Matthew 23:8

Mat_23:8-12

But be not ye called Rabbi.

Christians are brethren

The late Rev. Wm. Jay, in a sermon at Surrey Chapel, said Some time ago a countryman observed to me, I was exceedingly alarmed this morning, sir. I was going down in a lonely place, and I thought I saw a strange monster. It seemed in motion, but I could not make out its form. I didnt like to turn back, but my heart beat, and the more I looked the more I was afraid. But, as we came nearer each other, I saw it was a man, and who do you think it was? I know not. Oh, it was my brother John! Ah, said I to myself, as he added that it was early in the morning, and very foggy, how often do we thus mistake our Christian brethren!

Christian brethren not to be treated as enemies

During the Peninsular war, an officer of artillery had just served a gun with admirable precision against a body of men posted in a wood to his left. When the Commander-in-Chief rode up, after turning his glass for a moment in the direction of the shot, he said, in his cool way, Well aimed, captain; but no more; they are our own 99th. This sad blunder has been repeated too often in the armies of Jesus. The great guns of the Church, which might have battered down the citadels of Satan, have been misdirected against Christian brethren!

A bond of union

A Hindoo and a New Zealander met upon the deck of a missionary ship. They had been converted from their heathenism, and were brothers in Christ, but they could not speak to each other. They pointed to their Bibles, shook hands, smiled in each others faces, but that was all. At last a happy thought occurred to the Hindoo. With sudden joy he exclaimed, Hallelujah! The New Zealander, in delight, cried out, Amena! Those two words, not found in their own heathen tongues, were to them the beginning of one language and one speech.

Recognition of Christian brotherhood

It was on a sacramental Sabbath, and at the close of the service, Dr. Cumming invited Christs followers to remain and partake of the emblems of His atoning love. As we changed our seat to take our place among the communicants, we found ourselves in the pew of the Duke of Sutherland. The only two persons in the pew, besides our republican self, were the beautiful Duchess (then apparently about five-and-thirty years of age) and a poor, coarsely-clad woman, who had strayed in there from her seat in the gallery. On seeing the name of the titled owner of the pew upon the psalm-book, the poor woman looked disconcerted, as if she was in the wrong box. But when the sacramental bread was passed, the Duchess very courteously took the plate and handed it to her neighbour with such delicate graciousness that the puir body was made to feel quite at ease immediately. It was a striking illustration of the unity of Christs household, in which the rich and the poor, the lofty and the lowly, meet together and feel that Jesus is the Saviour of them all. When the service ended I said to myself, Now, which of these two women has had the most serious obstacle to contend with in taking up the cross for Christ? That poor labouring woman probably lives in some back alley, and thanks God for her daily meal of potatoes and salt. Her worldly temptations are few; her sources of enjoyment are few; and perhaps her chief comfort in life is found in her Bible, her prayers, her communion with Christ, and her hope of heaven. The Duchess dwells amid the splendours of Stafford House, with everything to attract her toward this world, and very little to remind her of eternity. She has troops of friends, and luxury tends to self-indulgence. The atmosphere of high life is unfavourable usually to godliness. Gold is often a hardener of the heart. So I decided that it required more grace to make the lady of rank a humbleminded, devoted disciple than it did to make the poor woman at her side a Christian. Was I not right? Remember the dear Master said, How hard it is for them that have riches to enter into the kingdom of God. (T. L. Cuyler, D. D.)

Christ the true Master

I. Human masters may transmit their words; Christ alone can impart His Spirit.

II. Human masters may teach the elements; Christ alone can conduct to the goal.

III. Human masters may establish schools; Christ alone can found a church. (J. P. Lange, D. D.)

Christs right to leadership

I. He Himself, by Himself, teaches us, and leads us by the way of virtue to heavenly glory. All others teach as they have been first taught by Him.

II. All others only teach in words that sound in the outward ears, like a tinkling cymbal; but Christ makes known their meaning inwardly to the mind.

III. All others only show what the law commands and what God requires; but Christ gives grace to the will, that we, when we hear the things which ought to be done, may indeed constantly fulfil the same. (Lapide.)

