Concerning Christ’s injunction against the honorific titles of , , , in their historical context

The author of this article considers the Jewish honorific titles ραββί, διδάσκαλος, πατηρ and καθηγητης, as used in Mt 23:8-10, in their historical context and in connection with the injunction of Jesus Christ against their use. The semantic meaning of these titles and the context of their usage in Sacred Scripture and other sources are identified. Each of the titles reflects a concrete sphere of authority: ραββί (Rabbi), διδάσκαλος (teacher) - the authority of a teacher; πατηρ (father) - the authority of a priest, tribal elder or some other respected person; καθηγητης (guide) - the high authority of a leader. The Pharisees had a well-formulated model of discipleship based in its formulation on their doctrine of the two Torahs - the oral and the writen. Appealing to the oral Torah, the teacher was able to formulate new rules and transmit them to his disciples. With time, some of these new rules came to be considered established as “sacred tradition” and, in this way, the “traditions of the elders” were formulated as the Halakha and Aggadah texts recorded later in the Talmud. As a result of a dishonest interpretation of the commandments of the Torah by some Jewish rabbis, some of the Halakha laws could violate the commandments. Christ’s injunction to his disciples against these honorific titles can thus be understood as an injunction against a particular model of discipleship, characterized by its legalism, vainglory and hypocrisy.