Luke 11:49-54

Luke 11:49 (KJB)
Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:

In the last of these woes, Jesus uses a term “wisdom of God’ which seems to refer to the fact that God had allowed the prophets and apostles to be killed but their message was to remain. God sent these prophets and Apostles into the world and they would be opposed just like Jesus is being opposed now. They would be slain and persecuted but they, as a witness to the truth, even though they be dead, would not be silenced.

Luke 11:50 (KJB)
That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

By killing the newest of these prophets, the Pharisees would fill up the measure of the cup of sin and because of this would be held accountable for all the righteous blood they and their forefathers shed. The current generation of apostate leadership could not avoid its responsibility, just as those in the past had to take responsibility for theirs.

Luke 11:51 (KJB)
From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

Since Jesus is placing their condemnation in the present tense including accountability from the time of Abel to the man Zacharias, whose identification still remains a mystery. It does not matter because if Jesus stated these religious leaders had killed him in the temple, then their condemnation will be just. It could not be the prophet Zechariah because there is no record of him dying in the fashion. There is also a Zechariah mentioned in 2 Chronicles 24 but he is the son of Jehoiada the priest. Actually 2 Chronicles is the last book in the Hebrew Bible so Jesus could be pointing out that all the prophets from the beginning to the end of the time of the Mosaic law, who were killed by those who opposed truth will have to take responsibility for their actions. Any generation who heard the true Gospel and rejected it and did harm to those who brought it, would be held responsible for their actions.

Luke 11:52 (KJB)
Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

They proclaim to be the spiritual leaders of Israel and to have great knowledge of the Scriptures but they are totally hypocrites because their teachings are so worldly centered that they shut up the Kingdom of Heaven. Their teachings are never focused on how a person gets to Heaven and the result of that is not only those that hear them are unable to get into Heaven, but the religious leaders themselves have condemned themselves to hell by their own teachings. (1 Tim 4:16 KJV) Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. Their concern was for worldly wealth and position. This is also the same situation with every cult, their teachings are false and those who hear them will not get into Heaven as well as those who are teaching it.

Luke 11:53 (KJB)
And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things:

After Jesus spoke these things to them, they had pressed Him hard to get Him to say things on other subjects. They were now beginning to act in a very hostile manner toward Jesus. All these things that Jesus spoke about had now made Him religious enemy number one and now He was their target. That was why they wanted to try and get Him to speak on different subjects, partly to get the focus off of them and to get Him to say something which could indict Him.

Luke 11:54 (KJB)
Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.

Once again their prime motive was to catch the Lord Jesus in some type of self-condemning comments which the scribes and Pharisees could accuse Him. As usual their beast efforts would never catch Him. They were hoping they could accuse Him of anything that would lead to His execution, whether it be against their law or against Roman law and they failed in every attempt. This is an example for us that we must always be careful as to what comes out of our mouth so we can never be accused of anything unbiblical.

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