And all their works they do to be seen of men for they make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders [of their garments],
Jesus is describing Israel's religious leaders, and here He names the motive behind all they do: the eye of the watching public. Both things He picks out, the phylacteries and the fringes, came from God's own law — so how did a God-given reminder become a costume?
The first item was a wearable copy of Scripture. The Lord objected not to the object but to its size.
Short portions of the law were written on strips of parchment. These were placed in a case made of calf skin, and worn on the forehead and the left arm, supposedly in obedience to Deuteronomy 6:8 and Deuteronomy 11:18. The Pharisees and scribes made them large to attract attention, and the Lord condemned this making them "broad." In later times they wore them as a sort of charm.
The command they leaned on asked for something inward. The same passages that mention the forehead also mention the heart.
Strictly speaking, something to be worn on the forehead and, as the passages say, between the eyes. Israel's rescue from Egypt and the law were to be always before them, as a token on their hand and as frontlets between their eyes (Exodus 13:16; Deuteronomy 6:8; Deuteronomy 11:18). They were also told to lay the words up in their hearts. So it seems clear that wearing them as frontlets was meant as a picture. In the New Testament we find that people took it literally, and they called the articles they wore phylacteries.
The fringes go back to a blue cord God told Israel to wear on the edge of their clothes. Its purpose was memory. This verse shows that purpose turned upside down.
When we turn to Matthew 23:5, we learn the sad use that man had made of this God-given institution. The very thing set up to make them remember the Lord, and to obey His precious word in lowliness, they turned into an occasion of self-exaltation and religious pride. Instead of thinking of God and His word, they thought of themselves, and of the place they held in the opinion of others. Not a thought of God. They lost the spirit of the original institution altogether, while keeping up the outward form for selfish ends. So let us take care. We must not turn the heavenly memorial into an earthly badge, or turn what should lead to lowly obedience into an occasion of self-exaltation.
God gave the blue cord to guard Israel from following their own will. The men with the longest fringes did the very thing it was meant to stop.
It was to be a reminder of the sacredness of the commands of God, and a protection against doing their own wills. As the centuries passed, men twisted even this, as Matthew 23:5 shows so plainly. The Pharisees showed a false piety by enlarging the borders of their garments. Yet these same men set aside the commands of God in favour of their own tradition.
They dressed for an audience of people. But another pair of eyes was watching the fringe too.
Yes, the eye of the Son of God saw that ribbon of blue on the fringe of their garments as a mark of hypocrisy and self-righteousness.
Verse 5 opens a list. The clothing was only the first symptom of a hunger that follows a man everywhere he goes.
Then, in verses 5-12, He exposed their love of notice and pre-eminence. All was for the eye of men. At feasts, in synagogues, in markets — the social circle, the religious circle and the business circle — they wanted the chief place as Rabbis and Masters. The disciple of Christ is to be the exact opposite of all this, so let us take it deeply to heart.
Making things broad and long is a way of climbing in other people's eyes. Christ's road runs the other way.
This is the only place where phylacteries are mentioned. They bound four portions of the word of God in a leather case on their foreheads and on their left arm. This was to show that they were obedient in mind and heart. God knows best. He is the searcher of the heart. This is the exact opposite of Philippians 2. The Lord Jesus is the great example of going down: "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus." When I know I am a dear child, I can afford to go down.
- The gift. God gave Israel a reminder to wear. Words of the law sat near hand and eyes, and a blue cord ran along the hem, so they would remember His commands and obey.
- The heart. The same commands told them to lay the words up in their hearts. The outward token was a picture, and taking it literally already missed the point.
- The distortion. Broad phylacteries and long fringes turned a memorial to God into a badge about self. The form stayed, the spirit went, and tradition pushed God's commands aside.
- The spread. What starts with clothing does not stay there. The same appetite for notice reaches the social circle, the religious circle and the business circle.
- The reversal. Christ's eye reads the long fringe as hypocrisy. His own example runs downward, and whoever knows he is a dear child can afford to go down.
and love the chief place in feasts and the first seats in the synagogues,
The Lord is about to pronounce His woes on the religious leaders of Israel. First He names what they loved: seats. The verse exposes a heart that measures itself by the place other people give it.
The places named cover the whole of a man's public life.
Then, in verses 5-12, He exposed their love of notice and of being first. All was for the eye of men. At feasts — the social circle. In synagogues — the religious circle. In markets — the business circle. In all of them they wanted the chief place as Rabbis and Masters. The disciple of Christ is to be the exact opposite of all this, so let us take it deeply to heart.
