At this point in our study of Jesus’ testimony against the scribes and Pharisees of his day, he is finishing up his scourging discourse, and he’s probably walking with his disciples toward the eastern gate of the Temple compound. The Jewish authorities, according to Luke’s narrative, have been encouraging Jesus, throughout his critique, to continue in his burning accusations against their authority, all in a kind of passive effort to get Jesus entangled in his words, so they might have something to grab hold of (Luke 11:53-54), and accuse him of wrongdoing, and thereby safely arrest him in public, because they feared a negative reaction from the people (Luke 22:1-2), who were eagerly listening to him, perhaps nodding their heads in agreement (cp. Luke 19:48; 21:38).
Jesus accused the scribes and Pharisees of using their authority to keep folks from entering the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 23:13), ensuring the public’s loyalty to them through fear (Matthew 12:22-24). Jesus also accused them of using their authority to build up their own name at the expense of the poor and weak (Matthew 23:14). Then, he turned to the missionary efforts of the Jewish authorities to the gentiles, saying they made converts merely to increase their own political power in the world (Matthew 23:15). Moreover, Jesus took issue with false doctrines of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23:16), vis-à-vis the value system that the Jewish authorities employed. It was all about the gold in the treasury, the gift on the altar and the tithe (Matthew 23:16-23). Money was the power behind everything they did. God had nothing to do with anything they did (Matthew 23:24)!
Moreover, Jesus claimed the Jewish authorities were without integrity, because, while they warned folks about ceremonial cleanliness, they remained unclean, because they said but did not. In other words, they believed the end justified the means (Matthew 23:25-26), They were hypocrites; they had all the appearance of being righteous, but they remained unchanged in their hearts. So, if folks obeyed them in an effort to be clean and pure before God, but followed their example, all their efforts to being pure would be for nought (Matthew 23:27-28), because the teachings of scribes and Pharisees didn’t match what they did (Matthew 23:1-3). Finally, Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees, by admitting they were the children of those who killed the prophets, they also showed, they would continue to do their works, no matter how much they said to the contrary (Matthew 23:29-32). Therefore, they would be judged just as their fathers were (Matthew 23:33).
Jesus prophesied that he would send prophets, wise men and scribes to the Jewish authorities of his day, and they, vis-à-vis the Jewish authorities, would crucify and kill some, scourge others in their synagogues and persecute them from city to city, throughout the Empire (Matthew 23:34).
Jesus concluded that they were guilty of the sin of killing the righteous. In other words, the blood of the righteous would be upon their heads, and they, the very ones to whom Jesus preached, would be judged (Matthew 23:35-36). Nevertheless, consider Jesus’ words for a moment. Were the Jewish authorities of Jesus’ day actually responsible for Abel’s death? No! Cain slew Abel, and all the violence that occurred after that was judged in the Flood. However, the scribes and Pharisees had the same heart as Cain. Neither were the scribes and Pharisees guilty of the blood of the prophets, represented in the murder of Zacharias.[1] The nation of the Jews was judged for that violence (from the time of the Flood to the murder of Zacharias, the nation was sent in exile to Babylon, but the scribes and Pharisees had the same heart as their fathers, who slew the prophets.
Jesus’ point was the guilt of the blood of the prophets, from Abel to Zacharias, was upon the Jewish authorities of his day, because they would repeat the sins of the people who rebelled against God from the beginning to that very day. We know this is so, because Jesus sent his disciples to the Jewish nation, and the authorities persecuted them from city to city, beat them in the synagogues and crucified and slew them, whenever they could (Matthew 23:34-35). So, they were no different from any of the wicked folks who used violence to get their way or to oppose the ones who challenged their wicked ways. The scribes and Pharisees appeared righteous to the Jews of their day, but in the end, they brought the judgment of God down upon the whole nation. Jesus’ judgment was certain and came down upon the Jewish authorities, when, as King of kings, he sent the Romans against the Jews about 40 years later, and destroyed both Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70, thus, ending the Old Covenant forever (Matthew 23:36). Jesus’ judgment, vis-à-vis removing the Jews as his covenant people, established the New Covenant, which was preached by Jesus’ disciples from Pentecost of AD 31 to the destruction of the Temple in AD 70, just as he promised to do (Matthew 16:27-28).
[1] Who is Zacharias the son of Barachias? Scholars are not in agreement, but most believe “Barachias” is an early copy error and should be “Jehoiada” (2Chronicles 24:20-22). His death occurred prior to the first destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and its destruction is attributed (at least partially) to his vindication. I’ll address the problem with this text in my next study.
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