Daily Writing

Friday, 30 October 2026

that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Matthew 23:35

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“That it should come upon you all ‘blood, righteous’ being outpoured upon the earth, from the ‘blood, Abel, the righteous’ until the ‘blood, Zechariah, son, blessed of Yah’ whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.” (CG)

In the previous verse, Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees that He would send them prophets, wise men, and scribes, noting that they would crucify some, and some they would scourge or persecute. He next explicitly states what the result of this will be, saying, “That it should come upon you all ‘blood, righteous’ being outpoured upon the earth.”

The meaning of “upon you” is the bloodguilt of the righteous who had been killed. There is a constant stream of the righteous being killed in the pages of Scripture. The Jews had confirmed that they are the sons of those who had done those things through their building of tombs and adorning sepulchers. Thus, there was an admission by them of the connection to the guilt of that outpoured blood.

Jesus says that the judgment and punishment for this was to come upon them. This includes the bloodguilt of every single such person in the Hebrew Scriptures, as witnessed by His next words, which begin with, “from the ‘blood, Abel, the righteous’.”

Abel is introduced here in the New Testament. His name is from havel, vanity, or emptiness. Abel was the first person recorded as having been killed in the Bible. The record of it is found in Genesis 4:8 –

“Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.”

Jesus calls Abel “the righteous” because he did what was right by bringing an offering in faith before the presence of the Lord. Jesus’ all-inclusive list goes “until the ‘blood, Zechariah, son, blessed of Yah’.”

The record of this name has given as much difficulty to the narrative as anything found in the book of Matthew. Jesus is detailing a list of people noted in Scripture by using a “first and last” reference, which sit as bookends to the entire list of those who logically fall between them.

The Hebrew canon does not end with Malachi, as does the common Christian canon of the Old Testament. Rather, the Hebrew Scriptures go from Genesis to Chronicles (1 & 2 Chronicles are considered one book). The last martyr noted in the book of Chronicles is found in 2 Chronicles 24 –

“Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, ‘Thus says God: “Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He also has forsaken you.”’ ²¹ So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord.” 2 Chronicles 24:20, 21

Thus, Jesus’ listing implies every person between and including these two men. The problem in Matthew is that he says Zechariah the son of Berechiah, not Jehoiada. The only Zechariah, son of Berechiah, is the prophet Zechariah who wrote the book of Zechariah (see Zechariah 1:1 and 1:7).

Because of this, various suggestions have arisen. The standard liberal suggestion is that this is an error in the text. Some say it is a later interpolation by some unknown scribe. Some say this is the same as Zechariah, son of Baruch, mentioned by Josephus.

That is obviously wrong because Baruch and Berechiah are not the same name. It would further blow the obvious structure of Jesus’ words being an all-inclusive list from Genesis to Chronicles. Further, Josephus’ writings date after the time of Jesus. We know that Jesus is making such an all-inclusive list because of His final words, “whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.”

Jesus makes this murder of Zechariah the closing death recorded in His all-inclusive list. It is a summary His audience would have understood perfectly. But because the name is not the same, the difficulty remains. Therefore, other suggestions have been given, none of which seem to explain the intent. This is because they are tying the name to a genealogy.

However, in the Bible, a son does not always refer to a genealogical identity between a father (or greater ancestor) and a child. Rather, the word son is just as commonly used to signify identity, such as “son of murderers,” “son of death,” “son of God,” etc.

Both names, Zechariah and Berechiah, are introduced here. Zechariah is from zakar, to remember, or zakar, a male, and Yah, a shortened form of Yehovah. The name means Remembered of the Lord, Yah Remembers, Male of Yah, or something similar.

Berechiah comes from berek, the knee, and Yah. The noun berek corresponds to the verb barak, to bless. The reason is that a blessing comes from a position of kneeling, either as an act of adoration or as a benefit.

For example, it says in Genesis 1:22 that God blessed (barak) the creatures, telling them to be fruitful and multiply. Thus, there is benefit bestowed as if kneeling took place. To resolve the issue of Jesus’ words, note that Abel is defined by an identity. Jesus called him righteous. Zechariah is also identified not by his father’s name, but as being a “son of ‘blessed of Yah’.”

Thus, this does not have to be a proper name at all. Rather, it is a proclamation of identity. In translating the name, the difficulty is removed. It also provides a suitable parallel to the identity of Abel to explain Jesus’ intent –

From:
the ‘blood, Abel, the righteous’
until –
the ‘blood, Zechariah, son, blessed of Yah’

Life application: There are difficulties in Scripture, but there is no reason to take the immediate and default position that so many do and assume there is an error. The explanation for the difficulty is that this verse forms a parallel structure, something common in the Bible. It is a way of highlighting a matter to be considered.

