23:29-32
This is the seventh woe, though Jesus hasn’t quite finished with them at the end of this one! The Pharisees and religious leaders paid homage to the prophets, claiming to honour them. Most of these prophets were killed by the leaders of the day, but the current religious leaders claimed they would not have acted in such a heinous manner. In reality they were opposing the Son of God, God’s ultimate messenger, and were plotting to kill Him. When they condemned the leaders of previous generations they condemned themselves.
23:33
“You snakes, you brood of vipers!” This seems to have been a common insult in the day, John the Baptist used similar language (Lk 3:7). “How will you escape being condemned to hell?” Jesus does not mince His words, but states it clearly. Does this mean that they were totally beyond hope? No, but there was only one road to redemption. They had to acknowledge their sin, they needed to repent. As long as they continued in their self-righteousness and their self-indulgence they were lost.
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