The Bible in general and the gospels in particularly have strong warnings to those who consider themselves to be great teachers and examples. Look again at the warnings to the Pharisees in Matthew 23 and/or the implied criticisms of religious leaders in Luke 20. Pick out one warning you would particularly like *your* teachers/leaders/professors to pay attention to, and explain why that warning is particularly important.Thursday, January 29, 2009
Be not called Rabbi, Rabbi (extra credit)
The Bible in general and the gospels in particularly have strong warnings to those who consider themselves to be great teachers and examples. Look again at the warnings to the Pharisees in Matthew 23 and/or the implied criticisms of religious leaders in Luke 20. Pick out one warning you would particularly like *your* teachers/leaders/professors to pay attention to, and explain why that warning is particularly important.
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22 comments:
brett newton
matthew 23:3-4
"but do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them."
This is very important to all leaders or people in positions of power because its a clear picture and idea that indicates what a leader should and should not do. It outlines the golden rules of doing to others as you would have done to yourself, and never asking someone of something that you would not otherwise do. If we just lived out these simple rules, life would be much better for ourselves as well as everyone we come into contact with. In this passage it is very easy to understand what God calls of his leaders.
Holly Jones
Matthew 23:25-26
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
This means Jesus condemned those for for appearing upright and holy but inwardly remaining full of corruption and greed.
This says what is going on in the world today. The presidents of banks and brokerage houses are asking for money from the government yet they can give themselves million dollar bonuses and lavish gifts.
History has a tendency to repeat itself that is a proven fact. When these big companies give to the ones at the top the ones that suffer are the ones on the bottem. We are seeing this today. The wealthy are not hurting from the state of the economy it is the middle and lower class.
It is scary that something written at that time was going to a precident for something in the twenty first century. Jesus came to earth to begin his Kingdom. His full Kingdom will be realized at his return and will be made up of anyone who has faithfully followed him.
Matthew 23: 9-10 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.
These passages were perplexing to me. Why wouldn’t I call my father, “father”, or why wouldn’t I call my boss, “Boss”?
Maybe I’m just misinterpreting what he is saying here. Could anyone clear this up for me?
Matthew 23:4-5
“They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen….”
This message is important for all people in leadership roles. It is important because we should all be aware of our actions and our motives. We shouldn’t make someone do something we would not be willing to do ourselves.
Matthew 23:12
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
This sums up the entire message of the 23rd chapter of Matthew and is extremely important for each of us to remember in our day to day lives.
Amanda Imberi
Matthew 23:23-24
"Woe to you...for you tithe...and have neglected the weightier matters of law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!"
Our teachers and and elected leaders must always be aware that their students and peers may not have a similar dedication to established rules and regulations.
So long as the student learns and shows that he or she is learning, a teacher can be content.
As for elected leaders they must be aware that they are not chosen to exploit public office or allow their personal attitudes to influence decisions too closely, they are there to manage public business in the most efficient and just way possible.
Teachers and leaders are there to make sure business happens and ensure the rules are applied fairly.
To Jade:
Remember passages like "Honor thy father and mother," and "render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's," and also think of how when Jesus asked Peter and Andrew to follow him and leave behind their old lives they did it willingly.
Of course you are going to call father "dad" and the boss man "boss." You share the love God wants with your family and other loved ones, you respect and carry out the requests given to you by your employer, but when the message of God calls you to its service you must lay aside all else to serve it.
Hope this is a useful explanation.
Matthew 23:16-17
"Woe to you, blind guides! You say, "if anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath." You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
This passage to me is something that all teachers should pay attention too. When I see it I think of teachers that i've had that seem to be more into the money they are getting then into teaching a class well. Most teachers aren't this way, but the few that there are really need to look at this passage. Great teachers are the ones that put teaching and learning first and worry about the money factor later.
Eric Bengs
Annie Merkel
Matthew 23:4 "They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger."
I know that a few other people have mentioned this in their blogs, however, my view is slightly different. When I read this I automatically think of my professors. Not all, but most of my professors assign projects that are near impossible to accomplish. I guess my biggest worry at school is that I don't have the time to do everything. For example, I can't read fifty pages of one book for class 'A' and then another fifty for class 'B' and so on. Too often I think to myself, "Do these guys know that this isn't my ONLY class? I have four other classes that are all asking me to do similar tasks."
I guess I am more looking at the part of this verse that states, "They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders." In my opinion, all professors assign tasks without realizing that we just don't have the time to do it all.
Brian Johnson
Luke 20: 46
"Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts"
I feel this is something that teachers and professors should pay attention to. I feel it is important because many of them are more interested in appearing learned and important rather than actually being intelligent and teaching others the truth. Indeed it seems that many of them teach what they want the truth to be rather than what it is.
I also found the reference to long robes especially appropriate, given the robes that professors love to wear to symbolize their supposedly high status.
Woe unto you, ye blind guides..
