How does Luke 11:48 connect with the commandment to honor your father and mother? The Words of Christ in Luke 11:48 “So you are witnesses consenting to the deeds of your fathers; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.” The Fifth Commandment in Focus “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12; cf. Deuteronomy 5:16) Honor vs. Hypocrisy—How the Two Passages Meet • Honor involves more than outward gestures; it is loyalty to the truth your parents should have handed down. • In Luke 11:48 Christ exposes religious leaders who preserve monuments to the prophets yet perpetuate their ancestors’ rebellion—an act of disguised dishonor. • By “building their tombs,” they celebrate a heritage while silently agreeing with the violence that silenced God’s messengers. • True obedience to the fifth commandment would have meant repenting of ancestral sin and embracing the prophets’ words. • Jesus shows that honoring parents never excuses repeating their disobedience; allegiance to God’s Word governs every family loyalty. Practical Takeaways for Today • Value your heritage, yet test it against Scripture; keep what is righteous, lay aside what opposes God. • Remember that respect for parents includes confronting generational sins with humility and truth. • Memorials, traditions, and family pride are empty if they do not lead to active obedience. • Let honoring parents be seen in living out their godly teaching, not merely in preserving their memory. • When parents resist God’s will, honor them through gracious respect while siding firmly with divine revelation. Supporting Scriptures • Matthew 23:29-32—parallel rebuke of tomb-building hypocrisy. • Mark 7:10-13—traditions that nullify the command to honor parents. • Ephesians 6:1-3; Colossians 3:20—New-Testament reaffirmation of the fifth commandment. • Acts 7:51-52—Stephen indicts Israel for continuing the sins of their fathers against the prophets. • Hebrews 13:7—imitate the faith, not necessarily every practice, of spiritual leaders. |
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