Matthew 23:1-12 Mark 12:38-39 Luke 20:45-46

Matthew 23:1-12 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.

Mark 12:38-39 38 In His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, 39 and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,

Luke 20:45-46 45 And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,

We all tend to follow the examples of others, especially those who are in authority over us.  Even when we may not like some of the things we see in our authorities, we often end up following those same patterns.  Jesus wants to warn His disciples not to follow the example of the Pharisees.  They were the recognized leaders of that day, but Jesus did not want His disciples to pattern their leadership after the examples of the Pharisees.  Jesus warns His followers about the different aspects of the attitudes and actions these men that they were to carefully avoid.

AVOID HYPOCRISY: Parents often say: “do as I say, not as I do.”  They can say that all they want, but their children will still almost always end up doing as they do.  When our words and our actions contradict each other, our actions speak louder than our words.  The Pharisees were full of flower speeches about following the Law.  They had been placed in the position of teaching the Law.  For this reason, Jesus tells them to listen and obey their teaching.  However, He followed that immediately with and admonition not to do as they do.  Even though they were teachers of the Law, they were not followers of the Law.  They required levels of obedience and following strict rules that they were not even able to follow.  The essence of the Law, according to Jesus, was to Love God and love others.  The religious leaders were worried about defining what constitutes work on the Sabbath.  Spitting on the dirt was prohibited because it left a hole in the dust that was considered digging.  Spitting on a rock was okay because it didn’t “dig.”  The lists of rules and regulations were interminable, but there was no love.  We are so attracted to rules.  They make us feel like we are earning something.  We can never relate with God based on merit.  Grace is the only means by which we can enjoy any relationship with God.

AVOID PRIDE: God created us for His glory.  The essence of sin is entering into competition with God for glory.  Instead of worshiping God, we want to be worshiped by others.  We don’t use those words, but it is what is in our hearts.  Jesus is teaching His disciples what not to do by pointing to the examples of the Pharisees.  Pride shows up in our lives in many ugly ways.  Doing things to be seen by men and receive their praise instead of living to please God.  Attracting attention to themselves through the things they wear.  Sitting in the most prestigious places at parties.  Being greeted in public and being called by special titles.  Pride shows up in our hearts and minds in a multitude of ways.  All of them distract us and others from the task of worshiping.  The terrible thing is that God sees all of our actions through the lens of our motives.  He not only knows all we do but why we do what we do.  Our pride is clearly visible to Him.  This is an area we need to battle in our hearts every minute of every day.

AVOID TITLES: Another manifestation of pride was in the form of the titles the Pharisees required others to use when addressing them.  He said not to be called Rabbi or Leader because these are titles that should be used for the Lord.  He also said not to call anyone on earth father because God is our Father.  We must never seek to put ourselves or others in a place that belongs exclusively to God.  God should have no rivals in our hearts, minds or mouths.  We should not care about titles that are used because of levels of education or functions we exercise in church.  The only person in the Universe who deserves a title is God.  If we are insisting that others use a title for us when they address us, we need to check our hearts.  Even if we simply like being addressed with a title or feel slighted when someone does not use a title for us, pride is likely a problem.  The Lord alone is worthy of praise and honor.

APPLICATION: Our words and actions must be consistent and in line with the Word of God.  All we do needs to be for the glory of God and not in order to please men.  There is only One Person who is worth of any title.  He is to be the one we worship and all attention belongs to Him, not us.