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Matthew 11:21-22 (NIV): "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! 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"
Why does Jesus here contrast Chorazin and Bethsaida to Tyre and Sidon? Is it because unlike Jewish Chorazin and Bethsaida Tyre and Sidon were Gentile cities?
I think your answer is partially correct - namely that Chorazin and Bethsaida were Jewish towns, whereas Tyre and Sidon were within Phoenicia (Lebanon today).
Jesus also includes another Jewish city, Capernaum, among the list of those to be condemned (Matthew 11:23-24). Not only did the Jewish towns have the benefit of the Mosaic law - which they transgressed - but two had additional advantages. Bethsaida had been the home of the Apostles Philip, Andrew, and Peter (John 1:44; 12.21) and Capernaum experienced the "mighty works" of Christ Himself.
