Monday, 5 October 2026
And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. Matthew 23:10
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“Not also you should be called guides. One, indeed, of you, He is the Guide: the Christ.” (CG)
In the previous verse, Jesus told His hearers not to call anyone on earth their father, for they have one Father in the celestial. He continues now, saying, “Not also you should be called guides.”
This is the same word introduced into some manuscripts of verse 8, kathégétés, a guide. For other manuscripts, this is its first use. Either way, it will be used one more time in the next clause and not again in the New Testament.
It signifies a leader or teacher of others. Jesus says to those He is addressing that they should not claim such a title. The reason for this is stated next, saying, “One, indeed, of you, He is the Guide: the Christ.”
Remember the context. Jesus is speaking to those who are still under the Law of Moses. His ministry is not yet complete, even if it is only days away. A guide of the law, a leader, is a person who is fully trained in the law and who does not stray from it. In other words, for those under the law, there is the expectation of perfect obedience. Grace is excluded in such a situation.
How can a fallen person be considered a guide of others when he himself cannot properly meet the strict demands of the law? He can’t. Therefore, to follow such a person can only lead to condemnation. But Jesus is not fallen. He was born without sin and had not sinned under the law. As such, He can be the perfect Guide for those who must find satisfaction under the law to obtain the life promised in Leviticus 18:5.
This is what Jesus is referring to. Following any other guide, or claiming to be such a guide, will only lead people astray from being released from the burden of the law.
Life application: To this day, there are innumerable rabbis in Judaism. There are many branches of Judaism as well. Some of these branches are like cults in Christianity. They proclaim their leader is the Messiah. Some of these “Messiahs” have been dead for hundreds of years, but their adherents follow their teaching and claim theirs is the true spiritual path.
In the land of Israel today, there are billboards proclaiming one person or another is the Messiah. This is the context of Jesus’ words. He is not speaking about the church in the manner commentaries normally state. He is warning those around Him (in verse 1, it says Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples) concerning whom they will follow.
To follow anyone other than the true Christ, who is Jesus, will leave them bound under the law. When the time of their rejection of Him reached its fulness, which occurred in 70AD, they again went into a time of punishment promised in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. That will only end when the nation receives Jesus.
In the church, the same concept is true anytime someone claims to stand in the position of Jesus. David Koresh, Jim Jones, and a host of others have followed this path. There are people today who claim to be the Christ within Christianity. But the context of Jesus’ words is that of Israel under the law. His words ring as true today as they did two thousand years ago.
Lord God, You have sent Your Son into the world to lead the people of the world back to Yourself. For those in Israel, they need Jesus to be freed from the Law of Moses. From there, they can enter the New Covenant. We lift up the nation of Israel today, Lord. Help them to open their eyes and find the One they have missed for so long. Amen.