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MATTHEW 23:35 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
Matt 23:34Matt 23:36
“That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.”
So that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. The accumulated blood of the prophets — from Abel (the first martyr in Genesis 4) to Zechariah (the last martyr in the Hebrew Bible's arrangement, 2 Chronicles 24:20–21) — is charged to the generation that kills Jesus. The blood that has been shed throughout the prophetic tradition reaches its climax in the rejection of the one to whom all the prophets pointed.

Church Fathers on Matthew 23:35

He had said against the Scribes and Pharisees, that they were the children of those who killed the Prophets; now therefore He shews that they were like them in wickedness, and that was false that they said, 'If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the Prophets.'

Chrysostom · 4th century

He foretels, that as their fathers killed the Prophets, so they also should kill Christ, and the Apostles, and other holy men. As suppose you had a quarrel with some one, you might say to your adversary, Do to me what you are about to do; but you do not therein bid him do it, but shew him that you are aware of his manoeuvres. And in fact they went beyond the measure of their fathers; for they put to death only men, these crucified God.

Pseudo-Chrysostom · 5th century

They fill up the measure of their fathers' sins by their not believing in Christ. And the cause of their unbelief was, that they looked only to the letter and the body, and would understand nothing spiritual in them.

Origen · 3rd century
Read all 24 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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Matthew 23:35 — Community Reflections | HolyStudy