A little help please. Jesus says "Not to call anyone on earth father" - what is it Jesus it telling us?
And how does calling a priest father fit in this?
Thank you and God Bless
I have always had trouble with Matthew 23. Oftentimes, Jesus would speak to "the multitudes" in parables, and then to his disciples in private to explain the meaning. Matthew 23 begins, "Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples,". Does this mean he spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples at the same time, or does it mean "Jesus spoke to the multitudes and
then to His disciples," as is the case in other places.
There are several reasons I have trouble with the whole thing. First, Jesus said "do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ". But "the multitudes" would not have been called "rabbi" at all, and it would have been strange for Jesus to tell them not to be called rabbi, simply because they weren't rabbis. If he was speaking to the multitudes in general, then turned to his disciples and said that to them it would make more sense.
Jesus goes on to say, "Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven". It was common at the time to refer to a senior rabbi as "father". My question is did Jesus say that to the multitudes, or only to his apostles? If he said it to his apostles, it would be a form of placing them in authority, as in "do not call anyone father because there are no rabbis who are senior to you".
And then, "do not be called teacher". I have trouble with the original language of that. I do not speak Greek, so I'll leave that to those who do, but something just doesn't seem right about it.
According to Paul, it was acceptable for converts to refer to him as "father". He refers to himself as father to the Corinthians:
1Co 4:15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet
you do not
have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
So in the end, I think Jesus said
to his apostles:
1. Call no man father...
2. Call no man teacher...
But that's just my two cents.