Matthew 23:30
And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'
And you say
This phrase introduces a direct quotation from the religious leaders of Jesus' time, specifically the Pharisees and scribes. The Greek word for "say" is "λέγετε" (legete), which implies a declaration or assertion. In the context of Matthew 23, Jesus is addressing the hypocrisy of these leaders. They are confident in their self-righteousness and their ability to interpret the law, yet their actions betray their words. This sets the stage for Jesus' critique of their behavior, highlighting the disconnect between their proclamations and their actions.

‘If we had lived
The phrase "If we had lived" reflects a hypothetical scenario. The Greek word "ἤμεθα" (ēmeth) is used here, indicating a past conditional situation. The religious leaders are claiming that, had they been present in the past, they would have acted differently than their ancestors. This statement is ironic, as it reveals their self-deception and blindness to their own faults. Historically, this reflects a common human tendency to judge past generations while failing to recognize similar flaws in oneself.

in the days of our fathers
This phrase situates the discussion in a historical context. "The days of our fathers" refers to the time of the prophets, whom their ancestors persecuted. The Greek word "πατέρων" (paterōn) means "fathers" or "ancestors," emphasizing a lineage and heritage. The religious leaders are distancing themselves from the actions of their forebears, yet Jesus points out that they are repeating the same mistakes. This highlights the importance of learning from history and recognizing the continuity of sin across generations.

we would not have been
Here, the leaders assert their moral superiority. The Greek phrase "οὐκ ἂν ἦμεν" (ouk an ēmen) suggests a strong denial or negation. They are confident that they would not have participated in the sins of their ancestors. This reflects a common human tendency to overestimate one's own righteousness and underestimate one's capacity for wrongdoing. Jesus challenges this self-assuredness, urging them to examine their hearts and actions more closely.

partners with them
The term "partners" is translated from the Greek word "κοινωνοί" (koinōnoi), which means "companions" or "associates." This implies a shared responsibility or complicity. The religious leaders claim they would not have been complicit in the persecution of the prophets. However, Jesus exposes their current complicity in rejecting God's messengers, including Himself. This serves as a warning against self-deception and the danger of aligning oneself with unrighteousness, even unknowingly.

in shedding the blood of the prophets
This phrase directly addresses the violent history of Israel's treatment of God's messengers. "Shedding the blood" is a vivid metaphor for murder and persecution. The Greek word "φόνῳ" (phonō) means "murder" or "slaughter," emphasizing the gravity of the sin. The prophets were God's chosen instruments to deliver His message, and their rejection signifies a rejection of God Himself. Jesus is highlighting the continuity of this rejection in the current generation, urging repentance and a return to true righteousness.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus Christ
The speaker of this verse, addressing the scribes and Pharisees, highlighting their hypocrisy.

2. Scribes and Pharisees
Jewish religious leaders who are being criticized by Jesus for their self-righteousness and hypocrisy.

3. Prophets
Messengers of God in the Old Testament who were often persecuted and killed for delivering God's messages.

4. Fathers/Ancestors
Refers to the previous generations of Israelites who rejected and killed the prophets.

5. Jerusalem
The city where many prophets were sent and where Jesus is delivering this message.
Teaching Points
Hypocrisy and Self-Deception
The scribes and Pharisees believed they were different from their ancestors, yet they were guilty of the same sins. We must examine our own lives for hypocrisy and self-deception.

Acknowledging Our Spiritual Heritage
Recognize the sins of our spiritual ancestors and seek to learn from their mistakes rather than repeat them.

True Repentance
Genuine repentance involves a change of heart and actions, not just words. We must strive to live out our faith authentically.

The Cost of Discipleship
Following Christ may involve standing against cultural or religious norms, just as the prophets did. We must be prepared to face opposition for our faith.

The Importance of Humility
Pride blinds us to our own faults. We must approach God and others with humility, acknowledging our need for His grace.
Bible Study Questions
1. How can we identify and address areas of hypocrisy in our own lives, similar to the scribes and Pharisees?

