Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
the wisdom.
Proverbs 1:2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
Proverbs 8:1-12 Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? …
Proverbs 9:1-3 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: …
I will.
Luke 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Matthew 23:34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
and some.
Luke 21:16,17 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death…
Matthew 22:6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.
John 16:2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
‘I will send them prophets and apostles;
This statement highlights God's initiative in sending messengers to His people. Prophets were central figures in the Old Testament, serving as God's mouthpieces, calling Israel to repentance and foretelling future events. Apostles, in the New Testament context, were those sent by Christ to spread the Gospel. This reflects the continuity of God's revelation from the Old to the New Testament, showing His persistent effort to reach humanity.
some of them they will kill
This phrase acknowledges the historical reality of persecution faced by God's messengers. Many prophets, such as Isaiah and Jeremiah, faced severe opposition, and some were martyred. In the New Testament, apostles like James and Stephen were killed for their faith. This persecution fulfills Jesus' earlier warnings to His disciples about the cost of discipleship (Matthew 10:16-23).
and others they will persecute.’
Persecution of God's messengers is a recurring theme throughout biblical history. This includes not only physical harm but also social ostracism and legal challenges. The early church, as recorded in Acts, faced significant persecution, which served to spread the Gospel further. This phrase underscores the resistance of the world to God's truth, a theme that resonates with Jesus' teachings in John 15:18-20 about the world's hatred for His followers.
“Because of this” ties verse 49 to the woes Jesus has just pronounced on the religious experts (Luke 11:42-48).
• The phrase points back to their hypocrisy—building tombs for the prophets while sharing the guilt of those who murdered them.
• Jesus exposes a long-standing pattern: rejecting God’s voice whenever it confronts comfortable tradition (cf. Matthew 23:29-32).
• The consequence clause prepares us: God will act in response to this persistent hardness of heart.
“The wisdom of God” highlights that the plan Jesus is about to quote originates in God’s own perfect understanding.
• Scripture often personifies wisdom speaking for God (Proverbs 1:20-23; 8:1-36); here Jesus is that living voice (1 Corinthians 1:24).
• By framing the statement as divine wisdom, Jesus underlines the certainty and righteousness of what follows—God’s solution to entrenched unbelief.
God’s wise response is not instant judgment but another wave of gracious messengers.
• “Prophets” recalls the Old Testament line from Moses to Malachi (Jeremiah 7:25).
• “Apostles” looks forward to the New Testament witnesses Jesus is even now preparing (Mark 3:14; Ephesians 4:11).
• The pairing bridges the entire canon, showing one continuous mission: God continually reaches out to His people with truth and invitation.
History sadly validates this prediction.
• Old Testament martyrs range “from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah” (Luke 11:51; Hebrews 11:36-38).
• New Testament examples include Stephen (Acts 7:59), James the son of Zebedee (Acts 12:2), and many others.
• The killing of God’s servants exposes the depth of rebellion while simultaneously filling up the measure of guilt (Matthew 23:35-36).
Not every messenger is martyred; many face sustained harassment and opposition instead.
• The apostles endure beatings, imprisonments, and slander (Acts 5:40; 2 Corinthians 11:23-27).
• Jesus warned His disciples: “If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well” (John 15:20).
• This ongoing persecution confirms both the reliability of Christ’s prophecy and the world’s continuing need for redemption (2 Timothy 3:12).
Luke 11:49 reveals God’s wise, persistent love in sending prophets and apostles to a people historically resistant to truth. Their violent rejection of these messengers demonstrates the seriousness of sin and justifies coming judgment, yet God’s continued outreach showcases His patient desire for repentance.
(49-51) Therefore also said the wisdom of God.--The words that follow are in the main the same as those of Matthew 23:34-36, where see Notes. There are, however, some remarkable variations, each of which suggests some questions of interest. (1) The words here appear at first sight as if they were a quotation from a book recognised as of divine authority, and not a few critics have supposed that there was such a book, bearing the title of "The Wisdom of God," either when our Lord spoke, or when St. Luke wrote. On the other hand there is no trace of the existence of a book with that name; and if it had been prominent enough to be quoted, as it seems to be quoted here, it could scarcely have failed to have left its impress elsewhere. On the whole, then, it seems best to look on the words as a solemn utterance which our Lord's human soul had received as an oracle from God, and which was therefore proclaimed by Him as coming from His Wisdom. His words that "Wisdom is justified of her children" (Matthew 11:19), present, it is obvious, another example of the same way of speaking of the divine purpose. (2) For "the prophets, and wise men, and scribes" of St. Matthew, we have here "prophets and apostles." The combination points to a Christian, not a pre-Christian, terminology, and is the first example of the union of the two terms that afterwards became normal. (See Note on Luke 10:1.) It goes some way, it may be remarked, to confirm the view suggested in that Note, that two distinct bodies, known respectively as "Prophets" and "Apostles," had already been appointed, and that as the Twelve answered to the latter, so did the Seventy to the former.Some of them shall they slay and persecute.--Note, as perhaps characteristic of St. Luke, the absence of the specific forms of persecution, "crucifying" and "scourging in the synagogues."
Verse 49. - Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets. "'Therefore" - in other words, 'Because of the determined, irreconcilable hatred of you Pharisees, and the people whom you guide, to all that is noble and true and real; because, in spite of your seeming piety, you are fast rooted in impiety' - 'Therefore said the wisdom of God, I will send.'" The expression, "wisdom of God," has been a difficulty to commentators. The words have been referred(1) to a quotation of the Lord's from a lost apocryphal book of that name; but we have no instance of Jesus ever quoting from an apocryphal book, known or unknown.
(2) St. Luke is here quoting from the similar passage in St. Matthew's Gospel, which, when he was compiling his Gospel, lay before him, and alludes to the earlier memoir as "The Wisdom of God." Against this we have no proof that St. Luke ever saw St. Matthew's Gospel, but a strong probability exists to the contrary; besides which, the expression is never used by an apostolic writer in such a sense.
(3) A reference is here intended to the Book of Proverbs, which in the early Church was known by the title of "The Wisdom of God," and the passage referred to is Luke 1:20 and 31. Putting aside all these, it seems best to consider the expression simply as a solemn utterance of the Lord, in which he identifies himself with the "Wisdom of God." And this certainly is borne out by a comparison with the report of St. Matthew of a similar announcement made by Jesus on another occasion (Matthew 23:34). There we read that the Master said, "Behold, I send unto you prophets," etc. The I is emphatic, and betrays the Divine self-consciousness of Jesus. For a moment the poor Rabbi of Galilee is forgotten, and in his lofty indignation, in his profound sorrow over the stubborn heart of Israel, on both the occasions in which he is reported to have spoken these words of awful prophecy, the Redeemer identifies Himself with God. St. Matthew, "Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets," etc.; St. Luke, "Therefore also said the Wisdom of God, I will send them prophets," etc. The form of the prediction and the original thought were both, no doubt, derived by Jesus from the solemn passage in 2 Chronicles 24:19, "Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the Lord;... but they would not give ear," etc. This was followed immediately by the account of the preaching of Zechariah (the instance chosen here by the Lord, ver. 51), and how the faithful witness was stoned by the people in the court of the house of the Lord (2 Chronicles 24:20, 21). And apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute. The title "apostle" is joined here with the well-known title of "prophet." The earthly reward that these his servants, the apostles, will meet with at the hands of the people of Israel will be the same as that meted out to those old martyr-prophets, viz. persecution and death.
Parallel Commentaries ...