[Footnote 2:  Luke xiii. 31, and following.]

The new doctrine was by no means received with equal favor in all the towns of Galilee.  Not only did incredulous Nazareth continue to reject him who was to become her glory; not only did his brothers persist in not believing in him,[1] but the cities of the lake themselves, in general well-disposed, were not all converted.  Jesus often complained of the incredulity and hardness of heart which he encountered, and although it is natural that in such reproaches we make allowance for the exaggeration of the preacher, although we are sensible of that kind of convicium seculi which Jesus affected in imitation of John the Baptist,[2] it is clear that the country was far from yielding itself entirely a second time to the kingdom of God.  “Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida!” cried he; “for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you.  And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell; for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee."[3] “The queen of the south,” added he, “shall rise up in the judgment of this generation, and shall condemn it:  for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here.  The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it:  because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and behold, a greater than Jonas is here."[4] His wandering life, at first so full of charm, now began to weigh upon him.  “The foxes,” said he, “have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."[5] Bitterness and reproach took more and more hold upon him.  He accused unbelievers of not yielding to evidence, and said that, even at the moment in which the Son of man should appear in his celestial glory, there would still be men who would not believe in him.[6]

[Footnote 1:  John vii. 5.]

[Footnote 2:  Matt. xii. 39, 45, xiii. 15, xvi. 4; Luke xi. 29.]

[Footnote 3:  Matt. xi. 21-24; Luke x. 12-15.]

[Footnote 4:  Matt. xii. 41, 42; Luke xi. 31, 32.]

[Footnote 5:  Matt. viii. 20; Luke ix. 58.]

[Footnote 6:  Luke xviii. 8.]