At this point Armstrong opines,
It reminds me of the old silly Protestant tale that the popes speak infallibly and ex cathedra (cathedra is the Greek word for seat in Matthew 23:2) only when sitting in a certain chair in the Vatican — because the phrase means literally “from the bishop’s chair” — whereas it was a figurative and idiomatic usage). (sic)
Of course, I have never made such a statement, but the fact remains that in the context of the condemnation of the Pharisees in Matthew 23, the identity of “Moses’ seat” and its function in synagogue worship is central. If one allows the function of Moses’ seat to be removed from the discussion (as Armstrong does), you lose the connection with the condemnation of the Pharisees: the reason they are hypocrites is because they should know better: they read from the Scriptures on a regular basis, and then turn around and do away with that teaching by their traditions, and those traditions result in actions that are contrary to the Word. This is why you do as they say in the context of the synagogue worship, but you do not do what they do. Since we know Christ held men accountable to have known the Corban rule was contrary to God’s Word, and the Pharisees taught this, even claiming it came from Moses, then clearly we must allow the limitation of the function of Moses’ seat to stand. And this Armstrong will not allow. He misconstrues the proper recognition of the synagogue context of Moses’ seat, and hence the limitation of its purview, with a woodenly literalistic idea about whether one is standing or sitting. He writes,
Jesus says that they sat “on Moses’ seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you.” In other words, because they had the authority, based on the position of occupying Moses’ seat, they were to be obeyed. It is like referring to a chairman of a company or committee. He occupies the “chair”; therefore he has authority. No one thinks he has the authority only when he sits in a certain chair reading the corporation charter or the Constitution or some other official document.
Notice the importance of this to Armstrong’s argument: he must create an authority that resides in the Pharisees separate from their place in the worship of God’s people in the synagogue. So, instead of the biblical limitation of their authority to the role they have taken in the synagogue, Armstrong speaks of the Pharisees (who are about to be condemned roundly) as having an inherent authority, and hence they are to be obeyed. Yet in Matthew 23, what is to be obeyed is not an inherent authority in the scribes and Pharisees, but, as the “therefore” of v. 3 shows us, the reason for obedience is the seat of Moses, not an authority separate from it. But having missed this distinction, Armstrong continues, “Yet this is how White would exclusively interpret Jesus’ words.” No, White would not force Jesus into internal contradiction, ignore the fact that He holds His disciples and the crowd accountable for exercising judgment on the deeds of the Pharisees (even those deeds they based upon “tradition”), and rip this section out of its role as the introduction not to the lauding of the scribes and Pharisees, but their condemnation. But continuing with his misunderstanding he cites from the Eerdman’s Bible Dictionary, likewise seemingly not understanding that the definition offered is not at all contrary to what I have written. The ISBE is likewise noted, and its definition, “It is used also of the exalted position occupied by men of marked rank or influence, either in good or evil.” Of course, in this case, it is in reference to evil men, as the rest of Matthew 23 demonstrates. Armstrong continues,
White makes no mention of these considerations, but it is difficult to believe that he is not aware of them (since he is a Bible scholar well acquainted with the nuances of biblical meanings). They do not fit in very well with the case he is trying to make, so he omits them. But the reader is thereby left with an incomplete picture.
Actually, it is Armstrong who has the incomplete understanding of my own position, as has been demonstrated. On that basis he, seemingly, accuses me of purposefully omitting these “considerations” so as to strengthen my case, or worse, deceive my readers.
In the next section Armstrong comes out fully with his insistence that Jesus was here binding Christians to the oral traditions of the Pharisees, and this will certainly provide the fullest basis for the complete rejection and refutation of his reading of Matthew 23.