We left off in our last segment with a series of challenges to the Lord Jesus in an attempt to discredit Him publicly. The questions stemmed from a political, eschatological and legal premise which were all successfully responded to by Jesus in front of the crowd in the temple.
WHO’S SON IS THE MESSIAH? (Matthew 22:41-46/ Mark 12:35-37/ Luke 20:41-44)
While much of the temple encounter was focused upon their desire to confront the Lord Jesus, it was now His turn to question them. We find this clash in Matthew 22:41-46. They attempted to expose Him as an unreliable false teacher but failed to trap Him and depict Him in such a way. This time, the Lord asks them a question to demonstrate their unbelief and expose them to the temple crowd. They attempted to bring into disrepute His authority and now He was going to reveal theirs.
The Pharisees were once again “gathered together” but at this point they ceased to question Him. While they focused upon political questions, the resurrection and Mosaic Commandments, they ignored His primary claim. The original reason for their public attack on Him was due to the children’s shouting Hosanna to the Son of David (21:15). The central point of their contention against Him was that He wouldn’t silence or rebuke the children’s chants. The Lord now poses a question to them: What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He? All previous parables contained the character of “a son”, and the Lord was returning to this focus by linking it with the Messiah. They answered correctly in stating that the Messiah would be the son of David which was the title given to Jesus by the children. The Pharisees were familiar with the Messiah coming from the branch of David who would reign as king and bring justice and righteousness to the earth and save Israel (Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15; Isaiah 11:1-10). Jesus follows up with a second question: how does David in the Spirit call Him Lord? It’s important to note that the question doesn’t render the concept of the Messiah incompatible in identifying the Lord Jesus as the Son of David but demonstrates that He was much more than David’s son. The fact that David called the Messiah “Lord” demonstrates that David believed that He would be an even greater king than himself. David was considered the greatest of the kings of Israel and to surpass his legacy, one would need to possess a greater kingdom. Jesus wouldn’t simply be sitting on the throne of David on earth but would reign over a greater kingdom when He would sit at the right hand of the Father, the place of honour, on Yahweh’s throne after His resurrection and ascension. The Lord Jesus quotes from Psalm 110:1 and states that David wrote it in the Spirit so as to say that it wasn’t from his own inclination, but it came from a divine proclamation (Acts 2:30). David looked to one greater than himself (Lord)! This Messiah that David looked forward to would be his king! The text in Psalm 110 is used elsewhere as a testimony to establish Jesus as Messiah (Acts 2:34-35; 1 Corinthians 15:25; Hebrews 1:13, 10:13). These religious leaders were confronting the promised King, one whom David would have bowed to if alive in those days. He brought an even greater kingdom with Him and that Kingdom will one day take over the whole earth!
The Lord Jesus is left without an answer from the Pharisees or anyone in the crowd. They failed to recognize Him as the Messiah and no other opportunity would be afforded to them. No other questions will be asked but will follow with a list of condemning realities upon the religious leaders all the way to chapter 24.
THE HYPOCRISY OF THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS EXPOSED (Matthew 23:1-12)
The public challenge to the authority of Jesus as Messiah before the crowds was meant to dissuade them from following Him. Now, the tables are turned, and the Lord Jesus will begin a lengthy diatribe upon the religious leaders. In chapter 23, verses 1-12, Jesus acts like a lawyer presenting evidence in a trial. The Lord exposes the hypocrisy of these leaders and how they had failed in keeping the law as well as falling short of their responsibilities to the people. In return, this revealing of their hypocrisy demonstrates clearly how they had failed to produce the fruits that should accompany repentance. In the opening twelve verses of this chapter, the Lord will speak to the crowds and to His disciples about these leaders followed by a direct address to the Pharisees and Sadducees personally in vs. 13-33.
The Lord begins by pointing out that these Scribes and Pharisees seated themselves in Moses’ chair and tells the crowd that, while they are hypocrites, they say true things about the law. The office of the religious leaders meant that they were held accountable to properly teach the law given by God through Moses. Whether this is a metaphorical seat, or it was a literal stone seat in front the synagogues where the authoritative teacher sat[1], it represents the religious leaders taken on this position on their own accord. Those who did so, seated themselves in the chair of Moses. The Lord doesn’t dissuade the crowds from following the content of the teaching since it came from God but warned of the manner in which the religious leaders followed it. The crowd was warned not to be like them since they lay burdens on others, burdens they refuse to help those who were collapsing under these strict laws. They were inconsistent and spewed out law without grace.
Behind their legalistic comportment, were impure motives. All their religious practices were not meant for the glory of God but for recognition, flattery, and an obsessive desire for the respect from men. Their outward demonstrations of piety were intended for their own benefit rather than the benefit of others. Wearing the phylacteries[2] were meant to showcase their piousness, lengthening their tassels of their fancy shawls[3] meant to draw attention to their devoutness to prayer, and all because they love the place of honour. They were consumed with their love to be greeted with respect and called by the revered title “rabbi” by society. They sought the “good life” of being adored and reaping the privileges that came secularly and religiously.
The Lord Jesus then calls upon the crowd and especially His disciples who were listening to distinguish themselves from them, and not pursue titles and man-centered glory. He calls upon them to avoid being called “rabbi” and to look to their Messiah as their sole teacher[4]. In return, they were to treat each other equally as brothers. They were to forego the desire for a special status and work together as a family unit. The Lord also stresses that they shouldn’t be called “father” since only God was to be called their father. Some had abused this title as a means of gaining an authority over others to which this authority belongs to God and Him alone[5]. Don’t be called “leader” (teacher) since they should view the Messiah as leader. They were to avoid vain recognition from men and work the fruits of the kingdom as servants. The greatest of them would be unlike what their current culture dictated which allowed the religious leaders their prestige, the greatest of the kingdom would be the one who serves others and the one who exalts himself would be humbled.
While the people in Jerusalem recognized the leaders as men of authority who had placed themselves in a position of power and sole interpreters of the law of Moses, the Pharisees & Sadducees were hypocrites seeking the gain of prestige and religious honour while failing to care for those same people who were entrusted to their care.
In our next segment, the Lord Jesus will continue to expose the reality of the hearts of the religious leaders in Israel and their hypocrisy. He will condemn them with a series of curses and announce their fate before the people of Jerusalem.
[1] Carson notes that synagogues had a stone seat at the front where the authoritative teacher, usually a grammateus (“teacher of the law”) sat. Moreover, “to sit on X’s seat” often means “to succeed X”… This would imply that the “teachers of the law” are Moses’ legal successors, possessing all his authority – a view the scribes themselves held (Carson P. 472)
[2] Phylacteries were from the text of Deuteronomy 6:8 & 11:18 were leather boxes with key texts from the Torah which they wore on their arm and forehead.
[3] See Numbers 15:38-39; Deuteronomy 22:12
[4] France makes an interesting point in asking: Does the elimination of human “teachers” allude to the ideal situation which Jeremiah foresaw under the new covenant when “they will no longer teach one another… (Jeremiah 31:34; cf. Isa 54:13)? (France n 37, page 863) seeing that they will be taught of the Lord?
[5] It’s important to note that the term “fathers” is used of the OT saints as a term of respect and it was used by Paul on two occasions to identify himself as the one who had brought someone to faith (1 Corinthians 4:15; Philemon 10)
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