Who to trust

Matthew 23, verse 1.

Matthew 23:1

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,

! The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat,

! So do and observe what they tell you,

but not the works they do,

for they preach but do not practice.

They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,

and lay them on people's shoulders,

but they themselves are not willing to move them

with their finger.

They do all their deeds to be seen by others,

for they make their phylacteries broad

and their fringes long,

and they love the place of honour at feasts

and the best seats in the synagogues

and greetings in the master marketplaces

and being called rabbi by others.

But you are not to be called rabbi,

for you have one teacher and you are all brothers.

And call no man your father on earth,

for you have one father who is in heaven.

Neither be called instructors,

for you have one instructor, the Christ.

The greatest among you shall be your servant.

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled,

and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Will you pray with me as we come to God's word?

We're always in need of your help, Father,

Son and Holy Spirit,

to understand your word and believe

and be changed.

So I ask for that now in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, many years ago,

Emma and I went to Sydney to buy a car.

Fantastic price.

Low kilometres.

It was kind of a European brand.

I was a bit excited by that.

Now, once we got there,

the location was a little strange.

It was like this industrial area,

and then the guy I met

was a different name to the advert,

but I ignored all that.

That's okay.

We took it to a local mechanic.

At least I had that amount of wisdom.

And he decided not to charge us anything

for looking at the car to make sure it was okay,

because when he lifted it up and had a look,

it was two cars welded together.

Two VIN numbers.

Those sorts of things,

it's like, oh, man,

who can you trust in life?

Now, there were signs.

There were signs that I ignored.

I love what seemed impressive,

the great price,

the great brand.

Internally,

it was a counterfeit.

Now, that's just buying a car.

Now, wouldn't it be a shame

if we were more careful about how we buy a car

than we are about which spiritual authorities

we listen to?

How much more is at stake?

Eternity is at stake

in terms of who we listen to.

Our passage today is a warning

about who not to trust.

Now, I know the elephant in the room

is I'm here speaking as an authority.

But who can you trust?

We're given guidance here

by Christ himself.

I want us to be thinking about

who are you listening to online?

This is a measure of our health

as elders in this church

and as a church as a whole.

One day, you may need to move

and find another church.

And this is great preparation for that too.

Who we trust

to guide us to be right with God

is vital, isn't it?

So, the context of where we're up to,

we're still in the temple courts.

It's a matter of days

before Jesus goes to the cross.

He's ridden in on a donkey.

He's declared himself king.

He's receiving praise from children

as if he's Yahweh himself.

He's told those parables

that increasingly

warning the Pharisees

that they are not listening to God

because they're rejecting his son.

They try those gotcha questions,

but he shows greater wisdom than Solomon.

If King David gladly worshipped me,

then why don't you?

And now Jesus,

this is confrontation,

he's publicly exposing

and accusing the Pharisees.

Now, for Matthew's readers,

original readers,

this section would have helped explain

why the religious leaders of the day

were scrapped.

Yes, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament,

but there needed to be a changing of the guard.

That would have been the original purpose,

but notice in verse 1 and 2

who Jesus is speaking to.

Before verse 13,

he speaks to the Pharisees themselves,

but look who he's speaking to.

It's to the crowds and to his disciples.

Now, often when you talk about someone else

to someone,

that's slander.

Why do the disciples and the crowds

need to hear this?

Why do we need to hear this?

And I think this helps us in

why it's so relevant for us today.

I think there's two effects of this passage.

One is,

do not look to the Pharisees

as your authority.

They are blind guides.

They are whitewashed tombs.

They are hypocrites.

Don't trust them.

The second is,

he's calling his people

to a different authority.

And he's calling his people

to be trustworthy spiritual leaders.

To be sitting in Moses' seat

is to claim succession

of Moses' spiritual authority.

The Pharisees did have huge influence in the day.

They were the people

you would naturally look to

and trust.

