Matthew 11:20-24 (ESV) Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Among the issues in theology which can give one a brain cramp, this one ranks right at the top: How a sovereign God can use the word “if”? “If” is a word, and a concept which Jesus clearly builds the rebuke in our text upon. It shows up in many other Scripture passages as well. So how are we to think in terms of “possibility” or something which may or may not happen, in light of the revelation both of God’s omniscience and sovereignty over all things?

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