Luke 18:9-14 Luke 18:9-14 (unique to Luke) (Year C October 23-29) is a narrative parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. It illustrates that Jesus appeared in this world with a new prayer.[1] The subjectively honest concern of Pharisaic Judaism to fulfill the Torah correctly and to contribute to the coming of the rule of God by doing so is set aside in favor of the attitude of those who expect nothing of themselves and their works but everything from God.[2] It is part of the travel narrative. In 18:1-8, Luke the theme of prayer predominates, and Luke continues that theme here. In this parable, two people are praying at the Temple, and both segments deal with vindication and justification. The concern of Luke for those on the margins of society shows itself in the previous parable involving the widow, in this parable involving the tax collector, and in the next story involving the acceptance of little children into the rule of God. This parable invites us to consider how we view ourselves.
In verse 9, Luke provides his setting and the theme, inviting those who are sanctimonious toward others to consider who they truly are. Jesus addresses this parable to the pharisees, a fact confirmed by the content of the parable.[3] If we are part of a group, especially a religious group, we can think of our group as on the side of the right and therefore treat other groups with contempt.
In verses 10-14, is the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, which is pure narrative. Verse 14 is the point of the story.[4] The parable will contrast the demeanor and prayers of two men who went up to the Temple to pray. This would be the hour of daily prayer in the afternoon at 3 PM.[5] One a Pharisee, those with whom Jesus disagreed on how best to preserve the integrity of their Torah community. Jesus depicts the Pharisee as an exemplar of the righteous man, as measured by the traditional religious practice of the day. The term means "separated." Through their extreme observance of the law, their strict adherence to all Torah minutiae, their moral rigidity, and their establishment of a counterculture, resident-alien identity, the Pharisees sough to separate themselves from their increasingly Gentile/pagan surroundings. Pharisaic piety, while it may act in arrogant self-confidence, is an attempt to embody the separateness preached in Psalm 1. We need to exercise some care in interpretation at this point. The Pharisee is not the villain. He is not going to get what he deserves. He represents those who have completely dedicated themselves to the law. The other a tax collector, the hyperbolic opposite to the Pharisee. He is not the hero of this story. He is not going to get what he deserves. Like all occupiers and oppressors, the Romans placed conquered peoples in morally ambiguous situations. The tax collector is carefully navigating his way through the challenge that Roman occupation has meant for him and his family. He knows he is working against the interest of his own people. He worked for Rome and was a traitor to his country. He is also providing for his family. The tax collector made his living by collecting the taxes imposed by the occupying forces of Rome. Because he received no wages from the Romans to do this work, he earned his living by charging more than the Romans required and pocketing the profits. According to the assumption of the Pharisee, he was reprehensible in character. Yet, for all we know, he may have been a decent person trying to make a living in a demanding situation. Both Pharisee and tax collector are caricatures that represent how Jewish people of the time would have considered them. The Pharisee, standing by himself, taking up a prominent position,[6] was praying thus, showing he was convinced he belonged to the true people of salvation and did not doubt for a moment that the good pleasure of God rested upon him, conscious of his being superior to the sinner,[7] ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people (οἱ λοιποὶ τῶνἀνθρώπων, or the rest of humanity), not beginning his prayer with thanking God for what God has done to forgive him and act on his behalf, and not comparing himself with other righteous persons, but with thieves, rogues, adulterers, vices that show up again in the New Testament list of vices, or even like this tax collector, referring to an occupation, effectively drawing a line between himself and the others. Abot, 2:3 in Mishnah: "Be wary of the government, for they get friendly with a person only for their own convenience. They look like friends when it is to their benefit, but they do not stand by people when they are in need." The Pharisee does not seek his own vindication, as the widow in the previous story did, but his own glorification. He then lists his acts of piety: I fast twice a week, referring to the customary practice of the Pharisee on Monday and Thursday, interceding for the sins of the people[8]; I give a tenth of all my income,’ an act of voluntary self-denial,[9] both works of piety being commendable practices, though his boast makes him an example for Luke of those who trust in themselves that they were righteous. In b.Ber. 28b in the Talmud is this prayer from the first century AD: I thank thee, O Lord, my God, that you have given me my lot with those who sit in the seat of learning, and not with those who sit at the treet-corners; for I am early to work, and they are early to work; I am early to work on the owrds of the Torah, and they are early to work on things of no moment. I weary myself, and they weary themselves; I weary myself and profit thereby, while they wear themselves to no profit. I run and they run; I run towards the life of the age to come, and they run towards the pit of destruction.[10] But the tax collector, in a class of robbers, possessing no civic rights, and shunned by respectable persons,[11] standing far off, farther away from the inner court of the Temple, even farther away from the holiest part of the temple, would not even look up to heaven, a common posture in prayer, but was beating his breast the heart being the seat of sin, humble self-striking, a spontaneous expression of a direct consciousness of sin and desire for grace, which is the only attitude that can stand before God, a renunciation of self-assertion,[12] this act being an expression of the deepest contrition,[13] and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ here is the beginning of Psa 51, which suggests he prayed the entire psalm. This is not the usual attitude in prayer, for it is an expression of despair, overwhelmed by his bitter sense of his distance from God. he would have to abandon his sinful way of life, his calling, and offer restitution even though he cannot know all whom he defrauded.