The Leadership Style of Jesus Part 1

Matthew 23:1-12 Read the New Testament in a Year: Romans 5:1-11 Jesus attacks the religious leaders of his day with strong language: ‘You snakes! You brood of vipers!’ (v.33). This language would have come as a complete shock. They were highly regarded, respectable people. The scribes were lawyers. They preserved and interpreted the law. They were authorised to act as judges. They had been ordained after a course of study. They were experts in the Scriptures. They were teachers who gathered pupils around them. The Pharisees were laypeople. They tended to come from the middle classes (unlike the Sadducees who were more aristocratic). They were much respected for their piety. They prayed and fasted often. They attended the services. They gave regularly. They led ‘upright, moral lives’. They had a big influence in society. They were much admired by ordinary people. Yet, Jesus criticises them for being hypocrites: ‘They talk a good line, but they don’t live it. They don’t take it into their hearts and live it out in their behaviour. It’s all spit-and-polish veneer’ (v.3). Jesus’ ‘Seven Woes’ challenge me to aspire to seven characteristics of a good leader: Integrity Jesus attacks the hypocrisy of the religious leaders (vv.3–4). He says, ‘They do not practise what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them’ (vv.3b–4). Integrity is the opposite of this, it means practising what you preach and making sure that your words lift people up, rather than weighing them down with guilt or other burdens. Authenticity Jesus attacks their superficiality (vv.5–7). He says to them, ‘Everything they do is done for others to see’ (v.5a). But what matters is who you are when nobody is looking. Jesus speaks about your ‘secret’ life with God. Seek to develop an authentic private life with God. Humility Jesus warns against loving titles and recognition (vv.8–11). Be on your guard so that you are not enticed by ‘prominent positions’, ‘public flattery’, and being given titles of one sort or another (vv.6–7). Jesus warns, ‘Don’t let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that’ (v.8). This is such a temptation but Jesus says, ‘For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted’ (v.12). Always seek to exalt Jesus, rather than yourself.]]>