Hi everyone. Welcome back to logical bible study. This is the Catholic podcast where we take an in-depth. Look at the scriptures, we do a verse by verse exegesis of the Gospel reading at today's mass and it's totally listener-supported. So if you like what you hear, please subscribe on iTunes, Libra review. Subscribe on YouTube as well. If you're listening on YouTube and please continue to share it
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Your thanks for what we're doing. Then please consider becoming a patreon supporter and the information for that is in the show nodes today, we're looking at Luke chapter 11 verses 47 to 54. Jesus said a less for you who build the tombs of the prophets the menu ancestors killed in this way. You both witness what your ancestors did and approve it. They did the killing you. Do the building?
And that is why the wisdom of God said I will send them prophets and apostles some they will Slaughter and persecute so that this generation will have to answer for every prophets blood that has been shared since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel, to the blood of Zechariah, who was murdered between the Altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you this generation will have to answer for it all. Alas for you lawyers who have taken away.
The key of knowledge, you have not gone in yourselves and have prevented others going in. Who wanted to when he left the house, the scribes and the Pharisees began a furious attack on him. And tried to force answers from him on innumerable questions. Setting traps to catch him out in something. He might say, So a really interesting passage today and there's a bit to talk about here. Let's start by thinking about
the context. So Jesus, at this point is moving From Galilee to Jerusalem for the Final Phase of his ministry and his going through various towns on the way and he's been invited to eat at a Pharisees house. The Pharisee notices that Jesus doesn't perform. The usual ritual Washings before eating and he questions, Jesus about it. Jesus.
Then used that as an opportunity to tell the What their biggest issue is so in verses 37 on words of this chapter and you would have heard this in the last few days of the podcast. Jesus says the biggest issue with the Pharisees is they focus on external Purity rather than internal Purity. And in yesterday's episode just before today he has said the Pharisees actually make it more difficult for people to come to
God, rather than easier. Their job is supposed to be to help people get to God, but they're actually doing the opposite. So, all of that has Has happened. And now we get to verse 47 and Jesus says, a less for you or more literally there. Whoa, to you and we talked about what the words mean in yesterday's episode alas for you who build the tombs of the prophets. The men, your ancestors killed.
So the Jews, the Jewish leaders in Jesus time, they claim to honor the Old Testament prophets and they built elaborate tombs and memorials for them and said, lots of prayers and decorated these terms. So they did honor the prophets or at least they thought they did. In fact, the Jewish leaders in Jesus time, they distance themselves from the action of the previous Jewish leaders, so they consider themselves different than their
forefathers. They say to themselves, we would never kill a profit but that's not how Jesus understands it. Because in verse 48, Jesus says to them in this way, you both witness what your ancestors did and approve it. They did the killing you. Do the building as in the building of the terms there. So Jesus sees Is the fact that the Pharisees, build the tombs of the prophets? He sees that as a symbolic of the fact that the Pharisees are actually complicit in the acts of their forefathers.
Their forefathers do the killing, and the Pharisees, do the building, but there's more to it. As Jesus is going to go on, to say, it's really how the Pharisees are going to treat the future messengers of God. That makes them the most complicit. It makes them the most, like, their forefathers because as we'll see, Jesus says, the Pharisees are actually going to treat future profits in exactly the same way as their forefathers treated the previous prophets.
So they're not much different from their fathers at all verse 49. Jesus now says this and that is why the wisdom of God said and then he has an extended quote, the wisdom of God, that's an interesting phrase and in a lot of Bibles, this'll be capitals, the wisdom of God. So who is the wisdom of God? It seems to be a reference to To the word of God himself as in it's something that God himself. Spoke at some point, the wisdom of God, something that came out
of God's mouth. Now, the next quote though that apparently, the wisdom of God said, according to Jesus, these words are never recorded in scripture. So when did God say this? Maybe God said this to Jesus in heaven as a conversation between the Trinity or maybe it was part of a Jewish Tradition at the time that it was something God had said it's not entirely clear. But Jesus says, these are the very words of God.
Now there's a further complication though because in the original Greek, there's no such thing as a quotation mark. So we don't actually know when The court finishes. And when Jesus starts to add his own comments, on top of that.
So here in verse 46, 48, Jesus basically says, here's a quote that God has said, but we don't know when the quote finishes, and when Jesus starts to talk himself, so it's kind of complicated what further complicates it though, is that if you look at Matthews version of this speech in Matthew chapter 23, it just has Jesus saying these words rather than saying that God set them just Jesus comes right out.