The true Master

I am my own master, cried a young man, proudly, when a friend tried to dissuade him from an enterprize he had on hand, I am my own master. Did you ever consider what a responsible post that is? asked his friend. Responsible! what do you mean? A master must lay out the work which he wants done, and see that it is done right. He should try to secure the best ends by the best means. He must keep on the look-out against obstacles and accidents, and watch that everything goes straight, else he must fail. To be master of yourself, you have your conscience to keep clear, your heart to cultivate, your temper to govern, your will to direct, and your judgment to instruct. You are master over many servants, and, if you dont master them, they will master you. That is so, said the young man. Now I could undertake no such thing, continued his friend; I should fail if I did. Saul wanted to be his own master, and failed. Herod failed. Judas failed. No man is fit to be his own master. One is your Master, even Christ. I work under His direction.

Calling no man master

I. Christians have a Master and a Father.

II. Christians have but one Master, but one Father.

III. There is no man upon earth that is the Christians father or master.

IV. God is the Christians only Father, Jesus Christ their only Master. (Hezekiah Burton.)

A truth about religion

Religion, like water, will not rise higher than the spring; if it derives its origin from this earth only, it will not rise and raise us up with it to heaven. (Hezekiah Burton.)

Call no man father

The reasons for this caution are evident.

1. When the gospel began to be preached, men who were convinced of its truth, and inclined to receive it, were often in danger of incurring the displeasure of their nearest relations and dearest friends, of father and mother, as also of the rulers in Church and State.

2. The Jews at that time were accustomed to pay a blind and slavish deference to their spiritual fathers, their doctors, and wise men, and to prefer their authority even to that of their prophets and of their own sacred books.

3. Our Saviour foresaw that the same corruption would enter into His Church, and the same slavish obedience to the traditions and doctrines of men; that fathers, and monks, and councils, and synods, and prelates, and popes would at last so engross all power, both spiritual and temporal, and abuse it to such an enormous degree, that scarcely the shadow of Christianity would remain in the Christian Church. (J. Jortin.)

What we may learn from earth masters

The points may be reduced to three.

1. A belief in God, in opposition to atheism.

2. Moral duties, in opposition to vice and debauchery.

3. Christianity, in opposition to infidelity. (J. Jortin.)

God our Father

As God is our Father, a willing compliance and a cheerful obedience are due to Him. God is a Father to us in every sense of the word, bestowing upon us more than we could hope or expect, forgiving us our offences, ruling us with lenity, making allowances for human infirmities, temptations, surprises, mistakes, and errors, for everything that can claim compassion, and is not deliberate and stubborn. We should imitate and resemble Him. We should place our trust and confidence in Him. If God be the Father of all beings, they are all, in some way, related to us. (J. Jortin.)

God the Father of His people

I. He is the Author of their spiritual being, gives life, and imparts His own nature.

II. God supplies all the need of His children. They are dependent, etc.

III. He provides them with a suitable home and habitation-Himself, His Church, His heaven.

IV. He secures the instruction of His children by His works, His word. He has appointed for them teachers.

V. He guards and protects His children.

VI. He gives them a glorious and everlasting portion. Reverence and fear Him; live and delight in Him; follow and obey Him, etc. (J. Burns, LL. D.)

Virtue only commands esteem

It is virtue that puts an esteem upon men, it makes their countenances lovely, their words to be remembered; it casts a perfume on all that men do or say; gives every word or action a rich scent. This will make our so much distasted habits and gestures that they shall not be contemned or derided, but reverenced and honoured. (Hezekiah Burton.)

Authority means service, not proud dominion

Excellent and admirable was the speech of Xunus, Emperor of China, to his son Tunis, who, according to the relation of Martinius, lived 2258 years before the birth of Christ. Take, said he, when he was dying, this sceptre, due to your virtue and merits; remember that you are the father of your people, that you are to deal with them as with your children; that the people are not born to serve you, but that you are born and designed to serve them; and that a king is alone raised up above all the rest that he might alone be able to serve all. (C. Buckley.)

Peril of high things

Do you see, so we have it in Herodotus, how God strikes the taller animals with His thunder, and causes them to disappear; while the small ones are not at all affected by it? Do you see how the loftiest houses and the highest trees are in a like manner thunder-stricken. (C. Buckley.)

