Matthew 23:31 Meaning and Explanation
“Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Jesus turns their own words against them: by claiming the prophet-killers as fathers, they testify to their kinship.
What Does Matthew 23:31 Mean?
By speaking of 'our fathers' who killed the prophets, the leaders had admitted their descent from them. Jesus seizes on their words: they bear witness against themselves, confessing not only their lineage but, as the next verse shows, the same disposition.
Kinship here is more than ancestry; it is a shared spirit. To be a true child of someone is to walk in their ways. Jesus exposes how easily we claim distance from sins we are in fact repeating. The searching question for every reader is not who our ancestors were but whose ways we follow. God calls his people to break from every inherited pattern of resisting his truth, and to become instead children who listen and obey.
Frequently Asked Questions About Matthew 23:31
What does Matthew 23:31 mean?
Jesus turns their own words against them: by claiming the prophet-killers as fathers, they testify to their kinship.