As Jesus transitions from the parables on prayer in chapter 17 we read:
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt
These words are not heard by the crowd in the presence of Jesus. To assume that the parable that follows is specifically meant for the Pharisees would do injustice as a whole. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea do not fit this category. This open introductory statement should be taken in general terms. More thoughts on this verse is left for the end.
The contrast of two men
“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee
The Pharisees were a religious sect among the Jews known for their perceived doctrinal precision and piety. They were meticulous in detail to the outward external observance of the Law. If they bought seeds for their herb gardens they would count out the seeds from each packet and separate a tithe. To the crowds encountered by Jesus and the culture of that day the Pharisee would have been the last one that Jesus would have been embroiled in verbal and doctrinal grievance. During that time the Pharisee woud have been seen as equal to our modern day R.C. Sproul, Mike Horton, Al Mohler, Steve Lawson, J Mac...etc, you get the picture. They championed zeal, abstinence and piety. They stood against licentious living and any hint at worldliness. They stood against any pagan idolatry and any notion of a syncretistic religion as promoted by the likes of the despised Samaritans. Religion and religious fervor was the sum of their very existence. The Jew of that day would have thought If anyone was going to deserve eternal life it would be the Pharisee. We have the luxury of looking back at the Pharisee from the lens of scripture as it allows us to glimpse into the heart of the Pharisee and see it as God sees it. We read and understand historically the departure from the true meaning of Scripture the Pharisee actually was. Not so much the people of that day. As the Pharisee walked around town he would have been revered and looked up to for his superior knowledge of the written scriptures as well as his knowledge of oral tradition. For the most part he would have been looked upon with great respect and admiration by the average Jew. A religious super hero, a celebrity of first century Judaism. This parable no doubt would have left the crowd with their jaws scraping the ground.
The Tax collector
The tax collector was a Jew despised by his fellow countrymen. The Romans farmed out their tax collecting to the highest bidder. Any Jew who bid and won a contract to collect tax from their fellow Jews was considered a traitor. The term "tax collector" is often paired with the word sinner as if it is the lowest of the low. Indeed it was thought of as the worst possible act to be committed by a Jew. The tax collecting Jew was required to pay a certain amount to the Roman government for his contracted area. He could charge whatever he wanted above the amount the Romans required of him with little or no impunity. The tax collectors exacted extreme charges and became very rich in the process. They often collected their fee's by force and if you didn't pay they could seize your property. I guess you could say they were the for runners of our modern day mafia. The tax collector was the dregs and scum of Jewish society. They had turned their backs on their country and their God. In the New Testament, the tax collectors were ceremonially unclean because of their involvement with stealing from people, repeated interaction with Gentiles, and for the persistent breaking of the Sabbath.
“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
So, as Jesus speaks this parable, the imagery of the distance and contrast between these two characters spiritual standing is already formed by the religious culture and the culture at large.
The tax collector was allowed into the temple because he was a Jew, but was only allowed into the outer court of the gentiles. He dare not enter a synagogue. In some instances if a tax collector was seen in a synagogue he was escorted out the side door.
The prayer of the Pharisee
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector
The Pharisee assumes a common position of prayer for that day (standing). The pharisee thanks God by comparing himself to other men. His comparison reveals his self righteousness. His righteousness is founded in how different and holy he is compared to other men. His righteousness is founded upon his confidence in not being lumped into this category of certain sinners. He sees his right standing with God in how he sees himself and proving his outward piety to others as proof. He justifies himself in the sight of men.
Luke 16:15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
In the parable, the Pharisee sums up his opinion in this phrase “even like this tax collector.” The Pharisee’s disapproval is from his own value system. He values the outward appearance rather than inward heart, and thus, the sinful appearance of the tax collector results in disapproval. After calling attention to the tax collector, the Pharisee begins his appraisal of himself.
I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
The pharisee is quick to point out his own fruit to God. He revels in his own self-glorification. The Jew was only required to fast once a year according to the Law during Yom Kippur. The Pharisees instituted fasting twice a week on Monday and Thursday. He was so skeptical of others not tithing properly that he would not eat with someone who was not a Pharisee because he wasn't sure if what he was eating had been tithed properly. This may have been one reason why they railed at Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners.
The prayer of the tax collector
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.
The out-cast tax collector who stands some distance away from the Pharisee does not notice him much less anyone else. What he has come to terms with is he has been convicted of his sin unlike the Pharisee. This conviction has no doubt already taken place in this tax-collectors life. He has heard the word of God
Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ
This tax collector was not concerned about the perception of other men. This setting of temple worship was most probably a corporate service. As he walked "up" to the temple as he walked with others who were on their way to the temple service he had on his mind, his unclean sinful heart and his need to be made right with God. He beat his breast showing the remorse and source of his problem, his heart. There is only one other place that is mentioned in scripture of someone beating their breast. When Jesus was crucified the crowd beat their breast.
Luke 23:48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts.
The tax collector is the one who returns to his house justified rather than the Pharisee. That turns the crowd completely upside down. I can imagine as they stand their with eyebrows squinted and foreheads wrinkled I can imagine the thoughts "DO WHAT?" The tax collector, justified, "DO WHAT?
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt
The setting of this parable is in a formal temple worship service. This may be no different than what is experienced in a corporate worship service today. The mindset of the Pharisee, the deeply outwardly religious, self reliant, "notice" my piousness and good works please, is still a problem today. The easiness of looking down our nose at others in the body of Christ, much less those outside of the saving grace of God, is all too true. If this mentality is a lifestyle some wires are crossed somewhere and some repentance is much needed. Maybe even the initial saving repentance.
These concluding thoughts are from various commentaries and have been pieced together here. I agree so much with the following that for me to re-word would do an injustice.
The application of these principles does not require much insight. Luke uses parables like these as example parables for his readers to follow. In the case of the parable at hand, the believer should realize where his justification comes from and respond humbly before God. His reaction to God should be reverent at all times just like the tax collector, who would not raise his eyes toward heaven but beat his chest. Once a believer comes to God reverently, he should evaluate himself to God’s standard realizing his drastic sinfulness.
In regard to the Pharisee, a believer should be careful never to fall into the same trap of having confidence in one’s own righteousness. When observing how great one’s works may be, the believer will start to be critical of others and hold contempt against them. When we move from righteous living -- which is right -- to trusting in that righteous living to give us a standing before God, then we commit a fatal error. In that case it becomes self-righteousness.
Community is the centerpiece of Christianity, for by its love for another, the world may know Christ. The Pharisee’s idea of community was criticizing others without caring for them. The prayer of the Pharisee seems to imply that to feel right before God, the Pharisee had to know that there were others "beneath" him. A child or older person may be considered "beneath" another person because of their inability to care for themselves. But it was not physical strength that the Pharisee compared; it was moral character, and relationships with the Lord. Once a person acknowledges that he / she believes there are "lesser" individuals than themselves, they can never relate to the "lessers" as equals. It is at this point that a person has lost the ability to love a particular individual.
However, the application the believer should follow according to this parable is to always remain humble before God and others without seeking to be exalted. Is Jesus trying to undermine piety and obedience? By no means! But this parable attacks with a vengeance any pride and sense of superiority that our piety and obedience may foster.
Luke 17:10 ESV
so you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”
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