Church Fathers Commentary Luke 11:45-54

"And one of the lawyers answering saith unto him, Teacher, in saying this thou reproachest us also. And he said, Woe unto you lawyers also! for ye load men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe unto you! for ye build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. So ye are witnesses and consent unto the works of your fathers: for they killed them, and ye build [their tombs]. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send unto them prophets and apostles; and [some] of them they shall kill and persecute; that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary: yea, I say unto you, it shall be required of this generation. Woe unto you lawyers! for ye took away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. And when he was come out from thence, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press upon [him] vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things; laying wait for him, to catch something out of his mouth." — Luke 11:45-54 (ASV)

St. Cyril of Alexandria: A rebuke that exalts the meek is generally hateful to the proud. Therefore, when our Savior was blaming the Pharisees for straying from the right path, the lawyers were struck with dismay. This is why it is said, "Then one of the lawyers answered him, 'Master, in saying this, you insult us also.'"

The Venerable Bede: How grievous is the state of that conscience that, upon hearing the word of God, thinks it is a personal rebuke, and in the description of the punishment of the wicked, perceives its own condemnation.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Now, the lawyers were different from the Pharisees. For the Pharisees, being separated from the others, had the appearance of a religious sect, but those skilled in the Law were the scribes and teachers who resolved legal questions.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But Christ brings a severe charge against the lawyers and subdues their foolish pride, as it follows when He said, "Woe to you also, you lawyers, for you load men with burdens..."

He brings forward an obvious example for their instruction. The Law was burdensome to the Jews, as the disciples of Christ confess. But these lawyers, bundling together legal burdens that could not be borne, placed them on those under their authority, while taking care to have no toil themselves.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Whenever a teacher does what he teaches, he lightens the load by offering himself as an example. But when he fails to do any of the things he teaches others, the burdens seem heavy to his students, as they see that even their teacher is unable to bear them.

The Venerable Bede: Now, they are rightly told that they would not touch the burdens of the Law even with one of their fingers. That is, they do not fulfill in the slightest detail the law which they pretend to keep and pass on for others to keep, contrary to the practice of their forefathers, acting without the faith and grace of Christ.

Gregory of Nyssa: So also, there are now many who are severe judges of sinners, yet weak combatants; imposers of burdensome laws, yet weak bearers of burdens. They are unwilling to approach or even touch a strict life, even though they sternly demand it from their subjects.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Having condemned the burdensome conduct of the lawyer, He brings a general charge against all the leaders of the Jews, saying, "Woe to you who build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them."

St. Ambrose of Milan: This is a good answer to the foolish superstition of the Jews who, by building the tombs of the prophets, condemned the deeds of their fathers. But by rivaling their fathers’ wickedness, they turn the condemnation back on themselves. For it is not the building, but the imitation of their deeds, that is considered a crime. Therefore, He adds, "Truly, you bear witness that you approve of the deeds of your fathers..."

The Venerable Bede: They pretended, in order to win the favor of the crowd, that they were shocked by the unbelief of their fathers. By splendidly honoring the memory of the prophets who were slain by them, they appeared to condemn their fathers' deeds. But in their very actions, they testify how much they share in their fathers’ wickedness by treating with contempt the Lord whom the prophets foretold. Hence it is added, "Therefore also the wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will slay and persecute.'"

St. Ambrose of Milan: The wisdom of God is Christ. Indeed, the words in Matthew are, "Behold, I send to you prophets and wise men."

The Venerable Bede: But if the same Wisdom of God sent both prophets and Apostles, let heretics cease assigning to Christ a beginning from the Virgin. Let them no longer declare that there is one God of the Law and the Prophets, and another of the New Testament. For although the Apostolic Scriptures often use the name "prophets" to refer not only to those who foretold the coming incarnation of Christ, but also to those who foretell the future joys of the kingdom of heaven, I would never suppose that these should be placed before the Apostles in the order of their listing.

St. Athanasius of Alexandria: Now, if they kill, the death of the slain will cry out all the louder against them. If they persecute, they broadcast memorials of their iniquity, for the flight of the persecuted redounds to the great disgrace of the persecutors. No one flees from the merciful and gentle, but rather from the cruel and evil-minded.

And therefore it follows, "That the blood of all the prophets who have been slain from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation."

The Venerable Bede: It is asked, how is it that the blood of all the prophets and righteous men is required of that single generation of the Jews, when many saints, both before and after the Incarnation, have been slain by other nations? The answer is that it is the custom of the Scriptures to speak of two kinds of "generations" of people: one of the good, and the other of the evil.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Although He speaks pointedly of "this generation," He is not referring merely to those who were standing by and listening to Him, but to every murderer. For like is attributed to like.

