Dr. Ron Sumners
November 6, 2005
With the possible exception of the story of the Good Samaritan, where a despised social outcast is depicted as morally superior to a priest and a Levite, no parable Jesus told could have been more shocking than this account of a Pharisee and a tax collector. The conclusion Jesus drew stood the conventional religious wisdom of that day on its ear. So, let's look with care at this short but amazing story.
All those listening to Jesus knew all about Pharisees. They were the most devoutly religious people in first century Palestine. The name "Pharisee" comes from a root word meaning "pure." They sought purity in every way. They were fiercely nationalistic, and they took care to never contact things that were impure. They were a select and elite group - the very pillars of society and religion.
In contrast, the tax collectors were at the opposite end of the social strata. No other occupation was more hated or looked down on. The Roman government recruited local citizens to collect taxes. This was a dirty business and open to all kinds of corruption. No one likes to pay taxes even under the best of circumstances, and certainly not to a turncoat working for the occupation forces. These men were regarded as scoundrels and traitors of the worst sort.
It was no surprise to the audience that a Pharisee would go to the temple to pray. Pharisees were famous for their piety and public prayers. This Pharisee prayed an egotistic prayer that basically told God that He was fortunate to have him on His side. He also condemned the Publican.
Jesus was not unfairly depicting the Pharisee in this story. The Pharisees believed they were morally superior to most other human beings and did not hesitate to tell others of this fact. There was no secret that they prided themselves in their disdain for those who were morally inferior to themselves.
The first element of surprise in the parable lies not in the Pharisee's prayer, but in the presence of the Tax collector. As a rule, a tax collector never frequented the temple, nor did they show the kind of repentance and contrition that Jesus depicts in this story. Their reputation as scoundrels was usually well earned.
This man would not even lift his eyes, but beating his breast says, "God be merciful to me, a sinner!" The image of a repentant tax collector defied all the stereotypes of the day.
Imagine the earthquake of shock that must have followed Jesus' next statement: "I tell you; this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted." When Jesus said those words, I feel sure that a horrified gasp went up from the crowd. To suggest that the God of all righteousness, the Creator of the universe, the Author of the Ten Commandments would be more pleased with a traitorous scoundrel than a person of righteousness was absolutely staggering in light of what the people had believed all their lives. They could not believe their ears! It turned their value system up-side-down.
This shock grew out of a genuine moral concern. Was Jesus actually suggesting that it really did not matter what people did with their lives, or that one sort of behavior was no different from any other? A superficial understanding of this parable could lead to ethical chaos.
The Pharisee says in all honesty, "I am not a thief, a rogue, or an adulterer." If we set aside for a moment the prejudices we have built up through the centuries, we might admit that the way this man depicts himself represents real moral achievement. Let's face it; to order one's business affairs along the lines of justice and honesty and one's personal interactions along the lines of nonexploitative chastity is no small accomplishment. Ask yourself, "If we did not have people like this Pharisee, how long would society last? What permanence and stability would there be to any social fabric if there were not many folks who chose to use their power responsibly?"
The Pharisee goes on to report that be fasts twice a week and tithes a tenth of all his income. Helmut Thielicke, a wise German interpreter, says you can tell a person is serious about religion when it affects two things: the stomach and the pocketbook. We are all familiar with folk who turn to God when some crisis occurs. These are the people who become very religious only when they get to the end of their ropes.
It is something very different when human beings allow their belief in God to affect the level of their bodily comfort. Fasting has never been a pleasant experience. It is somewhat akin to the discipline of training to be a marathon runner. These athletes do not just run when they feel like it; they keep to a regime whether it feels good or not, adding more and more distance as time goes by. Similarly, fasting requires extraordinary discipline and will power as well as spiritual strength.
The same can be said of the Pharisees practice of tithing. Money is power. It enables us to do and have many kinds of things. If we control a lot of money, we possess the ability to have our own way in a variety of forms. The fact that the Pharisee willingly gives a full ten percent of all he has is impressive. If every member of this church did the same, what ministry we could accomplish!
Here was a person who was serious enough about God to let his devotion affect both his stomach and his pocketbook! For Jesus to suggest that this sort of person was religiously inferior to a man who had no religious track record at all, was upsetting. There is no indication in the parable that the tax collector intended to change his behavior (although we can hope so). He simply cried out for mercy in a time of need, which is religion of the most primitive, self-centered kind. It is no wonder that Jesus' hearers were astonished.