Abel, who was considered only vanity by his mother at his birth, was considered righteous by God in his death. Zechariah, Yah Remembers, was considered blessed of Yah in his death. No such blood spilled will be forgotten by God, and all wrongdoing will be judged by Him.

Lord God, thank You that regardless of how the world views Your people, You not only know them, but because of their faith, they are considered righteous before You. Being righteous, we are blessed by You with the surety of being raised to eternal life. Thank You for the assurances we possess in Christ! Amen.

Thursday, 29 October 2026

Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, Matthew 23:34

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“Through this, you behold! I, I send to you prophets, and wise, and scribes. From them you will kill, and you will crucify, and from them you will flog in the ‘synagogues, yours’, and you will pursue from town to town.” (CG)

In the previous verse, Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees a brood of vipers, asking how they thought they could escape the condemnation of hell. He continues, saying, “Through this, you behold! I, I send to you prophets, and wise, and scribes.”

These are general terms His audience would understand. Therefore, there does not need to be a direct correlation to the terms in the New Testament, or Jesus’ words are somehow suspect. For example, the scribe is not a term associated with any person or believers in the epistles.

Rather, these identifiers can be seen fulfilled in the apostles and disciples later described in the New Testament. For example, Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 1 –

“Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.”1 Corinthians 1:20, 21

Jesus continues, saying, “From them you will kill, and you will crucify, and from them you will flog in the ‘synagogues, yours’.” There is evidence of these things to some degree in the New Testament. In later history, there are accounts of crucifixions, like that of Peter. However, this was not done by the Jews.

Jesus’ words are to be taken as a note to these men that what He said earlier was true. They were the sons of those who murdered the prophets, and the same seed that lived in their fathers lived in them. They would take the same righteous type of people as their fathers killed, and they would continue the slaughter until the cup of guilt was filled up.

The verse finishes with, “and you will pursue from town to town.” This certainly describes Paul’s conduct as recorded in Acts. He pursued Christians in this manner not only in Israel, but outside the land as well. In Acts 26, he says –

“Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰ This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.” Acts 26:9-11

Life application: The persecution of Christians within the Jewish nation continued until the destruction of the temple. Since that time, there has been a wall of enmity built up between Christians and Jews. In some cases, it is just in their thinking and not outwardly.

In some cases, the enmity has manifested itself in physical harm. There has also been hatred of the Jews that has manifested itself in persecution that wasn’t really Christian in nature, even if it is blamed on the overall umbrella of the sphere of Christian nations. For example, Germany was predominantly a Christian nation at the time of the holocaust.

In Israel today, the enmity still exists. Jews who come to Christ are hounded by religious Jews. They get unwelcome surprises on their doorsteps, protests are held at their musical gatherings, they are spit on by observant Jews, and a great deal of anger is directed towards them. As such, Jesus’ words continue to find their fulfillment in Israel today. That will be evident as the chapter continues.

So deep is the hatred of Jesus in the public mind that when a mural was done of the most prominent Jews in their history and placed on display at Ben-Gurion Airport, the most famous Jew of all, Jesus, was completely ignored in the panorama. His inclusion would have been the epitome of offense to the vast majority of those who stopp to view it.

Someday, this enmity will be over. Until then, however, many troubles will come upon the nation. Israel is on a journey back to her Lord, but they will not make it until they call on Him. His name is Yeshua, Jesus.

Heavenly Father, You have displayed Your glory in the face of Jesus Christ. We know that someday all people will come and bow the knee before Him. We pray for the day when all people finally see and understand what You have done. May that day be soon. Amen.

Wednesday, 28 October 2026

Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? Matthew 23:33

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“Serpents! ‘Offspring, vipers’! How might you flee from the ‘judgment, the Gehenna’?” (CG)

In the previous verse, Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees to fill up the measure of their fathers’ guilt. He continues, saying, “Serpents! ‘Offspring, vipers’!”

The ophis, serpent, is derived from optanomai, to appear, as in being seen. The serpent thus has keenness of vision. Figuratively, it refers to an artfully malicious person. Thus, he is Satan-like. Saying next that they are the offspring of vipers adds another level of wickedness.

The words take the mind back to the temptation and fall of man in the early Genesis account. The main thought is that these men were Satan-like, being his spawn. They caused the people to sin, separating them from God.

They are the evil offspring of their evil parent, acting in crafty and malevolent ways. Because of this, Jesus continues, asking, “How might you flee from the ‘judgment, the Gehenna’?”