The "best seats" in the synagogue were a real, visible place in the building — the seats beside the sacred books.
A chest stood at one end, holding the sacred books. Near this was the place of honour, or the 'chief seats,' which some people wanted, Matthew 23:6, and James 2:2-3 (where the word translated 'assembly' is 'synagogue').
Older translations say "rooms" here. One writer explains the word and draws the lesson from it.
In this verse, the word "rooms" is out of date in our language in this sense. It means "place." Standing above others, being higher in the church, is completely against what the Lord taught… The great thing is to be true inwardly. God will have truth in the inward parts no matter what others think of us.
The Lord moves past their personal conduct to something deeper: the standing they wanted other people to grant them.
But it was not only this God-dishonouring pettiness. "Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces." Now we come to something else. It is not so much their personal conduct, or their claim to be the strictest of all in conscience. It is their love of a public name for holiness, and of honour in the religious world.
Elsewhere the chief seats appear inside a longer list, and the list has a direction to it.
Such people love display — "long robes;" public recognition — "greetings in the marketplaces;" top place in religion — "the best seats in the synagogues;" social standing — "the places of honor at feasts;" building themselves up, even at the expense of widows; and religious showing off, when "for a pretense they make long prayers." How solemn are the Lord's words: "They will receive the greater condemnation." The greater the pretension, the greater the judgment.
Christ taught the opposite of the chief seat, and He lived it Himself.
Then comes a more positive word: "When you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place." He had done so Himself. Then "when your host comes he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher.'" He took the form of a servant. He was found in human form, humbled Himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. "Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name" (Philippians 2:9).
Everything depends on who gives the place.
If I know I am a sinner, and so deserve no place, I will take none. I will wait until God gives me one… When God gives me a place, it is a place of power and nearness to Himself. When a man takes a place for himself, it is a place of weakness and separation from God, because self is the object.
God gave Israel a reminder meant to lead them into humble obedience.
So the very thing God set up to lead them to remember Jehovah, and to obey His precious word in lowliness, they turned into an occasion for self-exaltation and religious pride… Can we not see something like this around us and among us? Let us think of it — think deeply and seriously.
- The love. The sin named here is not sitting in a good seat but loving it — wanting the chief place at feasts and in the synagogue.
- The reach. That love spreads through the whole of life. It claims the social circle, the religious circle and the business circle for self.
- The root. Behind it is a hunger for a public name for holiness and honour in the religious world. What counts instead is being true inside.
- The end. Left to grow, it moves from display to profit taken from the defenceless, and to long prayers put on for show. The greater the pretension, the greater the judgment.
- The reversal. Take the lowest place, as Christ did, and wait for the host to move you up. A place God gives brings you near Him. A place you take for yourself leaves you far from Him.
and salutations in the market-places, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
Jesus is finishing His public charge against the scribes and Pharisees, and He points to something as small as a greeting in the market. The question is why He treats the craving for a name so seriously — and what should replace it among His own.
The greetings here are one item in a longer list. One writer shows how that list covers a man's whole world:
Then, in verses 5-12, He exposed their love of notice and pre-eminence. It was all for the eye of men. At feasts, the social circle. In synagogues, the religious circle. In markets, the business circle. In each of them they wanted the chief place as Rabbis and Masters. The disciple of Christ is to be the exact opposite of all this, so let us take it deeply to heart.
The title was more than politeness. It has a history, it was used of the Lord Himself, and it sat on a scale of honour:
A title of respect among the Jews, meaning "master, teacher." There is no known use of it before the time of Herod the Great. People used it of the Lord Himself... Jesus forbade His disciples to be called Rabbi, for Christ alone was their Master (Matthew 23:8). In Jewish use the steps of honour rose from Rab to Rabbi, and then to Rabban or Rabboni.
The root of the word explains the appetite behind it:
They liked to be recognised as something great — "Rabbi," my master. "Rab" means great one.
These greetings did more than flatter. One writer names what the title was really buying:
All this increased their power with the people. Power and place were what they were always seeking... With it came a love of prominent places too — at feasts and in the synagogues. They also loved greetings in the markets, where people addressed them as Rabbi, with all due respect.
