Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. 3 Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. 4 They tie up heavy burdens [hard to carry] and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. 5 All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6 They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, 7 greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ 8 As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. 10 Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you must be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Jesus addressed the crowds of people and his disciples. The target of his discourse was the scribes and the Pharisees whom he acknowledged to have the authority as religious leaders to instruct the Jews in the Mosaic Law. The Pharisees and scribes saw themselves as successors to Moses from a religious and legal perspective and assumed the authority of Moses. Jesus told the crowd and the disciples to obey their teaching which was sound but not to imitate their behavior. Although they were observed to be fervent in their religious practices, they did not always live in accordance with their own teachings.
Jesus gave two examples to show their hypocrisy. They interpret the Torah and create burdensome rules that they themselves do not follow, and they love to make a public display of their religious observances. They lengthen their tassels and make their Phylacteries more visible. The Phylacteries were two small, leather-covered cases containing four strips of parchment scrolls with texts written on them (Ex. 13:1-10,11-16; Deut. 6:4-9; 11:13-21). One was fastened to the weaker forearm and the other to the forehead (Ex. 13:9,16). They also loved being recognized publicly, being called Rabbi, and having seats of honor at social and religious gatherings. Jesus, who wore tassels on the corners of his garment (Mt. 9:20-22), was not condemning the tassels or the phylacteries but the false piety.
Jesus instructed his disciples not to seek or desire titles such as ‘Rabbi’ or ‘teacher’ because they are all brothers in faith. They should avoid calling religious leaders ‘father’ because God is the ultimate Father. The practice of calling religious leaders father was reintroduced through the monastic movement that began in the third century in the deserts of Egypt when the term ‘father’ began to be used for spiritual directors. Religious leaders should also not be called ‘master” because the Messiah is the ultimate teacher and master. The greatest among them is to humble himself and serve others and those who want to lead must serve others. Christians must be humble, have genuine faith, and not be filled with pride and self-importance.
Almighty God, we pray for the wisdom to embrace humility and help us to serve each other out of faith and genuine love. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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