Jesus Christ to the brethren

I. A prohibition.

1. Against a proud, ambitious spirit-Be not ye called Rabbi.

2. Against a servile spirit And call no man your father upon earth.

II. A revelation.

1. As to Christ. He was their Master.

2. As to the unseen God. He is our Father in heaven.

III. An ideal-All ye are brethren. (A. Scott.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 23:8-10. Be not ye called rabbi — Do not affect those titles of reverence and respect which give too much honour or authority to man. The Jewish doctors were called rabbis, fathers, and masters, by their several disciples, whom they required both to believe implicitly what they affirmed, without asking any further reason, and to obey unreservedly what they enjoined, without seeking for any further authority. But our Lord here teaches his apostles, and their successors in the ministry of the gospel, that they were to be very different from these Jewish teachers. They were to decline being called rabbi, because the thing signified by the term belonged solely to their Master, in whom the whole treasures of divine knowledge and wisdom are hid; and who, for that reason, is the only infallible teacher of his church; and also, because they owed none of their knowledge to themselves, but derived it entirely from him, in which respect they were all brethren, and on a level. And they were to call no man father upon earth — To consider no man as the father of their religion, that is, the founder, author, or director of it; to look up to no man with the reverence wherewith a child should regard a father, or so as to yield an absolute subjection to his will and pleasure, or be absolutely swayed and governed thereby; because one was their Father who is in heaven, the source, as of their being, so of all their blessings, and especially of their religion; the fountain and founder of it; the life and Lord of it. Our Lord adds, Neither be ye called masters — Gr. καθηληται, leaders, or guides. That is, of the judgments and consciences of men, because, says he, one is your Master, even Christ — The infallible instructer and guide of his church in all matters of faith and practice; commissioned by his Father to reveal his will, and teach all that is needful to be known, believed, or done, in order to salvation; whose apostles even were only to be regarded as his ministers and ambassadors, and only to be credited because, by their gifts and miraculous powers derived from him, they manifested that they taught men those things which he had commanded, and by his Spirit had revealed to them. Thus our Lord, the more effectually to enforce this warning against an unlimited veneration for the judgments and decisions of men, as a most important lesson, puts it in a variety of lights, and prohibits them from regarding any man with an implicit and blind partiality as teacher, father, or guide. Upon the whole, the things forbidden are, 1st, a vain-glorious affectation of such titles as these, the ambitious seeking of them, and glorying in them; 2d, that authority and dominion over the consciences of men, which the Pharisaical doctors had usurped; telling the people that they ought to believe all their doctrines, and practise all their injunctions, as the commands of the living God.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

23:8-12 Jesus does not prohibit the use of titles (especially for one’s own father), but rather the assumption of undue honor by those who transmit knowledge about God. The community of Jesus is a group of equals, each of whom knows God (see 12:46-50; 18:15-20). The terms Rabbi, Father, and Teacher are roughly equivalent.

23:8 Rabbi: These men functioned in Judaism as mediators for dispensing knowledge about God (see 23:7). The new covenant, by contrast, has only one teacher, Jesus himself as Messiah (see Jer 31:31-34).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mat 23:8. Μὴ κληθῆτε, be ye not called) i.e. do not ye be thus treated, nor seek to be thus treated.—εἷς γάρ ἐστιν ὑμῶν ὁ Διδάσκαλος, for one is your Teacher[987]) Others read, ΕἿς ΓΆΡ ἘΣΤΙΝ ὙΜῶΝ Ὁ ΚΑΘΗΓΗΤῊς, Ὁ ΧΡΙΣΤΌς,[988] for one is your Guide, even Christ. And this is indeed found in Mat 23:10; in the present instance, however, it is our Heavenly Father who is spoken of; cf. ch. Mat 16:17; Joh 6:45; Act 10:28; Gal 1:1; Gal 1:15; Eph 1:9; Psa 25:12; Psa 32:8. Therefore our Lord adds, but all ye are brethren, which principle applies also to the ninth verse, that we should neither ourselves be called masters, nor call any one on earth father. Christ is treated of in verse 10, and verse 11 is appropriately subjoined. Cf. concerning the Father as Teacher, and Christ as Guide, ch. Mat 11:25; Mat 11:27.—ἐστέ, ye are) The indicative mood.[989]

[987] E. V. “one is your Master.”—(I. B.)

[988] Such is the reading of E. M.

[989] i.e. not the imperative, “Be ye,” as it might be rendered.—(I. B.)

In his App. Crit. Bengel writes thus:—“καθηγητῆς) edd. Bas. α. β. γ. etc. Exo 5:10 (διδάσκαλος), Aug. 1. 4, in duabus pericopis, Bodl. 7, Colb 3, Gal. Go. Lin. Mont. N. 1, Par. 1. 4, Roe. Seld. 1, Steph. ε, Vsser. 2, Wheel. 1, et alii apud Erasmum et Bezam; Orig. Chrysost. ad h. 1. et Homil. 77 in Ioh., Arab. Syr. Probat Beza, Grotius, Seldenus, nec non L. de Dieu, Rus.

