The objective of this lesson: To stress Jesus' emphasis on the content of righteousness--it does not focus on our opinion of our goodness, but on our willingness to repent. Also, to stress we are not righteous because we consider ourselves "better" than others.

The context of Jesus' parable is given by Jesus himself in verse 9: "And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt." It was given to people who thought their religious acts/accomplishments made them righteous. As a result of their attitude, they had horrible feelings toward those who failed to meet the standards they established by their behavior. The contrast is between the Pharisee who occupied the highest level of Jewish religious society and the publican or tax collector who was despised and rejected by Jewish religious society.

Stress two things: (a) It is easy to substitute faith in our acts for faith in God's acts [Certainly, we must be obedient. However, righteousness is never the result of the "goodness" of our acts, but the true goodness of God's acts in Jesus' cross and resurrection. Our motive for obedience begins with appreciation for what God does for us in Jesus' cross and resurrection.] (b) We are never righteous because we are "better" than someone else.

The Pharisee was (1) a person who sought to return Judaism back to ancient understanding of scripture. They opposed anything they considered to be an "innovation." One of their cries was "return to the old paths." (2) They were regarded to be quite conservative religiously. (3) Their spiritual devotion was often demonstrated in their desire to control. (4) They exerted a religious influence that exceeded their actual numbers. Numerous congregations of the Churches of Christ would find many things in common with the Pharisees' religious perspectives. [Do remember that not all Pharisees were pretentious or insincere.] Nicodemus (John 3:1) was a Pharisee. Gamaliel, an accomplished and respected religious teacher, was a Pharisee (Acts 5:34). Paul, the Christian, was not ashamed of the fact that his pre-Christian religious roots were in Pharisaism (Acts 23:1-6; Philippians 3:5). Though he was quite violent in his pre-Christian existence, he was not insincere (Galatians 1:13, 14).

There were properly-motivated Pharisees who were honest about what they saw and heard, and there were improperly-motivated Pharisees who refused to see or hear anything but their own views. Many of the Pharisees had godly acts but ungodly motives. They stressed dependence on God, but they did not stress godly motives.

The tax collector was regarded as a traitor to the Jewish people. (1) He collected taxes that would ultimately benefit the Roman leaders. Many in Israel regarded God as the only appropriate leader of Israel. In these people's view, collecting Jewish money to benefit the Roman Empire was either a rejection of or disrespectful to the God of Israel. The fact that the Roman military occupied Israelite territory aggravated a hostile situation. (2) The tax system used to collect Roman taxes was by nature [perhaps design] an invitation to unjust, exploitative actions. The collector [on every level] made his profit by collecting more than his assigned amount. (3) On the lowest level of collecting, people of the region were hired to be collectors in their region. Thus, Jewish taxes were collected by Jewish people. In the gospel writings, Jews commonly classified those who collected taxes in the same category they classified sinners [Jewish people who did not live by Jewish religious teachings] (Matthew 9:10; 11:19; Luke 5:29, 30), and they criticized Jesus for eating and associating with them (Matthew 9:11; Luke 5:30; 7:34). Jews who collected taxes for the Romans were excluded from Jewish religious functions and were considered social outcasts in Jewish society.

People commonly have a genuine distaste for others they regard to be traitors to their people or the core values of their people. People want no acceptable person in their society to associate with those they regard traitors. To defraud a person of his money or to inflict hurt on his family is a serious matter in any society. Do stress the contrast between a penitent person who is an outcast and a religious person who is a part of the highest sector of society in a society governed by religion [theocracy]. Society's favoritism does not guarantee favoritism from God!

The geographical place which served as the setting of the parable was a courtyard in the temple complex. They were not in the structure that housed the holy and most holy place nor the courtyard of the priest. They could have been in the courtyard of the women where any Israelite was welcome or the courtyard of Israel where only Israelite men were permitted. Only Jewish priests were allowed in the courtyard of the priests or the holy place. Only the high priest was to enter the most holy place (Leviticus 16:11-17). When Solomon built the first temple complex, the structure containing the holy and most holy place were dedicated to be the site of prayer (1 Kings 8:27-53). Jews, by divine permission, had approached God with their petitions for centuries in the temple complex.

The atmosphere generated by a Jew being close to the Jewish temple reeked of purity and holiness. This was THE place to pray. By God's promise, it contained God's presence! The objective of the typical Jew was to get as close to God's presence as possible [without offending God]. There is a contrast in the relative positions in the courtyard of the men that Jesus' audience quickly would note.

Place the context of this parable firmly in your thinking. A man from the highest level of Jewish society and a man who was an outcast from Jewish society were praying in a location that was regarded by devout Jewish society as THE place to pray.

