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.