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It Will Be Laid At Your Door In Luke 11:39-52, Jesus gives a stinging rebuke against the Pharisees and lawyers

(experts) of the law. This all began over Jesus not meeting with their approval on the proper way one should (ceremonially) wash their hands before they ate. Jesus said they were like concealed tombs (vs. 44) that people walked over and didnt realize it. One of the religious lawyers told our Lord that He was insulting them (vs. 45). They were guilty of building the tombs of the prophets which their fathers built (vs. 48). They had blood on their hands (vs. 49-50). Jesus said, in order that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation (vs. 51-52). We dont normally think of Abel, who was slain by his brother, of being a prophet (Gen. 4). Yet the Hebrew writer says that because of his sacrifice which he offered, that he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks (Heb. 11:4). Abels righteous sacrifice and death stood as a testimony to mankind. He, in a like figure, is a type of prophet. His life was a living example of being like a prophet, a man of God. The Zechariah Jesus speaks of his probably the Zechariah mentioned in 2 Chronicles 24:20-22. Thus from Abel to Zechariah, or from Genesis (the first book in the Hebrew and English Bible) to 2 Chronicles (the last book in the Hebrew Bible), the religious leaders were guilty of the blood of the prophets. More importantly, Jesus said their blood of this generation would be laid at their door. This generation needs to take heed to the words of our Lord. This same guilt blood will be laid at our door one day. We live in a generation that likewise has blood on its hands. There are those who are guilty of murdering the truth (John 8:44; 2 Tim. 4:3-4), those who have stood by and looked upon some 50 million unborn babies be killed, those who have oppressed the poor and less fortunate ( Amos 2:6; 4:1; James 5:1-6) rather than tend to them (James 1:27), and even those today who oppress the people of God His children. They persecuted those in the Old Testaments as well as in the time of Christ (Matt. 5:10-12). The early church knew the wrath of persecution (Acts 4:19-20; 5:40; 7:59-8:3; 12:1-4). Peter told the early Christians not to be surprised at these trials that come upon us (1 Pet. 4:12). These days, Christian people are open season. Its okay to persecute the church, just leave everyone else alone. Our Lord said, If the word hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you (John 15:18). This generation may not have cornered the market on sin yet; just read Romans 1:20-32. Paul was clear about one thing in this passage; Gods wrath will one day come upon the ungodly, and they will be without excuse. God lays the bloodguilt of sin at the door of every generation. May we apply the blood of the Lamb to the doorposts of our heart so that we will escape the wrath of the LORD (as the Hebrew children did in Exodus 12) on the day of Judgment.

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