9.00am and 10.30am Sunday 12 October 2003
Rev Des Botting
Readings: Psalm 65:1-13; Luke 18:9-17
Whenever I read this story of Jesus about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, it reminds me of the song, O Lord, its so hard to be humble, when youre perfect in every way. I cant wait to look in the mirror, Cos I get better looking each day. To know me is to love me, I must be a hell of a man. O Lord, its hard to be humble, but Im doing the best I can.
Jesus obviously had someone like this in mind in his parable, as Luke introduces by saying, Jesus told a story to some people who thought they were better than others and who looked down on everyone else.[1] Its a story about two men at prayer. It follows immediately on the story Jesus told about the necessity for persistence in prayer. Jesus used the example of a widow who persisted until she got justice from a crooked judge, to encourage his disciples to persevere in prayer. Now he tells a second story, this time about the necessity for humility in prayer.
The two men in the story are from opposite ends of the social scale, a Pharisee and a tax collector. The word Pharisee means separated one, because these were the people who endeavoured to do all that the Law of Moses required, and who kept apart from those who didnt, for fear that in associating with them they would become unclean. The tax collector was one of a group of people despised by their nation, and thought to be traitors because they agreed to work for their Roman overlords. It was certainly true that many tax collectors abused their position. They would exact far more than what was owed, especially in the area of custom duties. There was an import and export tax on everything that came into and went out of the country. There was a tax for entering a walled town, a market or a harbour. There was a tax for crossing a bridge. There was a tax for using main roads, for possessing a cart, on each wheel of the cart and the animal that drew it. Tax collectors could stop a person anywhere and make them unpack their goods and demand tax on this or that article among them. To make matters worse, if a person was poor and couldnt pay, the tax collector would offer to advance them the money at an exorbitant rate of interest and so get them further into his power. So strong was the feeling of the Jews against such people, that they classed them alongside robbers and murderers. At that time it was inconceivable that a tax collector would be a hero in a Jewish story - and yet Jesus makes this one so.
It is worth noting that Luke in his Gospel always casts tax collectors in a good light. We know that many of them repented and sought baptism from John; Jesus chose one of them, Levi, to be a disciple; they eagerly listened to Jesus teaching; in Luke 19 Jesus declares Zacchaeus to be a true son of Abraham after he promises to give half of his property to the poor, and to pay back four times a much as he had cheated anyone;[2] and in this story its the tax collector, not the Pharisee, who goes home justified before God. Jesus turned on its head the accepted understanding of what made a person acceptable to God, and it may well have been this, as well see next week, that led the rich and important man to asking Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. He might have been thinking, if all that the Pharisees do isnt enough, then what is necessary to be right with God. This is surely something we all need to know.
What was it about these two men and their prayers that made the difference to their being accepted or rejected by God? We are told that they both prayed in the temple, which Gods people were encouraged to do. There were four specific times for prayer 9am in the morning, 12 midday, 3pm and 6pm, and the strict Jew was careful to observe each one of them. They both stood to pray which was the normal posture for prayer for a Jew. In these respects the men are identical. It was in their attitude that there was a world of difference, and we see this in how they stood and from what they prayed.
The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed. This can be understood in two ways. It can mean that the Pharisee stood up in an ostentatious way, that is that he had no objection to being seen, and prayed with himself, or about himself as two translations put it.[3] Theres certainly good support for this understanding. A literal translation of what is said here is, The Pharisee standing these things to himself prayed. When we look at his prayer, after the opening words he doesnt refer to God again. The rest of his prayer is about himself. Seven times he uses the word I. Like little Jack Horner who said, what a good boy am I, this Pharisee was informing God of how good he was. You could almost say he was congratulating God on the excellence of his servant. This is one way in which we can understand this man.
But there is another way in which we can interpret this story. Maybe we need to spare a little pity for this man. He was a better person than most of us. He claimed he had lived a strictly moral life. In his financial transactions he was above reproach. In his relationships with others, he was inspired by a spirit of fair-mindedness. In word and deed he sought to honour the principles of truth, justice and purity. If he could substantiate this claim, he certainly was a person of unusual integrity. Who of us could claim the same?
The Jewish religion required fasting once every year on the great Day of Atonement. We can be sure that this Pharisee did this. It further demanded that in times of drought and famine a faithful Jew must fast twice a week, usually Mondays and Thursdays. This Pharisee lived as if such an emergency existed all the time. It may well have been his way of making provision for the poor, or it was merely that his zeal went far beyond what was required of a faithful Jew. Whatever the reason, here was a man who imposed on himself quite an exceptional degree of self-discipline. How many of us are there, however religious we may be, who would do this sort of thing today?
Further, the Jewish religion laid it down that every person should give a tenth of the produce of the land to the Lord. Again this Pharisee went beyond the literal demands of the Law and gave a tenth of all he possessed. In the history of the church there have been some who have been as generous as this, but not many. Just imagine for a moment what it would mean to the mission of the church, if Gods people gave as liberally as this Pharisee? The Board of Managers certainly wouldnt need to be considering a stewardship programme next year.
In addition, its possible to understand the manner of his praying as that he prayed within himself, not with himself as the Authorised Version translates it. That is, he may not have been one of the ostentatious Pharisees on whom Jesus poured his scorn.
From this second way of interpreting this story, we could say that this Pharisee was a good man. His integrity, zeal, generosity and reverence make our practice of the faith mean, half-hearted and shoddy. Certainly Jesus pronounced judgment on him, but he had the right to condemn him. Most of us have not earned that right.
