Then Jesus spoke to the crowds, and so forth. In this He rebukes those who were deceitful, and at the same time instructs those who were capable of receiving instruction, nevertheless exhorting them to be subject to those leaders on account of the priesthood and the dignity of the name, considering not their works but their teaching. And note that the wicked are confuted for this purpose: that the good may be corrected.
Mt 23:1 “The Lord spoke to the crowds,” that is, to the simpler ones, “and to His disciples,” that is, to the more perfect.
Mt 23:2 “Upon the chair of Moses,” that is, in the authority of the teaching which Moses taught, “the scribes and the Pharisees have sat,” namely those who rightly instruct morals, but do not act according to what they teach.
Mt 23:3 “All therefore whatsoever they shall say to you, observe and do”—namely those things which pertain to the chair, not to their life. “Observe,” by believing in the heart; “and do,” in the work itself. “But according to their works do not do,” as if He were saying: Hold to their doctrine, not to their life. “For they say and do not do,” that is, their doctrine does not agree with their life.
Mt 23:4 “For they bind heavy and unbearable burdens,” because they gather together even unnecessary traditions which do not lighten but weigh down, since no one is able to fulfill them by his own strength. He calls the commandments of the Law “unbearable burdens,” which God had chiefly given, but which through sin became burdensome. The scribes and Pharisees taught these, mixed with their own traditions, persuading men to live according to them and not to attain the delightful grace of Christ. Hence the Lord says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened” (Mt 11:28). And Peter says in the Acts of the Apostles: “Why do you wish to impose a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither you nor your fathers were able to bear? But through the grace of Christ we believe to be saved” (Acts 15:10-11). Thus they laid burdens upon the shoulders of men as though they were strong for this. Those therefore who are not just in doing wish falsely to appear just in speaking.
It follows: “But with their finger they are unwilling to move them,” that is, they are unwilling even in the smallest matters to fulfill those things which they teach to be just. Such also are indiscreet priests who command all justice to the people, yet themselves do not observe even a small part of it. They impose a heavy burden upon those coming to penance, yet do not do what they prescribe. And if they err by imposing too slight a penance, is it not better, for the sake of mercy, to render an account than to show credulity?
Mt 23:5 “All their works,” and so forth. He said that such teachers are to be heard but not imitated. Now He shows the reason why they cannot believe Christ: because they do their works in order to be seen by men. For he who desires earthly glory cannot believe Christ preaching heavenly things.
“For they enlarge their phylacteries.” When God had given the commandments of the Law through Moses, at the end He added: “You shall bind them upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets before your eyes” (Dt 6:8), as if to say: Let them be in your work; let them be in your meditation. But the Pharisees, interpreting this badly, wrote the Decalogue on small parchments and bound them on their foreheads, so that they might appear religious before the people.
Moses also commanded that they should make fringes on the four corners of their cloaks (Numbers 15:38; Deuteronomy 22:12), so that by this there might be a distinction of the Israelite people. But they made large fringes and attached sharp thorns to them, so that by walking or even by scratching they might sometimes be pricked, that is, as if thus stirred up they might be recalled to the duties of God. But understand that these things are not to be borne on the body, but in the heart. As bookcases contain books, so they themselves have knowledge.
Mt 23:6 “But they love the first places at feasts,” and so forth. As if He were saying: At banquets they pursue gluttony; in public they seek the reward of their religion, namely glory and magisterial dignity. It must also be noted that He does not forbid them to be greeted in the marketplace, nor to sit or recline in the first places when this truly belongs to them according to the order of office; but He rebukes those who, whether having these things or not, desire them. For He reproves not dignity, but the desire for dignity.
Mt 23:7-8 “But you, do not be called Rabbi.” As if He were saying: The Pharisees and scribes are lovers of this secular glory; but you, My disciples, who ought to be more worthy in morals and life, do not be called Rabbi—that is, do not presume to attribute to yourselves what is owed to God. “For one is your Master,” who enlightens man by giving understanding. A man does not teach by conferring understanding. “For all of you are brothers.” This is the reason why one ought not to prefer himself over another.
Mt 23:9-10 “And call no man your father upon earth.” Neither father nor master is to be called such except the Lord, our Father, the Lord Jesus Christ: Father, because from Him are all things; Master, because through Him are all things—or because through the dispensation of the flesh we are all reconciled to God. Yet Paul calls himself a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth (cf. 1 Timothy 2:7; 2 Timothy 1:11). To this it is answered thus: it is one thing to be father or master by nature, another by indulgence. God is called Father and Master by nature; man, by concession—father, that honor may be rendered to age, not that he be held the author of life; master, by fellowship with the true Master, as His minister, according to the office or merits of the life of him from whom he is sent.
Mt 23:11-12 “He who is greater among you,” and so forth. Here He teaches that one must not contend about primacy. For whoever wishes to precede his brother in reigning, let him first precede him in serving, according to the Apostle: “Outdo one another in showing honor” (Rom 12:10).
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