“¶ ὁ Χριστὸς) edd. etc. Exo 5:10 (\) [i.e. for the omission], Bas. unus, γ. opinor. Eph. Med. Vss. 1, duo apud Bezam, Aeth. Arab. Armen. Copt. Lat. (et inde Cant. quem tamen Beza videtur innuere, Colb. 8), Pers. Syr. Orig. Chrysostomus clare. Theophyl. in comm. Vid. Gnom.”

Tishendorf, Lachmann, and Wordsworth read διδάσκαλος, but they do not omit ὁ Χριστός.—(I. B.)

Ὑμῶν ὁ διδάσκαλος is the reading of B; “vester doctor,” d; “vobis magister,” Cypr.; “magister vester,” abc and Vulg. But ὑμῶν ὁ καθηγήτης, D; to which Rec. Text adds ὁ Χριστός.—ED.

Some one of the learned has supposed it more probable that the term καθηγήτης, as being one of less common occurrence, has been changed by transcribers into διδάσκαλος, rather than that διδάσκαλος has been substituted instead of καθηγητής. But the arguments drawn from solid criticism have more weight than such mere conjectures; not to mention that the other conjecture, by which καθηγητὴς is supposed to be transferred from Mat 23:10 (as to which there is no dispute), has at least as much show of probability. Cf. App. Grit. Ed. ii., p. 133.—E. B.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat_23:8-12. Ὑμεῖς] with which the discourse is suddenly turned to the disciples, is placed first[9] for sake of emphasis, and forms a contrast to the Pharisees and scribes.

μὴ κληθῆτε] neither wish nor allow it.

πάντες δέ] so that no one may violate the fraternal tie on the ground of his supposed superiority as a teacher.

καὶ πατέρα, κ.τ.λ.] The word πατέρα, by being placed at the beginning, becomes emphatic, and so also ὑμῶν, by being separated from πατέρα to which it belongs: And you must not call any one father of you upon earth, i.e. you must not apply the teachers title our father (אָב, see Buxtorf, p. 10, 2175; Ewald as above) to any mere man. Comp. Winer, p. 549 [E. T. 738].

Mat_23:10. Neither are you to allow yourselves to be called leaders (in the scholastic sense), for the leader of you is One (see critical notes), the Messiah. For examples of the way in which Greek philosophers were addressed by their disciples, see Wetstein.

Ὁ ΔῈ ΜΕΊΖΩΝ ὙΜῶΝ, Κ.Τ.Λ.] But among you greatness is to be indicated quite otherwise than by high-sounding titles: the greater among you, i.e. he among you who would surpass the others in true dignity, will be your servant. Comp. Mat_23:12. This is a saying of which Jesus makes very frequent use (Luk_14:11; Luk_18:14). Comp. Mat_20:26 f.; also the example of Jesus in the washing of the disciples feet, and Php_2:6 f.

ταπεινωθ.… ὑψωθ.] that is, on the occasion of the setting up of my kingdom.

[9] In consequence of this address to the disciples, Holtzmann, p. 200, regards the whole discourse, in the form in which it has come down to us, as an historical impossibility. Observe, however, the impassioned and lively way in which the topics are varied so as to suit exactly the different groups of which the audience was composed (see on ver. 1).

REMARK.

The prohibitions, Mat_23:8 ff., have reference to the hierarchical meaning and usage which were at that time associated with the titles in question. The teachers titles in themselves are as legitimate and necessary as his functions; but the hierarchy, in the form which it assumed in the Catholic church with the holy father at its head, was contrary to the spirit and mind of Jesus. Apropos of Mat_23:11, Calvin appropriately observes: Hac clausula ostendit, se non sophistice litigasse de vocibus, sed rem potius spectasse.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 23:8 . ὑμεῖς , you , emphatic: the Twelve, an earnest aside to them in especial (an interpolation by the evangelist, Weiss-Meyer), be not ye called Rabbi. μὴ κληθῆτε , “Do not seek to be called, if others call you this it will not be your fault”. Euthy. Zig.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Modesty is a singular ornament of God’s minsters.

He seemeth to allude to a place of Isaiah, chapter 54:13, and Jer. 31:34.

Seek not ambitiously after it: for our Lord doth not forbid us to give the Magistrate and our Masters the honor that is due to them, Augustine de sermone verbi Domine ex, Matt. 11.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

But be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your Master--your Guide, your Teacher.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 8. But be not ye called Rabbi] As our Lord probably spoke in Hebrew, the latter word rabbi, in this verse, must have been in the plural; but as the contracted form of the plural sounds almost exactly like the singular, the Greek writer would naturally express them both in the same letters.

