Matthew 23:1-12
Jesus
Warns the Crowds against the Religious
Leaders
Matthew
23:1 Then
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,
2 saying: "The
scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in
the chair of Moses;
3 therefore all
that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do
according to their deeds; for they say things and
do not do them.
4 "They tie up
heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but
they themselves are unwilling to move them with so
much as a finger.
5 "But they do all
their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden
their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of
their garments.
6 "They love the
place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in
the synagogues,
7 and respectful
greetings in the market places, and being called
Rabbi by men.
8 "But do not be
called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are
all brothers.
9 "Do not call
anyone on earth your father; for One is your
Father, He who is in heaven.
10 "Do not be
called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is,
Christ.
11 "But the
greatest among you shall be your servant.
12 "Whoever exalts
himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles
himself shall be exalted.
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to change
the way that we think, and the way that we live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
Humility and
Exaltation
"Do as I say; not as I
do."
-
An old saying summarizes what
Jesus was talking about when He said that the
Pharisees "tie up heavy burdens and lay them on
men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling
to move them with so much as a finger."
This is not to say that
everything the Pharisees taught was wrong or evil.
They taught the commandments of God and knew them
by heart.
But, the problems arose when
the religious leaders began to interpret the law of
Moses and began to put their interpretations above
God's law.
The Pharisees were beginning
to become more interested in power and recognition
by telling the people to obey their man-made laws
while, at the same time, they were ignoring
them.
It's easy to tell someone
else how to live their lives but can we do that if
our lives are a shamble? I don't think
so.
Jesus did not talk about the
Pharisees so much for the laws they taught as for
the way that they lived and who they were. Let's
face it; they were not very good examples to the
people they were teaching and put themselves above
God.
Christ was an excellent
example as He put Himself below man and died on the
cross for us.
Are we good examples for
people to follow or do we just preach the
words?
-
- Love in
Christ
- Bob
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commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
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here and take the
first
steps to salvation.
Verses about Jesus and the religious leaders
are from New American Standard Bible
Comments are welcome. Please email
me with any questions or comments you
may have.
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