Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted. (Matthew 23:1-12)

“Salute the uniform, not the man.” It’s an old saying in the military that grows from the sad reality that an individual in a position of authority may not be deserving of it. Jesus told his disciples to listen to what the Pharisees taught, since their positions of authority meant that they had the right to be heard. But Jesus warned them not to imitate their lifestyles.

Then Jesus gave some illustrations to explain his point. In the Old Testament, God had told his people to bind the word of God to their hands and to hang it between their eyes. What God had meant metaphorically—that the Bible should be a guide in everything they did—the Jewish people took literally. Phylacteries were boxes containing Bible verses that they strapped to their wrists and foreheads. The Pharisees made their phylacteries especially large, so that everyone could see just how religious they were.

The word “rabbi” in Hebrew means “my master” or “my teacher.” Jesus told his disciples that the Pharisees were wrong to exalt themselves that way. He also told them that looking up to people as if they could take the place of God was also a serious mistake. Instead, people should be concerned only about the needs of others, not about their status in the world.

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