Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:  Luke 11:45-49

As we are coming to the end of Chapter 11, we see Jesus continue to rebuke the religious leaders. First , Jesus rebukes the “experts in the law” telling them you weigh people down with their interpretations of God’s law rather than try to give them rest. The religious leaders added many man-made interpretations of God’s law and made it virtually impossible for anyone to keep The Law

Secondly, Jesus convicts the religious leaders of killing God’s prophets. Imagine that, these men believe they are holy and yet they are guilty of killing Gods anointed. If you study the Old Testament, you will see this, over and over again, when a prophet of God was sent, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, ect. the  religious leaders killed them, because they didn’t want to hear the true word of God. 

Just as they killed the Messiah, the Son of God, why? Because they wanted to create their own religion, they wanted to interpret God’s word and Law which catered to their agenda. Doesn’t this sound familiar today?

That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him. Luke 11:50-54

Notice what Jesus convicts this generation of, the murder of all the prophets! Wow think about that, and the first prophet Jesus mentions is Abel, all the way back from the beginning of Genesis. You might wonder, how would the religious leaders be responsible for the death of Abel? Well Jesus said “Your father is the devil” (John 8:44) , so the religious leaders were doing the works of Satan and not God. Seems like a harsh statement, however the murder of Gods prophets and apostles will not be tolerated. 

So what was the religious leaders response? Instead of repenting for their sin, they were trying to trap Jesus into saying something they can accuse him. As we know, eventually the false accusations led to the crucifixion. What can we learn here? Don’t just blindly follow false religions and teachers, read your Bible, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and abide in Christ Amen!

And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. Luke 11:39-41

A Pharisee (religious leader) invited Jesus to eat with him one day, well so much for proper dinner manners, Jesus revealed what he thought of the religious leaders of this time period and their religion. The Pharisee was initially offended because Jesus didn’t wash his hands before eating, Christ purposely did this to explain a deeper understanding of cleanliness

You see, the religious leaders thought they were clean and pure because they washed their hands and avoided outside contaminations. But as Jesus said to them “Inward you are full of wickedness” You see being clean before God is not about washing your hands or other rituals, it’s about becoming Born Again and having a clean heart and mind

But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. Luke 11:42-44

Now we see Jesus starting to give the religious leaders some “Woes’ ‘, it’s important to note that Woe in the Bible is a term of judgement, it’s one of the strongest words that can be used against you. Jesus was bringing judgement upon the religious leaders and their corrupt religious system. 

Jesus is condemning the religious leaders hypocritical practices, as wanting money, power , and status, and not really caring about following the true Law of God. The religious leaders believed they appeared to be high and mighty, however their appearance to God is “white washed tombs” (Matthew 23:27)