Matthew 23:5 – 12

“He who exalts will be humbled”

5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.

6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,

7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’

8 But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.

9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.

10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.

11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.

12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Jesus continues speaking of the scribes and Pharisees, he has called them hypocrites because of the requirements they put on the common Jew, but they themselves refuse to abide by the same ones.

He is now referring to the good works they do, they do not do them for the proper reason, they do them to be seen of men and get the honor and glory in the mind of their fellow Jewish citizens.

They make their phylacteries broad:

(Smith's Bible Dictionary explains the term as follows."Phylacteries were strips of parchment, on which were written four passages of Scripture, Exodus 13: 2-10, 11-17; Deuteronomy 6: 4-9. 18-23. In an ink prepared tor the purpose. They were then rolled up in a case of black calfskin. which was attached to a stiffer piece of leather. having a thong one finger broad and one and a half cubits long. They were placed at the bend of the left arm. Those worn on the forehead were written on four strips of parchment, and put Into four little cells within a square case on which the letter . . . was written. The square had two thongs. on which Hebrew letters were inscribed. That phylacteries were used as amulets [charms] , is certain and was very natural. The expression 'they make broad their phylacteries,' Matthew 23: 5, refers not so much to the phylactery itself, which seems to have been a prescribed breadth, as to the case in which the parchment was kept, which the Pharisees, among their other pretentious cust oms, Mark 7: 3, 4; Luke 5: 33, etc., made as conspicuous as they could. It is said that the Pharisees wore them always, whereas the common people only used them at prayers.")

The enlarged boarders of the garments are explained as “a little appendage hanging down from the edge of the mantle or cloak. (Thayer explains it as “The Jews had such appendages attached to their mantles to remind them of the law according to Numbers 15:37.”)

Zerr:( Verses 37-41. If a certain arrangement is brought about in connection with prescribed significance. then the very appearance of that arrangement should serve to call to mind that thing signified. Even more so, if there is no logical connection between the thing observed and the idea to be commemorated. These fringes or tassels were on the edge of the garments. As additional ornamentation there was a twining or woven piece of the blue material, put on top of the row of tassels. These articles by themselves had no literary significance. The embe1lishment was commanded at the same time that importance of the law was emphasized in their hearing. Sometimes a person will exhibit some peculiar article which does not show any meaning to the observer. The owner will then state that he obtained the article at a time of great interest and that the very sight of it reminds him of the circumstance. Thus it is in this ease, When the children of Israel would see these ornamental attachments to their clothing they would recall that they were instituted at the time that God warned them of disregarding his divine laws. Later, in the time of the New Testament, the Pharisees had been making a literal application of these things and were putting material strips of a surface admitting being written upon. Jesus taught that when it was done In that way, It should be considered as mere profession)

These individuals always wanted to have the best seats, at the feast or in the Synagogues, always wanted to be in the place of honor. The chief seats were the first or front seats in the synagogues were the ones which gave a prominent view of the audience.

In public places the hypocrites wanted to receive special notice by the crowd. “Rabbi” The Mosaic system had no officials with the title of Rabbi, the term was created by the Jews to mean one of dignity and respect. It carried with it the idea of some great one deserving special attention. (Thayer defines the original, "My great one, my honorable sir,") The Pharisees wanted it repeated so it gave more emphasis.

In verse 8 Jesus says not to allow yourself as an apostle of His to be honored as so because the teacher of them is Jesus, and He is the Christ or Messiah, the rest of the apostles and us are all simply brothers and sisters in His family, no special title for Christians.

Our studies can show Jesus is not meaning we cannot call our sire in our earthly family “our father,” because we are commanded to give them this type of respect. We can also see through the scriptures,

(1 Timothy 1:1-2,18[Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope, 2 To Timothy, a true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.]

[This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,])

Paul claimed to be the father of Timothy in the sense he was instrumental in Timothy being born into the kingdom of Christ and was important as his mentor as a young evangelist.

We must see the real meaning of this verse is, it is wrong for us to call any man “father” as a religious title or as one of religious authority.

Verse 10 sounds confusing to us because many of us are teachers, both in the education system and in the kingdom. So we need to look at the original of “teacher, and master(KJV)” the original meaning of the Greek word used in this verse is “great authoritative teacher.” Jesus, the Christ, is the only one in the kingdom of heaven (the church) who is qualified to be named as such, (Matthew 28:18[And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.])

The ones in the kingdom who are greatest are the ones who humble themselves so they serve others and the ones who have the greatest authority in the kingdom are not the ones who are the most important or are exalted by the Father and Son.

Those who strive for worldly greatness will be brought down by the Lord under a state of forced humiliation.