From: Luke 11:47-54:

The Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees (Continuation)

(Jesus said to the Pharisees,) [47] “Woe to you! for you build the tombs of the
prophets whom your fathers killed. [48] So you are witnesses and consent to the
deeds of your fathers; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. [49] There-
fore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some
of whom they will kill and persecute,’ [50] that the blood of all the prophets, shed
from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation, [51] from the
blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the
sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it shall be required of this generation. [52] Woe to you
lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter your-
selves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

[53] As He went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press
Him hard, and to provoke Him to speak of many things, [54] lying in wait for Him,
to catch at something He might say.

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Commentary:

51. Zechariah was a prophet who died by being stoned in the temple of Jerusa-
lem around the year 800 B.C. because he accused the people of Israel of being
unfaithful to God’s law (cf. 2 Chronicles 24:20-22). The murder of Abel (Genesis
4:8) and that of Zechariah were, respectively, the first and last murders reported
in these books which the Jews regarded as Sacred Scripture. Jesus refers to a
Jewish tradition which, in His own time and even later, pointed out the stain of
the blood of Zechariah.

The altar referred to here was the altar of holocausts, located outside, in the
courtyard of the priests, in front of the temple proper.

52. Jesus severely reproaches these doctors of the Law who, given their study
and meditation on Scripture, were the very ones who should have recognized
Jesus as the Messiah, since His coming had been foretold in the sacred books.
However, as we learn from the Gospel, the exact opposite happened. Not only
did they not accept Jesus: they obstinately opposed Him. As teachers of the
Law they should have taught the people to follow Jesus; instead, they blocked
the way.

53-54. St. Luke frequently records this attitude of our Lord’s enemies (cf. 6:11;
19:47-48; 20:19-20; 22:2). The people followed Jesus and were enthusiastic
about His preaching and miracles, whereas the Pharisees and scribes would
not accept Him and would not allow the people to follow Him; they tried in every
way to discredit Him in the eyes of the people (cf. John 11:48).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Mass Readings

First reading	Romans 3:21-30 ©

God’s justice that was made known through the Law and the Prophets has now been revealed outside the Law, since it is the same justice of God that comes through faith to everyone, Jew and pagan alike, who believes in Jesus Christ. Both Jew and pagan sinned and forfeited God’s glory, and both are justified through the free gift of his grace by being redeemed in Christ Jesus who was appointed by God to sacrifice his life so as to win reconciliation through faith. In this way God makes his justice known; first, for the past, when sins went unpunished because he held his hand, then, for the present age, by showing positively that he is just, and that he justifies everyone who believes in Jesus.

So what becomes of our boasts? There is no room for them. What sort of law excludes them? The sort of law that tells us what to do? On the contrary, it is the law of faith, since, as we see it, a man is justified by faith and not by doing something the Law tells him to do. Is God the God of Jews alone and not of the pagans too? Of the pagans too, most certainly, since there is only one God.

Psalm	Psalm 129:1-6

Gospel	Luke 11:47-54 ©

Jesus said:

‘Alas for you who build the tombs of the prophets, the men your ancestors killed! In this way you both witness what your ancestors did and approve it; they did the killing, you do the building.

‘And that is why the Wisdom of God said, “I will send them prophets and apostles; some they will slaughter and persecute, so that this generation will have to answer for every prophet’s blood that has been shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was murdered between the altar and the sanctuary.” Yes, I tell you, this generation will have to answer for it all.

‘Alas for you lawyers who have taken away the key of knowledge! You have not gone in yourselves, and have prevented others going in who wanted to.’

When he left the house, the scribes and the Pharisees began a furious attack on him and tried to force answers from him on innumerable questions, setting traps to catch him out in something he might say.