Greetings and Introduction

Greetings saints of the Most High. Welcome to another installment of the Messianic Torah Observer. Rod Thomas coming to you on a beautifully mild Preparation Day here in the DFW. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to fellowship with me. And as always beloved, it is my hope, trust, and prayer that this installment of TMTO finds you, your families, and your fellowships well and blessed.

As I am publishing this discussion, it is the first day of the 11th Month of Abba Yah’s sacred calendar year, which translates to January 31st, 2025. Happy and blessed Feast of Rosh Chodesh to you, your families, and fellowships.

The Feast of Rosh Chodesh, although not a High Sabbath, is a special day on Yah’s sacred calendar. It affords those who belong to Yah through Yeshua Messiah a renewed opportunity to worship and dedicate themselves to Yah’s service and the work of the Gospel. And so, may we find favor in Yah’s eyes as we work the fields while it is still day: Awaiting the glorious day of our Master’s return and the establishment of His illustrious Malchut Elohim — The Kingdom of Alohim.

This is “Unveiling the Truth-Yeshua’s Prohibition Against Titles in Matthew 23:8-12-Part 2.”

 

Quick Review of Part 1

In Part 1 of “Unveiling the Truth: Yeshua’s Prohibition Against Titles in Matthew 23:8-12,” we examined Jesus’ instructions to His taught and sent ones to permit no one to call them Rabbi, Father, or Teacher. And just so that we are all on the same page, literally speaking, let’s re-read this important passage:

But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ because one is your teacher, and you are all brothers, And do not call anyone* your father on earth, for one is your heavenly Father. 10 And do not be called teachers, because one is your teacher, the Christ. 11 And the greatest among you will be your servant. 12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.  Bible[1]

I began the last discussion with an emphasis on the importance of we who belong to Yehovah through Yeshua, adhering to Yeshua’s teachings and example, as well as walking out our Father’s Torah. I then shared a personal experience I recently had attending a local Messianic Jewish congregation where the congregation’s leader was referred to as Rabbi. And I mentioned to you it was this event that prompted me to conduct a deeper exploration of what I believe to be Yeshua’s prohibition against His taught and sent ones taking on such titles as contained in Matthew 23:8-12, the results of that exploration being the content of these two posts. We looked at the historic, cultural, and religious context of the passage by briefly examining the surrounding verses of the passage. And we concluded that Yeshua’s admonishments against the titles of rabbi, father, and teacher were not made by Him in a vacuum (i.e. He didn’t just one day out of the blue declare these prohibitions), so to speak. But the Master made these seeming title prohibitions in response to the demonstrated corrupt and hypocritical behavior of the Scribes and Pharisees. And so, in arriving at these seeming title prohibitions, the Master beforehand laid out quite an indictment against the Jewish religious leaders who, not only in many cases abused their authority over the people, but who were also some of the most corrupt of character and hypocritical individuals one would ever want to meet.

We also attempted to contextually define the terms Rabbi, Father, and Teacher as they would have been understood in the first-century Judaisms. We learned the titles held somewhat different meanings in Yeshua’s day than they do today. It was important to establish the titles’ baseline meanings so that we can better determine whether Yeshua’s seeming prohibition should be understood by us today as literal prohibitions against their use by His taught and sent ones. Our discussion also touched on the broader implications of Yeshua’s instructions for modern Messianic believers, emphasizing the need to follow Yeshua’s example and teachings rather than the man-made traditions and hierarchical structures of organized religion.

In today’s discussion, I’d like to examine why Yahoshua rendered these three seeming prohibitions to His taught ones in the first place; examine the two-sides of the general argument regarding the literalness of Yeshua’s seeming prohibitions; explore the practical implications of the Master’s seeming prohibitions for our Faith Community today; and lastly offer my personal take on the literalness of Yeshua’s declaration to His taught ones.

 

Yahoshua’s Prohibition

In accusing the religious leaders of a laundry list of spiritual and moral crimes, Yahoshua laid down to His disciples His standards for true spiritual leadership in the Body of Mashiyach: (1) They are not to be called Rabbi(s); (2) not to be called Father(s); and (3) not to be called teacher(s). And the reason they — and by extension we who hold leadership roles in the Body of Mashiyach today — are not to be called rabbis, teachers, and fathers is because He, Yeshua, is their sole rabbi; Yehovah is their [Heavenly] Father; and Mashiyach is their teacher. For the Kingdom economy holds that the greatest among the Master’s sent ones would be those that served and tended to the needs of their brethren. The sent one who would err towards being exalted before the people like the Scribes and Pharisees would be humbled, while the humbler of the Master’s sent ones would ultimately be exalted (23:11-12). And the point was not to invalidate Judaism and the leadership offices of the Scribes and Pharisees, as much as it was about Who His sent ones should direct the peoples’ attention to. The Scribes’ and Pharisees’ corrupt character caused the people to take their eyes or focus off Yehovah and Yeshua and instead place them upon themselves. They were effectively exalting themselves, before the people, above Yehovah and His Ways, and that was extremely problematic. And the Master clearly didn’t want to see that corrupt tendency repeated by His sent ones once they went forth and assumed leadership roles in the Body of Mashiyach.

Furthermore, the Master admonished His taught ones to not give themselves over to and follow the “takanot” and “ma’asim” of the Pharisees/Prushim (i.e. the religious leaders’ enacted rules and traditions that had the effect of overriding and nullifying Yehovah’s Torah). Thus, the only instructions they were to follow/keep/observe were Yah’s instructions in righteousness, otherwise referred to as the written Torah or Moshe’s commandments.

Unfortunately, the Body of Mashiyach has not fully embraced the Master’s instructions, choosing instead to indulge themselves in the very practices that Yahoshua said not do. Exalted titles and authority are readily rendered unto various members of our Faith Community. And the focus of these installed leaders is not that of servant-leadership, but that of self-aggrandizement at various levels.

  Yeshua therefore insists that His taught and sent ones abide by the principles of “humility” and “servanthood.” These form the essence of the Great Commandments Yeshua taught about:

 

   Discussion of humility and servanthood as core principles.

(25) And see, a certain one learned in the Torah stood up (i.e. a Scribe no doubt), trying Him (exercising arrogance and pride), and saying, “Teacher (i.e. didaskale/moreh), what shall I do to inherit everlasting life?” (26) And He (i.e. Yahoshua) says to him, “What has been written in the Torah? How do you read it?” (27) And he (i.e. the Scribe) answering says, “You shall love Yehovah your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (28) And He [Yeshua] says to him, “You have answered rightly. Do this and you shall live.” (Luk 10; The Scriptures ISR).

 

Yeshua’s Kingdom economy is all about serving one another’s needs and love for both one’s Creator and for one’s neighbor, both of which breed humility. When we love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves, and we love our Creator with our whole being, we begin to meet the criteria for true servanthood, which is an essential trait for making it into the Kingdom. What Yeshua observed from the Scribes and Pharisees here in our focus passage was self-indulgence, arrogance, self-aggrandizement, hypocrisy, etc., where these leaders did not serve the people who were placed under their spiritual care. Rather, these religious leaders were being served by the people they were supposed to serve through the accolades and authority the people placed upon them. And so, these religious leaders took advantage of their exalted positions. Such is contrary to the Kingdom economy or the Kingdom Way of Life, whereby the first will be last and the last will be first (Luk 13.30). We see the realities of the Kingdom economy expressed in the Master’s Beatitude teaching where the poor in spirit receive the Kingdom of Heaven; the mournful are comforted; the meek inherit the earth; the righteous hungry and thirsty are satiated; the merciful receive mercy; the pure in heart see Yehovah; the peacemakers receive sonship from Yah; and the wrongly persecuted receive the Malchut Elohim — the Kingdom of Yah.

Many of the Scribes and Pharisees that Yeshua had a problem with in our focus passage did not possess such character traits, despite them being in positions of great authority. We talked in detail about their spiritual rap sheets in Part 1 of this discussion. And Yeshua’s devastating edict against these corrupt religious leaders was:

For this reason, I tell you that the Kingdom of God/Yah will be taken away from you and will be given to a people who produce its fruits” (Mat 21.43; LEB).

 

   Practical implications for modern Messianic communities

Yeshua, being our Mashiyach, is our head and our covering. We are not supposed to be under any Rabbinic authority and or covering. We are not to be subject to any such religious hierarchy in the Body of Mashiyach. Yes, the Master gifted the Body a five-fold ministry comprising apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (Eph 4.8-11). These ministries Yahoshua gifted the Body for:

The perfecting of the saints; for the work of the ministry; for the edifying of the Body of Mashiyach until we all come in the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of Yehovah, even unto a perfect man; even unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Mashiyach” (Eph 4.12-13; KJV).

