The verses you gave, Matt 23:1-3, ALSO speak to keeping the Ooral Torah, since Jesus says to do and observe ALL that they teach (not just the Torah, but ALL that they teach, including the Oral Torah). But I was referring yes to Matthew 23:23 where Jesus tells them to get the basics of the Torah, AND keep the Oral Torah as well. The specific tax of mint dill and cumin are an Oral Law.
Mat 23:2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
Mat 23:3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
This is a passage that Catholics are likely to quote in support of Tradition, saying it is the only verse in the Bible that mentions Moses' Seat.
On the face of it, it appears to be supporting the authority of the Scribes and Pharisees to teach orally to the people. The Scribes, who were educated in reading and writing, presented themselves as the great authorities on interpreting scripture, while the Pharisees were the spokesmen for the unwritten oral law or tradition. Let's take a closer look at what this passage is saying in context-
Mat 23:1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
Mat 23:2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
What is this referring to? In a symbolic sense, sitting in Moses' seat means teaching from the books of Moses, the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible:
Exo 18:13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that
Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
Exo 18:14 And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?
Exo 18:15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God:
Exo 18:16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and
I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
So while the phrase need not indicate a literal chair, archeologists have confirmed that a stone chair has been found in ancient synagogues (in Hamath, Chorazin, En-Gedi and Delos) next to where the law was kept. When reading from scripture, the reader would apparently sit in that chair and read the law to the congregation in judgment.
Mat 23:3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
The reader (in this case a scribe or Pharisee) would exhort the people to be keepers of the law of Moses, obviously. Jesus here is saying that what ever scripture (Moses' seat) they read from and bid the people to observe,
that the people
should observe. That supports the principle of Sola Scriptura, not unbiblical Tradition. Catholics would have you believe that being in "Moses' seat" gave one the authority to proclaim anything at all, scriptural or not, and the people would have to obey the one in Moses' seat as though God Himself had spoken every word. But note that the scribes and Pharisees themselves are branded here as nothing more than hypocrites. They piously read from the scriptures, but did
not observe and carry out what the scriptures said, and Jesus tells the people
not to follow their example. Yet Catholics will suggest that this type of person was to be strictly obeyed in
whateverunscriptural proclamation they made
despite their hypocrisy.
(From a Biblelight article; Moses' Seat - Does It Support Tradition?)
