Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector

Study of Luke 18:9-14

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

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
— Luke 18:9-14

Luke the evangelist introduced Jesus' parable with the intended audience, "to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt." The Pharisees, who are often presented as legalistic, judgmental, hypocrites certainly fit the target audience. Luke could easily just say the parable is for the Pharisees but chose a more generic "to some people". Surely the Pharisees don't have a monopoly of self-righteousness and judgementalism. Some of the disciples can also think to themselves "thank God I'm not self-righteous, proud, judgmental, and hypocritical like these Pharisees". 

The setting is in the temple where two men who are polar opposites in Israel went to pray. One is the epitome of piety while the other is the epitome of sin. One is highly respected while the other is hated. One is a national hero having his roots from the Hasidim, a group of faithful Jews who joined the Maccabean revolt to liberate them from the Syrians, while the other is a traitor working with their oppressor to collect taxes.

The Pharisee's prayer hardly seems a prayer at all. Although he paid lip service to giving thanks to God, he bragged how good he was compared to other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. How easy it is to feel good about ourselves if we find easy targets like the mentioned openly visible sinners and compare ourselves to them. There is, however, a turn of events since New Testament times. Now Pharisees has become a favorite derogatory term by some Christians for those they deem as fundamental, orthodox, religious, legalistic, unloving, dogmatic, strict, head-knowledge only, harsh, ungracious, proud, divisive and unfriendly among fellow Christians to pride themselves for being nicer and more humble, loving, gracious, kind, politically correct, tolerant, and Christlike. Oftentimes, those who are easily offended about the tone and accuse those they disagree with of being pharisaically unloving and ungracious also fail to extend the love and grace they expected from others and resort to bitterness, slanderous accusations, gossip, and holding of grudges. It often leads to contempt when we compare ourselves to one another using our subjective standards instead of comparing ourselves to God's perfect holiness.

For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.
— 2 Corinthians 10:12

David E. Garland said:

"Boasting about one's status and achievements and comparing oneself favorably against others were routine tactics for those who aimed at gaining a following for themselves. In a “comparison” one would amplify one's good deeds and another's bad deeds to show superiority. Such topics as a person's race, upbringing, education, status, physique, pursuits, and positions held were all fair game in sizing up their relative merits and standing."

The Pharisee went on to commend himself to God by boasting about his good works. The Pharisee majored on minors and appearance of righteousness based on good works while he minored on majors and inward righteousness based on faith. As Warren Wiersbe said "a religion of external activities is much easier to measure than one of internal transformation. The legalist can measure what he does and what he does not do, but the Lord is the only One who can see spiritual growth in a believer’s heart."

Klyne Snodgrass observed:

"The Pharisee in this parable goes beyond all requirements of the Law. Fasting was required of Jews only on the Day of Atonement. As the Bible attests, people facing crises would also fast, and particularly godly people would fast more frequently. In fasting twice a week, apparently on Monday and Thursday, the Pharisee probably viewed himself as fasting to make atonement for all of Israel. In tithing all he acquired, he tithed items he purchased that other people should have already tithed."

John MacArthur said of the Pharisees:

"Unlike so many cults and false religions that are grossly unorthodox, overtly diabolical, or blithely indifferent to the law of God, the Pharisees were traditionalists and idealists well known for their punctilious obsession with the smallest details of the law. Pharisaism is singled out in the New Testament not because it was some far-fetched brand of extreme human superstition, but because it represents the most slight and subtle departure from biblical truth. The spiritual dangers embodied in Pharisaism can be a temptation and a snare even to the most devoted student of Scripture.

Why was this particular brand of Judaism so deadly? After all, the Pharisees gave every appearance of being champions of righteousness. In fact, external appearances were what concerned them the most. Their idea of righteousness was mostly cosmetic. They excelled at hiding their own unrighteousness and papering over their secret sins with works of religion—while they declaimed passionately against the more visible sins of others. Far from being careless with respect to the law, they made a great show of obeying the law’s fine points in an exaggerated, ostentatious way (Matt. 23:5).

Their use of the law as a cloak for their sin therefore turned the whole purpose of the law on its head. Whereas the law is supposed to reveal sin and show its exceeding sinfulness, they used the law to disguise what was really in their hearts—and they salved their own guilt by self-righteously comparing themselves with others. The subtlety of their error, obscured by the pretense that they were strongly committed to the law of God, is what made their brand of religion so dangerous.

They were as lost, depraved, and spiritually blind as the outcasts and unclean people whom they treated with extreme contempt. Although their well-honed legalism obscured their wickedness from human eyes, it did not fool God. The Pharisees’ hypocrisy was itself a damnable sin."

Klyne Snodgrass provides for us some helpful background about the tax collector:

"If Pharisees were respected, attitudes toward tax collectors were close to the opposite end of the spectrum. Tax collectors bid for and purchased the right to collect taxes for a specific region, and various kinds of taxes were levied: poll taxes, land taxes, toll charges on travel and the transportation of goods from one region to another, sales taxes, and inheritance taxes. What tax collectors and toll collectors raised beyond their contracts was sheer profit. At least in Judea, Jewish tax collectors — and the tax collector in the parable is certainly Jewish — were considered traitors because they had contracted with the ruling powers to collect taxes and tolls or were underlings hired by such people to make the actual collections.

The civil tax burden was onerous, on top of which the Temple tax would have been added. The status of the man in the parable is uncertain; he may have been fairly well off or possibly a lower level toll collector. Attitudes toward tax collectors and especially toll collectors were quite negative. Such people were notorious for dishonesty and in the Mishnah are classified with murderers and robbers, people to whom one does not have to tell the truth. At least later they were deprived of civic rights and were not allowed to be judges or witnesses in court."

The tax collector, feeling deeply the weight of his unworthiness, was too embarrassed to go near a "holy" man like the Pharisee so he stood from a distance. Knowing that God's eyes are too pure to approve evil, And can not look on wickedness with favor (Habakkuk 1:13), he wouldn't even dare look up to heaven. Loathing his sinfulness he beats his breast and begs God for mercy. It's all that he asked and that's all that he need--mercy. People who think they are good would want justice because they expect they will get their well-deserved rewards. But all who realize their utter sinfulness wouldn't want justice for they will get what they deserve, eternal punishment.

No matter how much we justify ourselves in our sight, it is God who is the ultimate Judge and the One who decides who to justify or not. But If the Lord should mark iniquities, who could stand? (Psalm 130:3). Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin”? (Proverbs 20:9).

The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there are any who understand,
Who seek after God.
They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.
— Psalm 14:2-3

Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.
— Ecclesiastes 7:20

So if all men, without exception, are sinners and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), how then can a man be just with God? (Job 25:4a). What must we do to be saved? (Acts 16:30), what good thing shall we do that we may obtain eternal life? (Matthew 19:16). The Pharisee and all other religions in the world will answer as John MacArthur describes:

"Stripped down to its bare essence, every false religion ever devised by reprobate minds is a merit system. All of them teach that justification is earned or achieved by something the worshiper does for God—some kind of good work, sacrament, or religious ceremony; an act of charity or altruism; an austere lifestyle; or (lately) devotion to some political cause, environmental campaign, or alternative value system. The religious zeal that fallen people cultivate for their chosen cause or credo is never truly self less or sacrificial. The cause becomes a platform from which they look down on others. Most people think exactly like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable: I’m not as bad as other people; I should be okay. Nothing is more natural to the unregenerate human heart."

Jesus' hearers must be appalled to hear His verdict that the humble repentant sinner was justified before God rather than the proud unrepentant religious leader. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.

NKJV Study Bible defines justification as:

“to acquit” or “to declare righteous” (used by Paul in Romans 4:2, 5; 5:1). It is a legal term used of a favorable verdict in a trial. The word depicts a courtroom setting, with God presiding as the Judge, determining the faithfulness of each person to the Law. In the first section of Romans, Paul makes it clear that no one can withstand God’s judgment (Romans 3:9–20). The Law was not given to justify sinners but to expose their sin. To remedy this deplorable situation, God sent His Son to die for our sins, in our place. When we believe in Jesus, God imputes His righteousness to us, and we are declared righteous before God. In this way, God demonstrates that He is both a righteous Judge and the One who declares us righteous, our Justifier (Romans 3:26).

God's word is clear:

You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
— Galatians 5:4

People who think they are good enough not to be thrown in hell don't realize they are helpless sinners in need of mercy as the tax collector. They couldn't see their need for a Savior. Jesus said "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:32). But for reprehensible sinners we can say this with the apostle Paul:

It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
— 1 Timothy 1:15-17