None of the prophets had ever received this title, nor any of the Jewish doctors before the time of Hillel and Shammai, which was about the time of our Lord; and, as disputes on several subjects had run high between these two schools, the people were of course divided; some acknowledging Hillel as rabbi, - infallible teacher, and others giving this title to Shammai. The Pharisees, who always sought the honour that comes from men, assumed the title, and got their followers to address them by it. See on Mt 19:3.

One is your Master] Instead of καθηγητης, guide or leader, (the common reading here, and which occurs in Mt 23:10,) the famous Vatican MS., upwards of fifty others, and most of the ancient versions, read διδασκαλος, master. The most eminent critics approve of this reading and, independently of the very respectable authority by which it is supported, it is evident that this reading is more consistent with the context than the other,- Be not ye called MASTERS, for one is your MASTER.

Even Christ] Griesbach has left this out of the text, because it is wanting in many of the most excellent MSS., versions, and fathers. Mill and Bengel approve of the omission. It might have been brought into this verse from Mt 23:10. Our Lord probably alludes to Isa 54:13, All thy children shall be taught of the Lord.

Ye are brethren.] No one among you is higher than another, or can possibly have from me any jurisdiction over the rest. Ye are, in this respect, perfectly equal.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(8) Be not ye called Rabbi.—The teaching of our Lord was not without its foreshadowings in that of the better scribes, and a precept of Shemaiah, the predecessor of Hillel, lays down the rule that “men should love the work, but hate the Rabbi-ship.”

One is your Master.—The word, as found in the better MSS., is used in its old sense as “teacher.” He was, as the disciples called Him, the Rabbi to whom they were to look for guidance. They were not to seek the title for themselves as a mark of honour. As they did their work as “teachers” (1Co_12:28; Eph_4:11), they were to remember Who was teaching them. The received text of the Greek gives the word which means “guide,” as in Mat_23:10.

Even Christ.—The words are wanting in the best MSS., and have apparently crept into the text from a marginal explanatory note, completing the sense after the pattern of Mat_23:10.

All ye are brethren.—The words would seem to come more naturally at the close of the next verse, and are so placed in some MSS. There is, however, a preponderance of authority in favour of this position, nor is the use of the name here without significance. The fact that men are disciples of the same Teacher constitutes in itself a bond of brotherhood.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. be not ye called Rabbi] The emphasis is on “ye,” which is expressed in the Greek. Ye as Scribes of the Kingdom of Heaven must not be as the Jewish Scribes.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But be not ye called Rabbi,.... Do not be ambitious of any such title, fond of it, or affect it, or be elated with it, should it be given you; nor look upon yourselves as men of power and authority over others; as having the dominion over men's faith, a power to make laws for others, impose them in a magisterial way, and bind and loose men's consciences at pleasure, as these men do:

for one is your master, even Christ; meaning himself, the true Messiah, the head of the church, King of saints, and Lord of all; who had all power in heaven and in earth, to make laws, appoint ordinances, and oblige men to receive his doctrines, and obey his commands: the word "Christ", is left out in the Vulgate Latin, the Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions; but is in the Arabic version, and Munster's Hebrew Gospel, and in all the ancient Greek copies Beza consulted, excepting two: no other indeed can be meant; he is the great Rabbi, and doctor, that is to be hearkened to, and the master we are all to obey:

and all ye are brethren; not merely as the descendants of Adam, but as being in a spiritual relation, the children of God, and disciples of Christ, and so have no superiority one over another: this may regard the disciples, both as believers and Christians, partakers of the same grace, and standing in the same relation to God, Christ, and one another, and having an equal right to the same privileges: and as apostles and ministers, one as such, no, not Peter, having no pre-eminence over the other, having the same commission, doctrine, and authority, one as the other.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

Ver. 8. Be not ye called Rabbi] Do not ambitiously affect such a title, as if you were the only ones, and others not worthy to be named in the same day with you. Swelling in the body is an ill symptom, but worse in the soul.

For one is your Master] καθηγητης. Your guide to godliness and happiness, your doctor and dictator, your oracle, your ipse dixit, whose bare word you are to take, without further proof or pawn.

