Woe
to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. So you testify and consent to the works of your fathers. For they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles; and some of them they will kill and persecute, that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.’ Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you took away the key of knowledge. You didn’t enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in, you hindered.” As he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be terribly angry, and to draw many things out of him; lying in wait for him, and seeking to catch him in something he might say, that they might accuse him.
Luke 11:47-54
Luke 11 [45.] One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying this you insult us also.”
Luke 11 [46.] He said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load men with burdens that are difficult to carry, and you yourselves won’t even lift one finger to help carry those burdens. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. So you testify and consent to the works of your fathers. For they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles; and some of them they will kill and persecute, that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.’ Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you took away the key of knowledge. You didn’t enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in, you hindered.”
Luke 11 [53.] As he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be terribly angry, and to draw many things out of him; lying in wait for him, and seeking to catch him in something he might say, that they might accuse him.
Luke 12 [1.] Meanwhile, when a multitude of many thousands had gathered together, so much so that they trampled on each other, he began to tell his disciples first of all, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing covered up, that will not be revealed, nor hidden, that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light. What you have spoken in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.
Meaning:
Jesus is still at the Pharisee’s table. He has rebuked the Pharisees for cleaning the outside of the cup (Luke 11:37-43), and when a lawyer protested, he turned to the experts in the law and condemned the heavy burdens they laid on others (Luke 11:44-46). These verses contain his last two woes against the lawyers and describe the angry reaction that followed. Matthew records similar words spoken in the temple (Matthew 23:29-36).
- “For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.”
Building and decorating the tombs of the prophets looked like an act of honour. But Jesus sees a deeper truth. Their fathers killed the prophets, and the sons finish the job by honouring dead prophets while rejecting the living messengers God sends to them, including John the Baptist and Jesus himself. Honouring the memory of God’s servants while refusing their message makes people partners with those who killed them.
- “I will send to them prophets and apostles”
“The wisdom of God” describes God’s wise purpose in sending messengers. God would send more prophets and apostles, and some of them would be killed and persecuted. The book of Acts records how this happened to Stephen, James and others. Stephen asked his accusers, “Which of the prophets didn’t your fathers persecute?” (Acts 7:51-52).
- “from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah”
Abel, killed by his brother Cain, was the first murder victim in Scripture. Zachariah is generally understood as Zechariah the priest, stoned in the temple court in the days of King Joash, the last martyr recorded in the Hebrew Bible, which ends with Chronicles. “The Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest,” and when he rebuked the people, “They conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of Yahweh’s house” (2 Chronicles 24:20-21). From first to last, the blood of the righteous cried out. Jesus warns that this generation, which was about to reject the greatest Messenger of all, would bear the judgment.
- “For you took away the key of knowledge.”
The lawyers held the key to the Scriptures, which point to the Messiah. Instead of opening the door, they locked it through man-made rules and wrong interpretation. They did not enter God’s Kingdom themselves and hindered those who wanted to enter. Matthew records, “you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men” (Matthew 23:13).
- “the scribes and the Pharisees began to be terribly angry”
Instead of repenting, the leaders became hostile. They began questioning him sharply, “lying in wait for him,” hoping to trap him in his words. This sets the tone for the growing conflict that would lead to the cross (Luke 20:20).
The Significance of Luke 11:47-54
- Honouring God’s messengers truly
It is not enough to admire the heroes of faith from the past. True honour means listening to God’s word today and obeying it.
- Responsibility of teachers
Those who teach God’s word hold a key. They are called to open the way to Christ, not to block it with pride or burdensome rules.
Cross-References:
2 Chronicles 24:20-21: "They conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of Yahweh’s house." The death of Zechariah.
Acts 7:51-52: "Which of the prophets didn’t your fathers persecute?" Stephen’s accusation.
Matthew 23:35: "from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah" Matthew’s parallel.
Matthew 23:13: The lawyers shut the Kingdom against others.
Conclusion: Jesus condemns the experts in the law for honouring the prophets’ tombs while sharing their fathers’ rejection of God’s messengers. The blood of the righteous, from Abel to Zachariah, would be required of the generation that rejected God’s Son. They had taken away the key of knowledge, and instead of repenting they grew furious and plotted to trap him.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible