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Matthew 23:34
ESV Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,
NIV Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
NASB Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,
CSB This is why I am sending you prophets, sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
NLT Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city.
KJV Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

What does Matthew 23:34 mean?

Jesus has declared the Pharisees and scribes of His day as equal in guilt to their forefathers. Those predecessors killed God's prophets of old (Acts 7:52). They have repeated the pattern of their fathers in rejecting John the Baptist's work and message and in rejecting and plotting to kill Jesus (Mathew 23:21–27; John 11:53; Mark 3:6; Luke 22:2). Far more important than their heritage, these men are proving their spiritual family is that of Satan (John 8:43–44).

After soundly condemning these hypocritical leaders (Matthew 23:13–28), Jesus speaks about the future. Sadly, this is exactly what happens to the apostles and evangelists of Christ during the years of the early church. What He describes here will begin immediately after His death, resurrection from the dead, and return to heaven (John 16:1–4). They are persecuted, jailed, and killed by the Jewish religious leaders working in conjunction with the Roman Empire. In doing this, Jesus establishes that they will be repeating exactly the pattern of their ancestors, who killed the prophets whom God sent to warn Israel of His coming judgment.

God's plan will include sending more messengers, summarized by Christ here as "prophets and wise men and scribes." This provides further opportunity for the world to hear the gospel (Matthew 23:19). Also, it provides further evidence against those who reject God's truth. The scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' era will persecute and murder many of these future messengers. They will even pursue them when they try to flee persecution (Acts 8:1–3).
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