Make certain your students have a clear perspective of the situation. Jesus' point lies in seeing the situation.

The Pharisee's prayer focused on himself and how good he was. It is not focused on God's goodness, God's blessings, or the Pharisee's need for repentance. He "stood and was praying thus with himself." If he assumed what was recognized as the appropriate prayer posture, he stood with arms raised and hands opened to the sky. In their society, this had long been considered a position of humility.

The problem was not in his prayer posture or his deeds, but in his opinion of himself and his opinion of what made him righteous. Though he did the "right things," he was quite arrogant and selfish. Righteousness was about him, not about God.

Note in the Pharisee's prayer God was merely an observer. God was not the subject of his prayer. The content of his prayer focused on how good he was. He was not like ungodly people [swindlers, unjust people, those who engage in adultery, or even the tax collector]. He was conscientious to assume his religious responsibility--he fasted twice a week ["I know my place'] and gave God ten percent of everything. Obviously, he was quite impressed with himself religiously.

He seemed unaware of God's blessings, but very aware of his accomplishments.

In contrast, the tax collector did not feel worthy of assuming the accepted prayer position. Whereas the Pharisee stood and raised his hands upward, the tax collector would not even lift his head up. In self-contempt, as an expression of sorrow, he beat his chest. He was so completely unimpressed with himself, he referred to himself as a sinner and asked God for mercy.

This man was completely unimpressed with himself. He knew his only hope was God's mercy.

The result was totally unexpected. At that time in that society, devout people would say the Pharisee was a good man who did good things, and the tax collector was a wicked man who did evil things. In their society, they expected God to hear the Pharisee and reject the tax collector. Yet, God responded in precisely the opposite manner. He listened to and forgave the tax collector, but ignored the Pharisee.

The fact that God would justify a tax collector and ignore a Pharisee was unthinkable in first century Israel! At that time in their society, most would respond to that thought with, "You must be kidding!" We likely would be surprised by God's reaction among those we classify as Christians today. Too often we regard being "in the church" as everything and personal motives for rejecting others as "nothing." The point is not that we should not be an active part of the church; the point is that we should be a part of God's people for God's reasons.

God is impressed with the honesty of genuine human humility, not with the pride of human accomplishment which is considered personal goodness.

Goodness is never based on what we think about ourselves. It is always based on what we think about God.

This parable is not about prayer positions, but about attitudes. A physical position is without meaning to God if it is not produced by an attitude of total surrender.

When we dot the i's and cross the t's in obeying God, never ignore the importance of our attitude. Be careful not to allow the failings of others to create an attitude of arrogance in you.

One direfully needed understanding among Christians today is this: Being impressed with your own religious acts does not mean God is impressed with your religious acts. God had rather have an attitude of surrender from a person with a wicked past than an attitude of pride from a person of a "good acts" past. When a person is impressed with himself, God is not impressed with the person. Long ago a person said, "We cannot go to heaven on the mistakes of others."

The issue is never are you impressed with yourself. The issue is always are you impressed with God. Without mercy, none of us could stand before God.

For Thought and Discussion

1. In this parable, what is the contrast between?

   The contrast is between the Pharisee who occupied the highest level of Jewish society and the tax collector who was rejected by Jewish society.

2. Describe the typical Pharisee.
   1. He sought to bring Judaism back to their ancient understanding of scripture.

   2. He was quite conservative religiously.

   3. His spiritual devotion was often demonstrated in his desire to control.

   4. As a group, their religious influence exceeded their actual numbers.

3. Describe the typical Jewish tax collector.
   1. He collected taxes that ultimately benefited Roman leaders [of the Roman Empire].

   2. The system of taxation created opportunities for corruption.

   3. They collected taxes from their own people.

   4. They were regarded as traitors to Israel.

4. Discuss the site of the prayers.
   1. It was regarded to be the holiest site among all Jewish sites.

   2. It was THE place for a Jew to pray.

   3. It was the place where God allowed His presence to reside (1 Kings 8 and 9:1-3)

5. Contrast the Pharisee's and the tax collector's prayer. To which prayer did God respond?

   The Pharisee was deeply impressed with his own goodness and selfishly focused on what he did. The tax collector was totally unimpressed with himself and sought only God's mercy. God justified the tax collector and ignored the Pharisee.

6. What direfully needed understanding do we all have?

   Our being impressed with our religious acts does not mean God is impressed with our religious acts.

Link to Student Guide Lesson 11

Copyright © 2006, 2007
David Chadwell & West-Ark Church of Christ

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