Mat 23:1-12
1 Now Jesus turned to address his disciples, along with the crowd that had gathered with them. 2 "The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God's Law. 3 You won't go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don't live it. They don't take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It's all spit- and- polish veneer. 4" Instead of giving you God's Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn't think of lifting a finger to help. 5 Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. 6 They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, 7 preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called 'Doctor' and 'Reverend.' 8 "Don't let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. 9 Don't set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of 'Father'; you have only one Father, and he's in heaven. 10 And don't let people maneuver you into taking charge of them. There is only one Life- Leader for you and them-- Christ. 11" Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. 12 If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.
Food for thought!
There's much food for thought for all of us, for me, and for you also. Jesus is not only criticizing the men of his time, he is criticizing the people of all times and places. Yes, there are no scribes and Pharisees today, but there are some who possess the same attitude that controlled these men. To them, religion was a game, a performance. They did not have a personal relationship with God, but they believed that their religious works and observance of the religious laws would be enough to save their souls. The fact is, they were dead wrong, and if you believe that, you are too!
Religion and religious activities can not, do not and will not save us,(Eph. 2:8-9). Keeping religious rules and regulations will never save us; only faith in Jesus Christ will save us as it did those men and women of the Bible.
Everything the people in the gospel did was geared toward satisfying their pride and making them look good in the eyes of others. They sought to seem to be than to really be; they appeared religious, while they were not; they looked godly, while they were not; on the outside they were pious, but not inside; they looked different but were just as anybody else. Their lives are perpetual fashion shows. Are we any better?
Jesus is saying that we are all standing on level ground; no body should pretend to stand on higher ground than others: "Don't let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates."
Jesus warns us against divinizing humans: "Don't set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do." In other words, if any human, church member or politician, or any relative or friend, tells you anything that contradicts Jesus don't do it; only God can dictate to us.
A preacher is no better than the people in the pews! He is one of them, struggling like anybody, and given a call to proclaim the Good News to his or her brothers and sisters, but that is all! He is not to be exalted. He is not to be worshiped. He is not to be viewed as a superior, but as an equal in the eyes of God! "You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates."
1 Now Jesus turned to address his disciples, along with the crowd that had gathered with them. 2 "The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God's Law. 3 You won't go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don't live it. They don't take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It's all spit- and- polish veneer. 4" Instead of giving you God's Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn't think of lifting a finger to help. 5 Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. 6 They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, 7 preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called 'Doctor' and 'Reverend.' 8 "Don't let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. 9 Don't set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of 'Father'; you have only one Father, and he's in heaven. 10 And don't let people maneuver you into taking charge of them. There is only one Life- Leader for you and them-- Christ. 11" Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. 12 If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.
Food for thought!
There's much food for thought for all of us, for me, and for you also. Jesus is not only criticizing the men of his time, he is criticizing the people of all times and places. Yes, there are no scribes and Pharisees today, but there are some who possess the same attitude that controlled these men. To them, religion was a game, a performance. They did not have a personal relationship with God, but they believed that their religious works and observance of the religious laws would be enough to save their souls. The fact is, they were dead wrong, and if you believe that, you are too!
Religion and religious activities can not, do not and will not save us,(Eph. 2:8-9). Keeping religious rules and regulations will never save us; only faith in Jesus Christ will save us as it did those men and women of the Bible.
Everything the people in the gospel did was geared toward satisfying their pride and making them look good in the eyes of others. They sought to seem to be than to really be; they appeared religious, while they were not; they looked godly, while they were not; on the outside they were pious, but not inside; they looked different but were just as anybody else. Their lives are perpetual fashion shows. Are we any better?
Jesus is saying that we are all standing on level ground; no body should pretend to stand on higher ground than others: "Don't let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates."
Jesus warns us against divinizing humans: "Don't set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do." In other words, if any human, church member or politician, or any relative or friend, tells you anything that contradicts Jesus don't do it; only God can dictate to us.
A preacher is no better than the people in the pews! He is one of them, struggling like anybody, and given a call to proclaim the Good News to his or her brothers and sisters, but that is all! He is not to be exalted. He is not to be worshiped. He is not to be viewed as a superior, but as an equal in the eyes of God! "You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates."
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