Should the Pharisees been obeyed or not?

[Sir_Knight]

In Matt 15, Jesus commands the people not to listen to the Pharisees: “leave them, they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch”.

Yet in Matt 23, Jesus seems to reverse His position and tells the people and even His disciples to obey them: “the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do”.

These two commands seem to contradict each other. Can a scripture scholar shed some light on this?

 

[Jeanette_L]

In Matt 15, Jesus commands the people not to listen to the Pharisees: "leave them, they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch".

Yet in Matt 23, Jesus seems to reverse His position and tells the people and even His disciples to obey them: "the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do".

These two commands seem to contradict each other. Can a scripture scholar shed some light on this?

It seems that context is key here. When the Pharisees were trying to lead the people to reject Christ as Messiah, reject the Gospel of Christ, he called them blind leaders and told the people to not be led into blindness by them.

When the Pharisees, who were the authorities concerning the Mosaic Laws, were leading the people in the practice of these laws, the people were commended for following their instructions, while ignoring their (Pharisees) lack of practice themselves.

Gospel vs. Law

 

[Sir_Knight]

I was hoping to use Matt 23 to show how the Protestant Reformtion was biblically unlawful because lawful church authority should be obeyed. Matt 15 sort of shot a hole through that approach.

 

[Jeanette_L]

I have seen Matt 23 used as a valid argument for the Church’s seat of authority, God doesn’t leave his sheep to wander around aimlessly, He provides structure.

Matt 15 was pointing out the hardened hearts of some of the Pharisees (remember, not all Pharisees despised Christ) who would try to turn the people against Christ as Messiah. It was a matter of individuals who had influence because of their positions and were trying to lead the common people astray. They were not unified in their Authority to declare Christ as a fraud. You can look at the way the trial of Christ was performed, not lawfully, but unlawfully, at night and without a unified condemnation.

Look around on this site, I’m sure you can find more concerning the Seat of Moses as described in Matt 23 and it’s usefulness as you had imagined!

 

[jemfinch]

I was hoping to use Matt 23 to show how the Protestant Reformtion was biblically unlawful because lawful church authority should be obeyed. Matt 15 sort of shot a hole through that approach.

What ever happened to Hebrews 13:17? And don’t forget Jude’s warning against falling into Korah’s rebellion

Jeremy

 

[Sir_Knight]

Matt 15 could be used to counter argue those passages

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

I was hoping to use Matt 23 to show how the Protestant Reformtion was biblically unlawful because lawful church authority should be obeyed. Matt 15 sort of shot a hole through that approach.

The Pharisees had moral authority, & the authority conferred by being learned in the Law - they were not in any sense comparable to bishops. (One suggestion as to the origin of the episcopate is that its roots are in the Dead Sea sect, which had someone called the mebaqqer.)​

If anything, arguing from authority against Protestantism would also undermine Apostolic Christianity, as the Christians began as one Jewish sect among several. In the end (by 90 AD ?) they were regarded as beyond the pale of Judaism. In Christian use, a sect is a bad thing - in Second Temple Judaism, which had a different structure & was not as concerned to define doctrine as Christian groups have often been, sects such as Pharisees & Sadducees could co-exist without orthodoxy (in the Christian sense) being an issue.

Acts 5.29 is a very “Protestant” verse - the Prophets frequently acted in a “Protestant” way when they denounced their kings and priests. Moses denounced Pharaoh - yet Moses was, humanly speaking, just another Israelite. ##