The ancient historian Josephus writes,

these,

the Pharisees,

have so great a power

over the multitude

that when they say anything

against the king

or against the high priest,

they are presently believed.

They had huge influence.

Now,

verses two and three

can be taken one of two ways.

The first way is

the scribes and the Pharisees

do teach true doctrine.

So,

listen to what they say.

Just don't follow their lives.

It doesn't match

their lives.

Now,

if you take that view,

their authority here

must be very,

very limited.

It's about to end

because he's,

next week we're going to see

he calls down God's woes,

God's judgments.

Their authority is coming to an end.

So,

if you take that view,

their authority is very limited.

The second way to take these verses

is

he's using very sharp

irony.

They claim

to sit on Moses' seat.

They want you

to obey everything.

But let me show you

just how unlike Moses

they are.

They claim

Now,

it may feel a bit

beneath Jesus

to talk like that.

But there's so much

at stake.

Verse 13,

they shut the kingdom

of heaven

in people's faces.

They are leading people

away from salvation.

Paul uses very

strong language

in Galatians 5,

12,

when those teachers

are saying

you need to be circumcised

and obey the law.

I wish those

who unsettle you

would emasculate

themselves.

It seems ungracious

but when

eternity

is on the line

you need to

call it out.

Now,

I favour the latter

but honestly

I don't mind

which view you take.

I think there's

pros and cons to both.

Either way,

the point is very clear

in this passage.

Don't trust them.

You can't trust them.

whoever claims

to be a spiritual

guide

has enormous

power

over anyone

who believes

that they do.

It's not just

human authority,

they're claiming

God's authority.

So it's so vital

we know

who we can trust.

Jesus said,

by their fruits

you will know

them.

In these verses

we get three,

it's not all

scripture has to say

but we've got

three characteristics

here

of why

they're false

teachers.

The second half

of verse three,

they preach

but do not

practice.

Now you can pick

any of my sermons.

Go for your life

online and pick

one and you

will be able to

charge me with

that.

Now assuming

that my life

isn't living up

to God's word,

now assuming

Jesus isn't

requiring

total

sanctification

yet,

what is he

exposing here?

Maybe you are

going to write

to the elders

later.

But what is he

exposing here?

I think he's

striking at the

heart of what

the Pharisees

prided themselves

on.

They were

the gold

standard

of being

godly.

If you want

to know what

godliness looks

like,

look at

me,

is basically

how they

live their

lives.

And yet,

so they've

got a reputation

of being

godly and

yet,

what we're

going to

see next

week in

verse 23

and 24,

they are

tithing their

garden herbs,

their cumin

and their

mint.

They're being

that careful

that they're

neglecting the

weightier matters

of justice.

mercy,

faithfulness.

There's this

outward appearance

of godliness

but inwardly

they are so

unlike God.

External

reputation

a show

but no

internal

change.

have you

noticed the

qualifications

for elders

in 1

Timothy 3

are incredibly

ordinary?

You're

faithful to

one wife,

self-controlled,

not drunkard,

not violent but

gentle, not a

lover of money.

It's very

ordinary things.

Can I suggest

one of the

reasons for

that is that

is one of the

fruits of

God's word

actually reaching

inside someone's

heart and

changing?

Not the

public things

but the

day-to-day

ordinary

obedience

where God is

changing the

heart.

When that

man thinks

no eyes are

watching him,

is God's

word grabbing

his heart

then?

grabbing his

heart then?

I've been

personally

convicted that

my sermons are

not a good

measure of my

godliness.

They're not.

My private

prayer, which

you have no

idea, that is

a much better

gauge of my

godliness or

how much I've

still got to

go.

I was speaking

to a missionary

friend and he

was saying that

he thought he

was already

obeying God,

like leaving

behind everything

comfortable,

taking great

risks in

obeying the

Great Commission

but on the

mission field he

felt convicted

that what God

really wanted him

to learn is

just that

ordinary,

daily,

unseen

obedience,

considerate of

his wife and

patient with his

children and

honest with his

words and when

his day's plans

are thrown,

does he trust

God?

that is the

evidence of

God's word

changing, not

the outward

show but the

inward change.

