The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14)

One of the biggest problems we face in the spiritual life is trusting in ourselves. This is the case whether we are converted or unconverted. We may see it easier in an unconverted person because usually he or she is trying to please God by their own religious activities. Yet it can surface in the outlook of Christians.

The solemn reality

Luke tells us what the background was in verse 9. Jesus told it because he knew the hearts of some of those who were interacting with him. He knew that they were guilty of two wrong attitudes: first, they trusted in themselves that they were righteous; second, they despised others who did not come up to their self-chosen standards. 

The obvious lesson from this is that Jesus knows why we do things. He knows whether we would stand with the Pharisee or with the tax collector. There is an obvious sense in which we would say that we are standing with the tax collector because we have all heard sermons in which his response has been commended. Yet, imagine we were hearing the parable for the first time. 

The surprising criticism

If we had conducted an opinion poll among the Jews regarding whom they would have regarded as the most devout members of their community they would have identified the Pharisees as being head and shoulders above all others. The idea that they were not the most devout would have been dismissed as ludicrous. 

The searching criticism

The benefit of a parable is that enables the user to introduce features to emphasise the points he wishes to stress. Jesus aims to show how the description in verse 9 is revealed in practice. What the two men did and said revealed what was in their heart. 

Jesus points out some similarities between the Pharisee and the tax collector. First, they both went to the temple to pray. I suspect that the reason for referring to the temple is that it was the place where sacrifices for sin were made. So we should be looking to see if either of them would make a reference to those sacrifices when they prayed.

Second, they both addressed their words to God. Indeed, both of them accepted the fact that God could give benefits to them. The Pharisee thanked God for what he saw in himself and the tax collector asked God to do something for him. We are being asked to consider why both of them mentioned the name of God. An obvious answer is that others may have heard their words and if one of them had omitted the name of God, then bystanders would have been surprised and would have wondered who the men were praying to.

The Pharisee chose to pray by himself. This does not mean that he stood at a great distance from others. Rather he lived up to his name and separated himself from others and the reason he did so was because he thought he was better than others. Indeed, he said that he was better than all other people.

The rest of the parable highlights the differences between the two men. As far as the Pharisee was concerned, we can identify three features of his prayer. First, he focussed on external activities and not on the state of his heart. Second, he mentioned actions that were easy for him to perform. Third, he assumed that God would be pleased with what he did, that distinguished him from all others.

As far as the tax collector was concerned, we see from his prayer that his outlook was very different. His demeanour fitted with how he saw himself. Like the Pharisee, he separated himself from other men, but his reason for doing so was the opposite to what the Pharisee imagined. The Pharisee separated himself because he thought he was better than all other men whereas the tax collector separated himself because he thought he was worse than all other men.

Unlike the prayer of the Pharisee, which was cool, calm and collected, the prayer of the tax collector was one that was accompanied by appropriate body language.  It was customary to pray looking up to heaven, a symbolic gesture that indicated one was speaking to God. Yet the depth of insight that the tax collector had about himself prevented him from using the normal posture. Instead he used his hands to indicate that he felt there was something very wrong with his heart. His prayer came from his heart and he prayed earnestly that the Lord would take note of what he needed.

We noted earlier that one reason why Jews prayed in the temple was because it was the place where sacrifices were made for sin. The tax collector’s prayer indicates that he understood this. When a person offered a sacrifice in the temple, he did so because he knew that the Lord had to be propitiated. Propitiation is a term that reminds us that the Lord is angry with us because of our sins and his wrath has to be appeased by a sacrifice of atonement.

The tax collector’s prayer for mercy recognised this. Literally, his petition is, ‘God, be propitious to me, a sinner.’ He recognised that he was a sinner, that is a person who has offended God by breaking his commandments. Unlike the Pharisee, the tax collector realised that his acceptance with God could not be achieved by any activities he could perform. All such religious duties are the equivalent of putting small bandages on gaping wounds. They were totally inadequate to give him acceptance with God. 