I don't know if I want my teachers to pay particular attention to this verse, but I like the implications in this small sentence. I would have liked to say that to a few of my high school teachers. Sometimes people have no business preaching or teaching other people; yet they do and do not make the individual better off because of it. I think that teachers and preachers have a special responsibility to their students. The students need to be able to trust what the teacher says and in some cases put into practice what they have learned. Hopefully the teachers are not blind guides. Leading them astray.
Matthew 23:3
"Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do."
This is just great teaching. All leaders should lead by example. However few of our political leaders follow this teaching. Two of the current president's nominees for leadership positions failed to pay taxes. If I followed their actions I would not pay taxes until a back-ground check revealed that I owed the IRS money. Would the IRS allow me to get away with this? NO WAY. Why didn't the IRS catch this before they were nominated? Do as I say, not as I do. Indeed.
Sam Merkel
Matthew 23:23
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercey, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."
This verse to me means that the guys who think that they are all high and mighty are above the law and the rules do not apply to them. And even today there are leaders/bosses that believe this way. No matter how wealthy or well known you may be, nobody is above the laws and regulations of people. In the verse it seems it calls the pharisees hypocrites. In today there are still people that are hypocrits. It shows that people have not really changed from than to now.
Zach Anderson
Matthew 23:28
"So you outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
I think this passage speaks to the overall message of this chapter. I feel this is a very important thing for leaders to follow because without these principles no teacher or leader can be reliable. A politician who gets free gifts but yet would not give his fellow man the same is not someone to be followed. Any man to lead another needs to practice what they preach.
Joe Adam
Matthew 23:27-28
“Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you are like to whited sepulchers, which outwardly appear to men beautiful but within are full of dead men’s bones and of all filthiness”
“So you also outwardly indeed appear to men just: but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity”.
If anyone I knew had to pay attention to this verse it would be my bosses but going on with what it means
Jesus speaks to the Scribes and Pharisees would portray themselves as being a outwardly generous person but behind your back they were nothing but hypocrites and evil people.
Matthew 23:11
"He that is the greatest among you shall be your servant."
I like this quote because it tells us that no matter how much money, power, or prestige you have on earth it does not matter. You will lose it all when you die. So people that have all the money in the world have no future after death because they will have squandered all of their time on earth gaining material wealth that they will lose. They have not prepared for the afterlife condemning them to eternal fire or purgatory. It is also a complete reversal of roles; like in the beatitudes "The meek shall inherit the earth."
Matthew 23:11
"He that is the greatest among you shall be your servant."
I like this quote because it tells us that no matter how much money, power, or prestige you have on earth it does not matter. You will lose it all when you die. So people that have all the money in the world have no future after death because they will have squandered all of their time on earth gaining material wealth that they will lose. They have not prepared for the afterlife condemning them to eternal fire or purgatory. It is also a complete reversal of roles; like in the beatitudes "The meek shall inherit the earth."
Sorry for double post, they are both me... Jon Adam.
How about this:
(From Matthew 23:25-26)
"Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence."
Jesus has got these guys nailed in terms of description. They only think that the outside of their "cup" needs to be clean, when in fact they need to clean everything. Our leaders need to realize this as well. Even our very own Tom Daschle is stumbling to his Cabinet post because he has kept the outside clean, but is not being very clean on the inside. If this is any indication of what Washington is like, a guy from SD doing such big mistakes, what are the rest of them like?
Tim Baustian
Matthew 23:25-26
The leaders are more worried about outside appearence rather than what is in a person's heart. The Jewish leaders are so worried about following the laws, of which they had one for everthing imaginable, but, fail to look at a person's faith. If you did not wear the right clothing, and make the right sacrifice, or do the wrong thing on a certain day you were unworthy. But, Jesus taught that what is important is what is in your heart. Do you believe, and strive to please the Lord God.
Ruth Wilson
I would combine two things, both the passages 'You tie up heavy burdens and put them on men's sholders, but are not willing to lift a finger to move them' and 'Woe to you, blind guides'. I would like teachers who are teaching certain classes that they arent qualified to teach to step back and see if they are doing more harm than good. It woudl be nice for those same teachers to not add burdens that arent nessicary on top of the regular burdens, just because they can or they think it will lend them a certain destinction.
Yeah, this did turn into a rant. No, prof. Marmostien, it isnt dirrected to you at all.
Matthew 23: 8-10
"As for you, do not be called Rabbi. You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heavan. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Messiah."
I think that this is a very important passage, and Louis is correct about it. There is only one God, and he rules over everything, including your father, but on the other hand you still must honor thy father and mother. When the time comes for you to lay everything aside for one person that person will be God.
Matthew 23:3-4
"But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them."
I think this is very important because Jesus is telling everyone that the leaders aren't doing things right. He is saying that you should help everyone else and not just put heavy loads on other mens soldiers. This shows why Matthew is the Book that really tries to show the Pharisees and Saducees that they are doing some wrong practices and need to change.
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