The wish to be greeted looks harmless. Yet the Lord ties this taste for honour from men to unbelief:
There are few greater snares than human honour and praise, for they destroy faith. "How can you believe," said our Lord, "when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?" (John 5:44). John 12:42-43 tells us the same thing. Many of the rulers believed in Him. Yet they did not confess Him, because they feared the Pharisees would put them out of the synagogue. They loved the glory of men more than the glory of God.
The verses that follow turn to the disciples. Christ takes down the whole ladder of titles at once:
The spirit of the disciples was to be the opposite of all that. They were not to be called Rabbi, for Christ alone was their Master, and they were all brothers. They were not to call others by the name of father, for only One was their Father, He who is in the heavens. Finally, they were not to be called teachers, for Christ alone was the One who taught them. Whoever would be great among them was to be their servant.
This warning still applies, but it needs care. One writer weighs both sides:
All this calls for serious attention from everyone who truly calls Christ Lord. Yet it also needs wisdom in how we apply it. Scripture itself applies all these terms — "teacher," "father," "leader" — to disciples. So they cannot be forbidden outright. But that is what happened in Israel then, and it has largely happened in the Christian Church today. Men who should have been the servants of their brothers claimed to be masters. They stood between the consciences of men and Him who alone is Lord of the conscience.
- Greeting. The market greeting is the smallest item on a list that covers social, religious and business life — all of it staged for the eye of men.
- Great. "Rab" means great one, and the ladder ran Rab, Rabbi, Rabban; wanting the word was wanting the rank.
- Grip. The title was not empty flattery. It increased their power, and power and place were what they always wanted.
- Glory. Honour traded between men is one of the greatest snares, because those who take glory from one another cannot believe.
- Given up. The mark of a disciple is the reverse: no title, one Master, all brothers, and the greatest among them the servant.
But *ye*, be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your instructor, and all *ye* are brethren.
The Lord says this to His disciples, right after exposing the scribes and Pharisees who loved public greetings and the title "Rabbi." He is not correcting bad manners; He is naming who alone teaches His people, and what that leaves everyone else to be.
The title was a mark of rank, and it came with a ladder of grades to climb.
A title of respect among the Jews, meaning 'master, teacher.' There is no record of anyone using it until the time of Herod the Great... Jesus told His disciples not to let anyone call them Rabbi, for one was their Master (kathegetes), even Christ. According to the Jews the levels of honour rose from Rab to Rabbi, and from there to Rabban or Rabboni.
That word, kathegetes, means more than an ordinary teacher, and the claim to it did not stop with Israel.
The "leader" here (kathegetes) is more than a teacher: he is the teacher who may have many teachers under him... But it was so in Israel then, and it has become so in much of the Christian Church today. Those who should have been the servants of their brothers claimed to be masters. They stood between the consciences of men and Him who alone is Lord of the conscience.
(Older translations read "one is your Master, even Christ"; the ESV renders it "you have one teacher.")
His followers were to turn all of that around. The change reaches even to how they measure greatness.
The spirit of the disciples was to be the opposite of all that. They were not to let anyone call them Rabbi, for Christ alone was their Master, and they were brothers. They were no longer to call others by the name of father, for only one was their Father, He who is in the heavens. Finally, they were not to let anyone call them teachers, for Christ alone was the One who taught them. Whoever would be great among them was to be their servant. Whoever exalted himself on earth would be brought low, and whoever humbled himself would be lifted up.
The Lord is stopping something at its root, before it can grow.
Such things were not to be among believers. So the Lord next puts His finger on the beginnings of things. If allowed, they would produce the very same thing in Christianity as they had done in Judaism. So — they were to avoid the principles of the Rabbi who sought to form a school around himself. Their Instructor was Christ, and His word their sole authority and unerring guide... And there was to be no leadership apart from the leadership of Christ Himself.
A teacher's job is to make himself unnecessary.
Of course, there are God-given teachers. No one with Scripture in front of him could deny that... It is the intended glory of all these special 'gifts' to enable those they speak to to do without them — to send men from themselves to Christ.
Scripture itself calls some believers teachers and fathers. So the ban is not on the words but on the badge.
Scripture is clear that some believers are, in a spiritual way, "fathers" (1 Cor. 4:15), "teachers," "pastors," "evangelists" (Ephesians 4:11), and "leaders" (Heb. 13:17). But the Lord forbids anyone to give or to accept such a title. Only Christ has a right to the title "Teacher" or "Leader." Only God the Father in heaven has the right to be called "Father." "All you are brothers," He insists. That is, none are above others; all stand on the same level.