So why was it that the tax collector went home justified and not the Pharisee? This passage from Luke offers three reasons:
1. First, this tax collector when home justified because he realised that there was nothing he could do that would make him acceptable to God. He knew he was a sinner, and that the only recourse open to him was to cast himself on the mercy of God. Its when were aware of our total bankruptcy in the presence of a holy God that we can receive the grace he offers. It is as the old hymn put it Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.
In contrast, the Pharisee pointed to his own goodness as the reason why God should accept him. He failed to realise how far short he fell of all God wanted him to be, and that, as the Bible says, all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.[4] There was a complacency, self-satisfaction and self-assuredness about him, and the Pharisees have no monopoly on that attitude. Were all guilty of it at times. Like this man we think were pretty good, compared to some, if not most, people. We measure up very well alongside others. And we forget that thats not the standard by which we are going to be judged. This was the very reason Jesus told this parable, to reprove those who were confident of their own righteousness, those who trusted in themselves, not God, and who thought they were better than others. What we need to realise is that whenever we have that kind of attitude, it destroys our relationship with God. The Bible says, all of us have sinned and fallen short of Gods glory.[5] And that we are not to trust (our) own judgment.[6]
At the same time we need to be wary of an upside down Pharisaism. John Baillie, a famous New Testament scholar, makes this point in one of his books. He tells the story he heard in New York of a well-meaning Sunday school teacher, who concluded a lesson on this story of the Pharisee and the tax collector by saying sweetly, And now, children, let us thank God we are not like this Pharisee. Are we not tempted when we think of this story to thank God we are not like that man? Were all totally dependent on Gods mercy to be accepted by Him.
2. The second reason why the tax collector found acceptance with God and not the Pharisee was because He judged himself against Gods standards. He didnt compare himself with others, as the Pharisee did. The Pharisee regarded others with contempt, that is, he despised them, looked down on them. Were all prone to do this at times, but especially good people. Its the total abstainer who often comes down hardest on drunk people. Its the thrifty who exercise restraint in their spending who are inclined to condemn those who cannot manage their finances. Its the generous person who can be most critical of those who do not give as they do. Its a very dangerous attitude to take, as it can be a screen behind which we hide our own sins. So often we find that what we condemn in others, is true of ourselves, and that we need to acknowledge those sins and ask Gods forgiveness. This is why Jesus counseled us not to judge one another. Gods standard is perfection, and we cannot measure up to that. The tax collector realised that. Unlike the Pharisee, he didnt measure his life against others, but against Gods demands and prayed, God, have pity on me! Im such a sinner.[7] We must do the same.
3. The third reason why the tax collector went home justified and not the Pharisee was because of his humility. Humility is the key to effective praying, as it is the key to the whole life of faith. This is why Jesus so often called a child to stand by him when he wanted to teach his disciples about greatness in the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew he said, If you dont change and become like a child, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. But if you are as humble as this child, you are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.[8] And here in Luke he says, You will never get into Gods kingdom unless you enter it like a child.[9] Humility is of the essence of greatness. Rita Snowden in one of her many books tells of a party of tourists who were in Germany. They were being shown the room in which Beethoven had lived and worked and the very piano on which he had composed the Moonlight Sonata. One of the tourists, a young girl, sat down at the piano and played the first movement of the sonata. When she had finished the guide said, You will be interested to learn we had Paderewski himself as visitor here last week. The girl said, Ill bet he did just what I did; he sat down and played the sonata. No, madam, said the guide, he didnt. Everyone begged him to but he said, Ah no! I am not worthy. The self-confident girl would touch the notes Beethoven touched; the master musician was too humble to do so. William Barclay wrote that it is said that to the end of the day when Thomas Hardy, the great English poet and novelist, sent a poem for publication to the London Times he enclosed a stamped addressed envelope for its return should it be rejected. The possibility of the rejection of a poem by Thomas Hardy is nothing short of incredible but the great man was so humble that it seemed quite possible to him.
Two things are essential if we are to have a relationship with God.
a. First, we need a sense of our own inadequacy. When people complained to Abraham Lincoln that he wasted time in prayer, he answered, I would be the greatest fool on earth if I thought that I could carry the burdens which are laid upon me for one day without the help of one who is greater and wiser than I. This is why God sent his Holy Spirit, the Helper, to be with us always.
b. The second is a sense of our own sinfulness. When we study the lives of great men and women, we soon discover that its always the best people who were the most conscious of their own sin. This was certainly true of Paul. He described himself as the worst sinner of all.[10] Francis of Assisi said of himself, Nowhere is there a more wretched, a more miserable, a poorer creature than I. Mother Teresa was the same. The final cure for self-satisfaction is to see our lives alongside the life of Christ. That leaves no room for self-congratulation any more. Jesus said, ..learn from me. I am gentle and humble[11] God opposes the proud, but gives grace (his underserved favour) to the humble.[12]
[1] Luke 18:9 (All Bible references are from the Contemporary English Version unless otherwise stated.)
[2] Luke 3:12; 5:27; 15:1; 19:8
[3] Luke 18:11 AV and NIV
[4] Isaiah 64:6 NIV
[5] Romans 3:23
[6] Proverbs 3:5
[7] Luke 18:13
[8] Matthew 18:4
[9] Luke 18:17
[10] 1 Timothy 1:15
[11] Matthew 11:29
[12] 1 Peter