So that's one

fruit of false

teachers.

It's just,

there's no

inward reality.

The second

fruit is they

burden God's

sheep with rules

and regulations.

Now, Jesus

calls for much

more radical

obedience than

the Pharisees

do.

You think

tithing your

garden herbs

is radical.

Jesus says,

deny yourself,

take up your

cross,

pray for your

enemies,

forgive.

That is much

harder,

much,

much harder.

So it's not

the degree of

difficulty of

the rule,

the expectations.

So what

makes the

Pharisees'

rules burdensome?

Well, one

thing is,

they turn the

rules of

man as if

they're God's

rules.

They

emphasise the

traditions of

the fathers.

They added

regulations to

how to live

out God's

law.

So God

said,

keep the

Sabbath.

Sabbath,

they added

don't even

pluck a

head of

grain if

you're

hungry on

the

Sabbath.

They added

rules.

God's

word often

tells us

principles,

the why,

why we

should do

something.

But often

he leaves a

lot of room

for how we

express that.

And I

think we

confuse those

two all

the time.

I think

we're still

prone today

to make the

man-made

rules of

how we

do something

and we

load it

with divine

authority that

that is how

we must

obey.

So there's

man-made

rules and

we load

them with

divine

authority.

That's one

thing they

did.

But I

think there's

a deeper

problem even

than that.

Jesus

charges them,

they

themselves are

not willing

to move

them with

their finger.

Not even

their finger

to help

them.

Now they

were willing

to tithe

the garden

herbs.

I think

what's being

said is

they laid

down the

law.

You are

here when

God wants

you here.

And if

you're

failing,

no help

whatsoever,

just you

need to be

here and

you're

crushed.

It was

graceless.

You should

be here

like us,

like me.

No

grace.

As if

how you

perform is

how God

accepts you

or not.

It's this

subtle shift

away from

what religion

has always

been about.

The law

of Moses

was always

a response

to God's

rescue from

Egypt.

It was

always in

the context

of grace.

What God

had done.

Remember

what God

has done.

Remember

he is

present

to help

you.

it's

the shift

from what

God has

done to

what you

must do.

In this

respect,

they are

so unlike

Moses.

When

Israel failed

with the

golden calf,

he didn't

go,

well,

you'll get

what you

deserve,

because they

did deserve

judgment.

No,

he went up

and he

interceded.

Blot me

out of

your

book.

He

served

the

people.

They

are so

unlike

Moses.

This

shift

from the

focus on

what God

has done

to what

you must

do,

it's so

subtle,

but we

feel it,

that it's

still a

danger today.

In sermons,

I think it's

in good

churches,

probably in

some of

my sermons,

you'll feel

the shift.

In one

sermon,

you're going

to walk

out feeling

burdened,

I've got

to do

more,

I'm

failing,

pressure.

In

another

sermon,

your soul

is

refreshed,

God

is with

me,

to go

into another

week.

Now,

what's the

difference?

Because the

words can

still be

Jesus,

God is

great,

and the

words can

sound really

religious.

Here's the

difference.

Come to

me,

all who

labor and

are heavy

laden,

and I

will give

you rest.

Take my

yoke of

discipleship upon

you and learn

from me,

for I am

gentle and

lowly in

heart,

and you

will find

rest for

your souls,

for my

yoke is

easy and

my burden

is light.

Pharisees

put the

expectation

on you,

what you

must do

to be

right with

God.

Christ

says,

come to

me.

The

difference

between a

sermon

that's

burdening

or

uplifting

is,

it's

pretty

simple to

spot,

is

Christ.

I

will

serve

you.

Is

that the

message

you're

hearing?

God

will

serve

you.

in

me,

you

will

find

full

divine

acceptance.

In

me,

you'll

find

full

divine

help.

There's

a famous

preacher,

I'm not

going to

mention

his name

because

that's

not the

point.

My job

is to

teach

principles,

I think.

I've

stopped

listening

to him.

He's

a gospel

loving

man,

don't get

me wrong,

but I've

just stopped

listening to

him because

too often

his

sermons,

they're

from the

text,

they apply

the text,

but they

don't get

to Christ.

They don't

get to

his person

and what

he's done

for us.

And I

just,

my soul

just felt

hungry.

Who are

you listening

to online?

Do you

need to

change it?

I've got a

friend with

Christian music.

he said

that he

was listening

to Christian

music all

the time,

but he

started to

feel burdened

by it because

the songs

were all

about my

response to

God,

my commitment

to him,

my love

for him,

my obedience,

my praise.

It shifted.

It was the

wrong,

no,

no,

no,

we need

much more

songs about

God,

what you have

done for

me.

It's a

subtle shift

and yet

it's the

difference

between

heaven and

earth.

They lay

down the

law without

grace.

It's

Christless.

Can I

speak a

word quickly

to parents?

We need

to show

the goodness

and the

beauty of

authority

that a

Christian home

isn't just

about laying

down

expectations

of what

God wants

us.

A

Christian

home is

one filled

with his

mercy and

grace.

We need

authority,

don't hear me

wrong,

but the

only way

you can

fill a

home with

mercy and

grace is

if you

know you

need mercy

and grace

and you

can't fake

that,

there's no

rules for

that.

We need

to be

filled with

Christ and

his mercy

if we

want.

Our

kids to

see that

in us.

So the

first fruit,

there's an

outward show,

there's no

inward change

to be like

God.

The second

fruit is

that they

burden with

the law

and it's

just missing

grace.

The third

fruit,

they love

their own

reputation

as being

closer to

God.

Verses 5

to 7.

They do

all their

deeds to

be seen

by others.

They turn

acts for

God to

then make

it about

people's

love for

them.

I can't

even say

the word

phylactery,

I don't know

if I got

that right,

but it

was a

small box

containing

verses from

the law,

which

Deuteronomy

commanded,

whether it's

metaphorical

or not,

they took

it literally

and they

bound it

on their

forehead

or on

their hand

and their

tassels

were on

the outer

garments.

They were

meant to

be personal

reminders to

obey God's

word,

but they

make them

broad and

long.

Look at

how godly

I am.

It's so

twisted

what the

human heart

can do.

Prayer.

Haven't you

heard prayers

sometimes at

public events

like weddings

and things

where it's

meant to

be pouring

out our

helplessness

before God,

but it's

this show

of jargon

and look

at me and

my passion

for God.

It's so

twisted in

on ourselves.

A generation

ago, the

big names

in the

evangelical

English-speaking

world were

like Martin

Lloyd-Jones,

John

Stott,

and Dick

Lucas.

And Phil

Jensen from

Sydney, he

was talking

about Dick

Lucas and

he said,

you've never

met a man

who was

less

egocentric.

Everybody

else wanted

to go and

talk to

the great

one.

But as

soon as he

got the

impression that

you came

because he

was the

great one,

that was

the end

of the

conversation.

He was

always serving

the people.

That's the

fruit of

someone you

can trust.

It's not

about their

name.

They're not

the great

one.

Again,

they're so

unlike

Moses.

He was

the

authority,

but on

this one

occasion when

the 70

elders were

filled with

the spirit

to prophesy,

his assistants

were saying,

quick,

Moses,

stop them

because the

authority was

spreading away

from Moses

to these

other elders.

Are you

jealous?

For my

sake,

would that

all the

Lord's

people were

prophets,

that the

Lord would

put his

spirit on

them?

Moses wasn't

even trying to

keep all the

authority to

himself.

The Pharisees

were.

They loved

their own

name.

Now,

there might

be an

order to

these three

characteristics.

