5 November 2023 Pentecost 23/All Saints
Joshua 3:7-17; Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37: 1 Thessalonians 3:5-13; Matthew 23:1-12
Most of us are familiar with the sayings ‘practice what you preach’ and ‘do as I say not as I do’, although I think that last one is hopefully used as a parody and not a serious statement. And it seems like this is the sort of statement Jesus is making about the scribes and Pharisees. However, this opening statement of Jesus’ is one which we usually do not notice, because we get caught up in the ‘practice what you preach’ scenario. “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it”. We are so used to seeing Jesus criticising the scribes and Pharisees, that we do not notice that most of his criticism is not that they are not following God’s law, but that their observance of the law becomes a burden that they put on the shoulders of others while they stand back to receive acclaim.
Matthew shows us Jesus as an excellent teacher, who interprets the law with an eye to God’s ‘bigger picture’ for, and love of, humanity. Jesus teaches the disciples to keep the law in such a way that it meets the demands of God’s justice and mercy. And Jesus’ actions are consistent with his teachings. Jesus keeps the Sabbath, while bringing God’s wholeness to people such as when he heals the man with the withered hand. He honours the Sabbath, and feeds the hungry; he cures the leper and sends him to the priest. Jesus’ message is similar to the prophets who went before him; his teachings run deep throughout Judaism.
Jesus twice quotes Hosea when he says: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’. When he was criticised for eating with tax collectors and sinners he tells his critics ‘go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”. For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’ And later he quotes it again when he is criticised for allowing his disciples to pluck grain on the Sabbath. But his responses do not mean that tax collecting and sinning are good, or that keeping the Sabbath is bad. Jesus suggests that keeping the law without exercising mercy, does not fulfill God’s expectations.
And this idea that God’s law is to be practiced with mercy was not unique to Jesus, although it is often seen that way. Jesus is not implying that the ‘norms’ of the day were more legalistic than merciful. Matthew is showing us a Jesus whose ideals and practices were deeply Jewish. Jesus is showing us that God’s law is a gift to help all of us live in relationship with God and with one another. We, humankind, need guidance in understanding how we are to interpret and apply God’s word to our lives.
Living according to God’s word means living as a servant. In criticising the Pharisees, Jesus is suggesting that the problem is that they use the law in such a way that they ensure they receive honour from others. “they love to have the place of honour at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi”. But, the implications of what Jesus is suggesting were quite countercultural – seeking the best seats at public gatherings, seeking places of honour, would have been ‘expected behaviour’ in the first century and Jesus’ renunciation of these practices would have been hard to hear for those to whom he was speaking. And if we look at our own lives, the same may be said for us too (with the exception of being called rabbi). We love the trappings of living according to God’s word. We put ourselves out there as ‘different’, and ‘holy’, and ‘pious’, and sometimes we are very good at telling others what it is they are doing wrong or what they should be doing, but we not very good at implementing God’s commands in our own lives.
Jesus’ interpretation of the law underscores that all humans are on a level playing field. God offers mercy to everyone, including the tax collector and sinner. And we misinterpret God’s law if we seek attention and status through this law. Living ‘humbly’, becoming ‘like a servant’, is more appropriate because the servant modifies their actions according to the master’s will. And Jesus shows us a master whose expectations are high, but those expectations are guided first and foremost by mercy.