2. In what ways can we honor the legacy of the prophets and learn from their examples of faith and perseverance?

3. How does acknowledging the sins of our spiritual ancestors help us grow in our faith today?

4. What steps can we take to ensure our repentance is genuine and not just lip service?

5. How can we cultivate humility in our relationship with God and others, avoiding the pride that led to the Pharisees' downfall?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Matthew 23:29-39
This passage provides the broader context of Jesus' denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees, emphasizing their hypocrisy and the consequences of their actions.

Acts 7:51-52
Stephen accuses the Jewish leaders of resisting the Holy Spirit and persecuting the prophets, similar to their ancestors.

Hebrews 11:32-38
Describes the suffering and persecution of the prophets, highlighting the faith and endurance of these messengers of God.

Luke 11:47-48
Jesus similarly condemns the building of tombs for the prophets by those who are complicit in their ancestors' actions.
Pharisees and SadduceesMarcus Dods Matthew 23:2-33
Pretence VainT. Watson.Matthew 23:29-36
Suspension and Infliction of JudgmentsN. Emmons, D. D.Matthew 23:29-36
The Difficulty of Escaping the Damnation of HellE. Payson, D. D.Matthew 23:29-36
Judgment and MercyJ.A. Macdonald Matthew 23:29-39
People
Abel, Barachias, Berechiah, Hen, Jesus, Zachariah, Zacharias, Zechariah
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Blood, Boast, Fathers, Forefathers, Implicated, Murder, Partakers, Partners, Prophets, Saying, Shedding, Wouldn't
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Matthew 23:30

     8804   pride, examples

Matthew 23:1-32

     8767   hypocrisy

Matthew 23:1-33

     5381   law, letter and spirit
     8749   false teachers

Matthew 23:1-36

     5379   law, Christ's attitude
     7552   Pharisees, attitudes to Christ

Matthew 23:2-33

     7464   teachers of the law

Matthew 23:13-33

     9250   woe

Matthew 23:13-39

     2318   Christ, as prophet

Matthew 23:23-33

     2009   Christ, anger of
     5943   self-deception

Matthew 23:29-30

     8282   intolerance

Matthew 23:29-31

     7775   prophets, lives

Matthew 23:30-31

     7318   blood, symbol of guilt

Matthew 23:30-35

     8450   martyrdom

Matthew 23:30-37

     5040   murder

Library
The Morality of the Gospel.
Is stating the morality of the Gospel as an argument of its truth, I am willing to admit two points; first, that the teaching of morality was not the primary design of the mission; secondly, that morality, neither in the Gospel, nor in any other book, can be a subject, properly speaking, of discovery. If I were to describe in a very few words the scope of Christianity as a revelation, [49] I should say that it was to influence the conduct of human life, by establishing the proof of a future state
William Paley—Evidences of Christianity

Jesus' Last Public Discourse. Denunciation of Scribes and Pharisees.
(in the Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXIII. 1-39; ^B Mark XII. 38-40; ^C Luke XX. 45-47. ^a 1 Then spake Jesus ^b 38 And in his teaching ^c in the hearing of all the people he said unto ^a the multitudes, and to his disciples [he spoke in the most public manner], 2 saying, ^c 46 Beware of the scribes, ^a The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat: 3 all things whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe: but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Christianity Misunderstood by Believers.
Meaning of Christian Doctrine, Understood by a Minority, has Become Completely Incomprehensible for the Majority of Men-- Reason of this to be Found in Misinterpretation of Christianity and Mistaken Conviction of Believers and Unbelievers Alike that they Understand it--The Meaning of Christianity Obscured for Believers by the Church--The First Appearance of Christ's Teaching--Its Essence and Difference from Heathen Religions-- Christianity not Fully Comprehended at the Beginning, Became More and
Leo Tolstoy—The Kingdom of God is within you

First Attempts on Jerusalem.
Jesus, almost every year, went to Jerusalem for the feast of the passover. The details of these journeys are little known, for the synoptics do not speak of them,[1] and the notes of the fourth Gospel are very confused on this point.[2] It was, it appears, in the year 31, and certainly after the death of John, that the most important of the visits of Jesus to Jerusalem took place. Many of the disciples followed him. Although Jesus attached from that time little value to the pilgrimage, he conformed
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

