45 One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.” 46 Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them. 47 “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. 48 So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. 49 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.’ 50 Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 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 11:45-51
Previously, the Lord Jesus pronounced a "Woe" on the Pharisees, which produced the response found in v.45 we read, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also." These experts in the law were Pharisees who were practitioners of the system developed by the religious establishment. These law experts were the theologians, the exegetes, the expositors. They were the academicians. They were the interpreters of the Scripture and they came up with the system which the religious world practiced.
In response, in v.46, the Jesus says, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them."
The Lord Jesus refers here to the boatload of man-made commandments that had been accumulated over time. These extra man-made laws were not biblical. In the Old Testament there was the temple in Jerusalem which was the central place for worship. In 586 BC, it was destroyed and the children of Israel were taken captive by the Babylonians.
In the absence of the ability to practice their ceremonial laws, the religious leaders focused on the written law. This is when the synagogue was developed, while they were in Babylon. Now, when the Jews came back to Israel, they brought their synagogues with them. While in Babylon, with the absence of the sacrificial system, the religious leaders gave birth to these extra laws that were a burden to the people and were not and are not biblical.
False religion lacks spiritual power. These religious leaders put upon the people burdens they could not carry, rules they could not keep. This added religion lacked spiritual power because it was not from God.
And then v.47-48 we read, "47 Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. 48 So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs."
These religious "leaders" marked the tombs of the prophets that their fathers killed. By marking their tombs, they were enabled to not become defiled by walking near their graves. But the truth of the matter is, while they were marking the tombs of the prophets, they were planning to kill the prophet of all prophets. This explains why these "leaders" didn't have any spiritual power because they were just like their fathers, dead in their sins.
In v.49 we read, "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." God sends messengers to those who want the truth. This addresses the question many have, "What happens to all those people who have never heard of the Lord Jesus?" All have heard of the God of the Bible because God has spoken to all through creation and our conscience. When someone responds to the afore mentioned witnesses of God, He will send someone to share the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with them.
In v.50-51 we read, "Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 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."
At the end of v.51, the Lord Jesus notes that "this generation will be held responsible for it all." I recently had a conversation with a friend and he said to me, "I guess I'll have to give an account for that when I face God." It was at that moment the thought came to me, "I won't have to give an account because the Lord Jesus has already given an account on my behalf."
In context, the Lord Jesus is still training the twelve disciples. In a few short months He will be crucified, He will rise from the dead, He will be with them for forty days, and then He'll be gone back to heaven. So, here He's training them and He wants to teach them about some of the things that He had been talking about over the last three years, namely, pride, hypocrisy and materialistic greed.
It is so easy for us to be side tracked from the essence of the Christian life. Christianity is something we did not find, it found us. Better said, He found us. Once we submitted ourselves to God, He began His work in our lives. Faith is walking with God. It's not what we do, and not what we say we're going to do, it's about following the One who does the doing. Our faith becomes real when we submit to the God of the Bible who knows the best for our lives. And, it is through this adventure that He gives us that which we find is true and worthy of our pursuit.
