The Stories Jesus Told: The Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Luke 18:9–14

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The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector is only recounted in the book of Luke, chapter 18, verses 9–14. Among other things, this parable touches on the basic element of salvation. Let’s start by looking at the two characters in the story, shall we?

The Pharisee

Pharisees were members of Jewish society who held very strong beliefs about obeying both the laws of Moses and the traditions handed down “from the fathers.” These traditions were not part of the laws of Moses, but the Pharisees put them on the same level as the law.

The name Pharisee means “separated” or “separated one.”

They strove to observe the law of Moses, especially those laws that had to do with tithing and purity. Many Jews didn’t adhere to the purity laws concerning food, food preparation, and the washing of hands, so the Pharisees were careful about who they ate with so as not to become ritually unclean. Some of them criticized Jesus because He ate with sinners, and they looked down on His disciples because they ate with unwashed hands.^[1] They also criticized Jesus on more than one occasion for violating the Sabbath laws.^[2]

Pharisees were known to go above and beyond when it came to religious matters. The written law only required fasting once a year, on the Day of Atonement, yet some Pharisees fasted twice a week, on the second and fifth days of the week—Mondays and Thursdays—in a self-imposed act of piety. They tithed everything they acquired, which was also beyond what the law required.

Most Jews did not adhere to the Mosaic law as strictly as the Pharisees did; therefore the Jews of Jesus’ day considered the Pharisees to be very righteous and pious.

The Tax Collector

Now we’ll turn to the tax collector. There were three types of taxes which were required by the Romans, who ruled Israel during the time of Jesus: the land tax, the head tax, and the customs tax system. The taxes were used to pay tribute to Rome, which had conquered Israel in 63 BC.

The tax collector in the parable would have most likely been one connected to the customs system. Throughout the Roman Empire there was a system of tolls and duties that were collected at ports, tax offices, and at the city gates. The rates were between two and five percent of the value of the goods that were transported from town to town. On long journeys, a person bringing goods from one place to another could be taxed multiple times. The value of the goods was determined by the tax collector.^[3]

The customs and tax collection system operated through what is called tax farming. The way it worked is that wealthy individuals would bid on how much they would pay Rome for the privilege of collecting taxes in an area. The highest bidder, the “tax farmer,” would pay the amount that was accepted by Rome for the bid, meaning that Rome got its tax money in advance. The tax farmer would then collect the taxes through local tax collectors. The tax farmer and those he hired to collect the taxes would make their living from the taxes collected from the people. They would charge as much as possible in taxes, within certain legal limits, as their income was determined by how much money they could bring in over the amount that they had already paid to Rome. In short, tax collection was a for-profit business.

The tax farmers hired local tax collectors to do the work of collecting taxes. These tax collectors would assess the value of the goods and then assign the amount to be paid. While there was some measure of control, tax collectors would often value the goods much higher than their actual worth, in order to make a profit. They would stop people on the road and demand these taxes, which could either be paid in currency or by forfeiting a portion of the goods. Those being taxed considered this institutional robbery.^[4]

When some tax collectors came to John the Baptist to be baptized, they asked him what they should do, and he responded, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do”^[5]—which is a sure sign that they were overcharging for their own benefit.

Tax collectors were despised. They were seen as extortioners and unjust, and according to Jewish law, others were not obliged to speak the truth to them.

They were considered religiously unclean, and their houses and any house they entered were thus considered unclean. The hated tax collectors were often put in the same category as sinners and prostitutes.^[6] They were seen as thieves and shunned by respectable people. The tax collector in the parable is certainly not an upstanding character; he’s a rotter and he knows it, as evidenced by his actions in the temple and his prayer.

The Parable

With that background, let’s move on to the parable.

He [Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.^[7]

Luke gives an introduction explaining that the parable is in regard to those who think that they can attain righteousness through their own merit. Jesus is telling this parable to those who trust in themselves, who feel they are righteous, and who consider others inferior and undeserving of respect.

Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.^[8]

The words “went up” and later in the parable, “went down,” refer to the elevation of the Temple Mount, which was the high spot of the city. It was customary to pray twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, as this was when the two daily sacrifices for atonement were offered in the temple.

