The Truth About Matthew
23:2-3
First, let us quote Matthew 23:2-3 from the King James Version of the Bible,
then the same Scripture from the New Revised Standard Version:
(Mat 23:1-3 KJV) "Then spake Yahshua to the multitude, and to his disciples, {2}
Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: {3} All therefore
whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their
works: for they say, and do not."
(Mat 23:1-3 NRSV) "Then Yahshua said to the crowds and to his disciples, {2}
"The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; {3} therefore, do whatever
they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice
what they teach."
The following discourse on Matthew 23 was taken from an email exchange between
two Brothers in the Faith. Their names are "Darrell" and "Chris," so I will use
these names to show who is speaking. It was forwarded to several other Brothers
in the Faith almost a year ago.
Darrell: The Jewish Talmud was written by Jewish Rabbis out of their love for
the Scriptures and their desire to obey it.
Chris: Greetings, Darrel, et al, in the Matchless Name of Yahshua! This response
is offered after much prayer and meditation. The New Testament soundly refutes
this statement as does the Old Testament record (Jer. 5:1-4), and the historical
record as well. Study about the Council of Jamnia. Learn about Masoretic
treachery, intentional change and destruction of Scripture by studying about the
Vorlage text and the Samaritan Pentateuch (Jer. 8:8-10).
Darrell: They were humans as all of us are, therefore they made their share of
mistakes in interpreting Scripture, just as many Christian and Yahwist
commentaries do (Rom. 3:10; Rom. 3:23).
Chris: They have gone beyond errors of interpretation. They have outright
falsified Scripture. You, Darrell, should know this better than many. You have
written and been published regarding their Babylonian "ineffable" doctrine. Read
Jeremiah 8:8-10, study as I have noted above, and learn.
Darrell: Their intent was to build a fence around the commandment to go beyond
what the Scriptures say, to keep from violating it, not to nullify it.
Chris: That's what they say. They also say Yahshua is not Mashiach. They also
say much more vile things of Him than that. They also say don't pronounce His
Names…and they falsify His Names as well. The list goes on and on and on ad
infinitum, ad nauseum. Also, you know as well as I do about the Scriptural
injunction AGAINST going "beyond what the Scriptures say." Yahshua said that
they in fact did nullify the Word (Matt. 15:6-9; Mark 7:6-13) by their 'oral
torah' tradition!
Darrell: Their talk was good, even according to Yahushua (Matthew 23:2-3).
Chris: No, Darrell, according to Yahshua in Matthew 21:12 through chapter 25 and
including 23:2-3 and the entirety of the Scriptural record on this subject,
their talk was not good.
Will you be open-minded to "HaDevar Et Ha Elohim" (the Word of the Almighty One)
and let Ruach H'Kodesh guide you into His Truth? Following is a detailed
Scripturally based examination of Matthew 23:2-3.
Context, context, context. CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING!
In Matthew 23 Yahshua speaks with regard to the Pharisees as follows:
Eight times "Woe unto you."
Eight times as to hypocrisy.
Five times as blind.
Two times as fools.
One time as serpents.
One time as vipers.
The serpent reference is a colloquialism actually referring to "cunning" as in
"sneaky and underhanded." Yahshua therefore followed along with His colloquial
use of serpent to identify them as of the dangerous, poisonous "vipers" variety
of serpents.
This is the immediate context of Matthew 23. There is no endorsement of the
Pharisees at all. This is consistent with the Scriptural record. Yahshua
soundly, roundly and repetitively reprimanded, renounced, and ridiculed the
Pharisees with Matthew 23 being an excellent summation of the totality of the
Scriptural record on this subject.
The Pharisees are mentioned almost 100 times in the Gospels. The vast majority
of these references deal with some area of conflict with Yahshua. It is
similarly shown in the book of Acts with regard to instances of the Pharisees
and their interaction with the followers of Yahshua. There were some goodly
Pharisees as in the examples of Nicodemus and Gamaliel, but the evidence of the
Messianic Scriptures reveals that the majority were not genuine, and in fact
were prideful men who by and large met disagreement to them with wicked
intentions.
The general context of Matthew 23 encompasses Matthew 21:12 through all of
Matthew 25 with regard to the Pharisees and the religious hierarchy of the time.
It starts off with Yahshua displacing them physically, then disquieting them
mentally and emotionally, and finally quieting them vocally just prior to
Matthew 23. They were SILENCED before Him.
What was their response at the end just prior to Matt. 23?
"And no man was able to answer Him a word, neither durst any from that day forth
ask Him any more."
The very next words of Scripture are significant.
"THEN spake Yahshua to the multitude, and to His disciples."
Yahshua spoke with regard to those He had just brought to silence. More
accurately, He had brought them to be silent of their own volition. He had
thoroughly trounced on their understandings, and revealed them to be without
understanding in the Scripture of which they held themselves to be masters!
They wrongfully sought preeminence over Yahshua, then sought wrongfully for
preeminence over His followers in the book of Acts, and still seek such
preeminence over His children today just as wrongfully as ever before from both
within and without the camp!
