Jesus' Statement On Prophets And Jerusalem
Jesus' lament over Jerusalem—"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee"—appears in both Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34, spoken at different times and places according to the Gospel accounts [7]. The statement identifies Jerusalem not merely as a geographic location but as the center of Israel's religious and political authority, "the rulers and governors of it, civil and ecclesiastical" [6]. The repetition of the city's name conveys both affection and rebuke, invoking its status as "the metropolis of Judea, the seat of the kings of Judah... the place of divine worship, once the holy and faithful city" [6].
The Pattern of Prophetic Rejection
The charge that Jerusalem "killest the prophets" references a historical pattern of Israel's resistance to divine messengers. Jesus identifies himself with this prophetic tradition, having earlier told his disciples, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that are written through the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be completed" [1]. The phrase "them which are sent unto thee" translates the concept of apostleship—those commissioned as messengers and envoys [2]—linking the fate of Old Testament prophets to the apostles Jesus would send.
One patristic source presents Jesus speaking as "the wisdom of God," declaring, "I am sending unto you prophets, and apostles, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall slay and crucify" [4]. This formulation connects the rejection of prophets to the blood guilt "from the blood of Abel the pure to the blood of Zachariah the son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar" [4].
Theological Significance
The statement functions as both indictment and lament. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown describes it as "the very heart of God pouring itself forth through human flesh and speech," an expression of divine love "pleading with men, bleeding for them" [3]. The prophetic office itself carried the expectation of suffering; rabbinic tradition records Israel's response to prophetic calls for repentance: "Your ancestors sinned, and where are they? They said to the prophets: And your prophets who did not sin, where are they?" [5].
Athanasius later argued that the cessation of prophecy and Jerusalem's destruction served as proof of Messiah's arrival: "For when did prophet and vision cease from Israel, save when Christ came, the Holy of Holies?" [8]. The city's fate thus became evidence that the prophetic era had reached its fulfillment in the one who embodied both the message and the messenger role.
Sources
- Luke “He took the twelve aside, and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that are written through the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be completed. -- Luke 18:31”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Apostle — A person sent by another; a messenger; envoy. This word is once used as a descriptive designation of Jesus Christ, the Sent of the Father (Heb. 3:1; John 20:21). It is, however, generally used as designating the body of disciples to whom he intrusted the organization of his church and the dissemination of his gospel, "the twelve," as they are called (Matt. 10:1-5; Mark 3:14; 6:7; Luke 6:13; 9:1). We have four lists of the apostles, one by each of the synoptic evangelists (Matt. 10:2-4; Mark 3:16; Luke 6:14), and one in the Acts (1:13). No two of these lists”
- Matthew (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Matthew 23:37: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, &c.--How ineffably grand and melting is this apostrophe! It is the very heart of God pouring itself forth through human flesh and speech. It is this incarnation of the innermost life and love of Deity, pleading with men, bleeding for them, and ascending only to open His arms to them and win them back by the power of this story of matchless love, that has conquered the world, that will yet "draw all men unto Him," and beautify and ennoble Humanity itself”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 9: Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Origen's Commentaries — SECTION XLI. (part 1): 41 1 Therefore, behold, I, the wisdom of God, am sending unto you prophets, and apostles, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall slay and crucify; and some of them ye shall beat in your synagogues, and persecute[4] from city to 2 city: that there may come on you all the blood of the righteous that hath been poured upon the ground[5] from the blood of Abel the pure to the blood of Zachariah the son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the temple[6] and the altar. 3 Verily I say unto you, All thes”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 105a.2: § With regard to the verse: “Why is this people of Jerusalem slid back in perpetual backsliding?” (Jeremiah 8:5), Rav says: The congregation of Israel answered with a convincing response to the prophet. The prophet said to the Jewish people: Repent, as your ancestors sinned, and where are they? They said to the prophets: And your prophets who did not sin, where are they? They too died, as it is stated: “Your fathers, where are they, and the prophets; do they live forever?” (Zechariah 1:5). The prophet said to the Jewish people: Your ancestors reconsidered a”
- Matthew (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Matthew 23:36: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,.... The metropolis of Judea, the seat of the kings of Judah, yea, the city of the great king; the place of divine worship, once the holy and faithful city, the joy of the whole earth; wherefore it was strange that the following things should be said of it. The word is repeated to show our Lord's affection and concern for that city, as well as to upbraid it with its name, dignity, and privileges; and designs not the building of the city, but the inhabitants of it; and these not all, but the rulers and governors of it, civil and ecclesiastical;”
- Luke (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Luke 13:33: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets,.... These words, with what follow, as they stand in Mat 23:37 were delivered by Christ, when he was in the temple at Jerusalem; but here they were spoken by him when in Galilee, in Herod's jurisdiction; so that it appears, that the same words were spoken by Christ at different times, in different places, and to different persons: unless it can be thought, that Luke transcribed them from Matthew, and inserts them here, on occasion of Christ's having mentioned the perishing of a prophet in Jerusalem; where many had been”
- CCEL (Patristic) “Athanasius of Alexandria, Select Works and Letters, section 137: §40. Argument (1) from the withdrawal of prophecy and destruction of Jerusalem, (2) from the conversion of the Gentiles, and that to the God of Moses. What more remains for the Messiah to do, that Christ has not done? So the Jews are trifling, and the time in question, which they refer to the future, is actually come. For when did prophet and vision cease from Israel, save when Christ came, the Holy of Holies? For it is a sign, and an important proof, of the coming of the Word of God, that Jerusalem no longer stands, nor is any p”