What does Matthew 23:3 mean?

Matthew has been clear that Jesus is speaking to the crowds gathered in the temple who are listening to Him, as well as to His own disciples (Matthew 23:1–2). What He says in this verse seems surprising, given His overwhelming condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees throughout the rest of the chapter. These men occupy "Moses' seat," meaning they were responsible for teaching the people of Israel how to properly understand and apply the Scriptures. Jesus tells His audience to do "and observe" what they teach, but not to follow the example of their actions.

In other words, Jesus is careful not to invalidate the role given to these men by God. He also endorses the heart of their teaching from the Torah, the Jewish Scriptures, though He will reject their teaching about matters beyond the Scriptures. He is not giving His listeners permission to turn their backs on the teaching of God's Word. Nor is He invalidating all spiritual authorities. On the contrary, Jesus is condemning the religious leaders of His era for failing to meet their very reasonable obligations.

Though He accepts the idea of religious leaders and teachers, Jesus bluntly tells those listening to not follow the example of that generation of scribes and Pharisees. He will call them hypocrites repeatedly (Matthew 23:13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29). Here Jesus previews that idea, though not using that exact word: "They preach, but do not practice." This matches the Greek word hipokritēs, which literally means "an actor." These spiritual guides live in a game of "make believe," or "let's pretend." The people of Israel should not live as these men do.