Buying computers is always an effort in futility. As soon as you carry the box out of the store you are hopelessly behind the times in technology. In a matter of moments you go from sophisticated technophile to sophomoric technofailure. After enduring the eighties with a PC-XT with a 20meg hard drive, in `91 I made the leap to the latest chip - a 386-SX. Nothing could stop me now. But then as the hours went by, I soon realized I needed to change once again. After six years, which in computer time is about a millennium, I knew it was time to make the next jump. After thinking about it I came across a terrific plan. I could make the change in a way that would be far easier and far less expensive. For $2.95 I would pick up the lastest copy of PC World. Inside were the normal plethora of ads and there I could find what I was looking for. A little logo which said "Intel Pentium" could be taped on my PC. Another ad featured a full size picture of the opening screen for Windows 95 and that could be plastered on my monitor. No more DOS for me. I would be completely up to date. I could then run any program Bill Gates would send my way. My computer, as much as it would look up to date, would be the same old dog. What it needed was not cosmetic surgery, but a whole new insides. Everything needed to be replaced. Our old computers are much like our old lives - a chip here or some extra RAM there will not suffice. We are mistaken to think we can get by with a slight adjustment to our lives. Dealing with externals is often easy, but it affects nothing. Jesus makes this point when He points out the problem with the Pharisees in Matthew 23. The problems they faced could not be easily solved by a few adjustments, a little fine tuning. You and I are far more like those Pharisees than we like to admit.
The Pharisees were the common nemesis of Jesus throughout the Gospels. It is easy to get a very negative opinion of them from reading the Gospels. Jesus combats them more than any other group. But as we look at their history we see that they were not always the big-baddies we think. They originated when the Jews returned from Exile around 400 BC and rose in importance as their loyalty to God’s law and personal holiness became better known. Their desire for holiness, for constructing their lives in order to please God, resulted in their name, as Pharisee means “"the separated ones." Over the next centuries as many Jews went along with the pagan program of Hellenization, the Pharisees upheld God’s standards and were willing to die rather than break God’s commandments. But the Pharisees soon went from being heroes to hypocrites. As they emphasized piety and devotion to God they continually became more and more distinct from those around them. In time it was the distinctives which characterized who they were. As they added new laws to God’s law revealed to Moses on Sinai, they began to believe their own publicity, that compliance to God’s rules as well as their rules was entirely within their grasp. They were so certain of their advancing holiness that they would often reassure themselves by saying, “If but two men went to heaven, one would be a Pharisee.” They had a problem. They tried to upgrade the human soul by pasting some lame external pictures to make themselves look better than they were. The problems they had are often the same problems you and I have. PROBLEM WITH AUTHORITY (Verses 1-3A) The problem they had with authority was not so much an overt rebellion against authority, but they believed their own press and expected others to as well. Part of the problem with authority is that to a certain degree they were right. Jesus reminds His hearers that the teachers and Pharisees sit in Moses’s seat and they are to be obeyed. In ancient synagogues a stone bench was located next to where the Torah was kept, so that after one would read the law, one would sit down to explain what was just read. This seat was symbolic of their office as teachers. To sit in someone’s seat is to possess the authority of that person. We use this image today when we talk about a chairperson of a committee or someone holding the Distinguished Chair at a University. The chair has authority. The word for chair in Greek is kathedra, from which the church in the Middle Ages would use when they designated the church where the bishop would reside. In the same way, in the Roman church it is said that when the Pope speaks ex cathedra he is speaking authoritatively and must be obeyed. Jesus accords the Pharisees with a tremendous authority when He says this. At first it seems as though He is granting them the authority they made such great use of over the centuries - that when they speak people must listen and obey. But what Jesus gives with one hand, He greatly limits by the other. Verse 3 draws a conclusion: “therefore”. When they occupy that chair, when they teach what God communicated to Moses - you must obey them. To sit in the chair does not give the possessor of that chair or key to invent new truth, but to expound on what has been revealed. Authority must be obeyed when it speaks with proper authority. When the Pharisees point out what God revealed, they are to be obeyed. But that is the limit of what is owed to them. Obedience was to go no further; it did not include everything. In Matthew 15 Jesus fights against the notion that the traditions which they thought to be extrapolated from God’s Law had any binding force. In verses 8-9 Jesus points to the problem. “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” The Pharisees abused their authority when they made righteousness a measurable quality which can be produced by heaping on more and more regulations. Jesus directs the Church to respect her office-holders, to listen to for the truth of Scripture, to give those who occupy the Church’s chair a fair and full hearing, but no more. The Reformation principle of sola scriptura is well seen here. When the Word of God is read and properly explained, the pastor occupies the chair. But when anyone, no matter what