>- Gk. &lsquo;the majority&rsquo;. We must give this word its full weight. The majority of the Lord&rsquo;s miracles were done in three tiny villages- Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. We have just learnt that whilst the disciples were away on their preaching tour, He had gone to preach in their home villages (11:1). Perhaps some time had elapsed between verses 19 and 20. He had had little response. Philip, Andrew and Peter were all from Bethsaida, the &lsquo;home of fishermen&rsquo; (Jn. 1:44; 12:21). We sense that the Lord had a specific plan in mind for His preaching work. He made a particular focus upon Galilee and the home villages of His disciples- and Galilee was of course His own home area. We see in this policy a desire by Him for us to witness in our own immediate environment and family situations. Mk. 8:22-26 records the only miracle the Gospels record as performed in Bethsaida, and the Lord told the cured blind man not to tell anyone in Bethsaida about the miracle- presumably because the people there had already seen ample miracles and had not repented.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Of his mighty works had been done, because they had not repented-</em>&nbsp;Here we see the purpose of the healing miracles. They were not simply to alleviate human suffering for the sake of it- they were specifically designed to lead people to repentance. God&rsquo;s goodness is intended to lead to repentance (Rom. 2:4). The doing of Christian &lsquo;good works&rsquo; can&rsquo;t be criticized in itself, but it needs to be observed that they often seem to be performed &lsquo;for the sake of it&rsquo;, whereas the Lord&rsquo;s works were always within a wider plan and aim of bringing people to spiritual healing.&nbsp;</p>