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Matthew 23.1-12
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. 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. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.
Something new stuck with me in this reading that I never noticed before. "Jesus said...The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it."
Jesus goes on to say that these Pharisees and scribes do not act as they teach, so do not act like them. However, considering how Jesus criticizes their behavior so verbosely, it is surprising to me that he does not tell his disciples to discount everything these scribes and Pharisees do AND say. It reads very much like the old adage, 'do as I say, not as I do.'
Why is it that Jesus instructs the disciples to do whatever these scribes and Pharisees teach them? The passage states it is because these scribes and Pharisees "sit on Moses's seat." I am not sure exactly what this means, but I assume it means something to the effect of they are following in the tradition of Moses's teachings. So part of it seems to be that the tradition and foundation of these scribes' and Pharisees' teachings in Moses is so solid that their teachings are derivatively good. However, these teachings must be inevitably difficult to follow if the teachers themselves are not doing so.
There is something else here that is speaking to me. Somewhere in this passage I receive the message that everyone has something to offer. Yes, these teachers are vain, they love titles, and positions, and power. However, they still have something to teach worth hearing. The instructions to follow these teachers' teachings reads to me as Jesus saying 'don't throw out the bath with the bathwater.' Despite these scribes and Pharisees acting in an ungodly way - and of course actions speak louder than words - their words still have value. They may act in very human ways, but Jesus tells us to still listen to them, to still do as they SAY to do.
I find this so interesting, and there is something godly in it. We are all human, and I know too often I get tied up in prestige, power, and the rat race (which often feels like a hamster wheel these days). However, that does not mean we do not hold some wisdom, that we do not have something to say that is worth listening to. And while certainly it is more important how we act, and that we strive to act in the ways Jesus asks us to, that does not necessarily mean we should always be silent. God speaks through us, even if our feet don't always move with the words.
