Matthew 23:10-12
Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Tag: Pride
Jesus, in this section of Matthew's gospel, is providing teaching to His disciples and the crowd around Him. In the crowd, no doubt, were Scribes and Pharisees. Jesus begins to excoriate these religious zealots for their hypocrisy and the way they were deceiving the nation of Israel. In this teaching Jesus is blunt and to the point. He calls the religious leaders "white washed tombs" who are white on the outside but full of death inside. However, to start the speech out, Jesus outlines the above principle: Pride is destructive; humility is exalting. The issue with religious leaders was their pride. Their teaching is actually right (Matthew 23:2), but the pride of their life doesn't allow them to obey their own teaching. That is the point of this passage. They (Pharisees) had the Word. But, they didn't internalize the Word. Their ego prevented them from placing themselves in the proper attitude. Their role was to be "instructors" UNDER the Master instructor ... Their Father in Heaven ... The Master Teacher. They were to be "servants." When leadership allows their pride to consume them they will, inevitably, attempt to consume others.
No comments:
Post a Comment