Verses 45-54 “45Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.
46And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.
47Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
48Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.
49Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
50That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
51From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.
52Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.
53And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things:
54Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.”The scribes heard what Jesus had said to the Pharisees and they just had to comment on it! They observed that what Jesus had said to the Pharisees condemned them as well, and surely Jesus did not mean to say anything negative about such wonderful religious people as they were. But they were wrong. Jesus now turns His attention to the history and practices of the scribes. Jesus said that their fathers had killed the prophets of God and instead of being ashamed of it they were building monuments to their fathers. The scribes had a long history of rejecting the word of God. That is why they killed the prophets. And to the current generation of scribes Jesus said, “You have taken away the key of knowledge. You won’t enter into God’s salvation yourselves and you won’t let anyone else enter.” The scribes had hindered people from being saved by adding to the Word of God, by subtracting from the Word of God, and by obscuring the Word of God. This is a terrible responsibility. God help us to make the Word of God plain today.
46And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.
47Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
48Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.
49Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
50That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
51From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.
52Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.
53And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things:
54Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.”The scribes heard what Jesus had said to the Pharisees and they just had to comment on it! They observed that what Jesus had said to the Pharisees condemned them as well, and surely Jesus did not mean to say anything negative about such wonderful religious people as they were. But they were wrong. Jesus now turns His attention to the history and practices of the scribes. Jesus said that their fathers had killed the prophets of God and instead of being ashamed of it they were building monuments to their fathers. The scribes had a long history of rejecting the word of God. That is why they killed the prophets. And to the current generation of scribes Jesus said, “You have taken away the key of knowledge. You won’t enter into God’s salvation yourselves and you won’t let anyone else enter.” The scribes had hindered people from being saved by adding to the Word of God, by subtracting from the Word of God, and by obscuring the Word of God. This is a terrible responsibility. God help us to make the Word of God plain today.