Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 23:10

"Neither be ye called masters: for one is your master, [even] the Christ." — Matthew 23:10 (ASV)

The “you” (v.8) is emphatic, and Jesus is probably speaking primarily to his disciples here, just as he later addresses the Pharisees directly (vv.13–36). A good preacher knows that forthright words about what is required of believers can be at the same time a powerful incentive to decision on the part of the sympathetic but uncommitted.

Unlike the religious authorities, Jesus’ disciples are not to be called “Rabbi,” for they have but one “Master” (or “Teacher”; GK 1437; cf. 22:24), Jesus himself (cf. v.10). This verse not only proscribes self-exaltation in teaching divine things but rejects the authority of the religious teachers of Jesus’ day. Such authority has been taken from them . Among those who follow Jesus, a brotherly relationship is required.

Verse 9 moves from “Rabbi” or “Teacher” to “Father.” “The fathers” became a common way of referring to earlier teachers of the law, especially the great masters; that practice may have stretched back to the days of the prophets (cf. 2 Kings 2:12). The only one they should call “Father” (GK 4252) is God himself. Jesus thus concludes this section by declaring that he himself is the only one qualified to sit in Moses’ seat—to succeed him as authoritative Teacher of God’s will and mind. Certainly we may conclude from this that the risen Christ is as displeased with those in his church who demand unquestioning submission to themselves and their opinions and confuse a reputation for showy piety with godly surrender to their teachings as he ever was with any Pharisee.