[14] The conclusion Jesus offers v.14a is surprising and is the point of the story: I tell you, this man went down to his home justified (δεδικαιωμένος) or he went home as one to whom God extended divine favor, a use of the word that suggest the Pauline doctrine of justification has its roots here,[15] rather than the other. Jesus pronounces that the character of God is like that described in Ps 51, where in v. 19 the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart God will not despise. God welcomes the despairing, hopeless sinner, and rejects the self-righteous. God is the God of the despairing, of the broken heart that longs for mercy.[16] The publican went home as one whose prayer had been heard by God, whereas the prayer of the Pharisee was not. In pronouncing that this is the man God heard, Jesus suggests in word picture the forgiveness of the man.[17] The nature of God is such that God grants the request of the despairing publican. Jesus directs the attention of the righteous to their own remoteness from God. It is not the zealous Pharisee who finds the good pleasure of God, but the publican. They are further from God than the sinners because they think well of themselves and rely on their piety. Their theology and their piety separate them from God. a piety that leads people astray to pride and self-assurance is an almost hopeless thing. Nothing separates people from God so definitely as self-assured piety. They are stubborn and indifferent, living in self-righteous blindness, which makes them deaf to the message of Jesus.[18] In justifying the action of God in the parable, Jesus acts as the representative of God.[19] We need to watch what God does here. Two people come before the presence of God. God came close to one and not the other. It is a story about the ways of God. The Pharisee went home thinking he was righteous before God, but was not, while the tax collector proclaimed himself a sinner, in the process being more justified before God than the Pharisee. The story deals with the doctrine of God's justification of sinners and judgment of the efforts of those who try to establish their own righteousness but doing so in story form. The parable portrays a stunning reversal of ordinary expectations in the manner of several parables of Jesus. The Pharisee does not receive approval from God for his prayer, but the tax collector who knows he is a sinner and only hopes for God's mercy does receive approval. The appropriate response comes from the improbable person.
In verse 14b (14:11, Mat 23:12, 18:4, Ezek 21:26, Prov 29:23, James 4:6, 10, I Pet 5:5-6), Luke appends a proverbial saying in the form of an antithetic parallelism on promotion and demotion that reflects the common wisdom of the time: For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted. Psalm 51:17 refers to the broken spirit, the broken and contrite heart, as the sacrifice acceptable to God. The humility of the publican contrasts with the arrogance of the Pharisee, the basis of which is self-knowledge consisting in entire self-committal to the grace of God, which puts the publican in right relation to God.[20] In this context, the publican humbles himself before God by the gestures he used in prayer. It is a piece of practical wisdom, in which pride will have a fall and humility will be rewarded. It is a call to renounce self-righteous pretensions of pride and commends the virtue of humility, to self-abasement before God.[21] God is the one who "exalts" and "humbles." It describe the dealings of God at the last judgment, the eschatological reversal of existing conditions.[22]
The Pharisee seems consumed by his own pious deeds. Jesus portrays the Pharisee as regarding the other, a tax collector, as an obviously unrighteous man, dishonest in his dealings, disloyal to his country, and disregarding of his religious duty. The law always accuses. Our biggest problem is not the other, but the self-deception in which we think of ourselves as that different from the other. If so, the issue we face is pride. However, our pride often exhibits itself in subtle ways. The pride of power may lead us into gaining security for ourselves. If only we had the power, we could set things right. The pride of the intellect presumes that if people just had the knowledge that you did, you could set things right. The pride of morality or virtue is to presume that our virtue is the measure of all righteousness. The pride of self-glorification assumes one has no need of further growth when every stage of human life has its obstacles to overcome and lessons to learn. The pride of virtue and spirituality is disturbing in that pride goes so thoroughly against the goal. Pride can seem like such a little thing. If so, let us admit that trivial things can have major consequences. Pride, often carried out in secret, can have a significant impact. What appear to be minor mistakes can get out of control and destroy us unless we see our secret faults and seek forgiveness. “And the people of Israel did secretly against the Lord their God things that were not right.” (II Kings 17:9)
The tax collector has rightly asked for mercy. He knows what it is like to be near the bottom. He has much about which to be humble. In seeing himself as a sinner, he sees himself as he truly is. However, what will he do tomorrow? We do not know. Such an attitude can lead to a lack of responsibility and an "I can’t help what I do for I am a sinner" conviction. Although we assume the genuineness of the tax collector’s repentant posture, we do not hear anything about what he resolves to do about it. The tax collector does not dare talk to God in the manner of the Pharisee. Instead of thanking God for his exalted position, he recognizes his lowly status before a holy God.
Both men pray, but God hears the prayer of the unrighteous. Thus, although the parable mentions that these two men prayed, the parable is not about prayer. Rather, the parable re-emphasizes the point of Chapter 15 on God's mercy toward the sinner. It re-enforces the New Testament view of justification, that one achieves uprightness before God not by one's own activity but by recognition of one's own sinfulness.
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[2] H. F. Weiss, TDNT, IX, 42.
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[12] Stahlin, TDNT, VIII, 264.
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[20] Grundmann, TDNT, VIII, 16.
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