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Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven.
Verse Takeaways
1
God is the Ultimate Father
Commentators unanimously agree that Jesus is not forbidding the use of 'father' for a biological parent. The prohibition is against using it as a religious title that implies ultimate spiritual authority, a right to command, and a claim to bind the conscience, which belongs to God alone.
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Matthew
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9
18th Century
Presbyterian
And call no man your father, etc. This does not, of course, forbid us to apply the term to our real father. Religion requires all proper h…
Call no man your father (πατερα μη καλεσητε υμων). Jesus meant the full sense of this noble word for our heavenly Father. "Abba wa…
19th Century
Anglican
Call no man your father — This title, in its Hebrew form Abba, was also one in which the scribes delighted. In its proper use, it…
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Baptist
In the Church of Christ, all titles and honors that exalt people and give occasion for pride are forbidden here. In the Christian commonwealth, we …
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.…
16th Century
Protestant
And call no man on earth your Father. He claims for God alone the honor of Father, in nearly the same sense as he recently assert…
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17th Century
Reformed Baptist
And call no man your father upon the earth Not but that children may, and should call their natural parents, fathers…
The scribes and Pharisees explained the law of Moses, and enforced obedience to it. They are charged with hypocrisy in religion. We can only judge …
13th Century
Catholic
Here, it was shown how the Pharisees and the Scribes were provoked by Christ’s glory, and also by His wisdom, by which He had crushed them; now, ho…
