Matthew 23:35

Matthew 23:35

That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

1. “…from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias…”

a. The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict, Josh McDowell. “With these words Jesus confirms his witness to the extent of the Old Testament canon. Abel was the first martyr recorded in Scripture (Genesis 4:8), and Zechariah the last martyr to be named in the Hebrew Old Testaament order, having been stoned while prophesying to the people “in the court of the house of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 24:21). Genesis was the first book in the Hebrew canon, and Chronicles the last. So Jesus was basically saying “from Genesis to Chronicles,” or according to our order, “from Genesis to Malachi,” thereby confirming the divine authority and inspiration of the entire Hebrew canon.”

b. This excludes all the inter-testamental books, the Apocrypha: I & II Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Additions to Esther, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, Prayer of Manasseh, I, II, III, & IV Maccabees.

1). None of these books were considered Scripture by Christ Jesus or the Jews. So we shouldn’t either.

c. Jesus also agreed with and gave testimony concerning the three divisions the Hebrew Bible was divided.

1). Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.