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Matthew 23:34-35
διὰ τοῦτο ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω πρὸς ὑμᾶς προφήτας καὶ σοφοὺς καὶ γραμματεῖς· ἐξ
αὐτῶν ἀποκτενεῖτε καὶ σταυρώσετε, καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν μαστιγώσετε ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς ὑμῶν καὶ
διώξετε ἀπὸ πόλεως εἰς πόλιν· ὅπως ἔλθῃ ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς πᾶν αἷμα δίκαιον ἐκχυννόμενον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς
ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος Ἅβελ τοῦ δικαίου ἕως τοῦ αἵματος Ζαχαρίου υἱοῦ Βαραχίου, ὃν ἐφονεύσατε
μεταξὺ τοῦ ναοῦ καὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου.
Behold! Because of this, I am sending to you prophets, wise men, and scribes; [some]
from among them you will kill and crucify, and [some] you will flog in the synagogue and
persecute from city to city, so that upon you will be shed all the righteous blood shed on the
earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous up to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah who
was killed between the Temple and the altar. 202
Mt 23:34-35 occurs in the context of seven woes pronounced upon the scribes and
Pharisees by Jesus, and is part of the seventh and final woe (Mt 23:29-26). 203 The woes
pronounced by Jesus focus on the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes, 204 and constitute a
judgement against the Pharisees and scribes. 205 “The fundamental charge laid against them is
hypocrisy – a gap between appearance and reality, between saying and doing, caused by a
misplaced hierarchy of values and excessive emphasis on external matters to neglect of the
202
Translation by the author.
Mt 23:29-36 “‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have
taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons
of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers,
how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of
whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from town to
town, that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of
Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all this
will come upon this generation.’” 203 (RSV).
204
Charles H Talbert, Matthew, Scibd.com edition, (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2010) 508.
205
Craig S Keener, A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, (Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans,
1999), 547.
203