Matthew 23:1-12
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 ''The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3 So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 ''Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.' 8 ''But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Prayer:
Lord, we crave honour and recognition, but only your love can truly lift us up. Help us hear your word this morning, and take it to heart. Help us to escape the crushing demands of others, and instead to humbly seek to serve you without worrying about what others might think. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Being deliberately ignored can hurt as much as a slap across the face. Deliberately ignoring someone sends them a message that says, "You don't count. You are not important. You are worthless." In recent decades there has been an emphasis in the education system, that children need to be taught to think of themselves as "ok". Self-respect is an important part of mental and emotional health. However, on what basis can a person think well of himself or herself?
Romans 3:23 tells us, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Leave for a moment what 'the glory of God' might mean, and think about 'the glory of man': the glorious ideal that is held before us all, in various ways and forms, in the media and the world around us, in our families, at work, and perhaps also in Church circles. How do we measure up to all these expectations ? How do we measure up to our own standards? Do we deserve the respect of others? Can we respect ourselves?
Jesus' enemies, the teachers of the law and the pharisees thought they were worthy of respect. But listen to the way Jesus describes them: 5 ''Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; (the phylacteries were little leather boxes containing portions of the Jewish laws, and worn on forehead and an upper arm in an unnecessarily literal observance of one of the commands God gave to Moses.). 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi. (This means 'great one, one worthy of respect.')
They thought they deserved respect not only from people, but also from God. They had God's law, they taught God's law, and they thought they followed God's law. They graded people on the basis of how well they thought they were conforming to the law's standards. In their system, they thought they had the right to be called, 'Great one - rabbi.' But they were wrong. Jesus exposed their surface-level devotion, motivated by the rotten core of a self-centred heart. No, they did not deserve respect - (although their position of teacher of God's law was a respectful position, and this position was still to be honoured.)
Jesus pointed out, "...they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." Alongside God's laws, they had set up many human laws and traditions, that became more important than God's laws. They then used these to impose a heavy burden of rules and expectations on other people. When people couldn't measure up, they heaped a further burden of guilt and condemnation.
The pharisees and teachers of the law insisted that other people follow their example of surface-level living, where the focus was really on impressing people, not serving God. We too can unwittingly promote the same kind of hypocrisy when we insist that other people do what we think are the really 'spiritual' or impressive things to do, based on what might have impressed us in another church or on a weekend experience that we really enjoyed. Or it may be that we burden others with the heavy load of expecting them to fit into every aspect of our own preferred and comfortable traditions. Good things in themselves, can become crushing burdens, when we insist on them and use them as a standard to judge our brothers and sisters.
We all fall short of the many different ideals that are 'the glory of man.' In work or school or sport, family or church, we will always fail to put in a performance that can establish our self-worth with those around us. That is painful enough. But far more serious is the fact that we "have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Nothing we have done, or ever will do, can establish our self-worth in the presence of God, and in the face of eternity. We don't deserve God to respect us or to give us the recognition we crave.
But God does respect us. Not because we have earned his respect, but because he chose to accept us freely. He chose to sustain this wicked world for thousands of years, and then became part of humanity through his Son, Jesus Christ. John 3:17 says "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." Not to condemn, but to save! What a beautiful message, a message that lifts us up, no matter who we are, no matter what we've done, and however "impressive" or pathetic our performance! Christ fulfilled God's holy expectations completely, without a shade of hypocrisy, and because of his work for us, God forgives us all our failures, and declares us worthy of his respect. He also releases us from the need to pursue titles and roles in order to impress people. He is enough for us!
Jesus said, "you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven." More than from anyone else, we need, and crave, the approval of our fathers. Our Lord declares to his disciples, that they are God's children. Our heavenly Father freely gives us his approval. He speaks to us, the same words he spoke to his son, at hsi baptism, (recorded in Mark 1:11) "A voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
Our Lord also tells us, "Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. " Since Christ is our master and our teacher, it is his expectations and instructions that count. But we need not be afraid that he will impose great burdens on us: Hear the words of our gracious, loving Master and teacher, in Matthew 11: 28-30,: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Those who seek to exalt themselves by trying to impress God and other people by their performances, will be brought low, and come to nothing. But God will lift up all who have been humbled, and who do not pretend to be anything more or less than who they are: forgiven sinners, and God's dearly loved children. This, then, is the basis on which we can respect ourselves, and others. This is how we will not burden others, but rather use God's loving words to bring them the same relief that He has given us. May God help us do this, Amen!
May the peace of God, which is beyond our human understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen.