The Gospel of Matthew 23:1-12
August 1 & 2, 2009
The Text: Matthew 23:1-12.
Jesus' target throughout this chapter is the scribes and Pharisees,
representing the whole of the religious leadership of Jesus' day
(this would include the Herodians, the priests, and the Sadducees).
As the self-appointed leaders of all religious matters of law and practice, they must bear the blame for a nation which has spiritually lost its way.
Their hypocrisy relates to their approach to religious life,
all the while thinking they were doing the will of God. Did they love God? (Noooo not really)
Their religion consisted of externals and never-ending
,A detail to man-made rules and regulations while failing to discern God's priorities.
Did they love their neighbor? (Nooo not really)
— Mail LI
l< today's passage, the target is the scribes and Pharisees.
They enjoyed popular respect and authority as the experts in understanding and applying Old Testament law.
Jesus' criticism is not on the role they purport to fulfill, but on the way they fulfill it.
Two specific charges are developed:
1) their lack of consideration for the problems their teaching generates for ordinary people (verse 4);
2) their concern for appearances and reputation (verses 5-7). The latter charge takes up the rest of the paragraph (verses 8-12).
I. Matthew 23:1-4.
Jesus' first charge against the religious leaders —
their lack of consideration for the problems their teaching generated for ordinary people.
Matthew 23:1-2.
The chair of Moses is a figurative expression for teaching with an authority derived from Moses.
Matthew 23:3.
Jesus might have meant t[iit the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees was to be followed when it was correct, but this might have been a cynical statement for rhetorical effect.
Maybe, "Follow their teaching if you must, but be sure not to follow their example."
Their behavior basically annulled their Mosaic authority.
o Jesus had already clashed with their teaching on the Sabbath (12:1-14), on purity (15:1-20), on marriage and divorce (19:3-9), and purely on general terms (16:6-12).
Ø Matthew 23:4.
By saying and not doing they imposed rules on people but gave no help in following these rules.
This is in sharp contrast to Jesus (11:28-30).
Those who followed the scribes and Pharisees found themselves "toiling and heavily loaded",
struggling under the weight of a ridiculously expanded legal code which enslaved rather than liberated those who tried to follow it.
Galatians 5:1,
It was for freedom that christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke *slavery.
II. Matthew 23:5-7.
Jesus' second charge was their concern for appearances and reputation.
The hypocrites'
religious practices were designed to win approval of people rather than that of God.
Ø Phylacteries — see Deuteronomy 6:8, 11:18 c2 3‘,
Ø Fringes — see Numbers 15:38-39, Deuteronomy 22:12 f()Ie`O \71(-
Matthew 23:8-12.
Jesus' instruction to us.
All of us are prone to pride, to seek man's approval and not God's.
Those who would follow Jesus must remember to humble themselves.
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Matthew 23:8.
Jesus' followers are to avoid titles as a means to personal honor.
The concern for status, which is accepted in secular society, ought not to characterize those who follow Jesus.
This is a problem today as it was in Jesus' day.
It does not take much thought to see excessive religious honor given to academic ("doctor") or ecclesiastical position ("bishop, apostle, pastor, father").
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Matthew 23:9.
Another familial term to go with "brothers" here is "father", another title open to abuse. Here we should remember Jesus' emphasis on the disciples' relationship with God as the one "heavenly Father".
The term 'father' is not to be used thoughtlessly of other people —
except of course in its literal sense.
Ephesians 3:14-15,
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
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Matthew 23:10,
The third title is "leader", or "instructor."
This was a common term for teacher, leader, mentor, or guide.
It means, "one who shows the way." For the Christian, only Jesus is truly able to fulfill that role.
(Ex: divorce, child rearing, financial stewardship, all of life's issues).
Ace
Jesus is using these titles to tell us that nothing and no one is to obscure your view of Him, hinder your following Him, or stand between you and Him.
J.C. Ryle, "There is a tendency in the human mind to run into extremes: if we do not regard the office of the minister with idolatrous veneration, we are apt to treat it with indecent contempt. Against both these extremes we have need to be on our guard."
I Thessalonians 5:12-13,
But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work.
Live in peace with one another.
Hebrews 13:17,
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.
Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.)
Conclusion.
Matthew 23:11-12.
The grace that should distinguish every Christian is humility.
If you want to be great in the Kingdom of Heaven — or if you want to be in the Kingdom at all —
you must aim at a different mark than that of the Pharisees.
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See John 13:1-17
