Luk 11:42-52 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Luke 11:42-52: 11:42-52 What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! Woes are the opposite of blessings (see study note on 6:24-26). Jesus pronounced six woes, three against the Pharisees (11:42 , 43 , 44 ) and three against the teachers of religious law (11:46 , 47 , 52 ). 11:42 tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens: Tithing was required by the law (Lev 27:30-33 ; Num 18:21-32 ; Deut 14:22-29 ; 2 Chr 31:5-12 ). The Pharisees were meticulous in making sure that everything was properly tithed, but they ignored the more important issues

Summary for Luke 11:42-52: 11:42-52 ^a What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! Woes are the opposite of blessings (see study note on 6:24-26). Jesus pronounced six woes, three against the Pharisees (11:42 ^b, 43 ^c, 44 ^d) and three against the teachers of religious law (11:46 ^e, 47 ^f, 52 ^g). 11:42 ^h tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens: Tithing was required by the law (Lev 27:30-33 ⁱ; Num 18:21-32 ^j; Deut 14:22-29 ^k; 2 Chr 31:5-12 ^l). The Pharisees were meticulous in making sure that everything was properly tithed, but they ignored the more important issues—justice and the love of God.
11:43 ^m The elders of the synagogues had special seats of honor.

• The respectful greetings were honorable ways of addressing social and religious superiors (like addressing a judge as “your honor”).
11:44 ⁿ hidden graves in a field: Touching a grave or a dead body rendered a Jew ceremonially unclean. Jesus accused the religious leaders of being a defiling influence rather than a purifying one. This was a strongly offensive accusation (11:45 ^o).
11:45 ^p an expert in religious law: The experts in religious law were closely aligned with the Pharisees and shared the same zeal for keeping the law of Moses.
11:46 ^q unbearable religious demands: This refers to the oral tradition with all its intricate details on living according to torah (God’s instruction in the books of Moses). The oral tradition placed a great burden upon the Jewish people.
11:48 ^r They killed the prophets: See 1 Kgs 19:10 ^s, 14 ^t; Neh 9:26 ^u; Jer 2:30 ^v; 26:20-24 ^w. Luke portrays Jesus as “The Suffering Prophet” Luke 4:22-24 ^x.
11:49 ^y The quotation is not explicitly from the Old Testament.
11:51 ^z from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah: Abel’s murder by his brother Cain was the first murder recorded in the Old Testament (Gen 4:8 ^aa). The stoning of Zechariah, son of Jehoiada (2 Chr 24:20-22 ^ab) was the last, since Chronicles is the last book in the Hebrew Bible.
11:52 ^ac the key to knowledge: See Matt 16:19 ^ad; 23:13 ^ae.