to take the first seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at dinners.
This saying continues to expose the scribes’ love of glory. They loved the first place both in religious assemblies and at public tables. Love for the foremost seats reveals a sickness of the heart: a person turns service into a means of exalting himself. In the kingdom of Christ, greatness is measured not by the place one occupies, but by humility and service. Whoever is truly great before God does not seek glory from people, but desires to faithfully do the Lord’s will.