1. To comprehend the basis for this vast difference between sins of
be beaten with many stripes." In fact, there is such a distinction that sins committed in ignorance are said to be overlooked by God. Acts
17:30 states, "The times of ignorance God overlooked." When they lacked knowledge, God did not take notice. Moreover, some leniency is granted for such sins because the person has a cloak or something to offer as a defense (as Christ said in John 15:22). However, when sins are committed against knowledge, there is no cloak.
Furthermore, Christ considers a sin of ignorance to be no sin in comparison. In John, He declares, "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin." There is no shelter to shield them from the stripes, nor any plea to mitigate their severity.
1. To comprehend the basis for this vast difference between sins of ignorance and sins against knowledge, consider that if a person sins (suppose the act remains the same) solely out of ignorance, there is a supposition that if they had known it was a sin, they would not have committed it, and once they become aware, they would or might repent. For instance, 1 Corinthians 2:8 states,
"None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." Likewise,
Christ mentioned that if the same works performed in Tyre, Sodom, and Gomorrah had been done in other cities, they would have repented. However, when a person knows beforehand and contemplates the sin while committing it, there is no room for such a supposition and less hope for repentance. What could possibly lead this person to repent? Is it not their knowledge? If their knowledge had no power to prevent them from sinning, it is likely that it will not have the power to bring them to repentance. By sinning, the heart becomes hardened, and the knowledge and authority of it weaken and diminish, just as all power does when it is despised and resisted, as stated in