What is at stake is not gift but standing.
The question here is not about the various gifts the Lord gives by the Holy Spirit to His members in His body the Church. It is about religious authority in the world, and about the status and respect that come with church office or position.
The name the Lord leaves His people is not a demotion. It is the name He shares with them.
Here as elsewhere Scripture shows the dignity of using the term. Had not Christ said, "One is your Master, even Christ; and all you are brothers"? Besides, He is not ashamed to call us brothers... Since there will only be brothers in the Father's house, let us be only brothers down here.
Yet equality of standing does not erase order of service.
We are glad to receive the truth, "One is your Master, Christ; and all you are brothers." But if we make our common brotherhood a reason for ignoring God's order, we lose its blessedness and disobey the Master... Anyone who thinks that being a "brother" leaves him free to take up any function in the assembly makes a serious mistake.
- One Teacher. "Rabbi" was a graded ladder of honour; Christ removes the ladder by keeping the top place Himself.
- One authority. Christ is the Instructor, so His word is the only authority. No school gathers around a man. No leadership stands beside His.
- One level. The Lord refuses every title that lifts one believer above another. Scripture still names real fathers, teachers and leaders in service.
- One family name. "Brother" is the dignity left to us, and the name Christ Himself is not ashamed to use.
- One order. Being brothers is no excuse to ignore how God arranged service. Equal standing, distinct gifts.
And call not [any one] your father upon the earth; for one is your Father, he who is in the heavens.
The Lord has just exposed the scribes and Pharisees, who loved the best seats and the flattering greetings. Now He turns to His disciples with three short bans. One forbids calling any man on earth "father." Does that mean a child may not call his own father "father"?
The ban belongs to religion, not to family life. Scripture elsewhere tells us to honour our parents, so the Lord must mean something else.
This cannot refer to our father in the flesh. Scripture insists strongly that we owe full respect to our own father and mother on earth. It clearly refers to calling anyone on earth "father" in a spiritual sense, in contrast to the Father in Heaven. To call anyone "father" in a religious sense is an insult to the great Father in Heaven. But the Roman priesthood sets this ban aside. Their fatherhood is plainly a religious one, for they are celibate. Their own Church laws do not allow them to marry.
The command protects something. A rival father on earth would weaken what the disciples felt toward God as their own Father.
Nothing was to be allowed that would weaken their sense of relationship to God as their Father.
Verse 9 sits in the middle of a set of three names. Each one belongs to Christ or to the Father, and the Lord ends by turning the usual order upside down.
They were not to be called Rabbi, for Christ alone was their Master, and they were brothers. They were no longer to call others by the name of father, for only one was their Father, He who is in the heavens. Finally, they were not to be called teachers, for Christ alone was the One who taught them. Whoever would be great among them was to be their servant. Anyone who exalted himself on earth would be brought low, and anyone who humbled himself would be lifted up.
The same three words appear elsewhere in Scripture for ordinary believers. So the ban falls on the title, not on the work behind it.
On the other hand, Scripture is clear that some are "fathers" in a spiritual way (1 Cor. 4:15), and others are "teachers," "pastors," "evangelists" (Ephesians 4:11), and "leaders" (Heb. 13:17). But the Lord strictly forbids giving or accepting any of these as a title. Only Christ has a right to the title "Teacher" or "Leader." Only God the Father in heaven may be called "Father." "You are all brothers," He insists; that is, none are above others, but all on the same level.
The Lord is not limiting the abilities He gives His people. He is dealing with official position and public respect.
The question here is not about the various gifts which the Lord gives by the Holy Spirit to His members in His body, the Church. It is about religious authority in the world, and about the status and respect that come with church office or position.
The warning is not just ancient history. When servants take the place of masters, a man stands where only the Lord should stand. And the people themselves often want it that way.
But it was so in Israel then, and it has become just as common in the Christian Church today. Those who should have been the servants of their brothers claimed to be masters. They stood between the consciences of men and Him who alone is the Lord of the conscience. Neither the Church as a whole nor any group of men in it can rightly claim an authoritative place for their teaching. Scripture alone, as the word of the Lord, has that place. Yet in many forms this is what men keep doing, and the people of God, for their part, are not merely allowing the claim but encouraging it.
The same principle reaches past the word "father" to any title that borrows honour belonging to God. Take the word "reverend," which older translations use in Psalm 111:9 where the ESV reads "awesome."
