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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
God is impressed with the honesty of genuine human humility, not with the pride of human accomplishment which is considered personal goodness.
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.
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."
For Thought and Discussion
Link to Teacher's Guide
Lesson 11