And all ye are brethren] Not as the pope calls his cardinals brethren, when in creating them he useth this form, Estote fratres nostri, et principes mundi. Odi fastum illius ecclesiae, Shall be our fathers and leaders in the world. Hate those festivals of that church, saith Basil, which caused the lamentable separation of the Eastern or Greek Church from communion with the Latin, the other four patriarchs dividing themselves from the Bishop of Rome, for his encroaching upon them.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Be not ye ... - Jesus forbade his disciples to seek such titles of distinction. The reason which he gave was that he was himself their Master and Teacher, They were on a level; they were to be equal in authority; they were brethren; and they should neither covet nor receive a title which implied either an elevation of one above another, or which appeared to infringe on the absolute right of the Saviour to be their only Teacher and Master. The direction here is an express command to his disciples not to receive such a title of distinction. They were not to covet it; they were not to seek it; they were not to do anything that implied a wish or a willingness that it should be appended to their names. Everything which would tend to make a distinction among them or destroy their parity - everything which would lead the world to suppose that there were ranks and grades among them as ministers, they were to avoid. It is to be observed that the command is that they were not to receive the title - “Be not ye called Rabbi.” The Saviour did not forbid them giving the title to others when it was customary or not regarded as improper (compare Act 26:25), but they were not to receive it. It was to be unknown among them. This title corresponds with the title “Doctor of Divinity” as applied to ministers of the gospel; and, so far as I can see, the spirit of the Saviour’s command is violated by the reception of such a title, as really as it would have been by their being called “Rabbi.” It makes a distinction among ministers. It tends to engender pride and a sense of superiority in those who obtain it, and envy and a sense of inferiority in those who do not; and the whole spirit and tendency of it is contrary to the “simplicity that is in Christ.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

One is your master, or teacher, who is the Christ, and under him one vicar, the successor of St. Peter, with whom all Catholic teachers are one, because they all teach one and the same doctrine in every part of the Christian world; whereas in the multiplicity of modern sects, which are every day dividing and subdividing into fresh sects, no two leaders can be found teaching in all points exactly the same tenets; as each is not only allowed, but expected to follow his own private spirit, and to build his creed upon his own interpretation of Scripture. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

It is most certain that our Saviour doth not here forbid the giving of the titles of masters and fathers to his ministers, for then Paul would not have given himself the title of father, 1Co 4:15; nor called the Galatians his little children, Gal 4:19; nor called Timothy his son, and himself his father, Phi 2:22; nor called himself a doctor of the Gentiles, 1Ti 2:7; 2Ti 1:11. That which he forbids is,

1. An affectation of such titles, and hunting after them.

2. Rem tituli, the exercise of an absolute mastership, or a paternal, absolute power; so as to require any to believe things because they said them, or to do things because they bid them, without seeing the things asserted, or first commanded, in the word of God.

For in that sense God alone is men’s Father, Christ alone their Master. Pastors and teachers in the church are all but ministers, ministers of Christ to publish his will, and to enjoin his laws; nor must any be owned as masters and fathers, to impose their laws and doctrines. This is twice repeated, because such is the corruption of human nature, that it is very prone, not only to affect these swelling titles, but also to exercise these exorbitant authorities.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. Be not ye called Rabbi — This does not forbid the ordinary diplomas of our literary institutions, any more than verse seven forbids the exchange of the ordinary civilities of life. Honour is due to learning; as wealth to industry, and authority to office. It is the thing, not the word, which our Lord here condemns under the word. Master — Our word mister is this same word master. If the title doctor is unscriptural, then the very word which we appropriate to the most ordinary man is equally so. We are thereby brought to a Quakerism. And Quakerism is, in another form, that same Phariseeism which is condemned in the fourth verse, which interpreted Deu_6:8, so as to require literal phylacteries.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 8-10. Christian equality.

Our Lord does not wish to see the distinctions of Judaism, which had become so odious in his day, repeated in Christianity. He does not desire the dogmatism of the rabbis to be copied by the Christian teachers, or the authority of the rulers to be transferred to the Christian pastors. He does not want his people to think that they can best show their humility by losing their self-respect and cringing before ecclesiastical superiors. In opposition to all such tendencies, he enunciates his principles of Christian equality.

I THE NATURE OF CHRISTIAN EQUALITY. Christianity is essentially democratic. Jesus Christ was a Man of the people, the greatest Tribune of the people the world has ever seen. He took the side of the oppressed against their oppressors, that of the "dim multitude," not that of the privileged few. His aim in this matter was to bring about a condition of brotherhood. There is a measure of inequality which no arrangements of men can set aside. One man is not always as good as another. People differ enormously in character, in ability, in energy. Therefore absolute equality is impossible. It is impossible according to the constitution of nature, and it is doubly impossible in face of the great variation of human conduct. But there is an equality to be striven for. The equality of Christian brotherhood is to be observed among Christians. Christ"s words do not directly apply to the larger society of mankind. This equality should involve an equivalent in religious privileges which are meant to be freely offered to all. It should discourage any artificial distinctions.

