Thomas Aquinas Commentary Matthew 23:34-39

"Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: some of them shall ye kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord." — Matthew 23:34-39 (ASV)

In this part, He recounts their cruelty, and He adds their earthly punishment. To begin with, He does the first thing; and secondly, He adds their punishment. Firstly, He recounts a benefit they have received; secondly, He recounts their guilt; and thirdly, He recounts the greatness of their punishment.

Therefore, He says, Behold I send to you prophets and wise men and scribes, etc. This can be referred to what immediately takes place, or to all that will take place. If it refers to what will immediately take place, its meaning is plainer in this way: ‘So I say that you are about to fill up your fathers’ sins, and that you are serpents, etc. Hence I send to you prophets and wise men and scribes: and some of them you will put to death, because you are the type of men who are accustomed to kill.’

Alternatively, it can be referred to all that will take place. The Lord wants that judgment not only to be just, but also to appear just, so that others may have examples.

Therefore, if someone has a good intention, the Lord rewards him for his good intention, and therefore, He gives him the will to carry out his good work. Conversely, when someone has an evil intention and is full of bad will, according to what is said: I will hedge up thy way with thorns (Hosea 2:6), he incites God’s anger, and it is because of God’s anger that his malice is manifested.

Thus, I send to you prophets and wise men and scribes: and some of them you will put to death. And He says, Behold, because He would soon send the Apostles; therefore: You shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8).

But observe that when He says, I send to you prophets and wise men and scribes, He indicates that there are diverse gifts of the Holy Ghost. To one is given the gift of wisdom, diverse kinds of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:8–10).

The Apostles had all these gifts. They had the gift of prophecy in foretelling the future: I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy (Joel 2:28). Likewise, they had the gift of wisdom, because they knew all things: I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to resist and gainsay (Luke 21:15). Similarly, they were scribes, because they had the understanding of Scripture: He opened their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45).

And why does He foretell this? It is so that the disciples, recalling what they had heard, may endure more easily. Likewise, it is to prove the malice of the Jews, because just as their fathers killed the prophets, so these men will kill the Apostles. Therefore, Some of them you will put to death, as it is stated in the Acts, that Herod killed James, the brother of John, with the sword, seeing that it pleased the Jews (Acts 12:2–3).

Other Apostles were crucified; therefore, And you will crucify. It was because this death was the most shameful that they killed Christ with this death, according to what is written: Let us condemn him to a most shameful death . And you will scourge. In Acts 5 it is said that after they had scourged them, they charged them that they should not speak at all in the name of Jesus (Acts 5:40). And you will persecute. This is evident in how they persecuted Paul. And: If they shall persecute you in this city, flee into another (Matthew 10:23).

Further on, the punishment is recounted, and, because it seemed severe, He confirms it, saying: Amen I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation. He says: That upon you may come all the just blood, from the blood of Abel the just, even unto the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachias.

It is known who Abel is, namely, he who was killed by his brother Cain. But who this Zechariah was, is not stated. It is read that there were three Zechariahs. A certain Zechariah was the son of Barachias, who was the eleventh among the prophets. However, this cannot be understood to refer to this man, because the altar did not exist yet.

Another was the father of John, and it is not found whose son he was; but Chrysostom says that he was killed on account of Christ, because in the Temple there was a place for virgins. And when the Virgin Mary sat in the place for virgins, the Jews wanted to expel her from that place; Zechariah, defending her, forbade this, and for this he was killed.

Another Zechariah is named the son of Joiada, whom Joas killed in the court of the Temple; therefore, he was killed between the Temple and the altar. Hence, the place corresponds, but his name does not.

Nevertheless, Jerome says that “Barachias” is interpreted “blessed of the Lord,” and the holiness of his father Joiada the priest is designated. And he says that he saw the Gospel of the Nazarenes, and “the son of Joiada” was contained in it.

But why He ends with this Zechariah can be a question of literal interpretation. The reason seems to be that even if the preceding killings of prophets were more frequent, these, nevertheless, were found in Scripture.

Alternatively, Abel was a shepherd and Joiada was a priest; for that reason, these two signify the laity and the clergy. Therefore, every punishment for the killing of men will come upon you. Or, as another alternative, some men are active, others are contemplative; therefore, both are signified by these two men.

Now He says, Amen I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation. But how can it be that all these things will come upon this generation? Is one generation punished for another? The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father (Ezekiel 18:20). Therefore, how can all these things come upon this generation?

