The Lord Jesus was in one of the courtyards of the temple in Jerusalem. This was one of the last days of His life and ministry before His crucifixion coming up on Wednesday. After verbally sparing & defeating the Sadducees, He had just done the same again with some Pharisees. When those people withdrew and He was left alone with His disciples and a mob of other interested people, He went on to further expose the hypocrisies of the Pharisees. He wanted people to mark the difference between the Truth of God and what was perceived to be the truth by that heretical sect. The Truth is the truth no matter who is teaching and preaching it, but the ear must be diligent in separating the wheat from the chaff.
One of the major problems with the sect of Pharisees was their hubris – their arrogant pride. “All their works they do for to be seen of men… And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.” There is pride in all of the fallen children of Adam – it seems to be a part of our depraved nature. But there is a difference in the desire to be recognized for who we are, or what we have done, and to be in the spot-light. Generally speaking, the Pharisees were a part of the latter group – the headline hunters.
Of course, YOU are not one of those people – you have no desire to be called “rabbi” or “master.” On the other hand, why is it that when someone gives credit for your accomplishment to some other undeserving person, your hackles go up just a little bit? The source of the problem is pride. It may not be the same kind or degree of pride as the Pharisees, but it is still pride. No matter what skill, talent, ability or accomplishment that you have or that you have done, remember that undergirding it is the gift and grace of God. The Lord willing I will deal with this theme more this evening.
After pointing out this problem of the Pharisees, Jesus went on with some positive exhortation carrying with it some interesting and important theology.
Consider what it is that JESUS SAYS – and doesn’t say.
“But be NOT ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.”
First, let’s go back to the subject of fatherhood. I know that I’m treading on quicksand here, but it is a direction which logic says that I must travel. Not for a moment do I believe that Jesus was condemning the calling someone’s male parent “father.” The comment should be kept in the context of entire discourse – the pride and hypocrisy of the Pharisees What is implied in the word “father?” No matter what language you might be using, the word speaks of either the originator or transmitter of something – and in our families – he is the transmitter of physical life. It perfectly acceptable to speak of our dads as “father” because he, through our mothers, gave us life. Of course, we aren’t forgetting that the original source of life is Jehovah – our Father which is in Heaven. But it is perfectly acceptable to speak of our human parents as “father” and “mother.”
But here comes the logical difficulty. While I am saying that there is an exception to Jesus’ prohibition, the Pharisees, both of the ancient world and the world today, say that they too can make an exception – a religious exception. They say that just as we speak of our family’s fathers, they can speak of religious fathers – priests/popes. But that is precisely what Christ was condemning – the unwarranted religious use of the word. Priests are no more the origination or transmission of spiritual life any more than is a billboard exhorting motorists to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” I am not a father to any of you, but I am to my two children, and I am a grandfather to three others. If you call me “father” I trust that it will be in jest.
On either side of that subject, Jesus said, “But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.” There is an interesting combination of words in these three verses, but I don’t know how significant it is. The word “rabbi” means “master,” and in fact it translated that way almost twice as often as “rabbi.” And yet when Jesus says, “for one is your Master – neither be ye called masters, for one is your master,” He uses a different word. And this is the only time that Jesus ever uses that particular Greek word – here is its only use in the Bible. Both words refer to some sort of teacher.
I think that the point is that neither you nor I should seek for inappropriate notoriety as spiritual leaders. That is not to say that people might not look up to us as teachers of the Word of God. If we are carrying out our commission as ambassadors for Christ, it is likely that some people will consider us to be servants of the Lord in this respect. But Christ is condemning the seeking and insistence on religious titles – “father,” “master,” “rabbi” “reverend,” “monsignor” and such things.
Moving from there, what is it that CHRIST SUGGESTS in these verses?
“But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.”
Is there any doubt about the identity of the one who is “our Father, which is in heaven”? Christ is talking about the source of all life – the Father of life – God – Jehovah. As Paul said in I Corinthians 8 6 – “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” II Corinthians 1:3 – “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.” Or as James reminds us in 1:17 – “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” Jehovah Jireh is our Father – the source of life and every good thing received by His unworthy creatures.
With the word “Father” referring to deity, isn’t it consistently logical to make the same parallel to the references to “rabbi” and “master” in the light of Christ? As our Father, which is in heaven, is infinitely greater than any fathers, true or false upon the earth, so is Christ infinitely greater than any rabbi or master. We may rebelliously choose to make some man our master, but it should not be, because there is only one worthy of such respect and such a position in our hearts. It appears to me that Jesus is elevating this “Christ” over anything and anyone in this world.