And says them himself. So, there might be, if we put Matthew and Luke together, this might be a very subtle hint that the gospel, the gospel authors did understand Jesus to be God. And in fact, to be the wisdom of God, which, of course we believe as Christians. But let's work with the text. We have now different Bible translations will have the quote
ending in different places. Even the ones I looked at preparing for this episode, a slightly different from how the lectionary has it. But here's the entire quote as today's election area puts it. So this is Currently something God said, I will send them prophets and apostles.
Some they will Slaughter and persecute so that this generation will have to answer for every prophets blood that has been shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was murdered between the Altar and the sanctuary. So it's a fairly long quote there from god. Let's try and break it down a bit. So the first thing in this quote, God says, is, I will send
them prophets and apostles. Now, the reference here is firstly to the Old Testament prophets. So God says I will send them prophets and he's done it. But then there's this second phrase, I'll send them Apostles. This is almost certainly referring to the Twelve Apostles. As in the New Testament era, the apostles are going to be a continuation of the ministry of the prophets in the Old Testament, which is interesting.
You've probably never perhaps considered this part of Luke before where God himself says, I will send Them prophets and apostles. In fact, Matthews version of this text in Matthew, 23 says, Jesus says to the Pharisees, some of these Apostles you will kill and crucify and Scourge in
your synagogues. So clearly the apostles that God is talking about here are the 12 apostles, God here promises to send the Jewish leaders, the apostles, just as God sent Old Testament prophets to reveal his will.
Now, in the New Covenant, the apostles are going to be God's prophets, who were Went to reveal, God's will to the Jewish people, the quote continues, some they will Slaughter and persecute and of course, in the Old Testament when ever a prophet was sent by God to bring a message, the Jewish leaders didn't treat the prophet particularly. Well, there will almost always rejected and they were often
killed by the Jewish leadership. So we know that the Jewish leadership in the Old Testament, hated the prophets of God, and here, Jesus says, they're going to treat the early, Christian leaders, the apostles, the same way. They will be slaughtered and persecuted by the Jewish leaders. So it's quite a remarkable prophecy, here of Jesus, he's saying the coming Apostles will be treated in the same way as your father's treated, the prophets verse 50, so that this generation.
Now this phrase, this generation, it means the Jewish leaders in Jesus time. This generation will have to answer for every prophets blood that has been shed since the foundation of the world. What the Greek. They're actually says, is this generation of the blood of all the prophets will be required of this generation.
What does this mean here? Jesus says that the Jewish leaders in Jesus time rejected Jesus and the rejected the apostles, but Jesus himself is the last and greatest in a long line of prophets who God has sent to the Jewish leaders, to turn them back to him, we'll think about it. If they reject Jesus, the fullest revelation of God's will then really bike. Attention, the Jewish leaders,
reject, all of God's prophets. So in that sense, they're accountable for the deaths of all of the prophets, there's more to it though. Because as we'll see, Jesus is going to say what makes them more. Accountable is the way they treat the future Apostles as well, but it's pretty strong. Strong language here, isn't it? Jesus says the Pharisees will have to answer for every prophets blood that has been shed that since the foundation
of the world. Now this is despite the Pharisees claim that they honor the prophets and that they're not accountable. Notable for their deaths. Jesus says, you are in fact, accountable and you will be held accountable. Then in verse 51, he says, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was murdered between the Altar and the sanctuary. Why does Jesus bring up here able and Zechariah? It turns out that this is kind of like a BRAC.
These are brackets indicating the entire period of the Old Testament that the Pharisees will be accountable for because this is a period in what in which, a lot of righteous prophets were killed. So, he first mentions, the blood of Abel. Most people know, the story of Cain killing Abel will able is the first righteous person to be killed in the entire Old Testament. It's very early in the Bible, Genesis chapter 4, Cain kills Abel. Even though able is righteous.
And then Jesus says, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who is murdered between the Altar and the sanctuary. Who is this is Zechariah, that Jesus talks about there's two different views here. Well, Matthew actually gives us a bit more information about who's Zachariah is, if you look at Matthew chapter, 23, Jesus, there says, that Zechariah is the son of berechiah, who is
Zechariah the son of berechiah. He is the prophet Zechariah from the Old Testament. There is a book in the Old Testament called the book of Zechariah. That is the Zechariah. That is apparently in mind here. Now, his death is not. Mentioned in scripture, we don't find out how he dies in the Old Testament, but Jesus he says he was murdered between the Altar and the sanctuary and indeed.