The suitable conclusion

Jesus provides his audience with the significance of his story. He did not leave it with them to work it out for themselves. The provision of the conclusion shows to us the importance that he attached to it. He did not want his hearers to make a mistake. It was not enough for them to know that the way of the self-righteous Pharisee was insufficient. They also had to know how they could be right with God and what was the expected outlook of a person who is right with God.

The Saviour says that the tax collector went home justified but the Pharisee did not. This distinction indicates that both men were not justified when they arrived at the temple. What led to one of them being justified and the other remaining unjustified was their prayers. One prayed for mercy, and he was justified; the other did not pray for mercy and remained unjustified. 

Jesus then states the acceptable attitude that God wants from those who draw near to him. The correct attitude is self-humbling, which is another way of saying that a person does not approach the Lord in a proud manner. The prayer of the Pharisee was an expression of self-exaltation whereas the prayer of the tax collector was an expression of self-loathing. The Pharisee liked what he saw in himself and saw no reason for improvement. The tax collector looked at himself and realised that what he needed was mercy from the Lord.

The significance for us

Obviously, there are differences between the practices referred to in the parable and how we are to apply it to ourselves. We don’t go to the temple in Jerusalem to pray to God and the practices that used to take place there no longer are in existence. Moreover our approach to God is made through the One who told this parable.

When we draw near to God, we must always be aware of our need of Jesus. This is the case when we come initially to him in order to be justified. Justification means that we are forgiven our sins because of the sacrifice that Jesus offered on the cross as well as us having the righteousness of Christ reckoned to our account.

We draw near to God conscious of the great price that was paid in order for us to be made right with God. As far as our salvation is concerned, we contributed nothing towards it. We were guilty of sins, each of which deserved to be punished by the Lord. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins on the cross, and when we realise the way of justification we embrace Jesus by faith because we know that through him God shows mercy to us. We were the children of wrath, even as others, but being forgiven we become the children of God. 

Yet we should never forget that we are only accepted in Christ. Any favour that God shows to us after conversion is not given because we now deserve to receive his blessings. Our sanctification does not qualify us to receive answers from heaven. We still fall far short of his standards. The amazing thing is that the Lord delights to show mercy to his people and gives them what they do not merit. 

Of course, we cannot use this as an excuse for being careless and imagine that somehow divine blessings will somehow be given to us. The Lord will not hear us is we imagine sin in our hearts. How do we know that we are imagining sins in our hearts? We know that we are tolerating or enjoying them when we do not ask the Lord to show mercy to us regarding them and the other sins of which we are guilty.

The second detail that we can deduce from this parable for ourselves is that acceptable prayer must always be expressed in a humble way. There is no such thing as a genuine prayer that is marked by pride. I can only draw near to the Lord because he had shown and continues to show mercy to me. My good works and my renewed desires are never perfect in this life. All the way, even in what can be called our best moments, we will need mercy from God. 

The apostle John, when writing to the individual whom he entitles ‘the elect lady’, describes believers in this way: ‘Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love’ (2 John 3). He mentions five divine blessings in that verse, and he includes himself as well as the elect lady as being among those who received them. Three of the blessings are given in truth and love from the Father and the Son. John indicates that what believers will always need from God throughout their lives on earth are the blessings of grace, mercy and peace. They will need grace because they need divine favour constantly, they need mercy because sin marks them, and they need peace in the sense of divine comfort that flows from them being pardoned in his mercy. 

John reminds the elect lady that when she thinks of the triad of blessings she is not only to look back and recall that she had received them in her past. In addition, he encourages her to look forward and be reassured that whatever happens she will continue to receive grace, mercy and peace from the heavenly storehouse. This is a reminder of the faithfulness of God to those who have come to know his grace, mercy and peace. They are covenant blessings that he does not take away from his humble people. No doubt, there are different ways of describing those blessings, but one way that they are expressed in the Bible is that God has them in abundance.