Matthew 23:36 kjv
Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Matthew 23:36 nkjv
Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
Matthew 23:36 niv
Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.
Matthew 23:36 esv
Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
Matthew 23:36 nlt
I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.
Matthew 23 36 Cross References
Cross-references supporting the themes of judgment, generational guilt, and the persecution of prophets:
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 4:8-10 | Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”… “Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.” | First shed righteous blood; Abel is the earliest martyr. |
| 2 Chr 24:20-22 | Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest… they conspired against him and by command of the king they stoned him… | Zechariah (likely reference here) killed in Temple. |
| Neh 9:26 | Nevertheless, they were disobedient… they killed your prophets who had warned them in order to bring them back to you… | Israel's history of killing prophets. |
| Jer 26:20-23 | There was also a man who prophesied in the name of the Lord… Urijah… who was killed. | Another example of a prophet persecuted and killed. |
| Mt 12:41-42 | The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it… The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation… | "This generation" condemned by Nineveh & Queen of the South. |
| Mt 12:45 | …so also will it be with this evil generation.” | Describes the "this generation" as evil. |
| Mt 24:2 | But he said to them, “You see all these things, do you not? Truly, I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, that will not be thrown down.” | Prediction of Jerusalem/Temple destruction. |
| Mt 24:34 | Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. | "This generation" will see fulfillment of prophecies (70 AD). |
| Mk 8:38 | For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed… | "This generation" described as adulterous and sinful. |
| Lk 11:49-51 | …'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,' so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world… | Parallel account of righteous blood coming on "this generation." |
| Lk 13:34-35 | O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together… | Jerusalem's history of killing prophets; judgment follows. |
| Lk 19:41-44 | And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace!… | Jesus laments and predicts Jerusalem's siege/destruction. |
| Lk 21:20-24 | “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near… For these are days of vengeance…” | Further details on Jerusalem's impending judgment (70 AD). |
| Lk 21:32 | Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. | Parallel to Matthew, confirming temporal scope. |
| Acts 7:51-53 | “You stiff-necked people… Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One…” | Stephen's sermon echoing the charge against Jewish leaders. |
| Rom 1:18 | For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. | God's wrath against sin, a broader theological principle. |
| Rom 2:5 | But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath… | Judgment based on accumulated sin/hardness of heart. |
| 1 Thes 2:14-16 | For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God… enduring the same sufferings from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed… | Accusation against Jewish persecutors, accumulating sins. |
| Heb 11:37 | They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated… | Listing the various ways prophets and righteous ones were persecuted. |
| Rev 18:24 | And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth.” | Echoes the idea of corporate responsibility for righteous blood. |
Matthew 23 verses
Matthew 23 36 Meaning
This verse delivers a grave pronouncement by Jesus, confirming the inescapable judgment awaiting "this generation"—those who were contemporary with Him and particularly their religious leaders. It asserts that the accumulated guilt of all the righteous blood shed throughout history, from Abel to Zechariah, would fall directly upon them. This is not merely a threat but an emphatic declaration of divine retribution for their persistent rejection of God's messengers and, ultimately, His Son. It signifies a climactic moment of accountability for Israel's historical rebellion and the culminating act of rejecting the Messiah.
Matthew 23 36 Context
Matthew chapter 23 serves as Jesus' most extensive and severe public denunciation of the Jewish religious leadership: the scribes and Pharisees. It follows His teachings on discipleship and precedes the Olivet Discourse (chapter 24). The entire chapter is characterized by eight woes (Woe to you!), highlighting their hypocrisy, spiritual blindness, self-righteousness, and rejection of true piety.
Verses 34-35 specifically elaborate on this condemnation, where Jesus declares that He will send prophets, wise men, and scribes to them, but they will persecute and kill them, thereby making "this generation" accountable for all the righteous blood shed from Abel to Zechariah. Matthew 23:36 then functions as the concluding and emphatic summary of this pronouncement of judgment, affirming the immediate and inevitable consequences upon those who embody the persistent national rejection of God's ways. Historically, this prophecy found a significant fulfillment in the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple in A.D. 70 by the Romans, which directly affected that very generation.