 

Those who have, over the centuries, manned such offices (i.e. rabbis, teachers, and spiritual fathers) have often abused them and used them to usurp authority over the people they were supposed to serve; materially enrich themselves; receive rock-star notoriety and differential and privileged treatment from members of their religious community; and spiritually abuse the people by placing yokes and burdens upon their adherents that none of them could truly bear.

Given what we know about the Scribes and Pharisees, it is easy for many of us to mercilessly condemn them. Yet many of us who may have been brought up in denominationalism or Catholicism have at one time or another witnessed similar abuses of authority within the Church Triumphant. Sadly, many of us were also conditioned to revere, if not deify, these same religious leaders. Indeed, there is nothing new under the sun.

And it is human nature for many to deify, if not unreasonably, exalt those who hold such authoritative-ecclesiastical-offices. Now, I doubt very much that Yahoshua has ever been happy to see this forbidden practice take place in His set apart Kehila/Assemblies. The problem once again is one that when we fix our eyes (i.e. our physical and spiritual eyes, ears, and minds) upon those who’ve been exalted to positions of authority, it is only human nature to eventually start taking our eyes off of our Heavenly Father (with Whom we are supposed to have a covenant relationship with) and our Messiah, Yahoshua (our Older Brother, our Savior, and our Soon Coming King), and place our spiritual and physical eyes upon our leaders. And of course, our Master acutely understood the potential for such a thing and thus He imposed such title restrictions upon His taught and sent ones. But the billion-dollar question that remains unanswered here is: Are we to take His restrictions literally?

 

Diverse Viewpoints  

As I mentioned in Part 1 of this discussion, our Faith Community is divided on this question of the literalness of the Master’s seeming prohibition against His taught and sent ones being referred to as Rabbi, father, and teacher. On the one hand, I, like many others in our Faith Community, believe we should take Yeshua’s prohibitions against these cited titles literally, keeping in mind the religious, cultural, historic, circumstantial context in which He declared them. And I will certainly expound upon why I personally believe we, as Yeshua’s taught and sent ones, should take these prohibitions literally in just a few moments.

 

On the other hand, there are many members of our Faith Community, primarily those in Messianic Jewish assemblies and congregations, who reject a literal understanding of the prohibitions. This side of the Faith Community sees Yeshua’s prohibitive declaration, not as prohibitions that His taught and sent ones must follow, but from the perspective of “The Issue of authority and respect to be afforded to the ancient Pharisees and by extension various Jewish authorities today” (J.K. McKee “Messianic Rabbis”).

McKee, like many in our Faith Community, believes that Yeshua had wide theological agreement with the Pharisees, particularly in terms of the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead (Mat 22.23-32). As they correctly see it, Yeshua recognized the Pharisees held legitimate leadership roles in and over Yisrael. However, the Master warned His followers not to emulate their behavior and attitudes. In other words, Yeshua respected the authority the Scribes and Pharisees possessed over the people, but He rejected them as individuals because they were corrupt of character. I would add that not only did the Master reject the individual Scribes and Pharisees for their corrupt character, He also rejected their Torah-nullifying traditions (aka their takanot and ma’asim) (Mat 15:1-9). And this point cannot be overlooked.

J.K. McKee goes on to say that Yeshua’s admonishment to His taught ones they should not let themselves be called Rabbi “has been widely and unfairly cast at many diligently serving and sincere Messianic Jewish leaders who widely use the title Rabbi as an alternative to Pastor” (ibid.). He states that many set aside the context of what Yeshua admonishes His taught ones here to do but choose instead to focus on the Master’s “words being a uniform moratorium on using the title, Rabbi. These have not made any attempt to insist that there be a similar moratorium on calling human fathers … father.” Furthermore, he adds, that many of the 1st century Pharisaical leaders’ hypocrisy made being called Rabbi an intense source of personal pride, arrogance, and condescension (Mat 23.7). “A literal understanding of the Rabbi title prohibition mandates the same prohibition against calling one’s biological father…father.” And it is at this juncture of his presentation that I found fault with his line of thinking on this subject. To me, it appeared Mr. McKee, whose ministry is intimately tied to the Messianic Jewish Community (which, by the way, I truly respect and appreciate), was taking the criticisms of those who rejected the title Rabbi personally. For if I am understanding him correctly, he believes it is hypocritical to deny hardworking and qualified Messianic Jewish leaders the privileged title of Rabbi (emphasis here is mine alone) while ignoring the seeming prohibition against calling others father. And if I am reading him correctly, I believe his criticism is unjustified. And I’ll explain why this is so in just a few moments.

