extracted from Ken Blue's insightful book, Healing Spiritual Abuse, ch 5 They Do It For Show!
Jesus continues his expose of the Pharisees by pointing out their need for "the place of honour at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi' " (Mt 23:6-7). It would be fine if everyone had a seat of honour at a banquet at some time in his or her life. There is nothing inherently evil about our honouring one another, but the Pharisees demanded honour. They desperately needed to be recognized as honourable men-the very thing they were not.
Jesus' portrayal of their hypocritical desire to appear honourable reaches comic proportions in Matthew 6. Here Jesus pictures the Pharisees announcing their alms-giving with trumpets so that they can be "honoured by men" (v2). They pray for show too: they stand in conspicuous spots in synagogues and draw attention to themselves on street corners "to be seen by men" (v5). Jesus warns against such shows, telling us "not to do… acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them" (v1). And when we pray, we are to find a private place and "close the door" (v6).
In Matthew 23 Jesus rebukes the Pharisees' lust for honour, but he often scolded his disciples for the same sin (Mt 18:1-5; 19:27; 20:9-16; 20:28). "The desire to be number one, to be considered great is the most frequently combated desire in the gospels… Greatism is exposed by Jesus in Matthew 23 as the principal source of false faith."
The Pharisees' need for honour and their longing to be seen as great are demonstrated in their love for the greeting "My Great One," which is the literal meaning of rabbi. The modern equivalent of rabbi would depend on the specific religious group. In some groups, "My Great One" might be "Pastor" or, better yet, "Senior Pastor." For others, the title "Dr.," "Reverend," "Bishop" or "Elder" would show who is number one. Such titles set the titleholder apart from the common folk, which is of course the reason for them.
I know church leaders who train everyone (including their family members) to refer to them in public as Pastor Ted or Dr. John. This training, I suppose, is calculated to add reverence or honour to their position. It is my belief that a leader's need for a title in order to enhance his or her authority is in direct proportion to the lack of true authority. The demand for special status indicates a lack of real confidence. This may be why Jesus forbade such honourific titles and status labels.
But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Mt 23:8-12)
I cannot imagine language any more clear or forceful. If we take Jesus seriously here, we will all have to rethink how we address our leaders.
More literally and contemporaneously, verse 8 reads, "Don't you ever be called Doctor, Reverend or Master, for you have but one Master and you are all brothers and sisters." This is the clearest possible rebuke to all hierarchical religious structures. Jesus is radically committed to absolute parity within his church.
He continues, "And don't you ever call anyone on earth Father, for you have one Father in heaven." That is to say, even if someone demands to be called Father, Doctor, Pastor or Reverend, you refuse to do so. Such a radical social levelling of all God's people before the Father turns the church into a single household of God, which of course is its whole point (Eph 2:19; 1 Tim 3:15).
Along these lines, it is instructive to note how Paul uses the offices and titles of "bishop" and "deacon" in his letters. For instance, in Philippians 1:1 Paul omits the definite article when addressing bishops (or overseers) and deacons. This strategic omission means that the titles overseer and deacon describe their specific pastoral service or ministerial function, rather than their office. In other words, their titles indicate what they do for people rather than their position in the hierarchy. In his commentary on this verse, Ralph Martin states, "There seems to be general agreement that here the words [overseers, deacons] describe not the holders of ecclesiastical office but a responsibility which was assumed."
Jesus clearly forbade the use of ecclesiastical office titles, but if Paul can be trusted, we may use them if and when they denote a function. We should use them when omitting them would be awkward or draw attention. For instance, when a woman in my church introduces me to her mother, she can hardly do so without referring to me as her pastor. When applying for credit or a course in graduate studies, it may serve a legitimate purpose for me to say that I have a doctoral degree.
Jesus is not saying that in his household there should be none who function as spiritual fathers, mothers, elders, theological doctors, teachers or leaders. Rather, he is saying that titles that describe our functions of service should never be used to elevate us above others or to oblige our brothers and sisters to regard us as "great ones."
Paul picks up this theme in Philippians 2: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves…. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God [or the title] something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant" (vv3,5-7).
No matter how much we feel the need of offices or symbols of authority to improve our image and bolster our confidence, Jesus will not allow them. The only way to greatness in the kingdom of God is through humble service. And this seeking greatness through humble service alone has eternal consequences. "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Mt 23:12). According to Dale Brunner, "The two future passive verbs in this sentence-'will be humbled,' 'will be exalted' -refer to verdicts of the Last Judgment." So, even if humble service is not rewarded now, it will be then. And even if spiritual abuse is not judged now, it will be then (See also Mt 16:27).