Matthew 23 36 Word analysis
- Ἀμὴν (Amen): Transliteration: Amēn. Meaning: Truly, verily, so be it, let it be true. Significance: This Greek word, derived from Hebrew (āmēn), functions as an emphatic affirmation. When Jesus begins a statement with "Amen, I say to you," it underscores the absolute truth, certainty, and divine authority of what follows, marking a solemn and unchallengeable declaration.
- λέγω (legō): Transliteration: Legō. Meaning: I say, I speak. Significance: Used here by Jesus in an authoritative capacity. He is not merely suggesting or advising, but directly declaring a truth with the weight of divine revelation.
- ὑμῖν (hymin): Transliteration: Hymin. Meaning: To you (plural). Significance: Direct address to the scribes and Pharisees and, by extension, the crowd present (see Mt 23:1), signaling a specific audience for this judgment.
- ταῦτα πάντα (tauta panta): Transliteration: Tauta panta. Meaning: All these things. Significance: Refers back to the preceding catalogue of woes, judgments, and especially the charge of persecuting prophets (vv. 34-35). "All these things" encapsulates the entire measure of their sin, particularly their spiritual culpability for rejecting and killing God's messengers throughout history, now culminating in their rejection of Jesus.
- ἥξει (hēxei): Transliteration: Hēxei. Meaning: Will come, will arrive, will happen. Significance: Indicates an inevitable and impending event. The judgment is not merely a possibility but a certain future outcome. It carries the weight of a divine decree.
- ἐπὶ (epi): Transliteration: Epi. Meaning: Upon, against, on. Significance: Denotes direction and consequence. The judgment will "fall upon" or "come upon" this generation, indicating direct impact and accountability.
- τὴν γενεὰν ταύτην (tēn genean tautēn): Transliteration: Tēn genean tautēn. Meaning: This generation. Significance: This phrase is crucial and widely debated, yet in Matthew, it consistently refers to Jesus' contemporary generation. In this context, it designates the people living at the time Jesus spoke these words, specifically those Jewish leaders and others who shared in the national guilt of rejecting God's ultimate messenger, Jesus, and accumulating sins through their actions. It signifies not merely a temporal group but a spiritually culpable collective embodying a hardened heart. The judgment is tied directly to those physically alive who perpetuated the historical pattern of rejecting God's truth.
Matthew 23 36 Bonus section
The reference to "Abel to Zechariah" in the preceding verse (Mt 23:35) signifies the entire scope of recorded Old Testament martyrdom, representing the alpha and omega of the Hebrew canon's martyrology. Abel is the first martyr recorded in Genesis, and Zechariah, son of Jehoiada, chronicled in 2 Chronicles 24, is the last prophet whose stoning within the Temple court is specifically detailed at the end of the traditional order of the Hebrew Bible (which concludes with Chronicles). This specific phrase underscores the comprehensive and continuous nature of Israel's persecution of righteous messengers sent by God, establishing a pattern that culminates with the persecution of Jesus Himself and His apostles by the leaders of "this generation."
Matthew 23 36 Commentary
Matthew 23:36 serves as the climax of Jesus' final public discourse against the religious leaders. It seals His comprehensive indictment, affirming that the ultimate consequence for Israel's historical rejection of God's messengers would culminate in the generation that rejected and crucified the Messiah. The phrase "all these things" points to the historical judgments detailed, and "this generation" is held accountable not necessarily for individual acts of every past murder but for demonstrating the same spirit of rebellion and unbelief that characterized those who shed righteous blood throughout history. Their imminent act of rejecting and killing the Son of God completes the measure of national sin, making them the recipients of collective divine wrath that would soon manifest as the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70. This event was not merely a military defeat but a theological judgment for generations of obstinacy, finalized by their profound spiritual blindness and refusal to accept Jesus as their Messiah.