Righteous Blood Shed Upon the Earth - Matthew 23:35

Matthew the apostle wrote how Jesus told the “scribes and Pharisees”, “fill you up then the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them you shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall you scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:”, and in chapter twenty-three and verse thirty-five of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus told the “scribes and Pharisees”, “that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth” where we read:

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 you slew between the temple and the altar.

The verse reads, “That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, ...” Matthew began with the words, “that upon you” which means “so on the scribes and Pharisees” “may come” or “may arrive, appear and make a public entrance” “all the righteous blood shed” which means “each, every, the whole and everyone of the murder and death of the ones who observe divine laws, are upright and virtuous” “upon the earth” or “who live on arable land, country, territory and region”. Matthew shared how Jesus said the “murder and death” of all the “virtuous law keepers” would be the responsibility of the “scribes and Pharisees”.

The verse goes on to say, “... from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom you slew between the temple and the altar.” Matthew continued with the words, “from the blood” which means “beginning with the bloodshed” “of righteous Abel” or “of upright, virtuous and law keeping Abel whose name means vanity or transitory and was the second son of Adam and murdered by his brother Cain” “unto the blood” which means “until the bloodshed” “of Zacharias” which refers to “the son of Barachias who was slain by the Jews between the altar and the temple whose name means remembered of Jehovah” “son of Barachias” which means “the offspring, descendant and progeny of Barachias whose name means Jehovah blesses and was the father of the Zachariah slain in the temple”, “whom you slew” or “who the scribes and Pharisees' killed, slayed and murdered” “between the temple” which means “betwixt and adjoining the temple in Jerusalem which was the sacred edifice or sanctuary consisting of the Holy place and the Holy of Holies” “and the altar” which refers to “the altar for slaying and burning of victims which were used of the whole burnt offerings and stood in the court of the priests”. Matthew shared how Jesus said the “scribes and Pharisees” were responsible for the “murders and deaths” of the righteous ones sent from the time of “Abel” of old and “Zacharias” who was murdered in their “worship sanctuary”.

When we think through Matthew's words in this verse, we see how Jesus implicated the “scribes and Pharisees” for the “murders” of all the past “righteous” people sent to them from God. From “Abel” who was Adam and Eve's second son, to “Zacharias” “whom Josephus speaks of (War 4.335), who was a just and good man and was killed in the temple a little before it was destroyed by the Romans”. This indictment was drastic and complete, and the “scribes and Pharisees” must have been taken aback by this statement. God desires to have a relationship with every person through His Son Jesus, and when they yield their lives to Him as a personal “Savior and Lord”, they distance themselves from the “thinking, attitudes and behavior” of these “murderous” “religious leaders”.

Next time we see Matthew write how Jesus tells the “scribes and Pharisees”, “All these things shall come upon this generation”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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