For which Cause Our Lord Himself Also with his Own Mouth Saith...
4. For which cause our Lord Himself also with His own mouth saith, "Cleanse what are within, and what are without will be clean." [1813] And, also, in another place, when He was refuting the foolish speeches of the Jews, in that they spake evil against His disciples, eating with unwashen hands; "Not what entereth into the mouth," said He, "defileth the man: but what cometh forth out of the mouth, that defileth the man." [1814] Which sentence, if the whole of it be taken of the mouth of the body,
St. Augustine—On Continence

Relation of the Pharisees to the Sadducees and Essenes, and to the Gospel of Christ
On taking a retrospective view of Pharisaism, as we have described it, there is a saying of our Lord which at first sight seems almost unaccountable. Yet it is clear and emphatic. "All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do" (Matt 23:3). But if the early disciples were not to break at once and for ever with the Jewish community, such a direction was absolutely needful. For, though the Pharisees were only "an order," Pharisaism, like modern Ultramontanism, had not only become
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Among the People, and with the Pharisees
It would have been difficult to proceed far either in Galilee or in Judaea without coming into contact with an altogether peculiar and striking individuality, differing from all around, and which would at once arrest attention. This was the Pharisee. Courted or feared, shunned or flattered, reverently looked up to or laughed at, he was equally a power everywhere, both ecclesiastically and politically, as belonging to the most influential, the most zealous, and the most closely-connected religions
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

The General Service to a Prophet.
At the Vespers, for O Lord, I have cried, the Stichera, Tone 4. Similar to: Called from above... Thou that hast in the purity of thy mind received the reflex of the God-emitted light and wast the herald of the divine words and seer and divine prophet, thou appearedst as the God-moved mouth of the Spirit, conveying that which was shewn by Him unto thee, O all-honoured (mentioned by name), and declaring unto all the peoples the salvation that was being granted and the Kingdom of Christ; do entreat
Anonymous—The General Menaion

Of the Power of Making Laws. The Cruelty of the Pope and his Adherents, in this Respect, in Tyrannically Oppressing and Destroying Souls.
1. The power of the Church in enacting laws. This made a source of human traditions. Impiety of these traditions. 2. Many of the Papistical traditions not only difficult, but impossible to be observed. 3. That the question may be more conveniently explained, nature of conscience must be defined. 4. Definition of conscience explained. Examples in illustration of the definition. 5. Paul's doctrine of submission to magistrates for conscience sake, gives no countenance to the Popish doctrine of the obligation
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Hints to Teachers and Questions for Pupils
Teacher's Apparatus.--English theology has no juster cause for pride than the books it has produced on the Life of Paul. Perhaps there is no other subject in which it has so outdistanced all rivals. Conybeare and Howson's Life and Epistles of St. Paul will probably always keep the foremost place; in many respects it is nearly perfect; and a teacher who has mastered it will be sufficiently equipped for his work and require no other help. The works of Lewin and Farrar are written on the same lines;
James Stalker et al—The Life of St. Paul

On Attending the Church Service
"The sin of the young men was very great." 1 Sam. 2:17. 1. The corruption, not only of the heathen world, but likewise of them that were called Christians, has been matter of sorrow and lamentation to pious men, almost from the time of the apostles. And hence, as early as the second century, within a hundred years of St. John's removal from the earth, men who were afraid of being partakers of other men's sins, thought it their duty to separate from them. Hence, in every age many have retired from
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Machinations of the Enemies of Jesus.
Jesus passed the autumn and a part of the winter at Jerusalem. This season is there rather cold. The portico of Solomon, with its covered aisles, was the place where he habitually walked.[1] This portico consisted of two galleries, formed by three rows of columns, and covered by a ceiling of carved wood.[2] It commanded the valley of Kedron, which was doubtless less covered with debris than it is at the present time. The depth of the ravine could not be measured, from the height of the portico; and
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

The Early Ministry in Judea
113. We owe to the fourth gospel our knowledge of the fact that Jesus began his general ministry in Jerusalem. The silence of the other records concerning this beginning cannot discredit the testimony of John. For these other records themselves indicate in various ways that Jesus had repeatedly sought to win Jerusalem before his final visit at the end of his life (compare Luke xiii. 34; Matt. xxiii. 37). Moreover, the fourth gospel is confirmed by the probability, rising almost to necessity, that
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

