Matthew 23:34-36 v1 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,v2 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the alter. v3 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
This is the conclusion of the Sermon of the Seven Woes that shifts the lessons from the sins of the past to the sins of the future. As the Pharisees and scribes claimed piety over the sins of their forefathers against the prophets, Jesus prophecies of future murder of the Apostles who will carry the message of The Christ to synagogues and towns all over the world. Just as God’s prophets of Old were persecuted and martyred, so too will the coming Church be persecuted and martyred. Just as God sent prophets to proclaim the coming Messiah, Jesus will send Apostles and saints of the Church to preach salvation through the blood of Christ alone. As the Pharisees opposed God’s message in the past, they will continue in the future. The Church will be built upon a foundation of blood. First the blood of Christ. Then the blood of the Apostles and these hypocritical leaders would be judged for it all.
