Matthew 23:36 Study Bible: Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.

◄ Matthew 23:36 ►

Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Truly I tell you,

This phrase emphasizes the certainty and authority of Jesus' statement. In the Gospels, Jesus often uses "Truly I tell you" to introduce important teachings or prophecies. It underscores His role as a prophet and the Son of God, whose words are trustworthy and carry divine authority. This phrase is a solemn declaration, indicating that what follows is of great significance.

Mrk 13:30 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away…
Luk 21:32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away…
Mat 16:28 Truly I tell you, some who are standing here…

all these things

"All these things" refers to the judgments and consequences Jesus has been describing in the preceding verses of Matthew 23. This includes the woes pronounced upon the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy and the rejection of God's messengers. The phrase encompasses the cumulative guilt and consequences of Israel's history of rejecting prophets, culminating in the rejection of Jesus Himself. It is a summation of the divine judgment that is to come as a result of persistent disobedience and unbelief.

Mat 24:33 So also, when you see all these things, you will know…
Deu 28:45 All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you…
Luk 21:22 For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all…

will come upon

This indicates the inevitability of the judgment that is to befall the people. The use of "will come upon" suggests an impending and unavoidable event, highlighting the certainty of divine retribution. It reflects the biblical principle that God’s justice will ultimately prevail, and that the consequences of sin and rebellion against God’s will are inescapable.

Luk 19:43-44 For the days will come upon you when your enemies……
Deu 28:15 If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God…
1Th 2:16 hindering us from telling the Gentiles…

this generation.

"This generation" refers to the people living at the time of Jesus, particularly those in Israel who witnessed His ministry and yet rejected Him. In the context of Matthew 23, it points to the contemporary Jewish leaders and their followers who were responsible for the spiritual state of the nation. Historically, this prophecy was fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, when the Roman armies besieged the city, leading to significant loss and suffering. This event is seen as a direct consequence of the rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. The phrase also serves as a warning to all generations about the consequences of rejecting God’s truth.

Mat 24:34 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away…
Luk 11:50-51 As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood…
Mat 12:41-42 The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment…

Persons / Places / Events

1. Jesus Christ
The speaker of this verse, Jesus is addressing the scribes and Pharisees, delivering a series of woes against their hypocrisy and spiritual blindness.

2. Scribes and Pharisees
Religious leaders of the time who are criticized by Jesus for their legalism and failure to understand the heart of God's law.

3. Jerusalem
The city where Jesus is delivering this message, a central place in Jewish religious life and the location of the Temple.

4. This Generation
Refers to the people living at the time of Jesus, particularly those who are rejecting His message and will face the consequences of their actions.

5. Prophets and Righteous Men
Those who were sent by God in the past and were persecuted or killed by the ancestors of the current generation.

Teaching Points

The Consequences of Rejection
Jesus' words serve as a solemn warning about the consequences of rejecting God's messengers and message. This generation would face judgment for their continued unbelief and persecution of the righteous.

The Urgency of Repentance
The immediacy of Jesus' warning to "this generation" underscores the urgency of repentance. Believers today are called to examine their hearts and turn from any form of hypocrisy or unbelief.

The Faithfulness of God’s Word
Jesus' prophecy about the coming judgment on that generation was fulfilled, demonstrating the faithfulness and reliability of God's Word. Believers can trust in the certainty of God's promises and warnings.

The Danger of Hypocrisy
The woes pronounced by Jesus highlight the danger of religious hypocrisy. Christians are encouraged to live authentically, aligning their actions with their professed beliefs.

The Call to Righteousness
Just as the prophets and righteous men were persecuted, believers are called to stand firm in righteousness, even in the face of opposition or persecution.

Bible Study Questions

1. What does Jesus mean by "this generation," and how does it relate to the context of His message in Matthew 23?

2. How can we apply the warning against hypocrisy in our own lives and communities today?

3. In what ways does the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy to "this generation" strengthen our faith in the reliability of Scripture?

4. How can we ensure that we are not rejecting God's message or messengers in our current context?

5. What steps can we take to cultivate a heart of repentance and avoid the pitfalls of the scribes and Pharisees?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Matthew 24:34
Jesus again uses the phrase "this generation" in the context of the coming judgment, emphasizing the immediacy and certainty of His prophetic words.

Luke 11:50-51
Similar to Matthew 23, Jesus speaks of the blood of the prophets being charged against this generation, highlighting the continuity of rejection from past to present.

Hebrews 3:7-11
The warning against hardening hearts as the Israelites did in the wilderness, drawing a parallel to the current generation's rejection of Jesus.

Sermons

Pretence Vain	T. Watson.	Matthew 23:29-36
Suspension and Infliction of Judgments	N. Emmons, D. D.	Matthew 23:29-36
The Difficulty of Escaping the Damnation of Hell	E. Payson, D. D.	Matthew 23:29-36
Judgment and Mercy	J.A. Macdonald	Matthew 23:29-39

People

Abel, Barachias, Berechiah, Hen, Jesus, Zachariah, Zacharias, Zechariah

Places

Jerusalem

Topics

Certainly, Generation, Present, Solemn, Truly, Truth, Verily

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Matthew 23:36

1462 truth, in NT

Matthew 23:1-36

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

Matthew 23:13-39

2318 Christ, as prophet

8795 persecution, nature of

Matthew 23:35-36

5493 retribution

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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