<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> In Matthew 23:1-3, Jesus commands His disciples and the crowd to listen to the scribes and Pharisees even while not imitating their actions. Many modern interpreters have lessened the force of Matthew 23:1-3 by an assumption of irony on the part of Jesus. We presume that God could never ordain this for His people. However, this easier reading may not be the best reading. A more straightforward interpretation, but one that is difficult to hear, suggests that at times we may need to sit under bad leadership as means of receiving God’s Word. Pre-critical and modern interpreters provide an understanding of the words of Jesus that is consistent with a theology of God’s providence in times of transition and bad leadership. In addition, there are instances of His direction in both the Old and New Testaments that reinforce this challenging path. It is through this more faithful stance that we grow and flourish in difficult times.</p></abstract>

In Matthew 23:1-3, Jesus commands His disciples and the crowd to listen to the scribes and Pharisees even while not imitating their actions. Many modern interpreters have lessened the force of Matthew 23:1-3 by an assumption of irony on the part of Jesus. We presume that God could never ordain this for His people. However, this easier reading may not be the best reading. A more straightforward interpretation, but one that is difficult to hear, suggests that at times we may need to sit under bad leadership as means of receiving God’s Word. Pre-critical and modern interpreters provide an understanding of the words of Jesus that is consistent with a theology of God’s providence in times of transition and bad leadership. In addition, there are instances of His direction in both the Old and New Testaments that reinforce this challenging path. It is through this more faithful stance that we grow and flourish in difficult times.

Forgive our presumption: a difficult reading of Matthew 23:1-3

Perichoresis

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{"article-title":"Forgive our presumption: a difficult reading of Matthew 23:1-3"}

In Matthew 23:1-3, Jesus commands His disciples and the crowd to listen to the scribes and Pharisees even while not imitating their actions. Many modern...

Forgive our presumption: a difficult reading of Matthew 23:1-3

Published Online: Aug 14, 2018

Page range: 3 - 15

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/perc-2018-0013

Keywords
Matthew 23:1-3, leadership, irony, seat of Moses, authority

© 2018 Jonathan D. Stuckert, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Forgive our presumption: a difficult reading of Matthew 23:1-3

Published Online: Aug 14, 2018

Page range: 3 - 15

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/perc-2018-0013

KeywordsMatthew 23:1-3, leadership, irony, seat of Moses, authority

© 2018 Jonathan D. Stuckert, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Matthew 23:1-3, leadership, irony, seat of Moses, authority