Matthew 23:8-12

Matthew 23:8-12

“But you all should not be called rabbi.  For there is one that is your teacher and you all are brothers.  And you all should not call your father upon the earth, for there is one: your Father in heaven.  Neither should you be called instructors, for your instructor is one: Christ.  And your greatest one will be your servant.  And whoever lifts up his own status will be made humble, and whoever humbles himself will have his own status lifted up.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

We must be careful when reading this passage.  At first, it seems as though Jesus is telling us that we should not have titles, or that we should not think of our biological fathers as our father, or that we should not endeavor to mentor people or instruct them in the faith.  This is not quite what Jesus is going for.  After all, God instituted marriage and told Adam and Eve to go forth and fill the earth.  Therefore biological reproduction can be done under God’s blessing and there is no problem with being a biological father or having a biological father.  With respect to teaching and mentoring, we know that Paul himself taught and mentor many people under the blessing of Christ.  Remember this passage in its context.  Jesus has had several run-ins with the religious leaders and He has exposed their interest in their high station in life.  It is against this backdrop that these words are spoken.  We must be careful to not desire the higher station in life.  We must remember to not thirst after the titles and ranks or degrees of education.  We must not desire to put people below us because we taught them in the faith.  There is nothing wrong with being a parent or teaching another person.  What we should not do is to crave the social status that comes with such positions.

How big of a temptation is social status in your life?  Where in your life do you care about your position?  Where in your life are you free from this temptation?

Second Thought:

Jesus makes a statement that is simply flat-out contrary to the world: the greatest among you will be your servant.  In life, I have seen person after person who has served be treated poorly.  I lose count every day how many people I see hold a door for another person and not even receive a thank-you.  I see people go into restaurants and abuse their wait staff.  Store clerks are harassed and treated poorly by customers.  Husbands and wives and children don’t appreciate the work of the rest of the family.  Rather than inspiring participation by fellow church members, most workers in the church find that other people let them do a task until they are well past burn-out.  The truth is that from the perspective of the world, people who serve another person are just another opportunity to demonstrate one’s superiority.  But Jesus is not speaking from a worldly perspective.  Jesus is speaking from an eternal perspective. Jesus knows that those who follow Him in a life of sacrifice will receive their reward in heaven by God the Father.  The servants among us may not be the greatest in the world.  But the humble servant is indeed great in the eyes of the Lord.  A God who gave His own Son for the sake of others is a God who understands the nature of sacrificial service.

How good of a servant are you?  Where do you like to serve?  What does this tell you about yourself?  Where do you not like to serve?  What does this say?

Third Thought:

As if to reinforce each of these first two points, Jesus makes one more sentence quite clear.  Anyone who seeks to lift up his own status will be humbled.  The reason for this is really quite simple.  If I am seeking to make myself great, then that is my focus.  If my focus is myself, then my focus necessarily cannot be God.  Only by being willing to humble myself can I truly lift up God for praise.  Only when I am content with the station that God has given to me can I truly be focused on making God’s name great.  Lifting up praise to God inherently begins with understanding that I’m not interested in lifting up myself for praise.  This is why the greatest among us will be willing to serve.  This is why those who are willing to be humble will find that God has lifted them up.

How important is it for you to lift up your own status and draw attention to yourself?  Why is this important or not important to you?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 23:13-15