If the

deepest love

that you

and I

have is

the praise

of people,

you can't

rejoice in

God's

grace because

you don't

get the

praise.

He does.

He gets

it all.

And so

your religion,

if you're

looking for

praise for

people,

it's all

going to be

for show,

external.

You don't

care about

the internal

reality,

you care

about the

external.

But if

you love

his grace,

you want

him to get

the praise

and you

want that

internal

reality.

Now,

I don't

think my

love for

people's

praise will

be fully

eradicated

until Jesus

returns.

My motives

are always,

always mixed.

I've known

people to

step back

from music

for a time

because they

just knew

in their

own heart

that even

while they're

meant to be

leading the

congregation in

worship.

Really,

what they're

wanting is

you to

love them.

Now,

you may not

need a step

back,

but where

is the

Holy Spirit

convicting you

that you're

doing it for

the love of

the praise

of people?

Name it.

It's dangerous

not to name

it.

That's the

pathway to be

refreshed in

his grace

again.

Now,

they're the

fruits.

false

teachers and

people we

shouldn't

trust if

their whole

life is

characterized

by those

three things.

You might

expect at

this point

that we're

given

characteristics

of people

you can

trust,

but that's

not where

Jesus goes.

We're given

something so

much better

than that.

Look at

verses 8 to

10.

10.

You are

not to be

called

rabbi,

for you

have one

teacher,

and you

are all

brothers.

And call

no man

your father

on earth,

for you

have one

father who

is in

heaven.

Neither be

called

instructors,

for you

have one

instructor,

the Christ.

God

himself is

your

teacher,

your

father,

your

authority.

There's

possibly a

trinitarian

nature in

these verses.

Jesus is

claiming a

radical change

in salvation

history.

Old Testament,

their spiritual

relationship with

God depended

on the

leaders.

If they

were faithful,

God blessed.

If they

weren't faithful,

they were

cursed.

A change

is happening

here.

Jeremiah said

the new

covenant,

no longer

shall each

one teach

his neighbor

and his

brother,

saying,

know the

Lord,

for they

shall all

know me,

from the

least of

them to

the greatest,

declares the

Lord.

one

authority

in God

himself.

That's

true

religion.

A few

of the

people who

have been

influential in

my life

are no

longer claiming

to be

Christian.

Sadly,

I'm guessing

I'm not the

only one who

can say

that.

Some of

those are

relationships in

my life.

Some of

them are just

public

figures.

But here's

the thing,

my faith is

not shaken.

It's very

disturbing when

that happens,

isn't it?

It's very

disturbing.

But my

faith is not

shaken because

they're not

my authority.

God alone

is in

his word and

by his

spirit in

the gospel.

Which means

our faith

is solid

when he

is our

one

authority.

his gospel

never fails

us.

At

small group

this week,

I love the

fact that

they ganged

up on me

and disagreed

with me.

I think I

was the

only one

who believed

at one

point from

the passage.

It was

wonderful because

the word of

God was the

authority in

the room.

That's true

religion.

One

authority.

Now,

the Pharisees

looked to

their earlier

rabbis and

called them

fathers and

what they

meant by

that is all

their teaching

became capital

T truth.

You can't

disagree with

them.

Now,

we have a

history of

faithful teachers

that we

stand on the

shoulders of

giants.

We've got the

early church

fathers.

We've got

the reformers,

Calvin,

Luther.

We've got the

Baptist

Confession.

But we

have one,

one final

authority.

They deserve

our respect,

but we

have one

authority.

Catholics

use this

seat of

Moses as

part of the

evidence for

the Pope,

whereas the

passage is

saying God's

not going to

share that

seat with

anyone.

He sits

on that

seat.

false

religion

always puts

something in

between you

and God

in his

word as

the ultimate

authority.

Whether it's a

human or a

tradition,

some

institution,

something is in

between.

may sound like

I'm trying to

get out of

my job,

but elders

and pastors

and other

authorities in

our lives,

they're a good

gift,

but what it

means is we're

first and

foremost

brothers.

