Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders

Matthew 23 is a favorite...and below I have some thoughts on making this practical.
~~~
Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders:
1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses.* 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. 4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

5 “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.* 6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. 7 They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’* 8 “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters.*

9 And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. 10 And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you must be a servant. 12 But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
~~~~
Verse three is the first big shocker. It's "do what the Bible says" but "don't follow the example" of those who are not practicing what they teach. So how do we know if a "teacher" is practicing what they teach? One word: LOVE. Does the "teacher" exemplify the sort of Calvary love which our Lord revealed to us? Is his or her life defined by love, driven by love, and known by others as love? Is the legacy he will leave a legacy of unconditional, self-sacrificial love, and not just to a select few, but to all those who knew him? The religious leaders were known for crushing "people with unbearable religious demands."  We are all to be known by our love for one another.

"Everything they do is for show." But what if its not "everything" but just "some things" they do is for show? Well, it's still wrong. Now this is a matter of the heart mostly. Each of us must ask the Spirit of God to search  our innermost and weed out that which we do for show. We must place ourselves on the alter and let God kill our pride and our insatiable flesh desire for human approval. Our approval must always come from God. And because our fallen selves always war against the Spirit the task of killing this pride is ongoing, internal, and deeply personal. Occasionally, however, it is obvious to us that another person "loves to sit at the head table" or in a special seat in church. And it's obvious that they love "respectful greetings" and special titles. Note that the instruction is to the leader, that he should "not let anyone call him" Rabbi, or any other special title. Why this instruction? Because "we are are all equal as brothers and sisters." Once again, "we are all EQUAL as brothers and sisters" in Christ. That's the church!

But what should we do in the case that a church leader does not personally refuse special titles and special treatment?

1. Number one: Stop feeding their ego! Don't let them have the special seat or special title. It's not good for them and it's not good for those of us who give it to them. Leaders are to be known not by their titles or chairs but by their love and servant-hood. If they won't lead by example those "followers" must rise up and declare the necessity of Christ's teaching -- that we must be known by our LOVE. Anything else is religion -- watered-down, ineffective, divisive, power-less religion.  
2. Number two: Pray for them. Most likely their desire for a special place and a special title comes from a spiritual identity crisis. We are to have our full identity in Christ Himself -- in Who He is and what He has done for us. There is nothing the world can offer that can give us security. A special title and special chair actually breeds more insecurity. We must pour over the scriptures that teach us exactly WHO we are in Christ and little by little those desires for anything the world can give us will be replaced by only that which Christ can give us. So we must pray for them and for one another, and always point to Christ as the author and perfecter of our faith.  

A religious person and a religious church is a weak person and a weak church. It reminds me of the structures my kids like to build with our base-ten math set. Some of them are SO ready to fall. Their impact on the world will fade into history. So purge the religious before it does. There's always time to do so if we humble ourselves immediately and dedicate ourselves to God's sort of unconditional love. 

That's our job -- to humble "ourselves." God's job is to exalt. Ours is to be humble and to serve.

The greatest among you must be a servant. 

But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, 

and those who humble themselves will be exalted.