45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” 46 And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. 48 So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. 52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.” 53 As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, 54 lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say. (ESV)
Discussion Question
In verses 37 to 54, Jesus condemns two classes of religious leaders. He points out specific practices that have hindered belief in him.
Why did these specific practices of the lawyers (scribes) hinder belief in Jesus?
Discussion Summary
“Woes” or judgments were next pronounced upon a new class of religious leaders. Jesus was identifying the problems that the doctors of the law, the experts in the Hebrew Bible had which hindered their belief in him.
Verse 46:
Religious practice had become so exacting that it was perceived in a negative rather than in a positive way. Jesus’ way was different as he said in Matthew 11:29,30 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and by burden is light.”
Verses 47-51:
The prophets of the Hebrew Bible had warned that religious practice meant little in God’s sight if the people’s hearts were not right. The religious leaders did not listen to the prophet’s words, instead they built elaborate graves for them after they had died. In effect, they were applying the prophets’ messages to the past. They were not celebrating their life but celebrating their death.
Verses 52-55:
The religious leaders had great knowledge of the Hebrew Bible. They should have been sharing that knowledge with the people. Two examples of proper sharing of knowledge are found in Nehemiah 8:5,6 and Malachi 2:7. Instead, the religious leaders discouraged the people from believing in Jesus’ miracles and words.
