“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.”
My Notes
What Does Matthew 23:35 Mean?
Jesus pronounces judgment on the scribes and Pharisees with a devastating historical sweep: 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.
That upon you may come all the righteous blood — the accumulated guilt of history's murders of the righteous is about to come upon this generation. The blood is not metaphorical. It is actual — the blood of real people killed for their faithfulness to God. And it accumulates — not dissipating with time but building, generation after generation, until it reaches its fullness.
From the blood of righteous Abel — the first murder in Scripture (Genesis 4). Abel was killed by his brother Cain because Abel's worship was accepted by God and Cain's was not. The righteous blood begins with the very first death.
Unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar — the last murder of a righteous person in the Hebrew Bible's canonical order. Second Chronicles 24:20-21 records Zechariah the son of Jehoiada being stoned in the court of the temple. Since 2 Chronicles is the last book in the Hebrew Bible, Jesus is sweeping from Genesis to Chronicles — from the first to the last — capturing the entire canonical history of righteous blood shed.
Between the temple and the altar — the holiest location in Israel. The murder occurred in sacred space — the righteous man was killed in the very place dedicated to God's worship. The location magnifies the crime.
Jesus declares that the generation that rejects him will bear the accumulated guilt of every righteous person murdered throughout redemptive history. The rejection of Christ is the culmination of a pattern that began with Abel — and the judgment on this generation corresponds to the fullness of that accumulated guilt. The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD fulfilled this pronouncement.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does the sweep from Abel to Zacharias — first to last in the Hebrew canon — communicate about the historical pattern of killing the righteous?
- 2.How does the rejection of Christ function as the culmination of this pattern?
- 3.What does 'all the righteous blood' accumulating and 'coming upon' one generation reveal about the consequences of persistent unfaithfulness?
- 4.Where do you see the pattern of the world opposing the righteous — and how does this verse reframe that opposition?
Devotional
That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth. All of it. Every righteous person murdered for their faithfulness — from the beginning of history to the present. The blood accumulates. It builds. And Jesus says: it is all coming due. On this generation. On the people who are about to reject the Son of God.
From the blood of righteous Abel. The first murder. The first righteous person killed for doing what was right. Abel's blood cried from the ground (Genesis 4:10). And it has been crying ever since — joined by the blood of every prophet, every faithful witness, every righteous person killed by the hostile world.
Unto the blood of Zacharias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. The last righteous murder in the Hebrew Bible — killed in the temple itself, between the sanctuary and the altar. Sacred space desecrated by righteous blood. The entire sweep of biblical history — from Genesis to Chronicles, from the first murder to the last — is a single story of righteous blood shed by unrighteous hands.
Jesus is saying: the pattern that started with Cain killing Abel reaches its climax in you — this generation that is about to kill the Son of God. Every righteous blood that has been crying for justice finds its answer in what happens next. The rejection of Christ is not an isolated event. It is the culmination of humanity's longest pattern: killing the righteous.
The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD — the temple burned, the city razed, the people scattered — was the coming of this blood upon that generation. The accumulation reached its fullness. The judgment corresponded to the crime. And the pattern Jesus identified — the world kills the righteous — continues until he returns to end it.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Verily I say unto you,.... An usual form of introducing something of moment to raise attention to it, and to ascertain…
That upon you may come ... - That is, the nation is guilty. Your fathers were guilty. You have shown yourselves to be…
from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias If the reading "son of Barachias" be retained (it is…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture