Therefore behold I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them you will put to death and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city:

“Or the Scribes who are sent by Christ, are Scribes according to the Gospel, whom the spirit quickens and the letter does not kill, as did the letter of the Law, which whoso followed ran into vain superstitions. The simple words of the Gospel are sufficient for salvation. But the Scribes of the Law do yet scourge the Scribes of the New Testament, by detracting from them in their synagogues; and the heretics also, who are spiritual Pharisees, with their tongues murder the Christians, and persecute them from city to city, sometimes in the body, sometimes also in the spirit, seeking to drive them from their own city of the Law, the Prophets, and the Gospel, into another Gospel.”

“Or, as the Apostle writes to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 12.) that there are various gifts among Christ’s disciples; some Prophets, who foretel things to come; some wise men, who know when they ought to speak; others Scribes taught in the Law; of whom Stephen was stoned, Paul killed, Peter crucified, and the disciples of the Apostles beaten, in the Acts; and they persecuted them from city to city, driving them out of Judæa, that they might go to the Gentiles.”

“Behold, I. In this part he sets forth their cruelty, and adds the temporal punishment. And first he does the first; second he adds the punishment. And first he sets forth the benefit; second the fault; third the magnitude of the punishment. Hence he says, "Behold, I send to you prophets, and wise men and scribes," and so on. And it can be referred to that which immediately follows, or to that whole which follows. If to the whole, then it has a plainer sense. Thus I say that you are about to fill up, and that you are serpents, and so on. Hence, "I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes," and some of them you will kill, because you are such as have been accustomed to kill. Or otherwise, so that it is referred to the whole. The Lord wills that judgment be not only just, but that it appear just, so that others may take examples from it. Hence if someone has a good purpose, the Lord rewards him for the good purpose, and thence gives him the will to carry out a good work; so on the contrary, when someone has an evil purpose, and is full of evil will, according to what is said in Hosea 2:6: "I will hedge up your way with thorns," he stirs up the wrath of God, and from the wrath of God it comes about that his malice is made manifest. Therefore, "I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes"; and you will kill them. And he says "behold," because it is at hand, because he sent the apostles; hence Acts 1:8: "and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the end of the earth." But note that in this, that he says "I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes," he signifies the various gifts of the Holy Spirit. To one is given the gift of wisdom, to another kinds of tongues, and so on. 1 Corinthians 12:10. The apostles had all these gifts. They had the gift of prophecy in telling future things; Joel 2:28: "I will pour out of my spirit upon all peoples, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy." Likewise wisdom, because they knew all things; Luke 21:15: "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries will not be able to resist and contradict." Likewise they were scribes, because they had understanding of Scripture; Luke 24:45: "he opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures." And why does he foretell this? So that the disciples, thinking on what they have heard, might more easily endure it. Likewise, to convict their malice, because just as their fathers killed the prophets, so these would kill the apostles; hence "some of them you will kill," as is found in Acts 12:2, because Herod killed James the brother of John with the sword, seeing that it pleased the Jews. Others were crucified; hence also "you will crucify." For this was the vilest death, therefore they killed Christ by this death, according to that saying of Wisdom 2:20: "let us condemn him to a most shameful death." And "you will scourge." Acts 5:40 says that, having beaten them, they charged them that they should not speak at all in the name of Jesus. And "you will persecute." This is evident from how they persecuted Paul. And above, chapter 10:23: "if they persecute you in one city, flee into another." Further, the punishment is set forth, which, because it seemed grave, he therefore confirms: "Amen I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation." He says: that upon you may come all the righteous blood, from the blood of Abel the just even unto the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah. Who this Abel is, is known, because he was killed by Cain his brother. But who this Zechariah was is not established. It is read that there were three Zechariahs. One the son of Barachiah, who was the eleventh among the prophets. But it cannot be understood of this one, because there was not yet an altar. Another was the father of John, and whose son he was is not found; but Chrysostom says that he was killed on account of Christ, because in the temple there was a place of the virgins, and when the Virgin Mary was sitting in the place of the virgins, the Jews wanted to expel her from the place; which Zechariah forbade, defending her, and on account of this he was killed. Another is said to be the son of Jehoiada, whom Joash killed in the court of the temple, therefore "between the temple and the altar"; hence the place agrees, but the name is discordant. But yet Jerome says that it is interpreted "blessed of the Lord," and the holiness of his father Jehoiada the priest is thereby designated. And he says that he himself saw the Gospel of the Nazarenes, and there it was contained, "the son of Jehoiada." But why it begins with this Zechariah can be a question of the letter. The reason, however, seems to be that although the preceding [killings] were more frequent, yet these were the ones found in Scripture. Or otherwise, that Abel was a shepherd, Jehoiada a priest; therefore by these two are signified the laity and the clergy. Hence every punishment for the killing of men shall come upon you. Or otherwise, because some are active, some contemplative; hence both are signified by these two. But "amen I say to you, that all these things shall come upon this generation." But how can it be that all these things come upon this generation? Is one punished for another? Ezekiel 18:20: "the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father." How then upon this generation? Jerome solves this, [saying] that it is customary in Scripture that the whole generation of the good is taken for one generation, concerning which in Psalm 111:2: "the generation of the upright shall be blessed." Concerning the generation of the wicked, above, 12:39: "an evil generation seeks a sign." Chrysostom says thus: some sin, but God does not immediately avenge; hence in Psalm 7:12: "does he grow angry every day?" But some, when they sin, are never corrected, but change for the worse; 2 Timothy 3:13: "but evil men and seducers shall grow worse and worse"; and then the Lord waits until their malice is completed. Hence these, in whom the malice will be completed, bear the weight of the whole as regards the temporal punishment, yet as regards the eternal punishment, each bears his own. Hence it will be so great that it will seem that they suffer for all; hence Exodus 32:34, it is said that this sin is reserved until the day of vengeance. Just as there was a fullness of good things for those who believe in Christ, so a fullness of evils for those who killed Christ; therefore he says, "all these things shall come upon this generation." But what is this punishment? The destruction of the city of Jerusalem. And since he intends to speak of the destruction of the city, therefore he turns himself to the city, saying, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem." And first he sets forth the offense; second he commemorates the benefits; third he foretells the punishment. The second is there: "how often would I have gathered your children ... and you would not?" The third is there: "behold, your house shall be left to you desolate." He says therefore, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem"; and this doubling designates the affection of one who pities; hence it is said in Luke 19:41, that seeing the city he wept over it. "You who kill the prophets"; Acts 7:52: "which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?" And he says "you who kill," not "you who have killed," because they were still persevering in malice. This is that Jerusalem, of which it is said in Ezekiel 5:6: "this is Jerusalem, I have set her in the midst of the nations, and the countries around her, and she has despised my judgments." They could excuse themselves: "we had no one to tell us"; therefore he says, "and you stone those who are sent to you"; hence "I sent prophets and many helps, and you did not recognize [them]." "How often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not?" In this is designated the perpetuity of his divinity, according to what he himself says, John 8:58: "before Abraham was made, I am." Hence Christ himself sent prophets, patriarchs, and angels. Whenever he sent, he willed to gather, and so on. Those are gathered who are converted to the Lord, because in him sinners are united; those are scattered who are separated from unity. Hence, "I would have gathered [you] as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings." It is said that there is no animal so compassionate to its young as the hen. The hen defends [them] from the kite, and exposes her life for them, and gathers them under her wings. Thus Christ has compassion on us: "surely he himself bore our infirmities," Isaiah 53:4. Likewise he exposed himself to the kite, that is, the Devil; Deuteronomy 31:27: "while I am yet living and going in with you, you have always acted contentiously against the Lord." But against this: the Lord willed, and these did not will: therefore their evil will prevailed over the will of God. Hence it must be said: as often as I willed, I did it, but with you unwilling, I did it when I did it; hence your will hindered it, so that I did not do it. Or, that he sent prophets was a sign that he willed to gather [you], and you were unwilling. Then follows the punishment: "behold, your house shall be left to you desolate." The whole people was honored on account of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem on account of the temple; therefore it is said, "your house shall be left," that is, the temple, or the dwelling; Psalm 68:26: "let their habitation be made desolate." Or the house is called desolate when it lacks its proper inhabitant; Psalm 10:5: "the Lord is in his holy temple." Hence it is said "to leave" with respect to the indwelling; therefore, "you shall not see me henceforth," etc., because I was with you through the power of my divinity, and afterward I was [with you] bodily, but I will withdraw from you. But now "your house shall be left to you desolate, and you shall not see me henceforth," neither bodily, namely after the Passion, nor spiritually. But is this true, that none of the Jews saw him, since nevertheless many were converted to him? Therefore he says, "until you say: blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," because when you shall confess [him], then you will see through faith. Or otherwise, he secretly designates the second coming: they saw him in the body, but they did not have this seeing until the second coming, in which you will be able to say, and you will recognize, that I am he who is blessed who comes in the name of the Lord.”

“Therefore , behold, I send, &c. Observe the word therefore, that it expresses from the preceding verse an effect, as it were, from a cause. It means, “because ye, as serpents and vipers, will kill Me, your Messiah, for which wickedness ye will be cut off and condemned to hell I have had pity upon you, and will send to you My disciples after My death, that they may avert from you this destruction, that they may arouse you to repentance and faith in Me. But I foresee that ye will slay them also, as I have predicted in the 33d verse.” 1 send. Luke xL 49 says, The wisdom of God hath said, that is, indeed, Christ Himself. Prophets , and wise men, and Scribes. Luke has Prophets and 48 Apostles . S. Jerome says “This marks the various gifts of Christ’s disciples: Prophets , who foretell things to come; wise nun , who know when they ought to speak the word ; Scribes, those learned in the law.” Some of them ye shall kill , as S. Stephen by stoning, James the greater by the sword; and crucify , as S. Simeon, Bishop of Jerusalem, successor of S. James (see Euseb. H. E . ii. 32) ; and some of them ye shall scourge , as Peter and the Apostles (Acts iv. and v.), and persecute from city to city , like Paul and Barnabas (Acts xiii. and xiv.). Tropologically : Origen says (horn. 23, in Num .), “ And I, this day, if I will not hear the words of a Prophet, if I despise his warnings, stone that Prophet, and as far as in me lies, kill him.””

“That upon you may come all the righteous blood,.... Or "the blood of all the righteous men", as the Syriac: Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions read; for there is no righteousness in blood, nor any conveyed by it: all men are of one blood, and that is tainted, they that are righteous, are not so naturally, nor by any righteousness of their own, but by the righteousness of Christ: and such were the persons here meant, whose blood being shed in the cause of righteousness, God would revenge; and the punishment for such a crime, and the vengeance of God for it, were to come upon the nation of the Jews by this means, through their crucifying of Christ, and killing, and persecuting his apostles; whereby they would make it manifest, that they approved of, and consented to, what others had done to all the righteous men, whose blood had been shed upon the earth; whether in Judea, or elsewhere; and continued in the same wicked practices, or committed worse, and so justly incurred the wrath of God to the uttermost; which would quickly come upon them, when the measure of their fathers' sin were filled up by them, from the beginning of time, to the present age: everom the blood of righteous Abel: who was the first person in the world that was killed, and that for righteousness sake too, because his works were righteous, his person being so; not by his works, but through the righteousness and sacrifice of the Messiah, which were to be brought in; in the faith of which he offered up his sacrifice, whereby he obtained a testimony from God, that he was righteous, having respect to his person in Christ, and so to his offering. This epithet of "righteous" seems to be what was commonly given him by the Jews: hence, with a peculiar emphasis, he is called, , "Abel the righteous" (t); as he is also said to be , "the head of them that killed" (u); he being the first man that was slain; for which reason he is mentioned here by Christ; and also, because his blood cried for vengeance, and still continued to do, upon all such persons that should commit the like crime. It is an observation frequently made by the Jews, on those words in Gen 4:10 "the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me", that "it is not said in the Hebrew text, the blood of thy brother, but the bloods of thy brother; his blood, and the blood of his seed (w); and that from hence may be learned, that the blood of his children, and of his children's children, and of all his offspring, to the end of all generations, that should proceed from him, all stood and cried before the Lord (x). The Jerusalem Targum paraphrases the words in this remarkable manner, "the price of the bloods of "the multitude of the righteous", that shall spring from Abel thy brother. And Onkelos thus, "the voice of the blood of the seed that shall rise from thy brother, &c. unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Learned men are very much divided about this person, who he was. Some think our Lord speaks prophetically of Zechariah, the son of Baruch; who, as Josephus says (y), was slain in the middle of the temple, just before the siege of Jerusalem; and who was, as he also relates, a rich man, of an illustrious family, a hater of wickedness, and a friend to liberty: and because, as Abel was the first man that was slain, and this man being killed in the temple, at the close of the Jewish state; and because the words may be rendered, "whom ye shall have slain", therefore he is thought to be intended: but there are several things that do not agree with him, besides its being a narration of a fact, as past, according to the usual rendering of the word: for this Zacharias was the son of Baruch, and not Barachias, which are two different names; he was killed in the middle of the temple, not between the temple and the altar; nor does he appear to be a man of such great character, as to be distinguished in this manner; and besides, his death was what the Jews did not consent to in general, and therefore could not be charged with it; he was acquitted by the sanhedrim of the charge of treachery laid against him, and was assassinated by two zealots. Others have thought that Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, is meant, who is supposed to be murdered by the Jews very lately; and it being a recent action, is mentioned by our Lord: the reason of it is a tradition, which several ancient writers (z) speak of, and is pretended to be this; that there was a place, in the temple appropriated to virgins, and that Mary, the mother of our Lord, after his birth, came and took her place here, as a virgin, when the Jews, knowing her to have a child, objected to it; but Zechariah, who was acquainted with the mystery of the incarnation, ordered her to keep her place, upon which the Jews slew him upon the spot: but this tradition is not to be depended on; nor does it appear that there ever was any such particular place in the temple assigned to virgins; nor that the father of this Zacharias was Barachias; or that the son was slain by the Jews, and in this place. Others have been of opinion, that Zechariah the prophet is designed; and indeed, he is said to be the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, Zac 1:1 and the Jewish Targumist speaks of a Zechariah, the son of Iddo, as slain by the Jews in the temple. His words are these (a), "as ye slew Zechariah, the son of Iddo, the high priest, and faithful prophet, in the house of the sanctuary of the Lord, on the day of atonement; because he reproved you, that ye might not do that evil which is before the Lord. And him the Jews make to be the same with Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, in Isa 8:2 and read Berechiah (b): but the Targumist seems to confound Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, with him; for the prophet Zechariah was not an high priest, Joshua was high priest in his time; nor does it appear from any writings, that he was killed by the Jews; nor is it probable that they would be guilty of such a crime, just upon their return from captivity; and besides, he could not be slain in such a place, because the temple, and altar, were not yet built: it remains, that it must be Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, who was slain in the court of the house of the Lord, Ch2 24:20 who, as Abel was the first, he is the last of the righteous men whose death is related in the Scriptures, and for whose blood vengeance was required, as for Abel's. He was slain in the court of the house of the Lord; and so the Ethiopic version here renders it, in the midst of the holy house. It is often said by the Jewish writer (c), that "R. Joden (sometimes it is R. Jonathan) asked R. Acha, whether they slew Zechariah, in the court of the Israelites, or in the court of the women? he answered him, neither in the court of the Israelites, nor in the court of the women, but in the court of the priests. And elsewhere they say (d), that they "slew a priest and a prophet in the sanctuary; this is Zechariah the son of Jehoiada. Now it should be observed, that the temple, or sanctuary, is sometimes put for the whole sacred building, with all its courts and appurtenances; and sometimes, as in this text, for that part of it that was covered, between which, and the altar of burnt offerings, in the court of the priests, which must he here meant, and not the altar of incense, in the most holy place, was a space of twenty two cubits (e), frequently called, in Jewish writings, the space between the porch and the altar; that is, the porch which led into the temple, and the brazen altar in the court of the priests, which was open to the air, and is the very spot here intended. Now this was a very sacred place, and is mentioned as an aggravation of the sin of the Jews, that they should enter where none but priests might; nor these neither that had any defect in them; and defile it also by shedding innocent blood, "The court of the Israelites is holier than the court of the women; because those that wanted atonement might not enter there; and a defiled person that entered there, was obliged to be cut off: the court of the priests was holier than that, because the Israelites might not enter there, but in the time of their necessities, for laying on of hands for atonement, for killing and waving: the place between the porch and the altar was holier than that; for such that had any blemishes, or were bareheaded, or had their garments rent, might not enter (f). Hence they say (g), that "the Israelites committed seven transgressions on that day: they slew a priest, and a prophet, and a judge; and they shed innocent blood, and they blasphemed God, and defiled the court, and it was a sabbath day, and the day of atonement. The chief objections to its being this Zechariah are, that the names do agree; the one being the son of Jehoiada, the other the son of Barachias; and the killing of him was eight hundred years before this time; when it might have been thought our Lord would have instanced in a later action: and this he speaks of, he ascribes to the men of that generation: to which may be replied, that as to the difference of names, the father of this Zechariah might have two names, which is no unusual thing; besides, these two names signify much the same thing; Jehoiada signifies praise the Lord, and Barachias bless the Lord; just as Eliakim and Jehoiakim, are names of the same person, and signify the same thing, Ch2 36:4. Moreover, Jerom tells us, that in the Hebrew copy of this Gospel used by the Nazarenes, he found the name Jehoiada instead of Barachias: and as to the action being done so long ago, what has been suggested already may be an answer to it, that it was the last on record in the writings of the Old Testament; and that his blood, as Abel's, is said to require vengeance: and Christ might the rather pitch upon this action, because it was committed on a very great and worthy man, and in the holy place, and by the body of the people, at the command of their king, and with their full approbation, and consent: and therefore, though this was not done by the individual persons in being in Christ's time, yet by the same people; and so they are said to slay him, and his blood is required of them: and their horrible destruction was a punishment for that load of national guilt, which had been for many hundreds of years contracting, and heaping upon them, (t) Tzeror Hammor, fol. 8. 2. (u) Juchasin, fol. 5. 2. (w) Bereshit Rabba, sect. 22. fol. 20. 1. Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 4. sect. 5. Moses Kotsensis Mitzvot Tora pr. affirm. 98. (x) Abot. R. Nathan, c. 31. (y) De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 1. (z) Origen. in Matth. T. 3. Homil. 26. fol. 44. Greg. Nyssen. in diem nat. Christ. Vol. 2. p. 777. Basil. de human. gen. Christ. & Theophylact. in loc. (a) Targum in Lam. ii. 20. (b) T. Bab. Maccot, fol. 24. 2. (c) T. Hieros. Tannioth, fol. 69. 1. Praefat. ad Echa Rabbati, fol. 36. 4. & Echa Rabbati, fol. 52. 4. & 58. 3. Midrash Kohelet, fol. 68. 3. (d) Echa Rabbati, fol. 55. 1. (e) Misn. Middot, c. 3. sect. 6. (f) Maimon. Beth. Habbechira, c. 7. sect. 18, 19, 20. Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 7. fol. 188. 4. (g) T. Hieros. Taanioth, fol. 69. 1. Echa Rabbati, fol. 53. 1. & 58. 3. Midrash Kobelet, fol. 68. 4.”

“Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes--The I here is emphatic: "I am sending," that is, "am about to send." In Luk 11:49 the variation is remarkable: "Therefore also, said the wisdom of God, I will send them," &c. What precisely is meant by "the wisdom of God" here, is somewhat difficult to determine. To us it appears to be simply an announcement of a purpose of the Divine Wisdom, in the high style of ancient prophecy, to send a last set of messengers whom the people would reject, and rejecting, would fill up the cup of their iniquity. But, whereas in Luke it is "I, the Wisdom of God, will send them," in Matthew it is "I, Jesus, am sending them"; language only befitting the one sender of all the prophets, the Lord God of Israel now in the flesh. They are evidently evangelical messengers, but called by the familiar Jewish names of "prophets, wise men, and scribes," whose counterparts were the inspired and gifted servants of the Lord Jesus; for in Luke (Luk 11:49) it is "prophets and apostles." unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar--As there is no record of any fresh murder answering to this description, probably the allusion is not to any recent murder, but to Ch2 24:20-22, as the last recorded and most suitable case for illustration. And as Zacharias' last words were, "The Lord require it," so they are here warned that of that generation it should be required.”

“He calls them offspring of vipers, because the nature of vipers is such that the young burst the womb of their dam, and so come forth; and in like manner the Jews condemned their fathers, finding fault with their deeds. He says, How shall ye escape the damnation of hell? By building the tombs of the saints? But the first step of piety is to love holiness, the next, to love the saints; for it is not reasonable in him to honour the righteous, who despises righteousness. The saints cannot be friends to those to whom God is an enemy. Shall ye be saved by a mere name, because ye seem to be among God’s people! Forasmuch as an open enemy is better than a false friend, so is he more hateful to God, who calls himself the servant of God, and does the commands of the Devil. Indeed, before God he who has resolved to kill a worm is a murderer before the deed is done, for it is the will that is rewarded for good, or punished for evil. Deeds are evidence of the will. God then does not require deeds on His own account that He may know how to judge, but for the sake of other men, that they may perceive that God is righteous. And God affords the opportunity of sin to the wicked, not to make them sin, but to manifest the sinner; and also to the good He gives opportunity to shew the purpose of their will. In this way then He gave the Scribes and Pharisees opportunity of shewing their purposes, Behold, I send unto you Prophets, and wise men, and Scribes.”