II THE GROUNDS OF CHRISTIAN EQUALITY.

1. The Fatherhood of God. We have one Father in heaven, and undue deference to men in religion obscures the honour due to God.

2. The Lordship of Christ. This is the specifically Christian principle, while the former one is a general religious principle. The Church is not a republic; it is a kingdom with Christ as its Head. Christians are bound to see that they put no one in the place of Christ. He has direct dealings with each of his people. He wants no grand vizier, no local satrap, no intermediate lord. He is the Master of each individual Christian, and every one can go to him personally for instructions.

III THE VIOLATION OF CHRISTIAN EQUALITY. The words of Christ are ominous of coming dangers. They have a profound significance in the light of subsequent events. It is wonderful that their plain meaning should have been so egregiously disregarded as to permit of the construction of a monstrous ecclesiastical hierarchy in one direction and the creation of a system of dogmatic orthodoxy in another. Forgetting Christ and the privilege of closest relationship with him, Christian people have bowed their necks to the tyranny of various ecclesiastical masters and theological fathers. Order requires the appointment of officers in the Church, and truth demands respect for knowledge and for the capacity to teach. But it is a mistake, a wrong to God and Christ, to show such deference to human authorities as shall be false to Christian liberty. W.F.A.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Jewish rabbis were also called father and master, by their several disciples, whom they required,

1. To believe implicitly what they affirmed, without asking any further reason;

2. To obey implicitly what they enjoined, without seeking further authority. Our Lord, therefore, by forbidding us either to give or receive the title of rabbi, master, or father, forbids us either to receive any such reverence, or to pay any such to any but God.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Humility required:

v. 8. But be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

v. 9. And call no man your father upon the earth; for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

v. 10. Neither be ye called masters; for one is your Master, even Christ.

v. 11. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

v. 12. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

With emphasis Christ singles out His disciples for this section of His discourse. They should stand out in shining contrast to such disagreeable craving for honor and cheap glory; they should not seek such sops of vanity. Especially then will titles become a nuisance of the first rank if they are to denote distinction and rank in the Church. So far as the believers are concerned, there are no superiors and inferiors before Christ, no Rabbis, no fathers, no masters. He is the only one that holds that rank, that bears that title; His disciples, whether men or women, are all equal, brethren and sisters on the same level, Gal 3:28; Col 3:11. Titles in the Church can never be more than appellations of courtesy, indicating a measure of learning and service, but never an honor by divine right. The true measure of greatness before Christ is humility of service toward Him and one’s neighbor. He that, in the sincerity of his heart, renders such service flowing from, true faith, is accounted great in the sight of the Master. Any one, therefore, that strives for honor before men, that seeks rank in the Church of Christ, will be placed very low, in the most humble position; his inordinate ambition may even take the Christianity from his heart; while the truly humble, that has only service in mind, will be exalted by the Lord in due season, 1Pe 5:6.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The word rabbi signifies a doctor or teacher, eminent, endowed with variety of knowledge, whose place it was to sit in an exalted chair, or chief seat in the synagogue; their disciples and scholars sat upon lower forms at the feet of their teachers. Our Saviour doth not simply condemn the giving or receiving of these titles, of rabbi, master, and father; but the things forbidden, are,

1. A vain-glorious affectation of such titles as these, the ambitious seeking of them, and glorying in them.

2. He condemns that authority and dominion over the consciences of men, which the pharisaical doctors had usurped; telling the people that they ought to believe all their doctrine, and practice all their injunctions, as the commands of the living God. They did in effect assume infallibility to themselves.

Learn, hence, 1. That there have been in all ages of the church a sort of teachers, who, have usurped authority and dominion over the faith and conscience of men.

2. That Christians ought not to sumbit their faith and conscience in matters of religion to any human authority whatsoever, nor give up themselves absolutely to the conduct of any man’s judgment or opinion in matters of faith.

3. That Christ alone, the great prophet and infallible teacher of his church, is the only person to whose doctrine and precepts we owe absolute faith and obedience: One is your Master, even Christ.