St. John Chrysostom: But if He means that the Jews are about to suffer worse things, this will not be undeserved, for they have dared to do worse things than all others. They have not been corrected by any of their past calamities. When they saw others sin and be punished, they were not made any better, but did the same. Yet it is not the case that one will suffer punishment for the sins of another.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But our Lord shows that the Jews inherited the malice of Cain, since He adds, "From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah..." This refers to Abel, because he was slain by Cain, and to Zechariah, whom they slew between the temple and the altar. Some say this was the ancient Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest.

The Venerable Bede: Why He begins with the blood of Abel, the first martyr, is no wonder. But why it ends with the blood of Zechariah is a question, since many were slain after him, right up to our Lord’s birth and the slaughter of the Innocents soon after. Perhaps it is because Abel was a shepherd and Zechariah was a priest. The one was killed in the field, the other in the court of the temple. In this way, martyrs of both classes—that is, laypeople and those engaged in the service of the altar—are represented by their names.

Gregory of Nyssa: Some say that Zechariah, the father of John, by the spirit of prophecy foresaw the mystery of the immaculate virginity of the Mother of God. For this reason, he did not separate her from the part of the temple set apart for virgins. He wished to show that it was in the power of the Creator of all things to bring about a new kind of birth without depriving the mother of the glory of her virginity.

This part of the temple, where the bronze altar was placed, was between the main altar and the sanctuary, and it was there that they slew him. It is also said that when they heard the King of the world was about to come, they deliberately attacked the one who bore witness to His coming out of fear of subjection, and slew the priest in the temple.

Greek Expositors: Others give another reason for the death of Zechariah. During the slaughter of the infants, the blessed John was to be slain with the others of the same age, but Elizabeth snatched her son from the midst of the slaughter and fled to the desert. And so, when Herod’s soldiers could not find Elizabeth and the child, they turned their wrath against Zechariah, killing him as he was ministering in the temple.

It follows, "Woe to you, lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge."

St. Basil the Great: This word "woe," which is uttered with intolerable pain, is fitting for those who were soon to be cast into grievous punishment.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Now, we say that the Law itself is the key of knowledge, for it was both a shadow and a figure of the righteousness of Christ. Therefore, it was the duty of the lawyers, as instructors of the Law of Moses and the words of the prophets, to reveal to some degree the knowledge of Christ to the Jewish people.

This they failed to do. On the contrary, they belittled His divine miracles and spoke against His teaching, saying, "Why do you listen to him?" In this way, they took away the key of knowledge. Hence it follows, "You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering."

But faith is also the key of knowledge, for by faith comes the knowledge of truth, according to the prophet Isaiah: "Unless you have believed, you will not understand." The lawyers, therefore, took away the key of knowledge by not permitting people to believe in Christ.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But the key of knowledge is also the humility of Christ, which they would neither understand themselves nor allow others to understand.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Even now, those are condemned under the name of "Jews" and made subject to future punishment who, while usurping for themselves the role of teaching divine knowledge, both hinder others and fail to acknowledge what they themselves profess.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Now, Matthew records all these things as being said after our Lord had come into Jerusalem. But Luke relates them here, when our Lord was still on His journey to Jerusalem. From this, it appears to me that these were two similar discourses, of which Matthew has recorded one and Luke the other.

The Venerable Bede: But the truth of the charges of unbelief, hypocrisy, and impiety brought against the Pharisees and lawyers is testified by the men themselves, who strove not to repent but to entrap the Teacher of truth. For it follows, "And as he said these things to them, the Pharisees and the lawyers began to urge him vehemently."

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Now, this "urging" is taken to mean pressing in on Him, threatening Him, or becoming furious with Him. But they began to interrupt His words in many ways, as it follows, "and to press him to speak of many things."

Theophylact of Ohrid: For when several people are questioning a man on different subjects, he cannot reply to all at once, and so foolish people think he is hesitating. This was part of their wicked design against Him. They also sought to control His speech in another way: by provoking Him to say something for which He might be condemned. This is why it says, "Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him."

Having first spoken of "pressing him," Luke now says "to catch" or "seize" something from His mouth. At one time they questioned Him about the Law, so that they might convict Him as a blasphemer for criticizing Moses. At another time, they questioned Him about Caesar, so that they might accuse Him as a traitor and a rebel against Caesar's authority.