Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

Matthew 23:1-3

After stark final confrontations with the religious leaders in Jerusalem, Jesus now gives His final public address to the multitudes in the open area of the Temple. Jesus teaches the peopleto listen to the word of God being taught by the leaders and obey it. At the same time, He warns them to not follow the bad practices of the scribes and Pharisees.

My question is: How do they know what to obey and what not to obey?

The answer is simple, they, and we, must study the word of God for ourselves to make sure what we are being taught conforms to the over message and doctrine of scripture. We find this typo of behavior among the “Noble Bareans” in the New Testament.

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Acts 17:11

These disciples did not doubt the authority of the Apostle Paul but they did recognized that the Bible is the final authority. 

Our personal Bible Study is crucial so that we are able to learn the deeper things of God from His ordained teachers. 

In the Old Testament, this position was called Moses’ Seat because the men taught the Law of God that was given through Moses. They also judged according to that law just like Moses did.

In the gospel age, pastors/preachers are God’s method of instructing His people in the church.

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Ephesians 4:11-12

While Jesus clearly points out the horrible practices of some of the scribes and Pharisees, He reminds the people that they are to respect the office of these teachers and obey when they teach from the Bible. We have the same responsibility to the ministers of the gospel. We are not to honor them for their popularity, speaking ability, or any other appealing trait. We are to honor them for the work they are doing.

And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.

1st Thessalonians 5:13

Notice, the result of studying the word of God personally and adhering to the teachings of God’s ministers – peace.

An additional thing I think we should notice is that Jesus addresses the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees. But where are the Sadducees? Jesus seems to reject them out of hand. Apparently, their doctrine was so horrible that Jesus didn’t consider them to ordained of God to teach the word. This tells me that there are some “teachers” out there that are clearly not sent from God. I would group just about any personality on the airwaves and Internet!

The best place to seek learning is the place that God designed – His local assembly, the church.