Matthew 23:1-7 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.”
In the above focus, Jesus tells the people they should pay attention to what the scribes and Pharisees teach, for the law is good, but they should not follow their example of how to live under the law. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. Jesus instructs them that these religious leaders sit in Moses’ seat; therefore, they are important in the Jewish community. This position of honor is best understood when Paul recants his condemnation of the high priest, Ananias, after his arrest in Jerusalem. Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!” Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!” Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’” (Acts 23:1-5) Paul knew the high priest was in a position of power because God allowed it and that he should not go against God’s will. In the Old Testament we see Aaron and Miriam attempting to take the seat of Moses because they were resentful that Moses had married a Cushite. By marrying a Cushite, Moses was diluting the blood line of God’s chosen people. Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this. (Numbers 12:1-2) The Lord was displeased with their attempt to usurp Moses’ special place with him. They were striking against God’s will, attempting to replace their own will for God’s will. God's anger burned against them, causing them to have leprosy, a disease contrary to God’s will for his chosen people, for God strongly protected his people in the wilderness, even their sandals did not wear out as they journeyed. During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. (Deuteronomy 29:5) By judging Miriam and Aaron harshly, He reaffirmed Moses’ position of authority. God told them that Moses was not just a religious person or a prophet. They gathered knowledge about God through dreams and visions, but God spoke to Moses face-to-face, as one would with a friend. He and Moses had a special relationship that no man or woman could usurp. The Levites who held special privileges with God, for they took care of the tabernacle and the articles within the tabernacle, thought they could replace Moses as the leader of the Jewish people. They were envious of Moses’ position of power and authority. Since they were Levites as Aaron and Moses were, they thought they too could lead the children of Israel. They resented Moses telling them what was holy and what was not, how to live and how to be in right standing before God. Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—became insolent and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?” (Numbers 16:1-3) Because of their desire to take Moses’ seat, God allowed the earth to swallow them up, bringing death to them and their families. These stories reveal how important Moses’ seat was in the Jewish community. Therefore, Jesus said for the people to do what the religious leaders said, but do not do what they did, for their lifestyle was corrupt.
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees lived very worldly lives. They lived lives for their own honor and not for God’s honor. They demanded from the people strict observance of the law, but they did not live under the same restrictions. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Their demands on the people were cumbersome burdens. They always envisioned something more for the people to do to be pleasing to God. They added their own regulations on the people above the demands of the law. They were strict about ceremonial hand washing and the giving of tithes. They even tithed their spices, claiming this kind of thing would be pleasing to God. As with the cults and false religions of today, there is always something more to do to enter the kingdom of God. In their worldliness, the Jewish religious leaders expected the people to honor them with the best seats in banquets and synagogues. They expected deference from the people, revealing how much they loved their position of authority over the people. John said for Christians to be opposite of these Jewish leaders. Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17) Jesus knew these religious leaders loved the world much more than they loved God. Their lifestyles were a horrible pretense of being spiritual. They lived far away from God’s intentions for them as leaders of his people. They played a role that God knew was full of hypocrisy. As with Korah and his followers, their judgment would be harsh, merciless and would come in their near future. They were deceivers, loving the place of honor and control, but failing to know God as Moses did: face-to-face. Instead of being a friend of God, they placed themselves in the enemy camp, living their lives for themselves and not for God. They did everything for people to see, making their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long.
But God has another way for all of us to occupy Moses’s seat of being favored by God. He has sent to the world his Holy Spirit. In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Acts 2:17-21) The voice of God through the Holy Spirit would replace the burdens of the religious leaders and Pharisees. As with Moses, people would communicate in a personal way with God. The word of God would be in their mouths, and their hearts would contain God’s will for them; they would be instruments of the living God to all people of the world. No longer would people need others to lead them from the seat of Moses. God through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence would be the intimate director in their lives. The new covenant would be written on their hearts and in their minds, not on stone. “This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 8:10-12) Moses moved the people from captivity in Egypt to a new land in Canaan. He moved them as God directed him. He heard the voice of God and felt the glory of God every time he was in the Tent of Meeting. God was with him face-to-face. His countenance shined when he left the tent, so much so that the people could not look directly on his face. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees did not possess this glory, for they lived for the world. Instead, they reflected worldly standards. They coveted the things of the world, the honor of the world. They loved the places of privilege at banquets and in the synagogues; they loved to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called “Rabbi" by others. They sold their lives for the fleeting deference of people. They sold their relationship with God and his desire for them to lead his people by longing for words of praise and respect. As with the dissenters to Moses’ rule in the Old Testament, they gave up their position of acceptance with God by attempting to usurp the will of God in their lives to please themselves. Dear friends we are so blessed with the Holy Spirit’s presence. The Spirit lets us know the will of God. We who are born again have a special relationship with God. We are his cherished ones, his beloved children. Therefore, let us display his life in us; his work in us, not our own work, not our own desires to live as the world does. Let us not be as the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, living for ourselves, for our benefit. Let us work for God, being a light of sacrifice for the world’s redemption.
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