office they claim, speaks contrary to, or speaks authoritatively in addition to the Word of God, your obedience to them ceases. This passage keeps in check the wrong use of tradition as an additional means of guiding the Church. This passage keeps me in check from using the context of preaching as a means of abuse. It is your job through the Ruling Elders to check and see if what I say is true. If I am off base, it is not only your right, but your duty to correct me, in love. PROBLEM WITH APPROACH (Verses 3B-4) There is a problem of approach when one is unwilling to personally obey. Here Jesus makes more clear the limits of their obedience: when they teach God’s Word, obey what it commands, but don’t follow their example. The Pharisees were big talkers, but little doers. Like bells in a church tower, they call others to worship, but themselves never enter in. This accusation is not uncommon today as well. The common admonishment, “practice what you preach” is a constant warning against the hypocrisy we see here. This is an important check in the life of a spiritual leader. It is an issue of personal integrity. How do they respond to what they tell others? It is very easy for there to be a great disjunction between what one says and what one does. There is a problem of approach when one is unwilling to get personally involved. This refusal to help is due to a lack of compassion. Jesus says they are unwilling to lift a finger to help. The Pharisee was a burden-binder not a burden-bearer. Because they presuppose that right standing before God comes as one masters sin in one’s life and lives a holy life, they spend their time loading down others like pack animals. If you’ve ever traveled to poor countries or seen pictures of lands where there are few trucks, beasts of burden or even people will carry tremendous amounts of goods on their backs. The approach of the Pharisees is to load the other person down as much as they can bear, and then add a few more pounds. Just as they get the hang of certain regulations, a few more pop up. But the problem here is not so much the making of heavy loads or placing them on people. That is part of the teacher’s job. If these Pharisees teach the Law of God properly, the people will be burdened. If I accuratly explain God’s perfect demands, you and I will feel under a tremendous weight. The problem here is the merciliessness that will not help carry loads. The last part of this verse is important “but they themselves are not willing.” When the Law of God is explained without the grace of God, then there is a tremendous problem of approach. You are only getting half the mixture and what you have will put you under a tremendous weight. When our kids have friends over and they spend any length of time in the basement, Janet and I are assured that there will be a mess in the basement. Two hundred action figures spread over a 15x20 room makes it hard to walk across. Add to that various cars, legos, playmobile, and whatever else comes in small sizes - you know what kind of mess you have. Later, when we call their attention to the mess and command them to clean it up, we are not at all unreasonable. But, sometimes the mess is so great, so overwhelming that they, especially when they were younger, would often melt into tears. The cold hearted Pharisees says, "Clean it up. You made the mess, now fix it!" But the gospel comes along and says, “You made the mess, but I will clean it.” How do we do this? When we become adept at telling people what God demands but never add what God did through Christ for sinners, we heap up loads. I have far too often been told by well-meaning believers that what people need is more law and less grace, that the gospel makes for lazy Christians. We do the same thing whenever we enact any Christian lifestyle commands. Christian subcultures far too often make the varied demands of its followers with respect to dress, political involvement, music, recreation that they first load up the person with something other than God’s Law and then make them believe that their adherence to these house rules will make them a better Christian. While the hallmark of the Pharisee is one who puts the burden of God’s Law on your shoulders, notice how Jesus responds to the weight of the Law in Matthew 11:28. His yoke is easy because He has borne the weight of the Law in your place. PROBLEM WITH APPEARANCE (Verse 5-7) For the Pharisee, appearance says it all. Their lives are lived on a stage. They are all show and no substance. God enters the picture only as a means to an end. Their primary focus is others. What they think matters the most. This desire for appearance manifests itself in a variety of ways. The desire for appearance can be seen in their dress, as in their phylacteries. In the Old Testament God commanded that people keep the Law before their eyes and next to their heart, that they be bound on to their bodies. In order to keep this literally, on small slips of parchment they would write four texts from Exodus and Deuteronomy. Then when they would pray three times a day, they would attach their small boxes to their forehead and on their left arm. But the name of these boxes are interesting, for a phylactery literally means to keep or preserve and so it was an amulet or a charm that was often seen to drive away evil spirits. The Jews came to believe that these fetishes, these good luck charms were sufficient to protect them. The Pharisees however went one step further. They made theirs extra wide, more noticeable. This verse may also mean, “they wore theirs all the time." While God commanded that at the end of their garments they were to make tassels to remind them that they were different, the Pharisees, in order to be more different than the rest, made theirs extra long. This kind of holiness is rather easy and often much more convincing. It is still common for people to gauge spirituality by the clothing. While how we present ourselves to the world may reveal what is in our heart, changing the external does nothing for the