It is in this context that Yahshua said, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in
Moses' seat…" 'Moses' seat is only mentioned this one time in Scripture. This
brings up an important question for consideration:
What is "Moses' seat" and what is its significance?
The ones of whom I have asked this question generally offer no response. Those
who have answered it are in agreement with one of the foremost recognized
authorities on first century Judaism, Joseph Good, also a leading figure for the
Temple Faithful movement.
Good told me that "Moses' seat" signified the position of authority for Judaism
from which to make rulings. His answer is in agreement with all those who have
answered my query on this point. I asked him for references to confirm this and
he had none. Neither has any other offered references on this point.
Subsequent to this, I then queried Good as to how his answer squared with the
unanimity of the historical record that the Pharisees did not gain the position
of authority for Judaism until after the sacrifice of Yahshua. He had no answer.
I suggested he re-examine Matthew 23:2-3 with this in mind.
What, then, is "Moses' seat"? Archaeologists have confirmed that a stone chair
has been found in ancient synagogues (in Hamath, Chorazin, En-Gedi, and Delos)
next to where the law was kept. It would seem apparent that the Mosaic Torah
readings to the congregation would be done from there, hence "Moses' seat."
This makes sense of the passage within the fullness of both the immediate and
general context.
"All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not
ye after their works: for they say and do not." (Mat. 23:3).
The reader (in this case identified as a scribe or Pharisee) would exhort the
people to be keepers of Torah. Yahshua is therefore saying that the Torah
portion is the authority, and warning against the exposition by the Pharisees
from such readings. Yahshua had just thoroughly demonstrated their understanding
to be totally lacking in the passage prior to this. He then launched into a
tirade against the Pharisees and scribes to drive the point home!
This passage in context therefore supports the principle of Sola Scriptura,
(Scriptures Only) and trounces the notion of unbiblical tradition i.e. "oral
torah" and its written counterpart, the Talmud!
Return again to Matthew 23:3. "All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe,
that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not."
The word translated "observe" in this verse is the Greek "tereo" [Strong's 5083;
to guard (from loss or injury, prop. by keeping the eye upon; and thus differing
from 5442, which is prop. to prevent escaping; and from 2892, which implies a
fortress or full military lines of apparatus]. This is not speaking of what to
"practice" but of "watching" as in "watch carefully."
The admonition of Yahshua is to guard from loss or injury against the Word of
Torah that is read by the Pharisees by keeping a close eye upon these woeful,
hypocritical, blind, foolish, poisonous serpents! It is specifically NOT an
admonition to follow what the Pharisees say about it (prevent escaping from),
nor is it an admonition to hold firmly (as a fortress) to what they say about
it. This verse is a warning against the Pharisees teachings which is consistent
with the previous two chapters as well as the rest of this chapter and the two
chapters following!
Examine the Aramaic of Matthew 23:3:
"…so all they word to you to guard, guard and work." (from "Aramaic New
Covenant: A Literal Translation and Transliteration.")
The Aramaic Scriptures are older than the Greek, closer to the Hebrew language
of that day, and in fact the common dialect of the first century dweller in the
land of Israel. The Aramaic Scriptural record also conveys the idea of "to
guard" rather than "to practice."
This is also consistent with the entirety of the Scriptural record. In Matthew
16:6, Mark 8:15, and Luke 12:1 Yahshua warned against "the leaven of the
Pharisees" which is specifically identified in Matthew 16:12 as "the doctrine of
the Pharisees." Their doctrine is their teaching!
In Matthew 15:13-14 the Pharisees were specifically singled out as "blind
leaders" and those who follow them as "blind." Yahshua pronounced that they
would all together "fall into the ditch."
Just prior to this Yahshua addressed Pharisees and consigned to them these words
of the prophet Isaiah:
"Forasmuch as this people draw near with their mouth, and with their lips do
honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is
taught by the precept of men" (Isaiah 29:13).
Yet again the "oral torah" tradition of the Pharisees was condemned and they
with it! The Matthean scribe records Yahshua condemning the Pharisees teachings
from their "oral torah" tradition in Matthew 15:6. These teachings are then
identified as plants that will be uprooted in Matthew 15:13 because they were
not planted by the Father. Their planting is therefore by an enemy, which is
identified by Yahshua in Matthew 13:37-39.
Matthew 15:1-20 is a demonstration of how Yahshua neglected and ignored "oral
torah" traditions.
Yahshua also noted condemnation upon the Pharisees because they "trusted in
themselves," were self-righteous, and exalted themselves over non-Pharisees
(Luke 18:9-14).
In conclusion, return again for a final time to Matthew 23:2-3, looking this
time to the "Shem Tov" English translation by Professor George Howard that was
shared with us by Elder Silvio Soto:
"The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever he
[referring back to Moses] bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye
after their [the Pharisees] works: for they [Pharisees] say, and do not."
Elder Soto made note with regard to this translation, "Consider this and see if
you think it has any merits." Yes, Elder Soto, this rendering is consistent with
the entirety of the Scriptural record.
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