One author explains it this way:

The only daily service in the temple area was the atonement offerings that took place at dawn and again at three o’clock in the afternoon. Each service began outside the sanctuary at the great high altar with the sacrifice for the sins of Israel of a lamb whose blood was sprinkled on the altar, following a precise ritual. In the middle of the prayers there would be the sound of silver trumpets, the clanging of cymbals and the reading of a psalm. The officiating priest would then enter the outer part of the sanctuary where he would offer incense and trim the lamps. At that point, when the officiating priest disappeared into the building, those worshipers in attendance could offer their private prayers to God. Many pious Jews who were not at the temple would offer their private prayers at that time of day when they knew the incense offering was being made in the temple.^[9]

The original listeners would assume that the Pharisee and the tax collector were going up to the temple to attend one of the daily atonement sacrifices and to pray.

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. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’^[10]

The Pharisee stood by himself when he prayed; he separated himself from the other worshippers. If his clothes touched the clothes of a person who was unclean, then he would be unclean too. And as one who was meticulous when it came to being pure and holy, that just wouldn’t do. He stood as he prayed and lifted his eyes upward, both of which were the custom in Jewish prayer.

It was also the custom to pray out loud, so there is a good possibility that others could hear his prayer. It could be that he meant his prayer to be a “preachment” prayer, you know the kind—where a person prays in a manner that is intended to preach a sermon to others rather than truly addressing the Lord.

Considering that Jewish prayers in the first century was generally either confession of sin, thanks for blessings received, or petitions for the person praying or for others,^[11] there is the likelihood that he was more intent on preaching than praying. He doesn’t confess any sin, he’s not thanking God for any of his blessings, and he isn’t asking for anything for himself or others. He seems to be pointing out to others how bad they are, and showing contempt for them, and publicizing his own righteousness and obedience to the law. He’s comparing himself to others and pointing out how religiously conscientious he is compared to them.

He fasts twice a week, meaning he fasts 104 times a year compared to the one time a year required by the law. While the law spoke of tithing those things which were grown in the ground and tithing animals which were watched over, he tithes everything he acquires. He does this just in case the person who sold the item to him didn’t tithe on it as they should have.

The Pharisee is not a hypocrite; he no doubt actually does refrain from the sins he lists and he does fast and tithe more than required. But he is self-satisfied and self-righteous. He looks down on others who don’t keep the law as he does. He shows disdain and disgust towards others and thanks God that he “isn’t like them.” He views himself as the epitome of righteousness, and the original audience of the parable would have seen him that way as well.

The tax collector’s demeanor and prayer are completely different.

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!'’

The tax collector stands far from others, not because he’s righteous, but because he’s a sinner and he knows it. He won’t lift up his eyes to heaven because he feels unworthy. He extorts money from others by overcharging them. He’s a swindler. He doesn’t feel that he deserves to be standing with God’s people, or that he’s worthy of conversing with God.

He beats his breast, over his heart, because he is so distressed over his sinfulness. One commentator wrote:

In the Bible, the only other case of people beating their chests is at the cross when the crowds, deeply disturbed at what had taken place, beat their chests at the end of the day just after Jesus died (Luke 23:48). If it requires a scene as distressing as the crucifixion of Jesus to cause men and women to beat their chests, then clearly the tax collector of this parable is deeply distraught.^[12]

He’s standing apart, beating his breast, and he prays: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

The Greek word used in this verse for “be merciful” is Hilaskomai (hell AS kima), which means to make propitiation for.^[13] The Greek word generally used in regard to mercy is Eleeō (el ey EY O), which means to help one who is afflicted or seeking aid.

The tax collector is asking for propitiation, or an atonement, for his sins. In some of the early Armenian and Syriac translations from the early centuries this was translated as “make an atonement for me.”^[14] His cry isn’t for general mercy; it’s for atonement, for the forgiveness of his sins.