In Jesus time, there was a rabbinical tradition that says that this Zechariah was killed in the temple so that would certainly fit but there is an alternative view amongst summer Scholars, though. Some Scholars think that this is a different exact ariya. The son of jehoiada, there's a different sector. I in the Old Testament, he's mentioned in and Chronicles chapter 24 verses 20 to 22 and this Zechariah, the son of jehoiada.
He was definitely murdered in the sanctuary that actually says that in the Old Testament. So that would certainly fit very well actually, because in the time of Jesus, the Old Testament in Israel, had Genesis, as the first book of the Old Testament and second chronicles was the last. So if this second Zechariah the one in second chronicles is the
one that Jesus has in mind. Well then it's a very good way of saying that the Pharisees are accountable for the deaths of all the prophets in the entire Old Testament, from Genesis through the second chronicles, from the start of the Old Testament. The end, perhaps there's been some sort of some Scholars, think there might be like a copyist area here, where originally in Matthews version, it says, Zechariah the son of jehoiada and maybe, at some
point, a copyist has changed it to Bear a Kya. So perhaps we've lost the original manuscript here but either way, it doesn't really matter. Jesus is saying that Zechariah whichever Zechariah, we identify it. As he is the last righteous man in the Old Testament to be killed. So in this way, Abel and Zechariah servers, brackets for the group of righteous people, whose deaths the Jewish leaders will be responsible for, so they are the brackets.
Jesus goes on in verse 51. Yes I tell you this generation will have to answer for it all. Or again you can translate that as each. She'll be required of this generation. So the blood guilt that the Pharisees have accumulated from the Old Testament era will finally spill over in the coming days. This is what Jesus says, and the Jewish leaders, the Pharisees are going to be judged. When does this happen?
When at the Jewish leaders in Jesus day punished for their treatment of the prophets and the apostles Clearly, if we understand history correctly, it's in the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, the jewish-roman war between 1866 and 1870 was brutal. Many of the Jewish leaders were killed and the New Testament. Clearly depicts the destruction
of the temple. As at least partially it's a judgment of God. God is showing his judgment on the Jewish leaders for continually rejecting his profits and particularly for rejecting the Messiah. Now, that might sound a bit harsh. Why would Jesus? Why would God allow pretty much all of Jerusalem to be wiped out? Just because of the Pharisees. Well, if you study the Old Testament whenever God judges Israel historically suffering in Israel is a collective experience that falls on both
the righteous and the wicked. As a consequence of collective guilt, we don't have this concept as much in Christian theology anymore, but in the Old Testament, the Jewish leaders were responsible for The welfare of all the Jews.
And if the Jewish leaders were guilty, basically, all of Israel was considered guilty in a sense, because of collective guilt, this idea of the destruction of the temple, being a judgment of God. That's actually explicitly brought out in Luke chapter 21. And their Jesus says this generation shall not pass away until all is fulfilled. So, we'll look at Luke chapter 21 when we get there. Now, there's something interesting here.
Let's go back and read the entire sort of phrase here and see if you can pick up on Jesus main point here. So, going back to verse 47 here, this is what it says. You build the tombs of the prophets, the men, your ancestors killed in this way. You both witness what your ancestors did and approve it. They did the killing you do the
building. And that is why the wisdom of God said I will send them prophets and apostles, they will have to answer for every prophets blood that has been shared since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah. Yes, I tell you this generation will have to answer for it all the key thing there that's really interesting and this is something we should do.
If we're looking, at the literal sense is look at the grammar that's users particularly words like therefore and so we'll up there at the start of verse 49. There's a therefore it says, therefore, that is why the wisdom of God said, what's going
on here? What's the therefore, if we understand that correctly, it seems that Jesus is saying that the reason God is going to send the Pharisees future prophets and apostles is so that the Jewish leaders in Jesus day can be held accountable for killing all of God's righteous Messengers and therefore their punishment will be justified. So in other words, God is saying that already at the time.
Jesus is speaking here, the the Pharisees are guilty for the way they have treated, the Old Testament prophets, but to prove that quite literally, he's going To send them more profits in the form of Apostles and they will treat them terribly too. And that will serve as proof. But they are, in fact guilty and they deserve the punishment interesting, isn't it? But that's actually what the verse says.
