A while back, I received a good question based around something Jesus said near the end of His ministry. Here it is, followed by my response…
Hey Matthew… I just wanted some clarification on a certain group of verses. In Matthew 23:1-4 Jesus says that the people should follow everything the Pharisees say but not what they do. Does this mean that we are supposed to follow the Jewish Torah and Talmud?
My response is this…
Couple of things.
First, Jesus is only saying “do what they say not what they do” because, as He says, they’re hypocrites and don’t practice what they preach. It’s more about Him condemning them for being poor leaders.
Second, Jesus was talking to Jews under that Law, so yeah, they would need to follow the precepts of the Law. Today, however, the old law is done away with. A modern application would be preachers: they preach the law of Christ, so do that, but if they don’t practice what they preach, don’t follow them: Obey the Word they preach, but don’t walk in their steps.
Have you ever known someone to say “I don’t want to be a Christian because there’s too many hypocrites.” That’s what Jesus is talking about. There ARE a lot of hypocrites but we’re not supposed to follow them. The Word is always good. People, sadly, are not.
~Matthew