Author Kenneth Bailey expresses the situation of the tax collector beautifully. He wrote:

One can almost smell the pungent incense, hear the loud clash of cymbals, and see the great cloud of dense smoke rising from the burnt offering. The tax collector is there. He stands afar off, anxious not to be seen, sensing his unworthiness to stand with the participants. In brokenness he longs to be a part of it all. He yearns that he might stand with “the righteous.” In deep remorse he strikes his chest and cries out in repentance and hope, “O God! Let it be for me! Make an atonement for me, a sinner!” There in the temple this humble man, aware of his own sin and unworthiness, with no merit of his own to commend him, longs that the great dramatic atonement sacrifice might apply to him.”^[15]

And we see that it does. Jesus ends the story with:

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.^[16]

This ending was a shock to the original listeners. The Pharisee would have been seen as the righteous, respected one, as he not only obeyed the law but went beyond it. The tax collector, on the other hand, would have been considered the sinner. He was hated and reviled by virtually everyone, and with good reason; there was no way he could be seen as being righteous.

Yet who does Jesus say goes to his house justified, made righteous?—The one who is confident in his own righteousness due to his good works, or the one who cries out to God for mercy? Is it the one who is seen by others as holy?—The one who looks down on others as not being as religious as himself, and who separates himself from those who are unclean and sinful? Or is it the one who knows that he’s a sinner, who humbles himself, knowing that no amount of works could save him, who looks to God in true repentance for His mercy, forgiveness, and salvation?

When it comes to God’s saving grace, the one who humbly acknowledges his or her need for God is the one who receives salvation. Not those with the exalted self-opinion, who trust that their good works and religiosity are going to save them. Now don’t get me wrong; doing good works that help others is good, but those works aren’t what get you saved. You don’t earn a bunch of good points that cancel out your bad points. You can’t earn salvation or forgiveness for your sins. It’s simply a beautiful gift offered by God.

While this parable speaks of the need for personal humility before God in prayer, and warns against being self-righteous about our own works and looking down on others with scorn, contempt, and a judgmental attitude, its most important message is about God’s grace. The message is that our works don’t save us; God’s grace does. God has made a way for our sins to be forgiven and for us to enter into a right relationship with Him because of His great love, mercy, and grace. We are “righteous” before God because our sins have been atoned for, not because of our observance of religious laws.

Jesus is telling His listeners that it is through God’s love and grace that people are justified, that our sins are atoned for, a concept that, after Jesus’ death, the apostle Paul stated as:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.^[17]

While salvation through grace, not works, is a main point of this parable, other points can be learned from it as well, such as:

• Prayers or preachments that boast of one’s accomplishments or put down others for their lacks are not appropriate.
• The way that God looks at others can be quite different from the way that we may look at them, and thus we should not be judgmental^[18] of others. We should remember that “the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”^[19]
• The Pharisee thought he could be obedient to God yet still have disdain for those he deemed less holy than himself, like the tax collector. He assumed that keeping the commandments made him better than most and he looked down on others with contempt. To him, being religious was more important than looking on others with love, whereas in other passages Jesus makes it explicit that love is more important than religiosity, that love for others is second only to loving God.^[20]

The parable reveals that God is not a God impressed with pious acts and feelings of superiority, He is, rather, a God of mercy who responds to the needs and honest prayers and repentance of people.^[21] As it says in Isaiah 66:2: “But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”

• Self-righteousness and pride, thinking highly of oneself and putting others down, are signs of an attitude that is out of alignment with the way God views people. An effective way to bring an inflated view of self down to size is to compare yourself with God’s greatness and His perfection, rather than comparing with the supposed faults and sins of others.

God is a God of love and mercy. He loves humanity and He made provision for us to be saved through Jesus’ sacrificial death. He’s passionate about saving all people, even those who seem to be the worst sinners in the eyes of the world, people like the tax collector in this parable.

As Christians, we should do all we can to help others know Him through living our lives in a manner that shows the love, mercy, and understanding that our loving Savior has shown to each of us. And then, to share with others the wonderful news that the way to know God is simply to accept His free gift of salvation by grace.

Amen? Let’s do that, shall we? God bless you.

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The Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Luke 18:9–14

 ⁹   He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:

¹⁰  “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

¹¹  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.

¹²  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

¹³  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!’

¹⁴  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

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Notes

Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.