Do Not Imitate the Scribes and Pharisees
David W Palmer
In training his own apprentices to be effective in his kingdom, Jesus used the scribes and Pharisees for an example of what not to do. He did this, because he is aware of a fleshly trait in all of us that could easily cause us to gravitate to this type of behavior.
Today, rather than read this as irrelevant to you; I encourage you to see what Jesus describes about the scribes and Pharisees as a whirlpool of proud and deceptive temptation into which we can all be drawn. Unless that is, we do exactly as Jesus prescribes at the end of this warning:
(Matthew 23:2–3, 5–7 NKJV) “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. {3} Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. ... {5} But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. {6} They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, {7} greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’”
First, let’s note some of the criticisms God has of those who use him and religion as a way to serve their flesh:
The Lord went on to say:
(Matthew 23:8 NLT) “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters.”
We should remember here that Jesus is addressing his apprentices—his own disciples, people just like you and me. He began this statement with, “Don’t.” So what follows is a command of what not to do: “Do not let anyone call you ‘Rabbi.’” Rabbi means “my great one,” “my Master.” Seeking a title like this for yourself is to fall for Satan’s pride bait; it implies that you think that you are superior, especially enlightened above normal mere mortals. Truly, it is a step towards taking over God’s role in people’s lives. This leads to all kinds of tragedies—including cults, religious control, and manipulation for self-gain. This, after all, is exactly how Lucifer became the devil:
(Isaiah 14:13–14 NKJV) “For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; {14} I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’”
Jesus showed that calling yourself “Rabbi” was a title that usurped God’s role when he said, “For you have only one teacher.” The word, “teacher,” here means commander, master, or guide. When we receive Jesus and confess him as Lord, we take him on as our exclusive Lord and Teacher—our true Master and Guide:
(John 13:13 NKJV) “You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.”
Jesus hasn’t finished his directives yet; he has some more “do not” statements along this same line:
(Matthew 23:9–10 NKJV) “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. {10} And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.”
Do not call anyone on earth, “Father!” This is seriously challenging to some of today’s church practices. But there it is, addressed by our Master before it ever happened. In God’s mind, the word “Father” is reserved for him, because it implies that the one you call Father is the one you imitate—the role model you seek to emulate. In other words, he is the one you worship. So, if you don’t intend to worship and emulate any human, Jesus says, “don’t address” them as “Father.”
In truth, Jesus says, “All of you are equal as brothers and sisters.” He implies that all who are born again and who truly confess Jesus as Lord are—like him—imitating only one Father, God. Jesus did only what he saw with his Father, and we should do the same. We should not be imitating those on earth (unless, because of his amazing grace, we see some of Jesus’s characteristics in them. Then we should imitate God’s image in them. (See: 1 Cor. 11:1.))
Jesus also told us not to let anyone call us “Teacher.” Again, this implies that we should not think of ourselves as superior to others—full of perfection, able to be imitated, and able to guide others into true wisdom and light. Obviously, our Lord Jesus is the only person able to take on this role in our lives; he is the only one who is worthy of this title.
So what do we do with the clear fact that the Holy Spirit said:
(Ephesians 4:11 APE) “And he gave some who are Apostles and some who are Prophets and some who are Evangelists and some who are Pastors and some who are Teachers.”
The Holy Spirit says that when Jesus ascended, he gave some [people appointed and gifted by him] to be … “teachers.” How does this work when Jesus said the he is exclusively our Master and Teacher? The only way both of these passages can be true is if the people appointed, anointed, and gifted as teachers are teaching what Jesus wants taught. In other words, that they are Jesus’s mouthpiece on earth for him to teach through.
This fits with what the apostle Paul said about his own role as the “teacher of the gentiles.” First, the apostle Paul said that he was “appointed” to this role:
(1 Timothy 2:7 NKJV) “For which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”
But Paul also said that it was Christ who was living—and therefore teaching—in and through him:
(Galatians 2:20 NKJV) “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
The upshot is that truly anointed and gifted teachers, along with apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors, have a portion of Jesus’s own gift operating in them. And—although Jesus is growing all of his disciples to the maturity of hearing and obeying his voice directly—he has called some to allow him to teach, guide, and direct his people in his name. But the constraining factor in this plan assumes that, like Paul, the appointed ones can truly confess: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
Incidentally, this explains why the gender of the human vessel used by Jesus as his mouthpiece is irrelevant. But it is only immaterial if Jesus Christ is the one teaching, preaching, prophesying, and speaking through them:
(Galatians 3:28 NKJV) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
We have seen Jesus’s “do not” statements on this topic. We have heard and noted his warnings:
Now, what is Jesus’s prescription?
(Matthew 23:11 NKJV) “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.”
What’s the conclusion, the take home from this today? As well as not doing the “don’t” directives, do take on the attitude of a servant. Use your gifts to serve others. If Jesus has called, appointed, and graced you to be a teacher or apostle, prophet, evangelist, or pastor; remember that your role is to serve Jesus’s body, by realizing that officially you died with him.
Now, he wants exclusively to live, teach, preach, prophesy, and speak through you. In other words, only use your gift to bring a word from God. How do you do that? Take the responsibility to ensure you have a word from God before releasing it. And do it with a humble attitude: don’t think you are God; think more like a starving man who has found an abundant supply of food, and who then shares it with others:
(2 Kings 7:8–9 NKJV) And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it. {9} Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”
