Luke 11 48

Luke 11:48 kjv

Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.

Luke 11:48 nkjv

In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.

Luke 11:48 niv

So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.

Luke 11:48 esv

So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs.

Luke 11:48 nlt

But in fact, you stand as witnesses who agree with what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you join in their crime by building the monuments!

Luke 11 verses

Luke 11 48 Meaning

This verse, spoken by Jesus, confronts the religious leaders—specifically the lawyers or teachers of the Law—with their profound hypocrisy. It asserts that their actions demonstrate their complicity and spiritual alignment with their ancestors who persecuted and murdered God's prophets. The seemingly pious act of building or decorating tombs for these prophets ironically serves as a public declaration that they endorse their fathers' violent deeds against those whom God sent. In essence, Jesus reveals that while they superficially honor the memory of dead prophets, they embody the same spirit of opposition and rejection toward God's living truth and His current messengers, including Jesus Himself.

Luke 11 48 Context

Luke 11 records Jesus' increasing confrontations with the religious leaders of Israel. After casting out a demon and receiving criticism, Jesus begins to pronounce a series of "Woes" (denunciations) against the Pharisees and, specifically in this section (Luke 11:45-54), the lawyers (teachers of the Law). The lawyers, feeling that Jesus was insulting them alongside the Pharisees, demand clarification (v. 45). Jesus then extends the "Woes" directly to them.

Verse 47 directly precedes 48: "Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them." Luke 11:48 builds on this, explaining why their tomb-building act signifies guilt rather than piety. Jesus unveils their duplicity: outwardly showing honor to long-dead prophets while maintaining the same spirit of opposition and persecution against God's contemporary messengers, and by extension, against Jesus Himself, who is the ultimate Prophet. The entire sequence underscores the blindness and spiritual bankruptcy of those who held religious authority but resisted God's unfolding revelation.

Luke 11 48 Word analysis

• So (Ὥστε - Hōste): A particle indicating consequence or result. It means "consequently," "therefore," or "so then." Jesus is drawing a logical conclusion from the statement in verse 47.
• you (ὑμεῖς - hymeis): The emphatic plural "you." Jesus specifically addresses the lawyers and their contemporaries, emphasizing their personal culpability and connection to their past.
• are witnesses (μάρτυρες - martyres): From which we get "martyr," meaning "witness." Here, it refers to testifying, confirming, or proving. By their actions, they are not just passively observing, but actively demonstrating, a truth about themselves. Their deed of building tombs bears witness to their complicity.
• and (καὶ - kai): A simple conjunction connecting "witnesses" with "approve." It suggests a close relationship between bearing witness and giving approval.
• approve (συνευδοκεῖτε - syneudokeite): A compound verb: syn (with) + eudokeō (to be well pleased, to agree with). This is a crucial word. It means "to concur with," "to consent to," "to have a shared approval of." It's stronger than just acknowledging; it implies agreement, even a spiritual affinity or moral complicity with the acts of their fathers. It indicates their actions of honoring the dead prophets confirm their hidden approval of the very actions that led to the prophets' deaths.
• of the deeds (τοῖς ἔργοις - tois ergois): Refers to the "works" or "actions," specifically the violent acts committed against the prophets.
• of your fathers (τῶν πατέρων ὑμῶν - tōn paterōn hymōn): Refers to their ancestors, previous generations of Israelites, especially their spiritual forebears or leaders throughout Israelite history, who often resisted and killed God's prophets.
• for (ὅτι - hoti): A conjunction introducing the reason or explanation for the preceding statement. It clarifies how they are witnesses and approvers.
• they killed them (αὐτοὶ μὲν ἀπέκτειναν αὐτούς - autoi men apekteinan autous): "They themselves" (their fathers) actively "killed" (murdered) "them" (the prophets). This is a direct accusation, highlighting the severity of the ancestral sin.
• and you build (ὑμεῖς δὲ οἰκοδομεῖτε - hymeis de oikodomeite): The conjunction "and" (de) here implies a mild contrast or continuation, "but you." While their fathers killed, you (the present generation) "build." This sets up the central irony and condemnation. "Build" (oikodomeite) means to construct or erect, specifically here referring to tombs.
• their tombs (αὐτῶν τὰ μνημεῖα - autōn ta mnēmeia): The burial monuments or memorials of the very prophets their fathers murdered. This seemingly pious act is revealed as hypocritical.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "So you are witnesses and approve": This phrase ties their present actions directly to their inward moral consent. Their external piety (building tombs) becomes damning evidence, proving their spiritual alignment with their murderous ancestors. They implicitly "witness against themselves" (Mt 23:31) and outwardly manifest their inward approval of their fathers' evil deeds.
• "of the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them": This clearly states the historical reality of ancestral persecution of prophets and firmly attributes guilt to previous generations. Their present-day "approval" connects them to these specific "deeds"—the violence against God's messengers. The "for" indicates that the ancestral act is the very basis of their current condemnation.
• "and you build their tombs": This is the crux of the hypocrisy. The building of tombs was a recognized act of honor and memorial. Jesus reveals that instead of genuine repentance or breaking from their ancestors' ways, their outward honor is a facade. They tacitly approve the murderous actions of their forefathers by venerating the victims while maintaining the same spirit of opposition that produced those victims. The paradox is that in seeking to absolve their ancestors and elevate their own righteousness through these monuments, they ironically condemn themselves.

Luke 11 48 Bonus section

• This condemnation extends beyond literal tomb-building; it critiques any superficial religious practice or historical veneration that masks an active rejection of God's present truth or messengers. People often admire historical figures who stood for truth while simultaneously opposing similar movements or challenging figures in their own day.
• The spiritual principle at play is that one's true nature is revealed not by what is professed or outwardly shown, but by the alignment of one's heart with God's will concerning living truth. If the heart rejects truth, even outward shows of piety become self-condemning.
• The idea of "filling up the measure of your fathers" (Mt 23:32), connected to this verse, suggests a climax of ancestral sin reaching its full expression in the current generation's rejection of Jesus. The judgment becomes inevitable due to this continuity of rejection.

Luke 11 48 Commentary

Luke 11:48 serves as a searing indictment of spiritual hypocrisy among the religious elite. Jesus' words penetrate the lawyers' outwardly pious practices to expose their true inner condition. Their act of building elaborate tombs for martyred prophets, far from indicating reverence or regret for the past, ironically demonstrated their complicity. They honored dead prophets in stone but persecuted living ones, a pattern culminating in their rejection of Jesus, the greatest Prophet. This suggests a continuation of their fathers' murderous spirit rather than a departure from it.

The lawyers sought to distance themselves from their ancestors' guilt, but Jesus revealed that their very "religious" actions, driven by a desire for human approval, revealed a spiritual lineage that aligned them with those who shed innocent blood. The syneudokeite ("approve") implies an active, conscious, moral alignment; it’s not merely acknowledging history, but a deep spiritual consent. They effectively validated the actions of their fathers by treating the prophets as though they were only worthy of honor in their grave, once they no longer challenged the established religious order. This verse highlights that genuine reverence for God's truth requires submission to its living voice, not just posthumous tributes to past messengers.