Luke 11 50

Luke 11:50 kjv

That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

Luke 11:50 nkjv

that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation,

Luke 11:50 niv

Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world,

Luke 11:50 esv

so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation,

Luke 11:50 nlt

"As a result, this generation will be held responsible for the murder of all God's prophets from the creation of the world ?

Luke 11 verses

Luke 11 50 Meaning

Luke 11:50 signifies that the divine reckoning for all the innocent blood of God's faithful messengers, shed throughout history since creation, would culminate and be justly charged to the generation living in Jesus' time. This generation, by rejecting and condemning the Messiah Himself, demonstrated their spiritual solidarity with and completion of their ancestors' long-standing pattern of rebellion against God's appointed spokesmen, thereby inheriting a collective guilt and facing severe judgment.

Luke 11 50 Context

Luke 11:50 is part of Jesus' series of woes pronounced against the Pharisees and lawyers, the religious leaders of Israel (Luke 11:37-54). Specifically, it follows a denunciation (vv. 47-49) where Jesus exposes their hypocrisy: they build tombs for the prophets their fathers killed, thereby affirming their fathers' actions and even demonstrating a continuation of the same spirit. This verse then declares the consequential judgment: the accumulated guilt of all martyred prophets, beginning with the very first righteous murder, will be imputed to this present generation. The "generation" refers to the contemporary Jewish leadership and their adherents who were witnessing Jesus' ministry, signs, and teachings, yet rejected and were preparing to kill Him, the greatest of God's messengers. This pronouncement highlights the culmination of Israel's long history of rejecting God's prophets and serves as a somber warning of impending divine judgment, which would manifest in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

Luke 11 50 Word analysis

• that (ἵνα - hina): This conjunction introduces a purpose or result clause. It signifies the divine intention or consequence for the persistent pattern of rejecting and persecuting God's messengers. It implies God's justice will ensure this outcome.

• the blood (τὸ αἷμα - to haima): Refers to life that has been violently taken. In the biblical worldview, blood often signifies life (Lev 17:11) and speaks of violent death, requiring divine justice or atonement (Gen 9:5-6; Deut 32:43). Here, it carries a legal connotation of a debt or demand due.

• of all (πάντων - pantōn): Emphasizes the comprehensive nature of the indictment. It refers to the cumulative weight of every prophet's blood, implying a complete historical tally of injustice committed against God's representatives.

• the prophets (τῶν προφητῶν - tōn prophētōn): These were God's appointed spokesmen, delivering His divine message to His people. Their persecution and murder represent direct rebellion against God's revealed will and communication.

• which was shed (τοῦ ἐκκεχυμένου - tou ekkechymenou): This perfect participle implies an action completed in the past but with continuing results. "Shed" (from ekcheō) vividly describes violent outpouring, signifying a brutal and unjust end to life.

• from the foundation (ἀπὸ καταβολῆς - apo katabolēs): Literally "from the casting down" or "founding." This phrase denotes the beginning of creation or human history. In a biblical context, it refers to a time before or from the beginning of the world as we know it, specifically from the advent of human sin and the first murder (Abel).

• of the world (κόσμου - kosmou): The created order, humanity. "Foundation of the world" underscores that humanity's rejection of God's truth and His messengers is a historical constant from the very beginning.

• may be required (ἐκζητηθῇ - ekzētēthē): This verb is in the passive voice, implying a divine agent, God Himself. It means "to be sought for," "to be demanded back," or "to be avenged." It carries the legal sense of a debt that is finally called due. This signifies an inevitable divine reckoning.

• of this generation (ἀπὸ τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης - apo tēs geneas tautēs): Refers specifically to the people contemporary with Jesus. This highlights a principle of corporate responsibility or solidarity, not just for their own actions but for a culminating pattern of historical rebellion, uniquely intensified by their rejection of the Messiah. It points to a singular moment of judgment.

• Words-group analysis:

  • "the blood of all the prophets": Highlights the profound offense: violence against those sent by God, symbolizing Israel's persistent spiritual blindness and rebellion against divine truth. The sum of all these offenses accumulates before God.
  • "shed from the foundation of the world": Establishes the expansive historical scope of this indictment. It underscores that humanity's rejection of God's messengers is a chronic problem from the earliest times, making the judgment all the more comprehensive. It links back to the first righteous blood, that of Abel.
  • "may be required of this generation": This phrase marks the climax of this long history of rejection. Jesus identifies His own generation as the one that, by rejecting and condemning the ultimate Prophet (Himself), brings the full weight of cumulative past and present transgressions upon themselves, necessitating a climactic judgment. This is not arbitrary judgment, but the consequence of continuing and culminating the pattern of sin.

Luke 11 50 Bonus section

• The "foundation of the world" phrase implicitly refers to the lineage of martyrs that begins with Abel, the first recorded righteous man murdered (Gen 4:8-10). While Luke doesn't explicitly name Zechariah as Matthew does, the comprehensive "all the prophets" still encapsulates this full historical span of injustice.
• This verse underscores Jesus' self-understanding as the culmination of God's divine sending program. The rejection of prophets leads ultimately to the rejection of the Son, signifying the end of a long period of grace and patience.
• The concept of "corporate solidarity" is key here: The "this generation" is held accountable not merely for their direct acts of rejection but for embracing and bringing to its zenith a deep-seated spiritual rebellion that stretched back for millennia.
• The historical event of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD is widely understood by scholars as the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecies of judgment on "this generation," serving as a stark illustration of God's righteous requirement of justice.

Luke 11 50 Commentary

Luke 11:50 is a pronouncement of divine justice, not simply historical condemnation. Jesus states that the cumulative guilt for the unjust deaths of all God's prophets throughout history, from Abel to Zechariah (as specified in Mt 23:35 and implied here), would be justly brought upon His contemporary generation. This is not to say that every individual of that generation was personally responsible for past killings. Rather, they are held accountable because they demonstrably embraced and culminated the spirit of rejection that characterized their ancestors' actions against God's messengers. By rejecting Jesus, the supreme Prophet and the Messiah, they confirmed their lineage of disobedience and resistance to God's ultimate revelation. Their imminent action of crucifying Christ, along with their continued persecution of His apostles and followers, sealed their corporate guilt and paved the way for the catastrophic judgment that would fall upon Jerusalem in 70 AD, when the temple was destroyed and countless lives lost. This verse reveals a terrifying spiritual continuity and corporate accountability, where a society, by upholding and exceeding ancestral sins, finally reaps the full measure of divine wrath for long-standing rebellion against the Most High.