Lyle's Blog

Luke 11: 46-52 In this passage Jesus told the Pharisees, hypocrites and lawyers how they had killed and buried the prophets. Yes, they killed the prophets and like good hypocrites buried them and apparently built monuments to them. Hypocrites are indeed hard to understand. Verse 49-51: Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; From 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. I like to think I can take the words of Christ as Luke reports them. I’ve read commentary that says surely God wouldn’t lay the blood of all the prophets on one generation; that wouldn’t be fair. What is missed by these highly educated people (like the Pharisees) is that something new was taking place. The Jews had scripture after scripture telling them when their Messiah would come. He had come. He was talking to them. They were without excuse. But they wouldn’t accept Jesus because they loved to be the important ones in Israel. They were the priests and teachers. They enjoyed their status. Everyone else was kept in the dark. They had a good thing going. But right before their eyes the old covenant was dying and the new one was being born. Of all the generations, they should have known. That is why all the blood of every prophet till the end of the old covenant is laid on them. It was plain in the scripture they claimed to know so well that Jesus was the one. They were God’s chosen people and had what no one else had; the Word of God. In the tribulation God pours out His wrath on a Christ rejecting world. For two thousand years mankind has had the Word of God. The generation of the tribulation are the ultimate Christ rejecting people even though they have much more knowledge available to them. I am no different than anyone else and get caught up in the cares of this world at times. That’s why daily reading God’s Word is so important. It always reminds me that I live in a different kingdom and don’t have to worry about the collapse of this world. I love the old song that goes “this world is not my home, I’m just a passing through, my treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue, the angels beckon me from heavens open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore”.