 

McKee further points out that Yeshua’s prohibition against His taught and sent ones being called Rabbi must be related to the “position of significance” (I guess as opposed to the actual title), which so many at that time and location of the world (i.e. first century Judah) ascribed to those possessing the title, Rabbi. Many have looked to individuals possessing the title Rabbi as being the ultimate authority from which to receive instruction. Obviously, this is wrong. For the ultimate teacher is Yahoshua Messiah. The ultimate source of instruction is Yehovah’s Torah.

McKee correctly pointed out that many Jewish students throughout the centuries have viewed their teachers as father figures who they may have considered being superior to Yehovah. And Yeshua saw that this needed to be corrected.

Yahoshua’s intent in bringing this issue to His taught ones’ attention was in response to the arrogance of those who allowed themselves to be called Rabbi, while thinking within themselves that they possessed authority at the level of or superior to Yehovah. Such individuals were to be dismissed. The attention of Mashiyach followers then is to be focused exclusively on Master Yahoshua. Furthermore, Yeshua wanted His followers to be especially mindful of the needs of their brethren (Mat 23.11-12). For as sent ones, they were to practice servanthood above self. This was the Kingdom-Character that our Master modeled for each of His taught ones, the application of which applies to each of us even today.

McKee’s bottom line was that Yeshua did not prohibit His taught ones from using the title Rabbi or occupying the office of Rabbi.

I will say that J.K. McKee brought up some salient points in his presentation on this issue. But I believe his liberal view on this issue — that being Yeshua did not prohibit the use of these titles but prohibited the abuse of authority behind these titles — is clouded by his direct affiliation with the Messianic Jewish sect of our Faith Community. He rationalizes that critics of Messianic Jewish leaders taking unto themselves the title of Rabbi are disingenuous because they do not take the prohibition against calling others father, literally. I get the impression that maybe those who hold McKee’s line of reasoning have concerns that antisemitism may be behind much of the rejection to the use of the title Rabbi within and outside the greater Messianic Community.

McKee and others that hold to his line of thinking have what I believe to be valid thoughts and concerns about this subject. And I certainly respect their opinions and positions on the subject. However, I disagree with the premise that Yeshua’s polemic against the use of the titles Rabbi, father, and teacher should NOT be taken literally, but taken as a warning against the abuse of authority and corrupt personal character that leadership positions, particularly religious leadership positions, often engender within those holding such positions.

 

  1. Personal Reflection and Insight

And so, here we are at the conclusion of this matter, and it is time for me to render my thoughts on this important issue. I hold an opposite view to that of McKee and those who share his perspective on this subject. And I will say at this juncture that this is an important issue despite the opinions to the contrary by so many on both sides of this issue.

Why do I say that this is an important issue? Because our King and Savior Yahoshua Messiah gave His taught ones an order and it falls to His taught and sent ones to carry out the Master’s orders. And if we are brazen enough to treat our Master’s words and instructions as if they are simple platitudes or suggestions or ideals that we who are His have the option to follow or not, then we really don’t belong to Him, do we?

When we heard and accepted the true Gospel of the Kingdom — that is when we came into this Faith — we made the conscious decision to pickup our execution stakes (aka our crosses) and follow Master Yahoshua (Mat 16:24; Mar 8:34; Luk 9:23). Master Yeshua declared that anyone who doesn’t carry his own cross and follow Him cannot be His disciple/His taught one (Luk 14:27). To follow one whom we’ve decided will be our Master and sovereign — at least from a Hebraic standpoint — means that we have decided to leave our former master(s) behind with all the stuff that went along with following that former master, take up the yoke and burden of our new Master, and walk in His pathways. And so, in taking up His yoke and burden and walking in His pathways, we are obliged — mandated, if you will — to do all that He instructs us to do. And if we ever come to the place where we just don’t want to do the things that our Master has instructed us to do, for whatever reason, then it’s probably time to pack-up our crap, wave goodbye to the Master Yeshua, and return to our old master and his ways. Don’t you think?

Why am I soap boxing this issue? I’m soap boxing here because the instructions that our Master gave to His taught ones are unambiguous. They are clear and unimpeachable. We can make this bold claim by virtue of the spiritually criminal case our Master made against the Scribes and Pharisees. And we spent much of the last installment of this discussion going over what some of those spiritual crimes were and why the spiritual crimes of the Scribes and Pharisees, along with their takanot and ma’asim, disqualified them from leading and teaching the people in the paths of righteousness. Their halachah and personal example was not what the Father would ever approve of. In fact, the Father had a label for such individuals who took unto themselves ecclesiastical authority under a false veneer of righteousness and holiness and competence. Abba Yah called such spiritual leaders false prophets (Deu 13:5; Jer 5:31; 27:15). False prophets served no purpose apart from leading Yah’s people astray; causing Yah’s people to take their eyes off of Him — Yehovah —  and putting their eyes on them — the false prophets. Yeshua called such false religious leaders blind guides (Mat 15:14; 23:16, 24).

And so Yeshua, in laying out a spiritually criminal case against the Jewish religious leaders, instructs His taught ones, and by extension we who are His today, that “you are not to be called “Rabbi” … do not call anyone your father on earth … and do not be called teachers” (Mat 23:8-9; LEB). And He puts forth this three-part prohibition, not because the titles Rabbi, father, and teacher are inherently evil, but rather, because these titles carry with them the tendency of being abused and misused by those who take on these titles. Yeshua supports His prohibition against the use of these titles and offices by reminding us He alone is our Rabbi, we have but One Father who resides in heaven, and that Mashiyach is our one true teacher. And based upon the case the Master made against the “spiritual authority” (and note I’m specifying spiritual authority here because indeed these religionists did in fact possess authority over the people whether or not we choose to accept it and Yeshua recognized this) — against the spiritual authority and example of the Scribes and Pharisees, and this clear prohibition against we who are His taught and sent ones adopting or referring to others by these titles, I believe we must take this prohibition literally.

Now, I’m going to humbly ask you to hear what I’m saying here: I am not advocating that we blindly obey every commandment and instruction in scripture literally without having a full understanding of those commandments and instructions. To do so would be foolish. But what I am saying, beloved, is that we must exercise wisdom when studying and applying the tenets of scripture to our Faith Walk. And by exercising wisdom, I mean studying scripture: taking into account in our exegetical studies, the cultural, historical, linguistic context of the passages and verses we’ve been led to study. And of course, we could spend quite a bit of time discussing the proper way to study scripture, but this is a topic for another day.

Again, I believe that I’ve laid out for you the context upon which we should base our understanding of this prohibition against referring to our Faith leaders by the titles Rabbi, father, and teacher.

 

Prohibition Against Being Called Rabbi

Consider the following: as I stated in Part 1 of this discussion, the title or office of Rabbi is distinctly Jewish and is specifically applied to qualified synagogal, yeshiva, and Messianic Jewish congregational leaders. I’ve not been able to find any religion apart from Judaism where the office or title of Rabbi is used. So, to suggest that Yeshua’s prohibition against His taught and sent ones being referred to as a Rabbi is more of a slight against His challengers there on the Temple Mount and a slight against the misuse of their authority is a weak defense for using the title Rabbi today. The title means “my Great One” or “Great One.” The meaning has and will never change, regardless of where it is used on the earth even today.

 

Prohibition Against Being Called Father

Father is one of those cultural, linguistic, and historical contextual titles that has and continues to be used and applied to all sorts of individuals (in one form or another) throughout history and across every nation and culture. Indeed, many within and outside our faith communities use Yeshua’s prohibition against addressing others as father as proof that we cannot take the Master’s prohibitions here literally. These contend that if we were to take Yeshua’s prohibition against referring to others as father, then we can never justify referring to our biological male parent as our father. Or we cannot refer to those individuals who nurture, care, and provide for us as fathers or father-like, and such. Which then means, according to the naysayers, that we cannot refer to historical figures who birthed or brought into existence entities such as a nation, a company, or an organization as fathers of those entities.

But, contextually, the title or office of father that the Master is prohibiting here is specific to the Judaisms of that day. The closest thing to the title or office of father we know of today in Judaism is “Nasi” and “sages.” Then, and even today, the title Nasi (pronounced “nah-see”) historically means “prince” or “leader.” It is an esteemed title used for the head of the Sanhedrin. I’ve come across a handful of Messianic Jewish congregational leaders who have either been awarded or taken unto themselves the office or title of Nasi. The title Nasi carries with it the sense that the one who possesses the title or office has ultimate authority and spiritual insight over their congregation. These were and are today considered the spiritual progenitors (or founders) and heads of their religious community.

Yeshua prohibited us from calling or being called father or Ab or Abba within our Faith Community. Abba or Ab or father in English, was commonly used within the rabbinical hierarchy of first century Judaism. The Nasi was the president of the Sanhedrin. We have the title and office of the “Ab-Bet,” or the “Ab-Bet-Din,” aka “Father of the Court,” according to Barney Kasdan. The title Ab or Abba when used to describe an exalted spiritual leader carries with it the likelihood that members of the congregation/community/assembly will naturally take their eyes off of Yehovah and His Son Yeshua, and place them on the one who is revered as the community Abba or Father.

Stepping outside the Messianic Faith for a moment, we see the title father used quite a bit in Catholicism and other ecumenical religions throughout the world. Those who carry this title are viewed by their parishioners as the ultimate religious authority and leader in their lives. And this, I believe, is the point that the Master was attempting to get across in His prohibition against calling someone or being referred to as father. It’s a reference to the one possessing the title ‘father’ as that organization’s or an individual’s spiritual father. And having such an elevated reverential attitude towards someone who is supposed to be our brother in the faith can cause us to take our eyes off our Heavenly Father and place them on the leader who carries the title father. Such an exalted leader becomes the ultimate authority over an organization. His teachings and rulings might supplant — nullify, if you will — the Word of Yah within the minds of the people who see him as the ultimate authority over their religious community.

So yes, within the context of referring to others as an organization’s or as one’s personal spiritual father, Yeshua’s prohibition against conferring the title upon members of our Faith Community must be taken literally. And again, it falls to our Faith Community’s leaders to always point us towards Yahoshua and redirect any and all attention away from themselves.

 

Prohibition Against Calling Others Teachers

As I mentioned in Part 1 of this discussion, the prohibition against calling members of our Faith Community teachers was the most challenging one for me. For me, the challenge was rationalizing in my pea brain what I may or may not refer to myself as on this platform. Or, for that matter, what others in our Faith Community may or may not refer to me as. I’m not concerned at all about calling myself or having others refer to me as “Rabbi” or “father.” That ain’t gonna happen. I’m specifically concerned about the title or office of “teacher.”

So then, the trick here was for me to gain an understanding of the title or office of teacher as Yeshua saw it. And I believed the best way for me to arrive at that understanding was to, again, look at this thing from a cultural, historic, and linguistic contextual standpoint. The surrounding verses of our focus passage of Matthew 23:8-12 are specific to Yeshua’s polemic and criticism against the Scribes and Pharisees. So, what about the Scribes and Pharisees does the title or office of teacher most apply? And I’ve concluded that the title or office of teacher in this context applied to the Scribes.

Who were the Scribes in Yeshua’s day? The Scribes were the experts of Jewish Law (aka the oral torah) and of the Written Torah — Yah’s Torah. They were often referred to as “lawyers” and the “sages” and “teachers of the Law” who also sat on the kesay or the Seat of Moses/Moshe and rendered judgments and rulings over the people. And because these held so much knowledge and authority over our first-century Jewish cousins, their teachings and example certainly influenced the people whom they were supposed to be serving. Like their counterparts, the Pharisees, the Scribes were just as hypocritical and guilty of a great many spiritual crimes. And Yeshua applied the same cautions about the Scribes as He did about the Pharisees:

(2) … The sages (aka the Scribes) and the Prushim sit in Moshe’s seat. (3) Therefore, whatever he (Moshe) commands you to observe, that observe and do. But do not follow the takanot and ma’asim of the Prushim. For they say (i.e. they claim to follow Yah’s Torah) but they do not do (i.e. they do not do what Moshe’s Torah says to do) (Mat 23.2-3).

Again, throughout scripture, in particular the Renewed Covenant or Apostolic Writings, Yeshua’s chosen ones are often destined to be teachers (i.e. didaskalos or didaskaloi) within the Faith Community. The apostle Shaul described teachers as gifts to the Body of Mashiyach for the perfecting of the saints (1 Cor 12.38, 29; Eph 4:11). Consequently, renewed covenant teachers are not meant to rule over the Body nor take unto themselves authority that should only be given to “Ho Didaskalos” or “The Teacher” (Mat 26.18). And “Ho Didaskalos” is none other than Yeshua HaMashiyach.

Teachers of the Body of Mashiyach are tasked with pointing the members of the Body to Yeshua, as opposed to diverting the members’ attention onto themselves. So in this respect, the title and office of “teacher” is not the same title and office that Yeshua prohibited in our focus passage.

Although some of us may minister to the Body of Mashiyach through one of the many giftings of apostle, prophet, teacher, miracles, healer, helper, administrator, worshiper, and so forth, we are not to seek after and love the attention and deferential treatment that these giftings often engender or tend to engender in us. Furthermore, as taught and sent ones of Mashiyach, we are to be wary of leaders who possess and operate with corrupt motives, having taken on such titles and functions in the Body. Yeshua’s prohibition against the use of Rabbi, Father, and Teacher — from the perspective of the Scribes in Yeshua’s day — to address and revere members of the Body aside, the other thing to consider is the intent behind one taking on to themselves or being awarded exalted titles and authorities. Service and loving transparency must be at the heart of what the leaders in our Faith Community do for the Body of Mashiyach.

So, is it proper to refer to someone like me in the Body of Mashiyach as a teacher? Yes. But teacher, from the perspective of what I do for and in the Body of Mashiyach. When it comes to the point of our teachers being awarded the title of teacher which confers upon them authority over members of the Body of Mashiyach, then the use of the title and office of teacher should not be used or conferred.

Personally, I’d much prefer just Rod. And Rod teaches the Word.

 

Conclusion

In summary, it would seem that based upon the context in which these prohibitions were given to us by our Master and King, Yahoshua, that we must consider them to be valid, literal instructions. Again, I want to stress that we must take these prohibitions within the context in which Yeshua delivered them to us. They weren’t made in a vacuum. And the context in which they were delivered is linked to those who held the titles of Rabbi, Father, and Teacher in Yeshua’s day. The prohibition is against referring to our spiritual leaders by these three exalted titles.

And these three exalted titles may or may not have the same meaning as they did when Yeshua prohibited their use. But the application of these titles remains valid even today. We are not to call another or be called Rabbi or Great One; not be called or referred to as Father in our congregations, such as the term Nasi or spiritual Father is used of certain leaders in some of our Messianic Jewish congregations; and not be called The Teacher, or an exalted teacher of any congregation or faith community circle. None of us should see ourselves as being exalted above another in our Faith Community. As Master instructed, we are all brethren, one to the other. We are all supposed to be in service one to another. There must not be any hierarchical systems operating in our congregations and assemblies.

Now, none of what I’m saying here implies that we are not to have structure and order in our assemblies and congregations. Yeshua gifted His Body various human resources to bring the Body of Mashiyach to perfection, or maturity; unity, and knowledge of the Son of Yehovah: Apostles; Prophets; Pastors; Teachers; Miracle Workers; Healers; Helpers; Administrators; and Worshipers (1 Cor 12:28-29; Eph 4:11-14). These installed human gifts were never intended to rule over the Body, as denominationalists have successfully attempted to do throughout the ages. To make these human gifts into ruling classes of leaders in the Body of Mashiyach is to essentially repeat or imitate the very religious system our Master had to contend with in His day.

 

   Encouragement for listeners to reflect on their own views

All this being said, and in the spirit of all that I’ve put forth to you in these two discussion sessions, I humbly encourage you to conduct your own study of this subject and seek Yah’s Spirit for understanding. If you are led to disagree with anything I’ve put forth to you here, that’s okay. I’m certainly not naïve to think that I’m going to change too many minds on this subject. My only goal in bringing this subject to your attention is to stimulate thinking and mindfulness of Yeshua’s teachings, instructions, and example. And also, to inform the Body that it’s alright to question the various doctrines that are found in our Faith Community; question those doctrines in the light of sound biblical exegesis and Spirit-led understanding and practice.

 

[1] W. Hall Harris III et al., eds.,  (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Mt 23:712.

 

The Lexham English

TMTO Ministry Update

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