Father, Teacher
Matthew 23:8-10 “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.”
YOU might be thinking, “I’m a father. Shouldn’t my children
call me ‘father’?” Or “I work as a teacher. Shouldn’t my students call me
‘teacher’?” What’s Jesus saying?
In Jesus’ day and
throughout history people who represent God on earth with certain gifts such as
prophecy, pastors, elders and teachers, may come to see themselves or to be
seen by others as the ultimate authority of God’s Word. People stop looking to
God the Father, Son and Spirit for God’s truth, and they start pointing to
themselves or to particular teachers and leaders, ministers and priests as the
ultimate source of Truth.
This can happen in
a church when pastors or elders become prideful and are unwilling to submit to
God’s Word. Or they reject appropriate teaching and correction from others.
They want to be the absolute authority. In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees strived to
turn peoples’ eyes to them that they would be seen as the authority of God’s
Word.
Jesus rejects this
prideful approach to the ministry of God’s Word. He speaks clearly to the
Pharisees that they are not the authority. The Father in Heaven, and he the Son
are “the Masters”, the “Teachers”, the authorities of the Law. Jesus teaches
the Pharisees to teach and uphold the Law and to bring honor and glory to the
Law, not to themselves.
Yes, you are a
father, teacher, pastor, etc. Be sure you keep your role under the authority of
the Father and Son.
It’s True! God’s on top.
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