Portraits of the Kingdom: Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Notes:

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.”

Prayer exposes what we really think about ourselves.

Luke 16:15: You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

Surprises for me:

How often parables have to do with the self-righteous and teaches Justification by Faith

Two Sons, Two Debtors, the Good Samaritan, the Great Banquet, the Prodigal Son.

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

Introduction:

This parable is about the temptation to put your trust in your own goodness.

Parable only found in Luke:

Luke records the most critical comments about the pharisees.

Trust in themselves

Self- Congratulatory

The Devil is in the details.

His sinfulness is in the details as well

His Physical Posture: Standing in prayer

v. 11: “Standing by himself”

Posture towards other people:

“God, I thank you that I am not like other men (extortioners, unjust, adulterous, or even like this tax collector.”

Posture towards your good works:

v. 12: “I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.”

Way above and beyond! Only obligatory fast was 24 hour fast on Yom Kipper.

First person singular mentioned 5x in prayer.

Thanks isn’t directed to God, but director against others.

He’s specific about who he sees as a sinner “THIS” tax collector”

Result: Look down on others

Strack and Billerbeck: “That a person possessed the ability without exception to fulfill God’s commandments was so firmly rooted in rabbinic teaching, that in all seriousness they spoke of people who had kept the entire Torah from A to Z.”

Psalm 26:1–5 “1 Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. 2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind. 3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness. 4 I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites. 5 I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked.”

What he adds into grace

Wish that we got to hear the “TONE” of Jesus.

Heather and I argue, we often focus less on content as we do on TONE.

Tone of the Pharisee:

Strut around: “God, I thank you that I ma not like other men!”

Look up to see if people are watching

Problem with Pride:

Trust in Grace

Self-deprecatory

v. 13: standing in the back, beat his breast, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

What he detracts.

Physical Posturing: Stood at a distance and beating his breast

Spiritual Posture:

Request for mercy.

Not “a” sinner, but “THE” sinner.

Mercy typically=eleein

Here: hilaskesthai: “a word group associated with the most sacred act in Israel on the Day of Atonement.” James Edwards

verb= “To cover” “It’s background and use assume that the petitioner cannot earn forgiveness, so he simply makes an appeal for God’s forgiving compassion.” Darrell Bock

“to purge”

“To be propitiated”

“To placate”

2x in the NT:

Hebrews 2:17 “17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

Jesus is the expiator of sins before God.

TDNT: “The idea is not to make God gracious not to conquer sins ethically.

One who doesn’t feel like he deserves God’s grace, just a request to show him mercy.

Saying: “The best way up is down, and the quickest way down is to lift oneself up.”

Argument by Edwards, “In the NT the verb is used only once again in Heb 2:17, where it refers to Jesus fulfilling the duty of the high priest by atoning for the sins of the people at the Holy of Holies in the temple. In putting a uniquely high priestly prayer of atonement in the mouth of the tax collector in the temple, Jesus suggestively and scandalously casts him in the role of the Jewish high priest.”

We have the genuinely humble here at ResLife.

How to be humble?

Humble Yourself in Worship

Eyes down and beated breast

Humble Yourself in Your

Humble towards our Salvation

Do you see yourself as a sinner?

Story of Toronto Blessing

Justification

Introduction:

“Some” purposefully ambiguous??

Justification by Faith=Not a Pauline teaching, but a Jesus teaching!

Number of Parables on the entrance fee into the Kingdom

Point I: Spiritual Self-Reliance

Confident Works

Show-Off Worship

Social Status Smugness

Problem with Pride

Self- Leads to…

“Trust” in themselves”

Security

Those Who Humble Themselves

What is “FATE”?

Versus “What is Faith?”

Outcome of Prayer:

The Tax collector “went down to his house justified.”

“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exulted.”

Two classes of people: Self-exulted verses the humble

James Edwards: “The Pharisee stands before God in self-congratulation, the tax collector stands before God in prayer.”

Darrell Bock: “Rather than approach God on the basis of his mercy and grace, we approach him by appealing to our track record and subtly suggesting he owes us a response. The real danger of pride is that it blinds us to how we really stand before God.”

Leader of Religion versus Leech on Society.

Darrell Bock: “Pride preaches merit; humility pleads for compassion. Pride negotiates as an equal; humility approaches in need. Pride separates by putting down others; humility identifies with others, recognizing we all have the same need. Pride destroys through its alienating self-service; humility opens doors with its power to sympathize with the struggle we share. Pride turns up its nose; humility offers an open and lifted-up hand.”

Darrell Bock:

“Humility is harder to discuss because it does not discuss itself. It simply gets out there and serves, often with sacrifice. It does not claim rights; it tries to do what is right. It does not brag about integrity; it displays it. Sometimes it is easy to miss what does not point to itself. But God sees the humble heart and lifts it up in honor. That is Jesus’ challenge.”