Poltiticians and Pharisees (1) - Moses Seat

Jesus spoke seven woes against the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law. Matthew 23 records the harshest criticism that he made of any group of people. This should disturb modern politicians, as there are strong parallels between their activities and style and those attacked so strongly by Jesus.

The cornerstone of Jesus criticism is that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law claim to sit on “Moses seat”.

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat (Matt 23:2).

Sitting on Moses seat was a strange expression. I presume that it was a title that the Pharisees and teachers of the law had given to themselves. The problem is that this role does not exist. It is not a legitimate ministry. (When Jesus told the people to obey what they say and not what they do, he must have been kidding to make a point, because he clearly did not intend the people to obey the Pharisees.)

Moses did not have a seat from which he gave out laws. In fact, Moses did not give laws. His was a prophetic role. He stood before God and then spoke and wrote the law that had been revealed to him. Responsibility for defending the law rested with the prophets. They were the ones who challenged Israel for not obeying the law.

The Pharisees and Teachers were not prophets. They claimed an ability to explain and interpret the law. They introduced hundreds of detailed rules and regulation to help people keep the law. They considered that the law on its own did not give enough guidance to ordinary people. They added extra rules and regulations to help them understand how they should live. This is why they claimed to sit on Moses seat. They were giving extra rules and laws to expand what Moses had given. Their underlying position was that God’s law was not enough.