Truly I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of the Sodomites and the Gomorrites than for that city.
In this saying, Jesus gives a severe and sobering warning to those who reject God’s message, comparing their accountability with Sodom and Gomorrah, which are known as cities judged by God because of their grievous sins (see Genesis 19). By this comparison, Christ shows that people who have heard the light of the Gospel and consciously rejected it bear greater responsibility than those who lived without that revelation. Judgment here is presented as being based not only on deeds, but also on the truth that has been received or rejected, and this saying reminds us that hearing the word of God places a person before a decision whose consequences have eternal significance.