Matthew 23:8-13 But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. “Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
In today’s passage, Jesus strongly attacks the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. He knows they are not only his enemies but God’s enemies. Rather than being good shepherds, leading the sheep by still water in a lush pasture, they were leading the sheep to harsh land with little sustenance for finding God. These religious elite were the blind leading the blind. Their pretensions disgusted Jesus, for they were devastating the flock. So much so, that John the Baptist called for all Israelites to repent and to be baptized for the remission of their sins. The Pharisees’ attitude about God’s grace and mercy led the people into great darkness rather than into the light of God’s love for them. As Hosea said long ago and later Jesus repeated, For I, God, desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. As Adam, they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me there. (Hosea 6:6-7) The Pharisees and teachers of the law restricted the way to God by placing undue importance on the ceremonies of the law, rather than the people’s heart condition. This idea of spirituality, of being right with God by outward obedience to laws and regulations, permeated the priests’ attitude about life. This permeation was depicted in Jesus’ story about the Pharisee and the tax collector who entered the temple before God. (See Luke 18) The Pharisee entered assured of his righteousness. Believing his lifestyle pleased God, he stood with this arrogance in his heart. What he was unaware of was that he was made in God’s image; however, he was not a God-willed man, but a self-willed man, as was Adam. He was living the life of Adam, determining what was good, worthwhile or purposeful for his own existence. Of course, man’s self-willed nature is not only the origin of sin, it is the essence of sin. On the other side of this binary choice of self-will or God-will: Adam or God, we see the tax collector in the temple. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ (Luke 18:11-13) The Pharisee thought himself justified because his life was constructed religiously just as he desired; he believed his self-willed design of life was perfect. But the tax collector knew his life was outside of God’s parameters for men. He knew he was living a self-willed life, not a life under God’s authority. Therefore, the tax collector begged for mercy, for he knew he was a sinner. He needed the God of mercy, not laws and regulations. Jesus asked, who went away from the temple justified? The man who identified with the God of love and mercy found what he needed. God heard his prayers and ignored the Pharisee’s words of self-acclamation.
In the above focus, Jesus refutes any claim that the teachers of the law and the Pharisees had on their leadership role in the community. People were not to call them Rabbi for all the men were brothers—no one should be considered special or above others. Also, God is the father of all men, so people should not call someone on earth a spiritual father, for there is only one father God. The people should not let anyone be their spiritual instructor, for only the Messiah reveals the true God in the right way. By these negations, Jesus strips the religious leaders of their titles, their cherished position of deference and control over the people. Jesus knows the Pharisees love their roles as overseers of religious practice. The religious leaders were proud of their long robes with tassels hanging from them; their phylacteries large so people will know how spiritual they are. Jesus knew they loved the seats of honor that were set apart for them at every gathering. The religious leaders craved the words of respect that they received in the market places. They had an air of importance, believing they were more worthwhile than others. But Jesus knew their hearts, the wickedness that abided in them. Therefore, He told them the greatest in the kingdom of God are of those who have a humble spirit. The greatest among you will be your servant. If anyone has a presumption in his heart of being better than others, he will be brought low by God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Jesus’ condemnation of the teachers of the law and the Pharisees was based on the way they lived and their attitude of superiority over the people. Their lives were an obstruction to knowing God, not facilitators to knowing God. The elite had a form of religion, but not the authenticity of knowing God. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. Jesus came to the Israelites to open the way to God, to let the Jewish people know that rules and regulations will never open the door to God and his wonderful grace and mercy. Jesus is that door: Jesus is grace and mercy. I am the way and the truth and the life. (John 14) The teachers of the law and the Pharisees lived in their own darkness of the self-willed man. They had perfected their way of rightness with God. Their additional regulations to Moses’ law made it cumbersome for the people to find God. Rather than bringing light to the people, they brought blindness, obscuring God’s grace and mercy towards the people He created. Jesus healed the sick and the blind. As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. (Matthew 9:27-28) Jesus revealed God’s mercy to those in need. The religious leaders did not beg for mercy, for they thought they could see in their darkness.
We see this problem of sightlessness in the tussle Peter had with Jesus. Jesus was asking the apostles the question that was the essence of his ministry. Is He the Messiah? Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. (Matthew 16:13-17) God provided Peter with the words to name Jesus as Messiah. Jesus was the one who would take away the sins of the world. He expresses God’s will for Jesus on earth. “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” Peter, a man as yet not filled with the Holy Spirit, expressed the correct response to Jesus’ question. Later we see Peter responding to Jesus’ tale of his impending arrest and death saying, “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” He thought with the help of the other disciples this awful thing would never happen to Jesus. Earlier Peter’s lips were expressing God’s will for things; now he is allowing his Adamic spirit, man’s will, to replace God’s will for what will happen to Jesus. As with the religious leaders, Peter jumped in front of Jesus on the path to Calvary and put his hand up and said, no, this will not happen to you, Jesus. He was saying, our will be done, not God’s will. The religious leaders were in front of the people’s path to God, saying no, first you must fulfill all the laws and our regulations before you can find God. Peter intended to block God’s will in Jesus’ life. Jesus knew Satan, the corrupter was now at the mouth of Peter. Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. Jesus harshly tells Peter, get out of my path. I am going to fulfill God’s will, not your will or the corrupter, Satan. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees were obstructors to finding God. Satan used religion to impede the people’s path to God. These elite were God’s enemies. They were not the champions of the lesser, but of those who could help them maintain power. They failed to know the God of mercy and grace. They chose their self-will, status, and preference of the people over God. Jesus tells the truth of their lives; He uncovers the deadness of their spirits, the dead bones. They should have been concerned about the least in Israel. They were not leaders, but hypocrites, pretenders. Status, deference and power contaminated their lives. Jesus talks about the judgement seat, when the sheep are separated from the goats, the pretenders. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ (Matthew 25:34-36) Religion can get in the way of God’s intentions for people. He wants to show his love and mercy for all people. What are our parameters to God’s love? The Jewish elite had their parameters, their regulations, their laws, what they thought was good or bad. They placed them heavily upon the people’s backs. Jesus clearly said, you have jumped into the path between God and man. You are preventing them from seeing God. Are you a preventer, or are you one who is showing God to the people around you? Your religious talk or ceremonies are not very important, but your acts of love, your servanthood to all people are important. Jesus expresses the throne room environment by saying the actions of people towards the ones He created are important to God. Which binary choice are you serving: your will, God’s will; Adam, the self-willed man or Jesus, the God-willed man. The first is sin, it expresses waywardness; the second is holy, in the arms of God. Let it be said of you that you are the second man, a follower of Jesus the Christ, the Lord.
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