What Jesus Did : Matthew 23:1-3 - Do What They Say!
by Phil Ware
Do What They Say! - Matthew 23:1-3
Then Jesus spoke to the people and to his followers. Jesus said, "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have the authority (power) to tell you what the law of Moses says. So you should obey the things they say. You should do all the things they tell you to do. But their lives are not good examples for you to follow. They tell you to do things, but they don't do those things themselves." (ERV) Full TextKey Thought
When leaders do what God has gifted them to do and when they teach the truth, we should obey it. Jesus demanded that we respect those in places of authority. Jesus also demanded that his disciples (that is, us!) obey God's truth. The truth is not dependent upon a worthy life-style in the person proclaiming it. So if a person of authority teaches the truth, we are to do it. Just because that person is a hypocrite does not give us the option of ignoring God's truth!
These two principles are key to putting Jesus' scathing words that follow in their proper place. After his opening words here, Jesus is not talking to us about our responsibility to our leaders in Matthew 23. Instead, Jesus is addressing the leaders and telling them what their responsibility is and pronouncing judgment on them for being hypocrites. We are not to follow their example, but we are to practice the truth they speak.Today's Prayer
Holy God, please remove from my heart any duplicity and self-deception that may exist. I know of those who teach powerful and truthful messages whose lives are not in harmony with your will. Please give me discernment to know your truth when I hear it, even when it comes from those I don't respect. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Today's Verses in Context
Then Jesus spoke to the people and to his followers. Jesus said, "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have the authority (power) to tell you what the law of Moses says. So you should obey the things they say. You should do all the things they tell you to do. But their lives are not good examples for you to follow. They tell you to do things, but they don't do those things themselves. They make strict rules that are hard for people to obey. They try to force other people to obey all those rules. But they themselves will not try to follow any of those rules. "The only reason they do good things is for other people to see them. They wear special boxes full of Scriptures. They make these boxes bigger and bigger. And they make their special prayer clothes very long {so that people will see them}. Those Pharisees and teachers of the law love to get the most important seats at the feasts. And they love to get the most important seats in the synagogues. They love for people to show respect to them in the market places. And they love to have people call them 'Teacher.' "But you must not be called 'Teacher.' You are all brothers and sisters together. You have only one Teacher. And don't call any person on earth 'Father.' You have one Father. He is in heaven. And you should not be called 'Master.' You have only one Master, the Christ. The person that serves you like a servant is the greatest person among you. Every person that makes himself better than other people will be made humble. Every person that makes himself humble will be made great.-- Matthew 23:1-12 (ERV)
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