What's the intent of Mat.23:1-3 ?

by Hoping4Change 10 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Hoping4Change

  Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. (Mat.23:1-3 NASB)

  I've been wondering a lot about what these verses. I am certain that surely Jesus didn't intend for people to do anything or whatever the Pharisees told them to do. So I wonder just what he really meant when he said this. Is it as simple as 'just dont be hypocritical?) I found one website that tries to explain it away as sarcasm, http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/9575/biblespirab.html . However, though I really liked the bulk of the content of that site (which is about spiritual abuse and not directly about JWs), I'm not sure I bought into the idea that Jesus was being sarcastic when he said these things.

  Comments/opinions welcome.
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  moggy lover

  It is possible that Christ was distinguishing between authority and practice. In the previous chapter He had just confronted the Pharisees and exposed much of their hypocrisy and lack of faith. Their purely intellectual approach to matters of spiritual concern made them singularly inappropriate as mentors to a people seeking value based on such spirituality.

  The crowds had heard this exchange, and now in Chp 23, Jesus turns to them and warns them about the things that needed to be avoided. The authority of the Pharisees was not a matter of concern to Him, since He was neither Anarchist or impractical Rebel. The Seat of Moses was both a reality and a metaphor. A recent archaeological find at a site called Chorazin [mentioned in the NT] has unearthed almost an entire 1C synagogue. You can clearly see benches crafted into the side of the structure placed their for dignitaries, while the general assembly may have sat on mats or carpets. From that position of authority the attenuated speaker would expound on "Moses" or the Torah, hence the development of the metaphor "speaking from Moses' seat"

  Many of these Pharisees saw themselves as the Good Guys. They perceived themselves as holding the line against radicals, and liberals, like the despised Sadducees, and all manner of anti-Torah misfits. This was not the matter of concern to Christ.

  What they taught, and what they practiced, accouterments that developed from their teaching, was indeed a concern. When they spoke on the Law they were fulfilling a function. Thus Jesus said: "All they tell you [which is from the Torah, expounded from the Seat of Moses, is good, so] observe it". However their own teachings, which were an unnecessary addition to the Torah, and which constituted burdens to their hearers, were products of themselves and did not constitute righteousness. These practices were what Christ condemned.

  Cheers
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  Mum

  It sounds like, "Respect the law but be wary of its representatives." This is a paraphrase of a more crude quotation I have heard. Regards, SandraC
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  yaddayadda

  I think Jesus was saying that it was not an excuse to disobey the law code simply because the scribes and pharisees were hypocritical jerks. He was saying that the Mosaic law code was still valid and beneficial and should be adhered to, but not in the self-righteous, fanatical, legalistic way the Pharisees were upholding it.
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  Narkissos

  The whole Gospel of Matthew (to which this passage is particular) is written from the (anti-Pauline) perspective that the Torah is forever valid (or, more exactly perhaps, valid to "the end of this age") and meant to be observed in a stricter or more radical way than the Pharisaic halakha required. What the Pharisaic casuistics prescribe must generally be done indeed, but what they allow for the sake of practicality (e.g., repudiation on many different grounds) is questioned.

  Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not 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. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.

  Of course the "weightier matters" are a question of interpretation, and there is a bit of caricature in the picture of the Pharisees as centered on ritual details (since the same emphasis on "love" as summary of the Torah is equally found in Pharisaic-Rabbinical sources). However, Matthew clearly differs from Paul and much of Hellenistic Christianity in that he holds even the formal details of the Law as valid.

  But if you read those texts with Pauline lens as most Protestant readers do, they make no sense whatsoever and have, indeed, to be explained away.

  Edit (to moggy lover's post):

  Many of these Pharisees saw themselves as the Good Guys. They perceived themselves as holding the line against radicals, and liberals, like the despised Sadducees, and all manner of anti-Torah misfits.

  I think this owes much to a series of propagandist misrepresentations -- e.g. the Christian caricature of the Pharisees, the Pharisaic caricature of the Sadducees. Actually the Sadducees (not to mention the Essenes) were way stricter than the Pharisees but they focused on priesthood's duties and temple service. The Pharisaic halakha, otoh, aimed at extending the priestly regulations (especially regarding cleanness) to the everyday life of lay people, but in this very process tended to water them down to make them reasonably applicable. The Hellenistic spiritualisation of the Torah, making both physical observance and temple service unnecessary, was a foe to both Pharisees and Sadducees.
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  Justahuman24

  I think the point Jesus was trying to make was that as far as religious authority, the priests, levites, pharisees and Sadducees were for the most part "born into" that privilege, esp. the priests. They were descendants of Aaron and as such, they were chosen to be priests and had authority to teach. But Jesus made it clear that they added to the law. They made it "heavier", stricter, for the people. Jesus said that the pharisees would "strain out the gnat", which was an unclean animal and therefore not to be eaten by the Jewish people, but at the same time, they would "gulp down the camel", which was bigger and just as unclean and forbidden for the Jewish people. It was all a show. They abused their position because no one could revoke their authority or rebel against it because it was congenital, in a way. Justahuman - but super nonetheless
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  Shazard

  Because Word of God is Word of God no matter who is speeker. Word of God has it's own power to create faith in ones who listen. But deeds of men are deeds of men. So that's what Christ says... hear the Word of God, but do not copy behaviour of preacher by default. Listen to Word of God and it will tell you what to do!
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  Hoping4Change

  These are all good thoughts to help with some perspective on this. Thanks!
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  emptywords

  They were suppose to represent God but by their works any good even living by the law (or trying to) were invalid.

  Christ fullfilled the law, he was the only one that could keep the law, the law showed up imperfect man that they needed a saviour, no one could live by that law perfectly, which is why the pharasee were so hypocritical, they added to the law to show up mans imperfections and look good in their own eyes.

  Christ nailed those laws to torture stake (cross, whatever) and two laws were the only laws that should govern everyones life. LoveGod and Love neighbour as yourself. Lk 10: 27,28 the pharasee's lacked genuine love.
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  Sad emo

  The Message Bible (from www.biblegateway.com ) paraphrases it like this:

  1-3 Now Jesus turned to address his disciples, along with the crowd that had gathered with them. "The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God's Law. You won't go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don't live it. They don't take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It's all spit-and-polish veneer.

  Hope this makes it a little clearer