It says, the Reason God is going to send them Apostles is so that they can be proved guilty, really interesting. And that's why I think looking at the literal sense of scripture reveals a lot of interesting stuff about theology that we might miss, if we just skim over it. Going to verse 50 52 Jesus in the all turns to the lawyers and says, alas for you lawyers. So the lawyers would be the Jewish experts in the Old Testament. These are kind of like the high-ranking.
Pharisees Jesus says, you have taken away the key of knowledge. Knowledge, about what will Jesus doesn't say here, but it most likely means knowledge of the kingdom of God and God's Will. And the image here of key is sort of brings to mind like a door. It's like the Pharisees have the key. Should the door to the kingdom of God, but they're not using it. They're not letting people get to the door.
The Pharisees have taken away access to the knowledge of the kingdom of God. From the Jewish people, basically, by their elaborate and many laws and requirements. They actually make it harder for people to come to God. So, in other words, they have locked up the kingdom of God from the Jewish people by their complex system of rules and regulations, that's the opposite of what they should be doing. Jesus goes on, you have not gone in yourselves so he's He's going
to get pretty harsh here. Jesus says, the Pharisees have not entered the kingdom of God because they have not listened to his Messengers. Who have explained his will. They haven't listened to the prophets or Jesus himself nor will they listen to the apostles. So they have not entered the kingdom even though they have the key to and Jesus now says, and you have prevented others going in who wanted two or more, literally there. What it says, use you have hindered.
Those who were entering, this is probably the Pharisees greatest sin. They roll their gods appointed leaders and said, I supposed to help guide the Jewish people to God, but they've done the very opposite here. Jesus says, they actually prevent the Jewish people from getting into the kingdom. It's not that the Pharisees are two lakhs or that they lack missionary Zeal.
It's just that their interpretation of Judaism and their complex system ends up distorting God's Will and it makes it harder for the Jews to understand God, and His will. And, in fact, it makes them harder to understand the Messiah and to come to them. Sia. So, in that sense, the Jewish leaders are blocking people from getting into the kingdom, of God. Think about how different it would have been if the Pharisees had accepted Jesus as the Messiah.
Probably most of Israel would have accepted Jesus as the Messiah, but they look to their leaders for cues and since the Jewish leaders largely rejected him, Israel, largely rejected him verse 53. So that's the end of the conversation between them. Luke now says when Jesus left the house, the scribes and the Pharisees began to Furious attack on him what it actually says. That's not the best translation. It's not a furious attack. It says, they began to press him hard.
Now, keep in mind by this point, the Jewish leaders basically Want Jesus dead. They've had enough of him. Luke goes on. They tried to force answers from Jesus, from him, on innumerable questions. Again, what the Greek there says is they provoked Jesus to speak of many things. So they're trying to trap Jesus.
They trying to get him to talk about things that will get him into trouble because they're looking for an excuse to punish him basically and to get him out of the way verse 54, they set traps to catch him out in something, he might say. And again, the Greek, there says they lie in wait for him.
And we know that for the last part of Jesus ministry, the Jewish leaders are constantly looking for opportunities to trap Jesus. And there's several scenes that were probably quite familiar with where the Pharisees actually come up with several trap questions which they think will incriminate Jesus. But he gets away with all of them. And one example of that is, should we pay the tax to Caesar or not?
They think that's a good trap question but Jesus gets out of it. So that's the end of Luke chapter 11. It's a pretty long one and we'll look at Luke chapter 12 in the coming days. The only catechism reference to today's passage is in paragraph five seven, nine. And this is the same one that we looked at yesterday, and it's well worth repeating because it gives you a completely different perspective. On the positives, the positive aspects of the way, the
Pharisees went about things. So catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph, 579 the principle of an integral observance of the law, not Only in letter. But in spirit was dear to the Pharisees, by giving Israel, this principle, they had led many Jews of Jesus time, to an extreme religious Zeal. This is Zeal, were not to lapse
into hypocrisy. Could only prepare the people for their unprecedented intervention of God through the perfect fulfillment of the law by the only righteous one in the place of all sinners. So I'll include that paragraph in the show notes as well. Thanks for listening today. Please share this podcast around so that more and more people and Catholics in particular can learn to dive into the word of God in a really academic faithful.
Systematic way and will continue to move through Luke in the coming days.