The Crossing of the Jordan
THE CROSSING OF THE JORDAN Just how did you feel at the time you were sanctified? I have heard some tell of how the holy fire of the Spirit seemed to go all through them. Others have told of a deeper, more complete peace. Some have shouted for joy. Others have wept for joy. And I am wondering how one ought to feel. Can you tell me? And how can I know that I am consecrated? Every teacher of entire sanctification that I ever heard says that the consecration must be complete; but how am I to know when
Robert Lee Berry—Adventures in the Land of Canaan

Subjects of Study. Home Education in Israel; Female Education. Elementary Schools, Schoolmasters, and School Arrangements.
If a faithful picture of society in ancient Greece or Rome were to be presented to view, it is not easy to believe that even they who now most oppose the Bible could wish their aims success. For this, at any rate, may be asserted, without fear of gainsaying, that no other religion than that of the Bible has proved competent to control an advanced, or even an advancing, state of civilisation. Every other bound has been successively passed and submerged by the rising tide; how deep only the student
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Letter Xliv Concerning the Maccabees but to whom Written is Unknown.
Concerning the Maccabees But to Whom Written is Unknown. [69] He relies to the question why the Church has decreed a festival to the Maccabees alone of all the righteous under the ancient law. 1. Fulk, Abbot of Epernay, had already written to ask me the same question as your charity has addressed to your humble servant by Brother Hescelin. I have put off replying to him, being desirous to find, if possible, some statement in the Fathers about this which was asked, which I might send to him, rather
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Number and Order of the Separate Books.
The number of the books was variously estimated. Josephus gives twenty-two, which was the usual number among Christian writers in the second, third, and fourth centuries, having been derived perhaps from the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Origen, Jerome, and others have it. It continued longest among the teachers of the Greek Church, and is even in Nicephorus's stichometry.(83) The enumeration in question has Ruth with Judges, and Lamentations with Jeremiah. In Epiphanius(84) the number twenty-seven
Samuel Davidson—The Canon of the Bible

Elucidations.
I. (Who first propounded these heresies, p. 11.) Hippolytus seems to me to have felt the perils to the pure Gospel of many admissions made by Clement and other Alexandrian doctors as to the merits of some of the philosophers of the Gentiles. Very gently, but with prescient genius, he adopts this plan of tracing the origin and all the force of heresies to "philosophy falsely so called." The existence of this "cloud of locusts" is (1) evidence of the antagonism of Satan; (2) of the prophetic spirit
Hippolytus.—The Refutation of All Heresies

"The Carnal Mind is Enmity against God for it is not Subject to the Law of God, Neither Indeed Can Be. So Then they that Are
Rom. viii. s 7, 8.--"The carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." It is not the least of man's evils, that he knows not how evil he is, therefore the Searcher of the heart of man gives the most perfect account of it, Jer. xvii. 12. "The heart is deceitful above all things," as well as "desperately wicked," two things superlative and excessive in it, bordering upon an infiniteness, such
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

We are not Binding Heavy Burdens and Laying them Upon Your Shoulders...
37. We are not binding heavy burdens and laying them upon your shoulders, while we with a finger will not touch them. Seek out, and acknowledge the labor of our occupations, and in some of us the infirmities of our bodies also, and in the Churches which we serve, that custom now grown up, that they do not suffer us to have time ourselves for those works to which we exhort you. For though we might say, "Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

Repentance and Impenitence.
In the discussion of this subject I shall show,-- I. What repentance is not. 1. The Bible everywhere represents repentance as a virtue, and as constituting a change of moral character; consequently, it cannot be a phenomenon of the intelligence: that is, it cannot consist in conviction of sin, nor in any intellectual apprehension of our guilt or ill-desert. All the states or phenomena of the intelligence are purely passive states of mind, and of course moral character, strictly speaking, cannot be
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

Second Sunday after Trinity Exhortation to Brotherly Love.
Text: 1 John 3, 13-18. 13 Marvel not, brethren, if the world hateth you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death. 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 16 Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath the world's goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

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