23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
5 “Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’
8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant.12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Truth is truth, no matter who says it. So when the Pharisees actually taught the truth, the people were to do it. (v3a)
Unfortunately the Pharisees did a whole lot wrong, and Jesus called them on it.
They were false spiritual leaders who had no authority, no integrity, no sympathy, no spirituality and no humility.
The Pharisees sat in Moses' seat (the place of the primary teacher in the synagogue) as if they were representatives of God's truth and law - but they were not. They had expanded the law of God to include their own traditions and their own interpretation and their own made up laws.
They lacked integrity because they did not walk the talk (v3). Simple as that. If you want to lead, you better practice what you preach.
They lacked sympathy because they just added on the laws with no message of grace or mercy whatsoever.
They lacked spirituality because everything was simply for show, and nothing actually reached their hearts. Jesus says it outright - the only Teacher we are to have is Jesus Christ, the only Rabbi is Jesus Christ, the only Father is God, the only Rabbi is Jesus. We are all brothers - we are all on the same playing field. Yes, some may have the gift of teaching (for example), and there is a place for respecting those who teach us and who are over us in some type of authority - but there is no place to seek that for ourselves. And there is no place to elevate anyone's teaching over the teaching of Jesus Christ. All teaching must be compared to scriptures alone.
They lacked humility, they were not servant leaders.
A true leader will use the Word of God as his authority, he will live a life of integrity so that his life matches his message, he will be filled with grace and mercy and care, he will be concerned about the heart (his own and those around him), and he will have the heart of a servant who seeks to be humble.
Tomorrow's scripture focus: Matthew 23:13-39
3 comments:
May you keep your commitment to this great resource. I'm posting your button on my blog.
"...everything was simply for show, and nothing actually reached their hearts." Oh, may that NOT describe any of us.
Thanks Debbie. It's been a lot of work but so worth it. In the past couple of years (since starting this blog) I've grown in my faith more than all the years prior combined!
Another "project" I've started this year is scripture memory - it's an incredible method that doesn't actually take up any additional time - you're just redeeming the time when your hands are busy but your mind is idle (brushing teeth, showering, driving, cleaning, etc). There's a link to that blog on my sidebar as well.
Thanks for stopping by, hope we can continue to be an encouragement for you!
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