Matthew 23:1-12
23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
23:2 "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat;
23:3 therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.
23:4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.
23:5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long.
23:6 They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues,
23:7 and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi.
23:8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students.
23:9 And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father--the one in heaven.
23:10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah.
23:11 The greatest among you will be your servant.
23:12 All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.
23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
23:2 "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat;
23:3 therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.
23:4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.
23:5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long.
23:6 They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues,
23:7 and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi.
23:8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students.
23:9 And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father--the one in heaven.
23:10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah.
23:11 The greatest among you will be your servant.
23:12 All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.
A Texas
rancher met up with a Vermont
dairy farmer.
The two men began talking about their land and the dairy farmer told the cattleman that he operated his business on 125 acres.
The Texan scoffed at such a small parcel of land. He said, "Yankee, that ain't nothin'."
On my ranch I can get in my truck at sunrise and I won't reach the fence line of my property until sunset."
The dairy farmer snorted, "Yeah, I used to have an undependable truck like that."
Bragging rights, Bragging rights everybody wants them.
The two men began talking about their land and the dairy farmer told the cattleman that he operated his business on 125 acres.
The Texan scoffed at such a small parcel of land. He said, "Yankee, that ain't nothin'."
On my ranch I can get in my truck at sunrise and I won't reach the fence line of my property until sunset."
The dairy farmer snorted, "Yeah, I used to have an undependable truck like that."
Bragging rights, Bragging rights everybody wants them.
Whether it is the biggest house, the fanciest
car, the most impressive wardrobe, the most well behaved children, everyone
wants to be top dog in some aspect of their life.
I read
not long ago that in the Olympics, the first prize winner is the happiest of
the three who stand on the podium and receive a medal – well of course. How could it be otherwise? The second happiest is not the second place
silver medalist, but the third place bronze – because that person is just so
happy to be on the podium at all. The
second place Silver medal winner is jealous and upset. And why not – in the Olympics the difference
in first and second may be a microscopic fraction of a second.
Athletes
love to be first.
And that
is fine.
In
business, employees strive to be the employee of the month, the salesman of the
year, the most productive and the most efficient.
And that
is wonderful.
In
school there is nothing more satisfying than a report card with all “A’s” –
something I never knew from first hand experience until I was in Seminary. And then once I made all “A’s” in my first
semester, it became a competition with myself to see how long I could keep it
up. I kept it up for three years and
finished with a perfect 4.0 gpr – and I’ve got to tell you – it was exhausting!
Being
best in anything is tough.
In Jesus’ day, the religious leaders were very
competitive and worked hard for those bragging rights.
They wanted to be
looked at and treated as though they were a step closer to God than anyone
else.
Just like many people today, the Pharisees wanted others to see them as special and treat them as though they were closer to God than anyone else.
They wanted others to be impressed with their piety and impressed with their holiness.
Just like many people today, the Pharisees wanted others to see them as special and treat them as though they were closer to God than anyone else.
They wanted others to be impressed with their piety and impressed with their holiness.
They wanted others to think they had some
special bragging rights that the common man lacked.
They were chest thumpers you could almost hear
them say: “Hey, look at me! Look at how important I am!”
In the words of the New
Testament lesson, they wanted to say to others, “See how broad my phylacteries
are and how long my fringes are?”
Say what?
These are two words that
probably don’t mean anything to most of us today.
Now, phylacteries were small leather boxes. Inside they contained portions of Scripture – the Word of God. The fringes – well, that means what it means today in clothing, those fringes that adorn sleeves and other material. In the Old Testament, Moses (in Numbers 15) instructed the children of
So the Pharisees made their
phylacteries broad. They put more writing on them or made the letters larger
and thus more visible, to appear more holy.
And they made their fringes longer to show the
world how they followed the finer points of the law.
Jesus looks at these people and says this is not
how one attains greatness in our faith or in the Kingdom of God .
You want to be great in the Kingdom of God ?
You want to really be something
special?
Then you have to become humble.
You have to become the servant
of others.
Miss Thompson taught Teddy Stallard in the fourth grade. He was always dressed in sloppy clothes. His face and hands were always dirty. His homework was always a mess. None of the other students seemed to like him that much.
The year before arriving in Miss
Thompson’s class, Teddy’s mother had died.
Other teaches said that what little motivation he had had previously
disappeared with his mother’s death.
Teddy had an obnoxious way with
him, and none of the teachers really cared for him. Miss Thompson was the same way – there wasn’t
much hope for Teddy and she had other students to attend to.
But at Christmas time Teddy
brought his teacher a small present.
It was
typical of Teddy. All the other gifts
were nicely wrapped, his came in a plastic grocery bag.
The
teacher opened the gift and it was a mess.
There was a tacky, cheap, gaudy rhinestone bracelet with
half the stones missing and a bottle of cheap perfume that had already been
opened and was only half full.
The children began to snicker but Miss Thompson realized
that here was one of those people that Jesus called “the least of these.”
You remember that verse?
In Matthew 25 Jesus says that
whenever you show love “to the least of these my brothers, you show love to
me.”
So she quickly splashed on some
perfume and put on the bracelet, pretending Teddy had given her something
special.
At the end of the day Teddy worked up enough courage to softly say, "Miss Thompson, you smell just like my mother . . . and her bracelet looks real pretty on you too.
There was something in that acceptance of a lowly gift that seemed to have such an impact on this young student. And his reaction had an impact on the teacher.
At the end of the day Teddy worked up enough courage to softly say, "Miss Thompson, you smell just like my mother . . . and her bracelet looks real pretty on you too.
There was something in that acceptance of a lowly gift that seemed to have such an impact on this young student. And his reaction had an impact on the teacher.
Miss Thompson began to pay more
attention to this wayward student. She
prayed for him daily. She gave extra
time to Teddy. And it seemed to work
because by the end of the year he had caught up with most of the other
students.
Then as often happens, Teddy
moved up a grade, was assigned another teacher, and then life moved on.
Miss Thompson didn’t hear from Teddy for a long
time. Then she received this note: "Dear Miss Thompson, I wanted you to be
the first to know. I will be graduating high school. I’m second in my class. Love, Teddy Stallard."
Four years later she got another note:
"Dear Miss Thompson, They just told me I will be graduating college, first
in my class. I wanted you to be the first to know. The university has not been
easy, but I liked it. Love, Teddy Stallard."
Four years later: "Dear Miss Thompson, As
of today, I am Theodore Stallard, M.D. How about that? I wanted you to be the
first to know. I am getting married next month. I want you to come and sit
where my mother would sit if she were alive. You are the only family I have
now; Dad died last year. Love, Teddy Stallard."
Miss Thompson went to the wedding and sat where
Teddy’s mother would have sat.
She made a difference. She let God use her as an
instrument of his love an instrument of encouragement.
Some of the greatest blessings in life come when
you humbly realize someone else is more important than you are.
If you want to be somebody, put others before yourself. It is as simple as that.
What influences do you have or could you have with others?
Your influence is measured by your willingness to serve others.