Jerome solves the objection, saying that it is customary in Scripture that all the generations of good men are considered as one generation, about which it is said: The generation of the righteous shall be blessed (Psalms 111:2). Concerning the generation of the wicked it is said: An evil generation seeketh a sign (Matthew 12:39).

Chrysostom says the following: ‘Some men sin, but God does not immediately avenge’; therefore: Is he angry every day? (Psalms 7:12). ‘But some men are never corrected when they sin, but become worse’; But evil men and seducers shall grow worse (2 Timothy 3:13); ‘and then the Lord waits until their malice is filled up.’

Therefore, these men, in whom their malice will be filled up, carry the burden of all the generations regarding temporal punishment; nevertheless, regarding eternal punishment, every man carries his own burden. The punishment will be so great that it will seem to be for all the generations; therefore, in Exodus 32 it is said that this sin will be kept until the day of vengeance. Just as there was a fullness of good things to those who believe in Christ, so there was a fullness of bad things to those who killed Christ. For that reason, He says, All these things shall come upon this generation.

But what is this punishment? It is the destruction of the city of Jerusalem. And because He intends to speak about the ruin of the city, He turns to the city, saying, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Firstly, He points out their offense; secondly, He recalls the benefits they have received; and thirdly, He foretells their punishment. The second part is where it is said, How often would I have gathered together thy children… and thou wouldst not?; and the third part is where it is said, Behold, your house shall be left to you, desolate.

He says, therefore, Jerusalem, Jerusalem; and this repetition indicates the affection of one who sympathizes. Therefore, it is said in Luke 19:41, that seeing the city, he wept over it. Thou that killest the prophets; Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? (Luke 7:52). And He says, Thou that killest the prophets, and not ‘Thou that hast killed the prophets,’ because they were still persevering in their malice.

This is that Jerusalem, about which it is said: This is Jerusalem, I have set her in the midst of the nations, and the countries round about her. And she hath despised my judgments (Ezekiel 5:5–6). They might have excused themselves: ‘We did not have someone to tell us.’ For that reason, He says, Thou stonest them that are sent unto thee. Therefore, I sent prophets and many benefits, and you did not acknowledge them.

How often would I have gathered together thy children, as the hen doth gather her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldst not? By these words, the perpetuity of His divinity is indicated, according to what He Himself says: Before Abraham was made, I am (John 8:58). Therefore, Christ Himself sent the prophets, the Patriarchs, and the angels. Whenever He sent them, He wanted to gather together their children, etc.

They are gathered who are converted to the Lord, because in Him all sinners are united; they are dispersed who are separated from this unity. Therefore: I have gathered together thy children, as the hen doth gather her chickens under her wings. It is said that no animal cares for its offspring as the hen. A hen defends them against kites, exposes its life for them, and gathers them under its wings.

In the same way, Christ cares for us: Surely he hath borne our infirmities (Isaiah 53:4). Likewise, He exposes Himself to the kite, that is, to the devil: While I am yet living, and going in with you, you have always been rebellious against the Lord (Deuteronomy 31:27).

Conversely, the Lord willed to gather them and these men did not want this; therefore, an evil will prevailed against God’s will. Therefore, it ought to be said: ‘As often as I wished I did, but against your will, I did as often as I did; therefore, your will prevented me as often as I did not do.’ Or the fact that He sent the prophets was a sign that He wanted to gather you, and thou wouldst not.

Then the punishment follows: Behold, your house shall be left to you, desolate. The whole nation was honored for the sake of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem on account of the Temple; therefore it is said, Your house shall be left, meaning the Temple or their habitation. Let their habitation be made desolate (Psalms 68:26). Or a house is said to be deserted when it lacks its due inhabitant: The Lord is in his holy temple (Psalms 10:5).

Therefore, He is said to leave with respect to His habitation. For that reason, you shall not see me henceforth, etc., because I was with you by the power of the divinity, and, afterwards, I was corporeally with you, but now I depart from you. But now your house shall be left to you, desolate, and you shall not see me henceforth, neither corporeally, namely, after the Passion, nor spiritually.

But would it always be true that no Jew would see Him, even though many Jews converted to Him? For that reason, He says, Till you say:

Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, because when we confess Him then we see Him by faith. Alternatively, He is subtly indicating His Second Coming: they were seeing Him corporeally, but they would not be able to see Him in this way until His Second Coming, ‘When you will be able to say, and to recognize, that I am the Blessed one who cometh in the name of the Lord.’