We're

learners.

I don't

think Jesus

is being

hyper-democratic

here.

Human

teachers are

a gift from

Christ,

but if you

look at

Paul's

ministry,

especially

1 Thessalonians

2,

there's this

lovely section

where he

says,

I was like

a nursing

mother to

you.

When they

started off

as Christians,

they were so

dependent on

him, like a

nursing mother,

but then I

was like a

father to

you.

God's

urging you,

come on,

you can do

it, pushing

out of the

nest, but

then he

says, he

calls them

brothers.

True

authorities

push you

away from

themselves to

Christ.

We're a

brotherhood in

there.

Every

earthly

teacher has

gaps.

has prejudice,

has

prejudice, has

imbalances,

has that

remaining

sin of

the love

of praise

of man,

but Christ's

blood has

brought for

us a

father in

heaven, one

divine master,

one teacher,

in his word,

by his

spirit, which

means our

faith can

never be

shaken if

we look to

that authority.

there's so

many

capabilities in

human

teachers that

we often,

it attracts

us, it

gives us

confidence in

them, like

their knowledge,

their Bible

knowledge,

their widely

read, or

maybe it's

their rhetoric,

their debating

skills are

impressive,

maybe it's

their training,

they've got

PhDs, maybe

it's their

titles,

reverend,

bishop,

pastor,

senior

pastor, maybe

it's their

charisma,

they're

passionate,

they're

zealous,

you can

look for

their empathy,

their tears,

maybe you can

look for their

visionaries,

they've got

these grand

plans, they

can move

people to

get them

done, it

could be

their popularity,

but all

that could

be two

chassis of

a car

welded

together.

Let's not

look at

those things,

they can be

used for

good or

ill.

Verses

11 and

12 tell

us the

fruit we're

to look

for.

And this

fruit can

only come

if someone

looks to

Jesus as

the one

authority

and loves

the grace

of God.

The greatest

among you

shall be

your servant.

Whoever

exalts

himself will

be humbled

and whoever

humbles

himself will

be exalted.

Even as

the Son of

Man came

not to be

served but

to serve and

to give his

life as a

ransom for

many.

Humility.

Do we look

for humility?

I'm going

to say it

again.

Who you're

listening to

online, are

they humble?

Are they

pushing away

from self?

Are they so

full of God

and full of

others?

Are they

aware of

their propensity

for loving

people's praise?

Now one

public teacher

I followed

is John

Piper.

Now I

don't really

care if you

like his

style or

not.

The point

of this

message is

not to

say hey

listen only

to John

Piper.

That would

totally

misunderstand

the point

of this

sermon.

Now whatever

you think

of him,

there's

something

that's

made me

respect him

even more

because in

2011 he

took eight

months off

every public

speaking

from the

pulpit,

from all

conferences,

there's one

or two we

couldn't get

out of for

some reason,

but he was

a great one.

He was

selling books,

there was

huge following,

he could have

said look how

God is blessing

my ministry,

there's no

problem,

but he took

eight months

off because of

his marriage.

He could

have just

kept hidden.

Now in

terms of

his marriage

he writes,

I would

label my

decades long

besetting and

hopefully

weakening

sins in

this relationship

with Noel

as selfishness,

self-pity,

anger,

blaming and

sullenness,

all of them

species of

pride.

God is as

sovereign and

gracious as

ever and I

find myself

chastened,

humbled and

perhaps more

usable now.

Anyways,

that humility

made me

respect him

all the more.

Look for

that kind of

humility.

Look for

the fruit of

serving the

sheep.

There can be

so much

talk of

ministry and

serving.

We can

use that.

Don't we

use those

words so

often?

But self-love

can use the

flock for

ministry goals

whereas

shepherding love

for the sheep

and for the

flock will

well ministry

structures,

they can

change.

Does that

spot need to