Matthew 23:1-8

1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,

2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses.

3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach.

4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

5 “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.

6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues.

7 They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’

8 “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters.

Footnotes

• [a] Greek and the Pharisees sit in the seat of Moses.
• [b] Greek They enlarge their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
• [c] Rabbi, from Aramaic, means “master” or “teacher.”
• [d] Greek brothers.