The question is rhetorical. As it stands, the answer is, “They shall not flee from it.” The thought matches the question found in Jeremiah 13:23 –

“Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots?
Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.”

These men are like their father, who will not escape. They are born of their father, bearing his traits. They will receive his condemnation and sentence because of it.

Life application: Jesus knew the makeup of these men. He understood their motivations, intents, and methods. Calling them out for their conduct was probably less an appeal for them to repent than a surety of condemnation when judgment came. At that time, they would know the sentence was just. What was to become of them was told in advance. Thus, they could not say they didn’t have warning.

The Pharisees are like drug runners in a nation that has a mandatory death penalty for running drugs. Despite knowing the consequences, some will think, “I can get away with it.” And yet, they eventually find themselves dangling at the end of a rope, legs twitching.

Each of us has to ask if what we are doing is worth the consequences of our actions. Every wrong deed must be judged. Thankfully, for those in Christ, sin is no longer imputed. But there is still a time when we must appear before the Lord and “receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

There is no escaping what lies ahead. As such, we should be fixing our eyes on Jesus, and our minds should be set to be pleasing to Him. What little thing can we work on today to improve how we conduct our lives?

Think through your daily routine. What have you allowed to slip in your pursuit of the Lord? What has it been replaced with? How are your thoughts, and what are you focusing on? Little checkups like this may help redirect those things that have gotten away from you. So think about how you can get them back on a better track.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8

Heavenly Father, it is easy for our thoughts and minds to get misdirected. And it isn’t intentional. We look left and get distracted. We look right and get pulled away from what we should be doing. Help us to fix our gaze toward the prize of Your upward call in Christ Jesus. To Your glory, we pray. Amen.

Tuesday, 27 October 2026

Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. Matthew 23:32

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“And you, you must fill the measure, the ‘fathers, yours’.” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees that they were witnesses against themselves that they are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. Having done so, there is something left for their kind to do to bring about their desired reaction from God.

In other words, if these people believed the prophets were true, they would be abject fools to kill the prophets who were proclaiming the word of the Lord. But like the religious arrogant throughout time, they claim God while denying His power. The thought is reflected in Ezekiel 9 –

“Then He said to me, ‘The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, “The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!”’” Ezekiel 9:9

Because of this disgraceful thinking, Jesus emphatically says to them using an imperative, “And you, you must fill the measure, the ‘fathers, yours’.”

These men are the sons of their fathers, meaning those who have killed the Lord’s prophets for centuries. With each act against the Lord, they are measuring up guilt and wrath that will someday be poured out on them for their iniquity. But with each incident seemingly ignored by the Lord because no response was forthcoming, they would push the matter a little further, testing to see if there would be a response.

They were like children poking at their parents to see how far they could go before getting a reaction. But the guilt was accumulating whether they knew it or not. This seemingly delayed judgment is seen in how the Lord dealt with the inhabitants of Canaan at the time of Abraham –

“Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ Then He said to Abram: ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. ¹⁴ And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.’” Genesis 15:12-16

The Lord promised Abraham the land, but it would not come until its inhabitants had become too wicked to be allowed to continue. The Lord knew how long that would be and would use Israel to destroy them in judgment.

Jesus, in His words to these men, emphatically urges them to finish the job of their fathers. There is a measure that must be filled before it reaches the season for judgment. The cup was almost full, but they needed to do a little bit more before it overflowed and judgment would then be poured out.

This “little bit more” would be the crucifixion of Christ, His continued rejection, and the persecution and killing of His saints. With those things filled up in Israel, the Lord would call down their destruction.

Life application: One can see the same attitude in the people of the church today. There is a caving of moral principles. Churches are filled with the acceptance of other religions into their halls. There is immorality that increases in intensity almost weekly in some churches.

Homosexuals and lesbians have taken over leadership positions. The efficacy of the cross and resurrection is lambasted as foolish delusions, and any social nonsense that can be inculcated into the churches’ mission become priorities. The word of God is belittled, and the name of Jesus holds no honor on the lips or in the hearts of these wicked people.

And because the Lord doesn’t come and snatch the life out of them in an instant, they think He doesn’t care, or maybe He isn’t capable of defending His name. And so, they move from one act of defiance to another, testing Him and mocking Him in the process.

Someday they will have filled up the measure of their wickedness, and He will act. But having rejected the word, they misunderstand that God’s love restrains Him as He waits for the change to be in them –

“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:8, 9

People think God’s failure to act demonstrates a weakness. Some go so far as to say that God simply doesn’t exist. His failure to act proves it. Such people know nothing about the plans and purposes of God.

