Post by Mark on Aug 30, 2009 6:43:53 GMT -8
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.
(Matthew 23:8-9 KJV)
My favorite spot in the building where I work (and yes, I do something other than sit in front of a computer writing about theology all day) is located under a stairwell in the very back of the building. Painted on the wall is a green spot, a colored in circle with green paint, just about eye level. On this spot is a typed out label. Any guesses what such a label might say in the bottom a stairwell, printed on a large green spot? It says, "RED." The profundity of it is amazing. "It all makes me very uncomfortable," a friend shared with me as I showed it to her. "Yeah," I responded, "we’re either illiterate or color-blind!"
The truth is that it has no reason for being there; and was probably some divinely appointed prank simply to mess with my mind. It was probably a mistake that needed correcting at one point; but was altogether forgotten- and fourteen years after the building has been built, who really cares?
But, by slapping a title on something, regardless of what the title is, regardless of what the object (or person) is, we attribute a significance to that something (or someone) that sets it distinctly apart from all the other green spots painted around the world.
At the turn of the millenium, the use of the term "Rabbi" or "Great Teacher" was the new thing. It was started in the generation before Messiah Yeshua when Hillel and Shammai were established as the founding fathers of the two dominant strains or sects within Judaism of that day. Both Hillel and Shammai were bequeathed the title from their followers as "the Rabbi". Since their passing, the highest minds of Jewish theology have competed for this status.
Paul would recognize this denominationalizing among the followers in Corinth.
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
(1 Corinthians 1:10-13 KJV)
We see this in dramatic clarity today as I routinely get calls from people seeking a familiar position. "Do you follow the teachings of Monte Judah?" "Do you use Michael Rood’s materials?" "Are you familiar with Tim Hegg and Daniel Lancaster?" Paul’s admonition in 1st Corinthians echoes painfully in my ears. Yes, we enjoy the teachings and efforts provided by wise men who have pursued the way God in truth over the years. They are our teachers and advisors; but we must be very careful not to exalt them too highly- that the authority of Messiah is only valid when interpreted through the words of our rabbi.
In light of this, may become a little uncomfortable with what Paul has later to say:
I write not these things to
you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me. (1 Corinthians 4:14-16 KJV)
Is Paul contradicting Messiah’s admonition in Matthew 23:9?
In the present political administration, the Rabbi was the sitting President (Nassi) of the Sanhedrin. In this case, possibly Nicodemus (the Teacher of Israel (John 3:10)). The next in line, second in command, was the "Ab" (Hebrew for Father). It was only a few short chapters earlier (and possibly the same day) that two of the disciples had sent their mother to Messiah, asking that her sons be granted the highest positions next to Him in the Kingdom, to sit at His right hand and on His left (Matthew 20:20-23). Using these two terms in the greater context of Matthew 23, Messiah was forbidding His disciples from establishing a hierarchical structure that establishes one of them as superior to the others. Rather He will conclude with Matthew 23:11, "Let him that is greatest among you, let him be your servant."
