To the students in Far Eastern Bible College in Singapore,
For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.[1] Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”[2]…..Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.[3]
Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, thatobserve and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. [4] |
The Lecturers in Far Eastern Bible College…..many of them were bad examples. They were like a well-known Bible professor of a generation or two ago. In the classroom, he was a brilliant interpreter of the Bible. His influence over his students was almost hypnotic. Few could sit at his feet for long without being inspired by his insights into God’s Word and being persuaded to his point of view. But off campus, he often destroyed what he accomplished in class sessions. His rudeness, especially to persons he perceived to be his social inferiors, embarrassed everyone with him. After a few hours in his company on such occasions, many former disciples could not listen to his Biblical expositions again. He was a good teacher, but such a bad example that he canceled his words by his actions.
This is Jesus’ opinion of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, who “sit in Moses’ seat” (as professors authorized to explain the correct meaning and application of Moses’ laws). Jesus’ disciples do well to obey their teaching, but would be ill advised to follow their example. Jesus knows them well. They have already made themselves His enemies. They have sought every opening to criticize and heckle Him. In the end, they look for a way to kill Him.
Yet they seem so respectable. Of course they do, because that is one of their chief goals. Jesus castigates them on at least these counts:
(1) You don’t practice what you preach (3).
(2) Your rules are a burden to sincere people (4).
(3) You put on a good show to win men’s applause (5–7).
(4) You glory in titles and honors (8–12). Jesus’ disciples, on the other hand, are not to seek to be honored with titles like “rabbi” or “father” or even “teacher.” They are to take nothing away from the Father or the Son. They are to remember they are servants, not masters. If there is to be any exalting, God is to do it!
(5) You are keeping people out of the kingdom of God (13). You are hypocrites, pretending to be serving God but really just using your religious role to puff yourselves up. You won’t heed My teaching about the kingdom of God, and you do everything you can to keep others from hearing and obeying. You won’t repent and you won’t let anyone else repent, if you can help it. (Verse 14 is reduced to a footnote in recent versions of the Bible, since it is not found in the most reliable early manuscripts. It is quite in keeping with the rest of Jesus’ denunciations, however. His heart always goes out to widows, who are often helpless to prevent themselves from being taken by unscrupulous profiteers.)
(6) Your converts are worse, not better, than before their conversion (15). As students often surpass the fanaticism of their teachers, so yours invite an even more disastrous judgment than you do.
(7) You complicate even such matters as oath-taking (16–21). We already know Jesus’ opinion concerning oaths: Matthew 5:33–37. The prevailing principle seems to have been to swear by the greater, so the Pharisees thought an oath “by the gold in the temple” would be more binding than swearing by the temple (made of stone) itself. All this does not matter to Jesus, who would do away with the whole system of swearing oaths.
(8) You commendably practice some doctrines—like tithing—while completely ignoring weightier matters like justice, mercy, and faithfulness (22–24). Mint and anise and cummin were garden herbs used in cooking and for certain medicinal purposes. The tithing of herbs was considered the ultimate in religious piety.
(9) You scrupulously observe the external niceties of religion while leaving the inner person unreformed (25–28).
(10) You honor dead prophets but, like true descendants of their murderers, you do as your forefathers did (29–32).
(11) When I send “prophets and wise men and teachers” to you, you will prove yourselves to be as quick to kill as your forefathers killed the prophets who came to them (33–36). The first reference is to Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who was slain in the court of the temple—2 Chronicles 24:20f. The second is to Abel, son of Adam, who was slain by his brother Cain, the first of a long and inglorious line of murderers—Genesis 4:10.[5]
Beloved students in Far Eastern Bible College,
Remember this, you may have learned a lot from those lecturers, but do not follow their bad example…..!!!
Harsh-sounding language was not unusual in religious debates in first-century Judaism. Words and phrases like blind guides, twice the sons of hell, hypocrites, and brood of vipers were typical expressions in such debates between Jewish religious groups at Jesus’ time. This kind of language was the way a person or a group staked out territory. Ancient listeners would not have heard these words and thought how much the speaker hated the other people. Rather, ancient listeners would have concluded that the speaker firmly believed the other party was wrong, and his or her party was right.[6]
Yours sincerely,
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[1] The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mt 5:20.
[2] The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mt 16:6.
[3] The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mt 16:12.
[4] The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mt 23:3.
[5] LeRoy Lawson, Matthew: Unlocking the Scriptures for You, Standard Bible Studies (Cincinnati, OH: Standard, 1986), 278–279.
[6] Roger L. Hahn, Matthew: a Commentary for Bible Students (Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House, 2007), 270.
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