³⁴Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, ³⁵ that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

23:34

Therefore,

“Therefore” means on account of this. Jesus drew a conclusion from His judgments on Israel throughout the chapter.

indeed,

This word has the idea of look. Jesus called attention to something noteworthy.

I [emphatic] send [present tense] you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city,

Jesus would send His apostles to Israel after His death, but the nation would crucify them. His followers would have the same treatment as Jesus did. All apostles faced abuse for the faith.

23:35

that [in order that] on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth,

Jesus was saying that His current generation was about to kill ministers of the gospel just as previous generations had killed the prophets. Jesus delineated two specific examples from the Old Testament in Abel and Zechariah. Abel and Zechariah were the first and last of Old Testament martyrs.

from the blood of righteous Abel

Cain killed Abel (Ge 4:8, 10). This was the first murder in history. The Bible depicts Abel as “righteous” (He 11:4; 1 Jn 3:12).

to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

Zechariah wrote the book of Zechariah (Zech 1:1). He was murdered about 500 years before Christ. Rejection of God’s prophets by Israel ran from the beginning to the end of the Old Testament. He was the last prophet murdered in the Old Testament.

23:36

Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

The word “assuredly” indicates the gravity of Jesus’ statement. “All these things” is the rejection of God’s message to Israel throughout the Bible. “This generation” is the people to whom Jesus spoke in the temple. Great judgment came upon Israel in A.D. 70.

PRINCIPLE:

Christians will inevitably face persecution.

APPLICATION:

No Christian should be surprised at persecution coming his way. Every generation has people who hate Jesus and reject His message. God can do nothing other than judge those who reject His message.