Matthew 23:1-7 1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and his disciples, 2“The scribes and the Pharisees sit upon Moses’ chair. 3Therefore, whatever things they tell you you should do and keep, but do not do their works. For they speak, but do not do. 4But they tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of people, but they themselves are not willing to move these things with their finger.
After dealing directly with the Pharisees, Jesus turns to those standing around who had just heard the discussion and warns them about the scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus denounces the practices of these Jewish leader and criticizes them for hypocrisy. These chapter may see harsh, especially when we think of Jesus as loving, meek, and kind. However, there is a redemptive purpose behind these words. Sometimes people need to be warned about the dangers of what they are doing, and sometimes these words need to be harsh to penetrate into hard hearts. All Pharisees were not like the descriptions Jesus gives because some humbled themselves and came to believe in him. But many continued in their religious pride and cast their arrogance onto the shoulders of others, expecting people to measure up to their standards. The rigorous teachings and practices of the Pharisees and scribes were recorded later in the Mishnah and Talmud, large and daunting works to read and understand. These works contain many important insights but also get caught up in trivial matters. Interest in triviality was in full force about the Jewish leaders during Jesus’ day.
Jesus points out their primary problem as hypocrisy. They had made their interpretation of the laws of the Bible into a system of rules and regulations that no one could keep. Their intentions may have started out good with the motive of living holy and godly lives, but as Paul, the former Pharisee, later wrote in his letters, works of righteousness cannot overcome the deep problem of sin. The biggest problem Jesus faced were the spiritual leaders of the people who had become misguided because of their pride.
Jesus begins his criticism with a positive statement about the scribes and Pharisees. What they taught was not wrong because it was based on the law of Moses. Moses was the great lawgiver who taught Israel the meaning of God’s will for them. Moses’ chair represents the position responsible for keeping the law before the people and teaching them what it means. The scribes were the scholars who devoted themselves to study and teaching of the Bible. Some of the scribes may have been Pharisees. The Pharisees were a sect of Jews who focused upon living piously and strictly in order to keep the law. Jesus joins the two groups together throughout this chapter. These groups were not wrong in their teaching as long as they stayed with God’s laws and did not get into speculative opinions about what the law meant.
The first problem Jesus points out was that they did not practice what they preached. Their teachings were orthodox, but they could not even follow these teachings themselves. The law is a burden that no one can bear. They lacked the spiritual power live out the law because they tried to do it by their own strength and understanding. Jesus gives a vivid picture in verse 4 of this burden. Transporting goods during that time was usually done by people or animals. Some of the wealthier may have had wagons. If there was much to move, the temptation was to overload whoever or whatever was transporting the good. Too much burden over time could hurt or even cripple the shoulders of people. Jesus contrasts this image to the scribe and Pharisees who would not even lift a finger to move things. They liked to do the interpretation and create regulations but were unwilling to follow these themselves.
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