11:45-46 The lawyers (or scribes) were a distinct group, though most of them were Pharisees. The scribes and Pharisees often acted together. The lawyer who spoke up wanted to distinguish his group from the Pharisees, but Jesus refused to do so because the scribes were as hypocritical as the Pharisees. The lawyers involved themselves more in the interpretation of the law whereas the Pharisees generally advocated and enforced those interpretations. By interpreting the law strictly the scribes placed heavy moral burdens on the Jews. However they had cleverly found ways of escaping their own responsibility to keep the law while at the same time giving the impression that they were obedient. This reflected lack of love for the rest of the Jews who had to labor under their demands.
11:47-48 It was not morally wrong for the lawyers to take the lead in building new tombs to replace the older tombs of Israel's prophets. However, Jesus saw in this practice an ironic testimony to their opposition to God's recent prophets, namely John the Baptist and Himself. By building these tombs the lawyers appeared to be honoring the prophets, but they were also walling them in and sealing them off from the people. That was really what they were doing when they turned the people away from the prophets whom God had recently sent to Israel. In this they were following in the footsteps of their ancestors who killed the prophets.
The relatives of a guilty criminal have sometimes given money to the family members of the victim of the criminal's crimes, blood money to atone for their shared guilt. Perhaps the lawyers were building the prophets' tombs with the same motivation.295
11:49-51 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 Cor. 1:24, 30; Col. 2:3).296However 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).297God 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. Prov. 1:20-33; 8).298However what follows is not a revelation of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament that such a personification would imply.
The words that follow (vv. 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. 9:1-6; 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 Son, not just His servants (cf. 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 (Gen. 4:8) and Zechariah the prophet the last (cf. Matt. 23:35; Zech. 1:1). There had probably been other victims since Zechariah, but his murder was the last one that the Old Testament recorded.
11:52 Jesus' third woe against the lawyers condemned them for taking the key of spiritual knowledge away from the people. This key is probably a reference to Jesus' teachings. Jesus called this the key of knowledge, not the keys of the kingdom (cf. Matt. 16:19). The scribes professed to have the key to the understanding of the Old Testament. The people viewed them as the experts in it. However, they rejected Jesus' teachings and, therefore, would not enter into the knowledge that acceptance of His teachings would have opened to them. Moreover they opposed Jesus and thereby discouraged the people who were entering into that knowledge. This last woe is the climax of the six (vv. 42-52) and revealed the most serious offense of Israel's religious leaders.
Some interpreters view this verse as a clear statement that the messianic kingdom was a present reality when Jesus spoke these words.299However, I believe this conclusion is improper for the following reasons. First, knowledge is the stated subject of the verse, not the kingdom. Second, the subject of the kingdom is not in the context, but the subject of spiritual understanding is (vv. 33-51). Third, the Gospel writers did not present Jesus as inaugurating the kingdom at His first advent but as offering it and then postponing it due to the Jews' rejection of their Messiah (Matt. 12).