It is striking that the word "reverend" is found only once in the Bible, and that time it refers to God. It appears in Psalm 111:9. That verse tells us God's name is reverend, and no other name in Scripture is ever called this. How then can any mortal man, however godly and worthy of respect, be given or take a title which God's Word gives to God alone?
- One Father. The title belongs to heaven, and heaven already fills it. The ban guards a relationship, not good manners.
- One level. Since the Father is one, the disciples are brothers — none above the others, all on the same level.
- One Lord of conscience. A title lets a man stand between your conscience and Christ, who alone rules there.
- One service. Spiritual fatherhood, teaching and leading are real in Scripture. The Lord forbids turning them into titles of rank.
- One direction. The whole passage runs downward. The great one serves, the one who exalts himself sinks, and the one who humbles himself rises.
Neither be called instructors, for one is your instructor, the Christ.
The Lord has just exposed teachers who loved public greetings and grand titles. Now He turns to His own disciples with a third ban. After "Rabbi" and "father" comes this one. If Christ alone is Leader among His people, what happens to every human title that competes with Him?
Behind the word "instructors" stands a Greek word that the Lord keeps for Himself. Older translations render it "masters." One writer gives its meaning:
Kathēgētēs means a Guide or Leader. It appears three times, and the Lord applies the title to Himself in Matthew 23:8, 10.
One writer notes how high that rank goes:
The "leader" here (kathegetes) is more than teacher: he is the teacher who may have many teachers under him.
The three bans of verses 8-10 belong together. Each one leaves a place open for Christ or the Father alone:
They were not to be called Rabbi, for Christ alone was their Master, and they were brothers. They were no longer to call others by the name of father, for only one was their Father, He who is in the heavens. Last, they were not to be called teachers, for Christ alone was the One who taught them. Whoever would be great among them was to be their servant.
Something easy to miss sits in the second half of the verse. Jesus calls Himself "the Christ." One writer uses this verse to settle a question about how the Lord spoke of Himself:
Matthew 23:10 proves that He did call Himself "the Christ." So Carr is wrong to say, about this passage in John, that our Lord applies the term "Christ" to Himself only there.
This ban does not touch the abilities God gives people to help others. It touches something else:
The question here is not about the various gifts the Lord gives by the Holy Spirit to His members in His body the Church. It is about religious authority in the world, and a certain status and respect that come from holding church office or position.
Commentators differ on how literally the words bind us. One points out that Scripture itself uses these same words of disciples. So the ban falls on the claim, not on the words:
Scripture itself uses all these terms — "teacher," "father," "leader" — of disciples. So they cannot be meant to be forbidden in an absolute way. But in Israel then, as widely in the Christian Church today, those who should have been the servants of their brothers claimed to be masters. They stood between the consciences of men and Him who alone is the Lord of the conscience... The louder and more commanding the Church's voice, the more the voice of God in His word goes unheard.
Another applies the words straight to religious titles in use today:
Such titles as Rabbi (Teacher) or Father or Master (Leader) are neither to be given to men, nor are men to accept them. The Lord is clearly speaking in a spiritual sense. Of course children may rightly call their natural father by that name. But we must refuse completely any title that puts a person in a place of spiritual prominence. Men may invent variations of these, such as "reverend," which is worse, for the title means "worthy of reverence."
The trap is subtle. It shuts when honest respect for a good person turns into surrender of the conscience:
My Christian friend, allow no one to stand between you and Christ! Christ alone is your Master. You must give account to Him alone... Of course, you don't refuse the help that He gives you through another: that would be pride and self-sufficiency. But one of Satan's most subtle and successful traps catches us here. We fall into it when we let the respect we have for one another, the rightful confidence in someone's genuineness, wisdom or godliness, make that person the director of our consciences in the things of God.
- One Leader. The word behind "instructors" means guide or leader — not just someone who teaches, but the head others follow. Christ keeps that place for Himself.
- One clearing. The three bans of verses 8-10 work together. Rabbi, father and leader all go, so that nothing stands where Christ and the Father belong.
- One claim. The Lord does not condemn gift or usefulness. He condemns religious standing claimed by office, when men who should serve their brothers act as masters.
- One conscience. The real damage comes when someone steps between a soul and the only Lord of the conscience. Commentators differ on whether the titles themselves are banned outright.
- One account. Help from others is His gift, so take it. But let no one direct your conscience: you answer to Him alone.