For this reason, now, I am sending to you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from city to city.
Jesus declares that he will still continue to send the messengers of God’s word—prophets, wise men, and scribes—who are to proclaim the truth among people. Yet he also foretells that these messengers, as in the past, will again meet rejection and persecution. This word is at once prophetic and condemning: it reveals that the people’s spiritual leaders will not only fail to repent of their ancestors’ deeds, but by their conduct will bring that same evil to completion—persecuting and killing the apostles and other followers of Christ. Jesus’ word also has an eternal meaning: it condemns every generation that rejects the truth sent by God and persecutes it. This is a reminder that God’s word will never be silenced, but those who reject it are, in essence, preparing their own judgment.