4. As God will abase, and men will despise the proud, especially ministers who are such; so shall God exalt, and men will honour, them that stoop to the meanest services for the good of souls; Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abused. This was a sentence often used by our Saviour, and was a frequent saying among the Jews.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. Be ye not called Rabbi. This prohibits all similar religious titles now. It certainly forbids such as the corresponding title of D.D. For one is your teacher. Christ is the common teacher of all, and all others are disciples on the same level. The spirit of this command forbids all ecclesiastical titles of honor.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

But you must not be called

This can be stated in active form. AT: "But you must not let anyone call you" (See: Active or Passive)

you

All occurrences of "you" are plural and refer to all of Jesus' followers. (See: Forms of You)

you are brothers

Here "brothers" means "fellow believers."

call no man on earth your father

Jesus is using hyperbole to tell his hearers that they must not allow even the most important people to be more important to them than God is. AT: "do not call any man on earth your father" or "do not say that any man on earth is your father" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)

you have only one Father

"Father" here is an important title for God. (See: Translating Son and Father)

Neither must you be called

This can be stated in active form. AT: "Also, do not let anyone call you" (See: Active or Passive)

you have only one teacher, the Christ

When Jesus said "the Christ," he was speaking about himself in the third person. AT: "I, the Christ, am your only teacher" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)

translationWords

Rabbi

teacher

brother

God the Father

heaven

Christ

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

8–11. THE CONTRAST OF CHRISTIAN CONDUCT

8. διδάσκαλος, for καθηγητής. All the leading editors against א*DL, and others following אcaB and a majority of codices.

8. ὑμεῖς δὲ μὴ κληθῆτε ῥαββί. The emphasis is on ὑμεῖς. Ye as Scribes of the Kingdom of Heaven must not be as the Jewish Scribes.

ὑμεῖς ἀδελφοί ἐστε. How completely the Church accepted her Founder’s words may be seen by the frequent use of ἀδελφοὶ in the Epistles, and the very rare use of διδάσκαλοι, though it appears from 1Co 12:13 that διδάσκαλος was adopted as a title in the Christian Church.

One result has been the levelling of all distinctions in Christ; another the sense of a common brotherhood, slowly spreading, not yet perfect in achievement, gradually making slavery impossible, gradually linking nations in a common sympathy.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8-10.] The prohibition is against loving, and in any religious matter, using such titles, signifying dominion over the faith of others. It must be understood in the spirit and not in the letter. Paul calls Timotheus his ‘son’ in the faith, 1Ti 1:2, and exhorts the Corinthians (1Co 11:1) to be followers of him as he of Christ. To understand and follow such commands in the slavery of the letter, is to fall into the very Pharisaism against which our Lord is uttering the caution. See (e.g.) Barnes’s note here.

ῥαββί = רַבִּי, my master: an expression used, and reduplicated as here, by scholars to their masters, who were never called by their own name by their scholars. So the Lord says, Joh 13:13, ὑμεῖς φωνεῖτέ με Ὁ διδάσκαλος κ. ὁ κύριος, καὶ καλῶς λέγετε, εἰμὶ γάρ. See Schöttgen, Hor. Heb. ii. 900. The Teacher is probably not Christ, as supplied here in the ., but the Holy Spirit (see Joh 14:26: Jer 31:33, Jer 31:34: Eze 36:26, Eze 36:27), only not here named, because this promise was only given in private to the disciples. If this be so, we have God, in His Triunity, here declared to us as the only Father, Master, and Teacher of Christians; their πατήρ, καθηγητής (= ὁδηγὸς τυφλῶν Rom 2:19), and διδάσκαλος—the only One, in all these relations, on whom they can rest or depend. They are all brethren: all substantially equal—none by office or precedence nearer to God than another; none standing between his brother and God. ‘And the duty of all Christian teachers is to bring their hearers to the confession of the Samaritans in Joh 4:42: οὐκέτι διὰ τὴν σὴν λαλιὰν πιστεύομεν· αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἀκηκόαμεν, καὶ οἴδαμεν ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν ἀληθῶς ὁ σωτὴρ τοῦ κόσμου.’ (Olshausen, Shristuz der einige Meister, p. 10, cited by Stier, ii. 444.)

πατέρα μὴ κ. ὑμ., name not any Father of you on earth: no ‘Abba’ or ‘Papa’ (see the account of the funeral of John Wesley, Coke and More’s Life, p. 441, and the opening of the Author’s dedication of the book).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Teacher, and all ye are brethren.]

(L)

8. μὴ κληθῆτε] S1 S2 have “call not ye men Rabbi,” assimilating to v. 9.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.