Are the Ten Commandments real laws like the law of gravity; rules that cannot be broken without consequence? If you try to break the law of gravity, you reap the consequences. Are the Ten Commandments like that? How could a man who had always been a part of the problem tum out to be more in favor with God than the one who had taken the Ten Commandments seriously?
If we read this parable too superficially, the tax collector's humility could become the norm instead of the morality of the Pharisee. Thielicke composed a prayer that reflects this position that humility is more important than behavior:
I thank Thee, God that I am not proud of
Myself as that Pharisee. To be sure, I am an
Extortioner. It is true, I am unjust, and I am an
Adulterer, but that's what human beings are,
And that is the way I am and at least I admit it.
Therefore, because of my honesty, I think I am
A little bit better than the other one. I commit
Fornication twice a week, I do not suppose over
Ten percent of what I get comes from honest
Work, but remember, I am being honest, God.
I do not kid myself. I have no illusions about
Myself. Therefore, let your angels sing
''Alleluia" over a sinner who is at least as
Honest as I am, willing to admit he is a dirty
Dog, and not trying to hide behind some kind of
Pretension like the Pharisee.
There is something upsetting about making an admission of mediocrity into a virtue, saying in effect, "I do not live by any high moral code, but neither does anyone else, so at least I am not a hypocrite." If you have worked in the church for some time and have ever tried to get people to be involved you have heard something like this: "I may not be perfect, but at least I am not like those hypocrites at the church." Do you know what I say? "Thank God for the hypocrites. They know they are not perfect, but they are trying to conform to the image of Christ, and they actually do the work of the kingdom I?"
Norman Debruhl was afflicted with Down's syndrome. He was in his late twenties when I was pastor in South Carolina. His father was a great friend of mine and had died with cancer months earlier than this event. I tried to spend time with Norman and on this occasion, I took him visiting with me. We visited a man who seemed to have great animosity toward the church. He said, "I am not going to church because it is nothing but a bunch of hypocrites." Norman beamed a wonderful smile and replied, "Well, come on down, there is always room for one more."
Seriously, there is something frightening about letting moral carelessness become the accepted norm. It is very important that we look more deeply at this parable and steer clear of the conclusion that moral values are of no consequence at all. Jesus was making a different point in this parable. What was he trying to tell us?
This Pharisee had reached a high level of moral maturity. He had established control over his physical impulses and was the master of his money rather than let it master him. But he had made a fatal mistake: he took his eyes off the goal at the end of the process, that completeness that is the high calling of God. He began to compare himself to the people alongside him rather than to the goal of the high calling of God.
Devastating effects followed this shift of focus: the Pharisee grew proud of himself and the level to which he had risen, and complacent about the distance he still had to go to the ultimate goal of maturity. It was as if the Pharisee was a tenth grader comparing himself to a second grader and gloating how much further along he was. The goal of the tenth grader is eventual graduation. The fact that he is far advanced beyond a grammar school student is of no consequence if the goal is graduation!
The tax collector was in a very different position. He had achieved nothing in the realm of spiritual development. He was a kindergartener in terms of what God wanted him to be. But something happened in his life to awaken him. He was honestly acknowledging his lack and crying out for grace and mercy.
We are not told by Jesus what it was that had brought this man to his senses and to his knees. Like the prodigal son, he had "come to himself” and recognized his need. Something happened that made him aware of his need.
During my year and a half out of the ministry I had a lot of time to pray and reflect on my years in ministry. I had preached so many sermons vindictively and stayed angry because of people's lack of commitment to Christ and the church. My attitude was much like the Pharisees in this parable. I remember a session I had praying, and I confessed to God my frustration with people. I prayed, "God I just can't justify my people's lack of commitment." The reply was not audible, but it sure seemed that way, "Whoever asked you to justify them. That's my job. All I have ever asked you to do is share the truth, love those folk, forgive them, to wash their feet and nurture them."
That one prayer session is the reason that I have stayed here twelve years rather than the three to five years in every position before. My job is to love you not justify you.
I want to have the same level of moral purity as the Pharisee and also the same humility and teachable spirit as the tax collector. I want that for you too.
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