Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others.” (Matthew 23:1-5)

Life Reveals Scholars of Confusion

Today, as always, we have a glut of so-called scholars on the scene. A vast legion of people Satan has sent out to confuse the beauty of God’s Word; i.e. to try and hide its plain and simple meaning. Sadly, many of them have found sanctuary in the neo-liberal cult of the sinfully ecumenical Emerging Church. A majority of these so-called biblical critics and professors of empty words — “having a form of our religion, but denying its power” — should take an honest look at what their teachings do to cause people to stumble, and then serve to cripple the faith of others.

My suggestion is that they get your head out of the false security of their books, their classrooms, and their campus libraries for awhile and go walk among genuine Christian people in the real world for a change. That would go a long way toward them having a real conversation and waking them from their slumber. Jesus warns us about these kinds of false teachers in His historic rebuke to the scribes and the Pharisees in our opening text; He dealt with the enemy’s scholars of confusion long before we ever had to.

As Dr. John MacArthur points out, to say that such as these sit on Moses’ seat “is equivalent to a university’s ‘chair of philosophy'”; they were religious authorities. However, MacArthur brings out a key point concerning these posers:

The expression here may be translated, “[they] have seated themselves in Moses’ seat,” emphasizing that this is an imaginary authority they claim for themselves…the scribes and Pharisees had exceeded any legitimate authority and were adding human tradition to the Word of God. [1]

Sadly, we now have decendents of people like this today. Many of them heading up mainstream evangelical denominations and seminaries, who are modern hypocrites that tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear. This they do with their worldly teachings rooted, not in the Word of God, but mankind’s philosophies and lay them on [other] people’s shoulders; working as they are, trying to make a version of of the Christian faith that the world will like. And so, they do all their deeds to be seen by other so-called scholars, the religious elite, and the world; for their approval.

Indeed such as these do, outwardly appear beautiful—appear to people in the world as righteous—but within—God tells us they—are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness (Matthew 23:27). The truth is that they love their standing in the scholastic community, the religious marketplace, and the approval of the pagan world, more than they love God. As I close this short piece I’ll make two real quick points about Who Jesus is, which directly bears upon Whom they turn their backs as they seek friendship with unbelievers in their delusions of Kingdon Now and dominionist theology.

First we turn to 1 John chapter 1 and verse 1; I’d like to show you something that should help you grasp just how God reveals—or better yet—just what God reveals of Himself in the historic Person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.  The Apostle John tells — That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life (1 John 1:1). And remember he’d already informed us — In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).

Christ Jesus, the Word of Life, is God Himself in human flesh. Dr. Walter Martin (1928-1989) shares some of his insight into this passage with us when he points out “there are two words in New Testament Greek translated ‘life.’” One is bios—from which we get our word biology; and the other is zoe. Bios refers to “physical existence”; however, zoe is talking about the actual quality of life itself. Jesus Christ is the life of God—quite literally His life essence—fully God, and fully Man. And so, that’s why John could write in his first Epistle that we have heard, we’ve seen, we’ve touched the Word of zoe — Life!

In His incarnation Jesus Christ is life’s very quality itself in human flesh. And that’s why death had—and has—no power over Him. His human body could die; but in His essential being, Jesus is everlasting and eternal life itself. Now let’s bring this understanding of the true nature of Jesus of Nazareth back with us to John, chapter 1. You will see, from the testimony of a man who lived with Jesus for three years—and who knew the Master personally—that Christ isn’t really simply just a good Man; He is not just a life. No, He is the very Source of life; Jesus of Nazareth is Life itself in human form.

With this in mind, now let’s look at what John tells us in verse 1 of his Gospel — In the beginning was the Word — i.e. Christ Jesus — and the Word was with God. The Greek here translated with is pros, which carries with it someone being with another “face to face.” And now the last part of verse 1 — and the Word — which we know is Jesus of Nazareth — was God. Now verses 2-4 — He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him — Jesus the Christ — was life, and the life was the light of men.

Hopefully you’ve now come to see why Jesus of Nazareth is so important; now you should be to understand that when people ask the question: Where did God come from; it’s really a meaningless question. Christ Jesus is the very Source of life itself! God is what we’d call the First Cause; the infinite originator of life as we try and comprehend it with our finite minds. So had He not ever created us, people wouldn’t even have been in existence to ask such a foolish question in the first place. However, we now known that the very Source of life itself walked among us as a Man in His Own Creation.

And that’s Who Jesus of Nazareth truly is.

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Endnotes: 

[1] John MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commentary [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2005], 1168.

See also:

THE EMERGING CHURCH AND THE NEW PROGRESSIVE THEOLOGY ON CHRIST

THE EMERGING CHURCH, PHILIP CLAYTON, AND NEW PROGRESSIVE THEOLOGY

DO WE BELIEVE IN THE SAME JESUS PHILIP CLAYTON?

IF YOU TRULY LOVE “JESUS” THERE ARE NO BOUNDARIES FOR THE “CHRIST-FOLLOWERS”

YOU LOVE JESUS; GOOD FOR YOU, BUT WHICH ONE?

CHARLES SPURGEON: THOSE WHO BURY THE GOSPEL WITH TRASH

FAITH IN THE WORD