The footnotes of my study Bible call Matthew 23, “A vitriolic attack on the leaders of Israel.” Indeed, it is a relentless condemnation of the religious leaders. Let’s remember the context as we’ve been reading these last few Sundays. Jesus is in Jerusalem during Holy Week. He came into Jerusalem on a donkey then caused a ruckus in the temple complex. That lead to the religious leaders challenging Jesus for what he was doing. Jesus fired back with three parables about the failings of the leaders. They in turn set up a series of tests and traps against Jesus. He outmaneuvered them every time. The tension keeps building. If a family therapist were to look at the whole situation they’d say all parties need to calm down, take a step back, breathe a little, and then resume in what would hopefully be a constructive way.
But that’s not what happened. This is one of those cases where there was no way the two sides could see eye to eye. So we roll into chapter 23 and Jesus turns the heat up even more. Of course, all of this escalates until the religious leaders capture him a couple days later and it quickly leads to his execution. So from a family systems and safety standpoint, we’d suggest Jesus should take a softer course of action. But there are times when a softer course of action is simply neither right nor possible.
We need to be careful with this text, however, for it is very easy to misapply it. Historically it has often been misapplied by Christians to target Jews. All sorts of horrors have happened. But it is not just Christian Jewish issues where it can be misapplied. It can be misapplied everywhere we put ourselves on the side of Jesus and then put those we don’t like as against the side of Jesus.
I’ll spare you my many intellectual wanderings as I prepared this sermon, but I will note this. I found that I could put myself into the shoes of a stereotypical conservative and use that world view. I found plenty of evidence that would allow me to see myself as right and liberals as wrong; and then lash out at them with venom and righteous anger… “Woe to you liberals and Democrats…”
I found that I could also put myself into the shoes of a stereotypical liberal and use that world view. I found plenty of evidence that would allow me to see myself as right and conservatives as wrong; and then lash out at them with venom and righteous anger… “Woe to you conservatives and Republicans…”
I could do the same thing with urban and rural perspectives, with blue-collar and white-collar perspectives, with various faith perspectives, and on and on. Perhaps what is most disturbing is that I can also do it with the social statements and many policy perspectives of our own church denomination. Much of what comes out from the synod and national church feels more like virtue-signaling and moral posturing than solid theology. Let’s use that sad truth as a stepping stone towards what Jesus is really getting at.
We humans are social creatures. We live in groups and create societies. It is much easier to live in a group with many people using their individual skills and dividing the labor. A person who lives all alone lives a dangerous and difficult life. It therefore follows that we value belonging to a group. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. But it becomes a problem whenever fitting in takes a higher priority than the truth. That is what happens to religions, philosophies, political parties, and all social groups. That is what Jesus is attacking in our gospel reading.
Several times in our gospel reading Jesus calls the scribes and Pharisees, “hypocrites.” We understand this word to mean someone who says one thing but does another. But the word hypocrite comes from the Greek word for an actor on stage. An actor was a hypocrite because he or she would wear a mask presenting themselves as one person, when in truth they were someone else. Jesus is saying that the scribes and Pharisees are like actors on the stage of society. They presented themselves as one way when they were really otherwise.
Remember, our gospel reading comes after extended conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders. He has been seeing their practices and priorities. He has seen that they use the religious laws to support their own social status and advancement. They are not using the religious laws as if they are welling up from their hearts.
That is two distinctions we have to keep in mind whenever we read these things from Jesus. One, Jesus does not condemn Judaism per se. That is a mistake Christians make often – as if God rejected the Jews because of some fundamental flaws or corruptions in their belief systems. Notice that Jesus even said of the scribes and Pharisees in our gospel reading, “…do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they preach.”
That takes us to the second thing. Jesus leaves the religious laws intact. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.” That should cause us to realize that those old Jewish religious laws do have good purpose and intent behind them. The question is what use do you put them toward? Have the religious leaders been putting them towards the purposes of creating faith and building relationship with God, or have they been putting them to use for their own purposes.
I mentioned a couple minutes ago that many things from our own church denomination look more like moral posturing and virtue signaling than actual theology. My critique is that certain teachings of Jesus are picked out to suit a purpose and others are overlooked or dismissed because they do not serve that purpose.
I also said a few minutes ago that the same goes for all religions, businesses, social groups, political parties, and just about every gathering. That is not to condemn all such things, for they are necessary. But Jesus’ teachings make us aware of them so that we can be ready for them.
Here's a clue from Jesus what Jesus said that we should take to heart. You’ll remember we read this from verses 6-12, “They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father – the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor – the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Do not hear these words and imagine pompous, stuck-up people strutting around with their noses in the air. Indeed, there are such people. But instead, be conscious of those motives within yourself that cause you to act because you want to fit in. How many things do you post on social media in order to bolster your position before others, or to show to which side you belong? How often do you relish a mistake on the side of those who oppose you, and similarly create defenses when your own side does something wrong?
It is worth considering just how much of our motives are driven by appearances before others. Our jobs, homes, clothes, degrees and education all communicate to the world where we fit in. They buy us social authority. With that authority comes value and security. But these are all incorrect motives. Jesus says that he is the one Teacher. We are all students.
We belong to God. God is our one Father. We are therefore all members of God’s household. And God’s household does not care one bit about our human efforts at rank and praise. All our efforts at superiority, or rightness, or the moral high ground are misguided.
The humility Jesus speaks of is simply knowing that God is your Father and that Jesus is your Teacher. That trust gives us different human priorities. Then, instead of being hypocrites who use our faith for social place and rank, which is what Jesus was so critical of, we turn our efforts authentically to the work of God. Maybe people will like us for it. Maybe they won’t. Either way, it is not hypocrisy to have your life driven by living out the love of God.
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