Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted

Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at the feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.' But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

- Matthew 23:1-12

In last week's readings, Jesus was in Jerusalem, and His ministry took place at the Temple. His first act was to cleanse the Temple. After this, He was questioned by the elders and chief priests as to His authority to do so, to which He replied with parables (see also here and here). Next came some disciples of the Pharisees and some Herodians who asked Him a question about paying taxes to Rome, in order to test Him. Finally, in Saturday's reading, some Sadducees came to test Him. They asked Him about marriage and the resurrection (in which they do not believe). They posed Him a question: a woman was married to one man who died; he was from a family of seven brothers, and she was passed to each one in succession until the last one died. Finally the woman died, never having had any offspring. Their question was, whose wife was she in the resurrection? Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do." Let's take a close look at this statement. Jesus isn't saying that all the Law is wrong; in fact, it's quite the opposite. He's honoring Moses, and the authority his seat confers. (Moses' seat was a special chair in the synagogue that was assigned to the most renown rabbi of the town.) But Jesus is pointing to something closer, deeper, more potent. He's looking at real behavior, and the things that betray the true heart of a person. He tells His disciples they should do what these authorities say, but not according to their works: for they say, but they do not do. My study bible has several notes on this passage, all of them illuminating for us. Here, it notes that this chapter contains Jesus' grand critique of the Pharisees. "They have God-given authority and many God-given commandments, but they are personally ungodly, coldhearted and vainglorious. Their teaching is to be honored, but they are not to be imitated."

"For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers." His first critique: they lack mercy, compassion. Their hearts are cold, as my study bible says. As they give commandments, and teach how to worship and follow God, they lack the true quality of God inherent in God's law, and that is love. This is the greatest consistent teaching in the Gospels, and Jesus will teach it to His disciples over and over again: that if we haven't mercy ourselves, neither shall we receive it. The Good Shepherd, a good steward, is one who loves the sheep.

"But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at the feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.'" Why are they like this? How can they give laws and commandments and teachings, but without being moved in compassion themselves? The answer is still astounding to us, in some way, although we know this teaching and have heard it so many times. The answer is that even the best designed systems, the laws and rules for worship made with the utmost dedication, given in God's love, can be made a kind of worship in themselves if our heart is not in the right place. Without the first great commandment, the love of God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, we forget what all of these tools for worship are all about and we treat them in themselves as if they are the final object of faith. As such, we human beings are able -- if our hearts aren't in the right place -- to turn even the most beautiful and perfectly given love from God into a form of idolatry, where these systems become ends in themselves. This is especially so because we decide everything is really for show to other people, and it is not the opinion of God we value most. Ironically, without the love of God, we fail to honor the love God commands to one another. My study bible points out that phylacteries and borders of their garments refer to articles worn by pious Jews to remind them of God's Law. Jesus gives us the number one reason why we may fail to truly worship, and that is if "all our works are done to be seen by men." Therefore Jesus' teachings on humility are the most important and most often repeated to His disciples: if they are in love with their own authority, and if they believe that authority among people confers the true place in God's relations, then they are lost. We who follow Him therefore must take this teaching the most deeply to heart. A right relationship to God - and even to one another - is really not just all about what everybody else thinks of us.

"But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ." A rather long note in my study bible explains for us: "The rabbinic teachers assumed an intrinsic value for their own office as the seat of authority. According to the prevailing system of the Pharisees, the student in rabbinic tradition submitted himself to his master's authority in a total and servile manner. The call of Jesus to His disciples differed radically from the rabbinic system in that (1) the disciples were not merely servants but beloved friends; (2) their calling did not imply they would themselves become independent masters; (3) the brotherhood of disciples would remain unified and loyal to Jesus." It also has another note specific to these verses: "Jesus warns against calling hypocrites father and teacher. Far from being a prohibition against using these terms under any circumstances, it is a warning not to use them undeservedly. Bother terms are applied to men in the New Testament." So the emphasis here is on what confers true authority and true identity -- the central place from which all relationship flows and true worship begins, and that is in the love of God, which sets proper relationship to all else, including personal authority.

"But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." For greater emphasis, Jesus adds a teaching repeated many times in Matthew's gospel in one form and another: this is the teaching on humility among them. He has already taught twice in recent readings that "the first shall be last and the last shall be first" and that "many are called but few are chosen." Here the emphasis is complete in terms of the attitude toward personal authority, and it can't be more clear: "whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Here is the paradox of what it is to be a human being in a fallen world. The greatest works we do in the eyes of men may be an end in themselves, done for show, when the heart is far away from God. Jesus has quoted Isaiah in Matthew's chapter 15: "These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me." So, what really counts, God's opinion, or how we see ourselves reflected in the eyes of others? Over and over again, we will encounter this teaching. The Laws of Moses were God-given. In our own churches, we have beautiful, inspired, and holy worship services and practices developed through tradition over time -- all of which are good when used for true worship. The danger comes from our own ability to displace true worship: to focus on the opinions of men rather than the opinion of God. The real place for worship is in the heart, and all the rest is designed to help shore up and build that right-relatedness, that true worship, without which we don't really learn the love that leads us to right-relatedness with others. What, for example, does it mean to forgive without understanding that true justice lies in God's right-relatedness, that the accounting books and real judgment are in God's hands? Endlessly we seem to confuse forgiveness with reconciliation, but here Jesus is not teaching us to be reconciled with hypocrites, or wolves who will come in His name wearing sheep's clothing. Without God in the picture, forgiveness becomes a fuzzy concept: to Whom or what do we give up judgment and yet retain an understanding that truth is essential to mercy? Christ is calling us to love, to the source of love, to the place in which we learn right-relatedness, without which all the practice and all the beauty and systems of worship and good works become ends in themselves, and pervert true faith, real mercy, the love that is His Way. In Christ, we have an encounter with love, His gift of His Person to the world, to each one of us. When we think of Him, all else may fall into place. Humility is before God; He calls us to servitude, not servility. In this is true worship and real identity.