Luke 11:49-51

Luke 11:49-51

[49] Therefore  also  said  the wisdom  of God,  I will send  them  prophets  and  apostles,  and  some of  them  they shall slay  and  [50] That  the blood  of all  the prophets,  which  was shed  from  the foundation  of the world,  may be required  of  generation;  [51] From  the blood  of Abel  unto  the blood  of Zacharias,  which  perished  between  the altar  and  the temple:  verily  I say  It shall be required  of  generation. 

What does Luke 11:49-51 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The lawyers claimed the greatest wisdom in Israel by declaring that their interpretations of Scripture were the correct ones. However, Jesus cited a greater source of wisdom.
The "Wisdom of God" may be a title for Jesus (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:24; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Colossians 2:3). [1] However it seems unusual for Jesus to refer to Himself this way. Moreover what follows is Old Testament revelation. It could mean "God in His wisdom" making God the source of the words that follow (NIV). [2] God is definitely the ultimate source of wisdom and the wisdom that follows in the context, but this is an interpretation of the text rather than a translation of it. Another possibility is that it means "divine wisdom" and refers to wisdom personified (cf. Proverbs 1:20-33; Proverbs 8). [3] However what follows is not a revelation of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament that such a personification would imply.
The words that follow ( Luke 11:49-51) are not a quotation from the Old Testament. Rather they embody the essence of Old Testament revelation about the fates of the prophets and those who oppose them. Therefore I tend to think that the "Wisdom of God" refers to the Old Testament that Jesus here summarized and added to (i.e, fulfilled, established).
The content of this revelation was that God"s people would typically reject the prophets and messengers (cf. Luke 9:1-6; Luke 10:1-16) whom He sent to them. The result would be that God would hold the present generation of rejecters responsible. This last rejection would be "the straw that broke the camel"s back." It was the rejection of God"s Song of Solomon , not just His servants (cf. Luke 20:9-19). It would prove to be the rejection that would add the last measure of guilt that would result in God pouring out His wrath for all those unjustified murders throughout history. Abel was the first righteous martyr ( Genesis 4:8) and Zechariah the prophet the last (cf. Matthew 23:35; 2 Chronicles 24:21-22). There had probably been other victims since Zechariah , but his murder was the last one in Old Testament history.