And now – to whom does Jesus refer when He speaks of “Christ?” Is He speaking hypothetically or theologically? The word “Christ” is used 533 times in the New Testament. It is the Greek equivalent of the “Messiah” of the Old Testament. The first use of the word is in Matthew 1:1 – which reads – “The book of the generation of JESUS Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” When Matthew, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, wrote that verse about whom was he thinking? Fifteen verses later he tells us – “And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born JESUS, who is called Christ.” Then two verses later he adds, “Now the birth of JESUS Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” You and I would never do it, but the sceptic might say that Matthew was confused. He might say that Matthew was only sharing what other lunatics were saying about Jesus. That unbeliever might throw out Matthew’s testimony about Christ Jesus.
But it’s a little harder to throw away the testimony and question of John the Baptist in Matthew 11. “And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.” Clearly, we are talking about the man named “Jesus,” the same one who was teaching us in Matthew 23. Matthew 11:2 – “Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another.” Just as clearly, we hear John asking Jesus if He was the Christ which Israel was expecting. Jesus’ reply was simply, “look at the miracles, the signs which fulfill the promises about the Messiah.”
Then as we saw in Matthew 16, Jesus addressed the subject of His identity – the identity of the Christ. “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” “Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.” The disciples were told not to publicize the fact that Jesus is the Christ. But He did not deny who He was.
I believe we have every right to go back to the scripture with which we began the day and read it to mean – “But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, I am your Master; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for I am your Master, I am the Christ.”
Are there any other scriptures which reveal the identity of Christ?
Are there any scriptures which corroborate that Jesus is the Christ, the Master? Open your Bibles, and let’s begin with John 10:23 – “And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.” How is this possible – that Jesus and His Father are one? As I pointed out last Sunday, Jesus and His Father are of the same divine essence. And how did the Jews understand what Jesus saying? “Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.” There can be no doubt about the fact that the Jews thought that Jesus was calling himself God. And furthermore Jesus did not correct them – they were absolutely right. A similar passage may be seen in John 5:16-18 – “And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.”
Please turn to I John 5:20 – “We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” It might be argued that “this is the true God,” refers to God the Father. But as most good commentaries point out, the nearest antecedent to “this” is “Jesus Christ.” Usually, only those who hate the doctrine of Jesus’ deity prefer not to apply this statement to Christ.
And this brings us to Romans – Romans 9:5 – Speaking of Israel, Paul said, “Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.” Someone who is predetermined NOT to believe in the deity of Christ might argue that this verse is saying nothing more than that Christ has been blessed by God. But those who know the Greek language and who are honest with God positively assert that Paul is saying that Christ is the God who deserves to be praised and honored for ever. Don’t let anyone twist these scriptures; they declare Christ to be Deity. Rather listen to Paul in I Timothy 3:16 – “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” These verses are really quite clear as far as I’m concerned. I wish that there were a hundred more just like them, but the Bible assumes that we know that there is a God and that we should know that His name is Jesus Christ.
There are plenty of INCIDENTAL WAYS to prove that Jesus is the Christ – He is God.
For example there the doubting disciple, Thomas, in John 20:26-29 – “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” Where do we read of Jesus’ rejection of Thomas’ testimony and praise? You won’t find it here or in any other passage of the King James Bible. Furthermore you won’t find it the corrupt NIV, RSV, ASV, TEV or any another. And that is despite the fact that the manuscripts of most other versions of the Bible were written by men that hated the doctrine of the deity of our Lord. Either Christ is exactly what Thomas said or else He was a fraud.
We could talk about the testimony of God’s angels; we could point to Jesus’ miracles. I could take you to verses from the Old Testament which describe the ministry of the coming Messiah. We could talk about the things which only God can do, but we see them in Christ Jesus. We are told that Christ created the universe – doesn’t that make Him God? In Colossians Paul spends time talking about the Father – the same Father of whom Jesus speaks here. Then he speaks of the father’s dear son, “in whom we have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins; who is the image of the invisible God the firstborn of every creature.” “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers, all things were made by him and FOR HIM.”
Why is it so important to understand and believe correctly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? Of course there is the importance of simply being right. But over and above that there is what Paul said before speaking of Christ as the Creator. “In Him we have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins; who is the image of the invisible God the firstborn of every creature.” It is only through Jesus Christ that sinners can be delivered from the penalty of their sins.
I will close with one more scripture this morning – Mark 2:5-11. ” When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.” The reason that we need to understand that Jesus Christ is greater than al the rabbis and masters on earth is that He is the Saviour – the only one worthy and capable of delivering us from our sins. Don’t give the saints or Mary more than their proper due – you need Christ Jesus. Bow before Him, kneel before Him in repentance and trust His grace, His death on the cross; His sacrifice. You and I need the God-man of Matthew 23, of Calvary and now of Heaven. “Repent before God and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”