internal. There is no absolute correlation between the two. The desire for appearance can be seen in their place of honor. In the Roman world seating arrangements were very important. The tables were U-shaped, with everyone reclining on their left elbow, head toward the table and taking the food with their right hand. The host would be at the center and the important places reserved on his right and left. To be invited there would certainly mean you are someone special. But their desire for the prominent place was not reserved for tables but for worship as well. They wanted to be seated up front, where all could see their interest. On several occasions I’ve watched as pastors and dignitaries jockey for podium positions, wanting to be seen as one of the spiritual people. We promote this dangerous desire for success and honor every time a conference comes around. The larger his church, the more published a speaker is, the larger is his picture in the conference brochure. I’m sure I’ll wait for a long time for a conference which highlights an unpublished pastor who’s been laboring in a small church for years. The desire for appearance can be seen in their title of honor when they were greeted in the marketplace. Public recognition does a lot for the ego. It was customary that the more important the person the longer and louder the greeting. To receive this greeting the market place was a sure way to get people to notice you. Being called Rabbi: Such a greeting literally means “My great one!” Not a bad way to be acknowledged. The Rabbis made sure people didn’t forget this, as they had the maxim which said "he who salutes his teacher, and does not call him Rabbi, provokes the divine Majesty to depart from Israel;’’ How’s that for guilt! It is sad when even leaders think it is so important to post all their various degrees and achievements every time you see their name. What is worse is when their degrees are honorary, but they wear them as though they were earned. PROBLEM WITH APPELLATION (Vereses 8-10) Jesus picks up on this last love of the Pharisee, the love for achievement and recognition as He lists the names which we should not use, for the problem with titles is that they neglect the centrality of God’s role. Jesus lists three names: Rabbi, father and teacher. Rabbi and teacher are similar, for the rabbi was understood to be a teacher and the "teacher" really is best translated “leader”. But the problem here is when human leaders assume a distinction based on their position. The titles we use can communicate far more than we should. Rabbi - teacher: In Matthew’s gospel, disciples preach, but only Jesus ever literally teaches; and on the one occasion where disciples are called to teach, at the very end of the Gospel, it is significant that they are called to teach “all that I have commanded you.” Christ is our teacher, our master. To take the name “teacher” is to imply that knowledge belongs to you. I am not the teacher here, but I relay what I am taught. The way I can best build you up is not to set myself up as the authority, as the master, but to constantly point you to Christ. We are working through this Christian life together on the same plane. We each have different gifts from God, different callings to honor Him. There is no hierarchy when it comes to this church, just different callings and jobs. It is easy for Protestants to jump to the next prohibition and ignore how we offend on this one. It is easy for us, especially in a Presbyterian church, in a tradition that has a love of learning, to make Luther, Calvin, Sproul, Schaeffer, Spurgeon into our masters, our sole teachers. We have to remember that the mark of trustworthy teachers in the church is the measure with which they defer in their teaching to the teaching of Jesus. Father: This does not mean we are to cease paying respect to our earthly fathers and begin to call them by their first names. Paul himself refers to himself as a spiritual father and so that use is not denied either. The problem is when we move from respect and honor that is appropriate to our elders to a title of adoration. ANSWER TO THE PROBLEM - LEADERS MUST SERVE The cure for the problem is clear, but impossible. The cure is for leaders to be servants, for humility to be the ear-mark of a leader rather than these other symbols of ostentation. It is impossible for the simple reason that each and every one of us loves the spotlight. We enjoy the honor, the recognition. We like to measure our spiritual progress and see that we are doing well and that others will agree. While this is impossible with us, it is exactly what Christ has done for us. The greatest among us, the one who was sent by our Father in heaven, the one who is our teacher, who is our master and our guide, took on the form of a servant, humbled Himself by becoming a man. But what is more, He did what no Pharisee would ever do, what no pastor could ever do: He died for flashy Pharisees like you and me. He humbled Himself in ways we never will, but what is more, in His humiliation, He also died. Christ did for us what no Pharisee can ever do He not only occupied for a time the seat of Moses, He is the fulfillment of the Law. All His words are true. We don’t have to worry about Him corrupting what the Father would have us to know. Unlike any human preacher, He consistently practiced what He preached. His yoke is easy, not because He denies the importance of God’s Law, but because He took its weight on Himself and suffered for us. His life was not one of show for others to see Him, but His life was one which points us to the Father. He still is our Rabbi, our Leader. We follow Him and Him alone. Rather than spending our lives trying to upgrade a computer which will be hopelessly behind the times, rather than trying to achieve that which is impossible for us to do, He offers Himself as the source of all wisdom, of all knowledge. But best of all, He offers His life as the source of our righteousness, our right standing before God; He offers His death as a substitute for you and me. |
