WHOA! (PART 5)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. Because of this, God in His wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’ Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.”

Luke 11:47-51

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today, we’re continuing a series which has seen Jesus confronting the Pharisees, and as we saw yesterday, the experts of the law with the sinful ways they were executing their duties as spiritual leaders of the Jewish people. Each individual confrontation was punctuated with Jesus declaring woe on the Jewish spiritual authorities with the hope they would stop the errors of their ways. In essence, Jesus was saying “Whoa!” to the Pharisees and experts of the law so they might check themselves and correct their actions.

To date, we have looked at four woes and today we add a fifth. Look at these words of Jesus from the 11th chapter of Luke:

“Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. Because of this, God in His wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’ Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.”  Luke 11:47-51

As we have seen Jesus detail before, there was a general issue with the Jewish religious leaders in regard to their hypocrisy. They were very skilled at showing people one thing on the outside, leaving the impression they were righteous, while masking a wicked, transgressive interior which would have exposed them as otherwise. As we look at Jesus’ words from today’s verses, He provides yet one more example of this to support His point.

You see, the Pharisees and experts of the law made sure that the prophets of old were properly recognized and honored with specially constructed tombs. The irony in this was that it was the ancestors of these religious leaders who actually had put the prophets to death or as Jesus put it:

“They killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.”

How would God handle this matter?

Jesus let the Pharisees and experts of the law know that His Father would respond out of wisdom by sending “prophets and apostles” who would be no less received by the current generation than the ones mistreated and murdered by their ancestors. In the end translation, God knew what the outcome would be. For the Pharisees and experts of the law (and we could throw the Sadducees into this mix as well) were going to show they were not willing to change the behavior of those who had gone before them. Rather, they would continue to kill and persecute those who God sent and in turn, they would be held accountable for their actions. The current generation would be held responsible.

So what happened?

Well, sure enough Jesus was persecuted and eventually led to His death by the Jewish religious authorities who decided to reject God’s Son who was the very Messiah the prophets of old had told of, the very prophets that the former generation of Pharisees and experts of the law had eliminated. Jesus suffered the same fate and God knew well in advance it would happen as did Jesus.

Surely, woe would come on the Pharisees and experts of the law because they failed to heed Jesus’ words which were intended to get them to say ,“Whoa!”, and check their behavior. God would not stand for one of His beloved messengers to be mistreated and executed let alone His beloved Son who which He was well pleased.

Unfortunately, the mistreatment, persecution, and murderous behavior of the Jewish religious authorities did not end in New Testament times. Today, countless Christ followers are suffering from persecution and the threat of death, some paying the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of Jesus and I’m afraid it’s going to get worse before it gets any better. In fact, read the Book of Revelation and you will know this will be true.

Here’s something else that isn’t going to change. Those who choose to single out, abuse, and kill those who are carrying out the will and way of Christ will face the same woe Jesus prescribed for the Pharisees and experts of the law in today’s passage. For any generation of people who repeat the mistakes of the past, neglecting and slaughtering those who are carrying on the work of His Son, will be held responsible and accountable for their actions.

In the end, God is going to make things right, you can trust in that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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