Matthew 23:9

Sunday, 4 October 2026

Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Matthew 23:9

“And ‘father’, none you should call, of you, upon the earth. One, indeed, He is the Father of you, the ‘in the celestial’.” (CG)

In the previous verse, Jesus instructed those in attendance not to be called Rabbi. There was to be one Guide for them. Next, Jesus continues in the context of instruction, saying, “And ‘father’, none you should call, of you, upon the earth.”

The meaning comes from the habit in rabbinic schools of calling the founder or main rabbi abba, father. The idea of calling someone not your actual father by that term is to elevate him to a particularly special place of eminence, as if he were like his natural father in this regard.

But being a father is something that, by its very nature, produces a particularly close, even intimate bond. If the Lord is the Giver of the instruction, meaning the Torah (the Law of Moses), then He is to be considered the Father.

A teacher is just one who analyzes the instruction. Thus, calling him abba removes the true respect for God that He deserves, placing it on someone who does not deserve it. The words of Malachi reveal the relationship that was to exist –

“Have we not all one Father?
Has not one God created us?
Why do we deal treacherously with one another
By profaning the covenant of the fathers?” Malachi 2:10

Understanding the context, Jesus is speaking to people who are under the Law of Moses, and in the Israelite society, the relationship to God was to be considered as a Father/child relationship. Lowering the title to men diminished this relationship. Continuing, Jesus says, “One, indeed, He is the Father of you, the ‘in the celestial’.”

Exactly as Malachi had said, so it was to be among those Jesus instructed. They were to understand that the Lord was to be given the honor of the title.

Life application: As seen in the previous commentary, Jesus’ words to these people were instruction under the law. They are not how things work within the church. The church sprang out of Christ’s completed work. Christ had not completed His work when speaking to these people.

Further, the people who Jesus is speaking to were people of Israel bound to the Law of Moses. No other group of people on the planet was under the law. Paul gives the point of giving the law for us to understand –

“Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.” Galatians 3:21-25

So, who was it that needed the tutor? If nobody else was under the law, it was those under the law, meaning the nation of Israel, who needed the tutor. It was to be a guide to lead them to Christ. We can learn from that and say, “Oh, I get it! If I were under the law, I would need Jesus!” But that is as far as it goes with those not under the law. Either way, however, the point of the law was to lead people to Jesus.

This is what Jesus is conveying to those He is speaking to in Matthew. “You are under the law. These people are teachers under the law. The way they are acting, the titles they have, the adoration they are shown... those things belong to God, not to mere men who are under the law given by God.”

Christ is the One to make the law understandable by leading the people from the law to Himself. This will truly only come about when He is crucified in fulfillment of the law and in the introduction of the New Covenant. This is the instruction that tells us only God is worthy of the title of Father.

Lord God, thank You for the lesson of the law. It is recorded for us to learn from. We don’t need law, and we certainly don’t need more law. What we need is grace. Thank You for Jesus Christ, the embodiment of Your grace! Yes, thank You for Jesus. Amen.