Lord God, may we never assume that You are not there or that You don’t care when our prayers seem to go unheard. Help us to remember that Your plans and timeline are what matter. Help us to patiently wait on Your timing. Amen.

Monday, 26 October 2026

“Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Matthew 23:31

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“Thus, you witness to yourselves that sons, you are – the ‘having murdered the prophets’.” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus noted the “would have been” nature of the scribes and Pharisees who built tombs for the prophets and adorned the sepulchers of the righteous. They claimed that if they lived in those days, they would not have joined in the guilt of their blood. But Jesus notes that their actions speak against them, saying emphatically, “Thus, you witness to yourselves.”

The building and adorning they participated in were their own witness against them. Think of it. When the North won the Civil War, what did they do? They put up statues of those who won their battles. It was a witness to what they did.

The memorial battlefields at Gettysburg, Antietam, and elsewhere witness to the battles that took place. The statues erected there witness to who lived and who died, and who won and who lost.

The memorials from the South, honoring their generals and heroes, witness to the North’s acceptance that this was a national battle and that despite their victory, they were willing to allow the losing side to maintain its honor and dignity. Military bases and naval ships, to this day, have the names of heroes from both sides of the conflict. These things bear witness to what happened, who prevailed, who lost, and the gracious nature of the victors.

Understanding this, Jesus says, “that sons, you are – the ‘having murdered the prophets’.” The very fact that these men participated in the building and adornment of these tombs and sepulchers witnessed to the fact that they descended from those who were guilty of the blood of those men of the past.

They were taking an abstract structural outline of the deeds of their fathers and reshaping them into a tangible witness of what they had done. It is as if they were proclaiming, “My father was guilty of the blood of this prophet! This tomb bears witness to that. This is my way of atoning for what I would never have done.”

This is what such memorials are for. The problem is that these things do not atone for what the fathers did. Nor do they sever the connection between the fathers and the descendants. Rather, they more firmly establish it.

Life application: Today in Israel, there are monuments to the past that are set up, identifying events that took place, who took part in them, and when these things happened. One, for example, is a model of the temple where Jesus spent much of His last week before His crucifixion.

They testify to the events of the past in order to establish a connection to the present. The intent is that Israel can say, “We have a historical connection to this land. It was ours, and these things prove it.”

This is good because it establishes the truth denied by much of the world. But at the same time, the people are (maybe unwittingly) testifying that they are the people recorded in Scripture. Scripture validates the message of the coming Messiah. It also validates that when He came, He was rejected by His own people –

“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹ He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” John 1:10, 11

This is fine if Jesus was just another Jew who claimed to be the Messiah and turned out to be false. He would be chalked up on the board of a list long enough to go buy a few more boards. However, if Jesus is the true Messiah, and the Bible bears witness to the truth that He is, then their claims to the land witness against them in this regard.

We cannot disassociate Jesus’ words from the context of them: He is speaking to Israel. They are under the Law of Moses. It is the week of Jesus’ Passion. He is about to be rejected and killed by the leaders. From there, the nation as a whole will follow suit, be destroyed, and exiled.

His addressees are sons of those who “denied and killed their Messiah” (Acts 2:23, etc.). They cannot have it both ways. Nor can we. We cannot say, “I support Israel” unless we have a valid reason to do so that is in line with what the Bible says about Jesus. If we say, “I support Israel because they are God’s people”, we must define what “God’s people” means.

It cannot mean that they are God’s chosen race for salvation at this time. Only Jesus saves. If they are those who rejected and killed Jesus, they cannot be His people for salvation. Those of the church who have received Jesus are in that category.

The Bible tells us exactly how Israel today fits into God’s plans. It tells us who they are in relation to God now and in the future. It tells us why these things are and when they will change. And these things, in turn, tell us of the gracious nature of God as well as His covenant-keeping faithfulness.

If you support the nation of Israel, you must explain it from a properly evaluated analysis of Scripture, or you are actually fighting against God’s purposes. And this is going on in far too many churches around the world.

Many are fighting against them by saying the Jews have been replaced and are permanently forsaken by God. On the other hand, many are fighting against them by calling them God’s chosen people without properly defining what that means. In both, harm to the exalted name of Jesus is the result. Jesus’ words in Matthew 23:31 testify to this.

Lord God, help us to be responsible, sober, and precise in how we deal with the name of Jesus. You sent Him to save. That will not take place if His name is not placed above all else in the hearts and minds of the people of the world. Help us in this, O God. Amen.