Luke 18:9-14

The Pharisee & the Tax Collector:
A Contrast in the Way of Heaven & The Way of Hell

by Pastor Jim Lincoln on October 21, 2007

Today, I love the parables. However, as a young student and after hearing the story of the prodigal son I was convinced that if there was a God he couldn't be a just God. Why would a just God throw a party for a bad son and not the good son? The stories of Christianity didn't make any sense to me because I didn't understand one of the fundamental messages of the gospel. And that is: the righteous have to repent of their "righteousness" to see God.

Here, we have a Pharisee who is a church member and a model citizen. His life is defined by dedication and sacrifice. And behind him stands a tax collector. He's a mercenary/traitor of the worst kind. He makes his living by fleecing his own people. And Jesus says that it was the traitor that went away justified before God. The crowd must have gagged on that verdict. Without the gospel, I too would have choked. Let's look at these two more carefully.

First, I want us to carefully consider this Pharisee. Second, I want us to get to know the Taxman better. Third, I want us to get to know Jesus and the gospel better.

The Pharisee
First, in first century Palestine, the Pharisees were enormously popular with the people. They were the descendents of Judas Maccabeaus, the Freedom Fighters of the 2 c. BC. They were like Oliver North and Eric Prince of our day. The Maccabees fought for Judah's independence against Rome. They were national heroes and men of great fame.

Their lives could be measured by the highest of ethical standards. Our Pharisee in Jesus' story was considered as one of the good guys, loved, honored, admired, conscientious and deeply respected. Let's call him Bill. Bill is hard working, responsible, and conservative. He has a program on his computer that sends everything he looks at on the Internet to a friend for inspection and accountability. He goes to church every Sunday. He votes Biblical values. He's upper middle class but He lives modestly. He lives in a modest house, drives a modest car, and wears modest clothes. He supports a child through World Vision, tithes to the church, saves his money and keeps his nose clean. Outwardly, he's the kind of person who makes a society work.

The Tax Collector
But then Jesus introduces another character: The tax collector. Let's call him Frank. Frank was hated and despised by the people. Frank would have paid the Roman government to get his tax job and then overcharged the people, skimming the profit off the top for himself. Tax collectors sold out their own countrymen to make an easy living. They collaborated with the Roman occupiers who levied crushing taxes on the Jewish people. Today, Frank would have been put in the same category as one of those executives at Enron who cashed in his stock the night before the scandal broke. The executives, who wrote the company's 401K plan, didn't allow the employees to sell off their stock options. That was the exclusive privilege of the executives. Frank got rich while the rank and file lost everything. Today, Enron/PGE employees who lost their retirement savings loathe Frank. The Jewish people hated tax collectors just as Enron's employees hated their bosses who got rich at their expense.

Here's what is so strange about the parable. The guy who has the reputation of a Jim Dobson is the illustration of the way of hell and the guy who has the reputation of a traitor ends up illustrating the way of heaven. How could anything be more unjust, shocking and just wrong?

Remember - Jesus was always turning everything upside down. That's what the gospel does. Sinners can get saved if they repent and believe the gospel and the "righteous" cannot until they repent of their righteousness.

OK, let's dig even deeper and see if we can sort this thing out.

The Pharisee
Now Jesus always digs deeper into your soul than what people can see about us from the outside. Your life before Jesus is like one of those ant farms in the sixth grade science fair. They make them out of Plexiglas so you can see how they lived underneath the surface of the earth. Jesus sees us underneath the surface and right into our motives (Heb.4:12).

The Pharisee (Underneath) Verse 9 says that the parable is directed to those who "trust in their own record to establish their own righteousness." It also says that they compare themselves with others and they "look down on others". Literally, the word means, "to consider others of no account." Here, the Pharisee considers that others don't stack up with him in this competition to establish one's own righteousness. And then in vs. 14 Jesus says that his real motive is to exalt himself. Now, none of this is outwardly noticeable. It's all subterranean. All of this is taking place on the inside. Verse 11 says that he was praying "to" himself. The NIV has "about" and that is also true. However, I think the point is that he was praying to himself so that no one could hear him. Ironically, he's come to worship God; in reality he never meets God. He's so wrapped up in himself and how he's stacking up with others that his heart never connects with God.

And what does he say? (11)

"God, I thank thee, that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I get." Luke 18:11-12

The faithful came to the Temple to pray at 9am and 3pm just like the Orthodox Jews who pray at the wall in Jerusalem today. This was also the time daily sacrifices were being offered in the Temple. So, keep that picture of the priests offering sacrifices at the same time these two are praying.

Notice that although the form of his prayer is one of thanksgiving, the content of his prayer contradicts the form. He's not really thanking God at all. Although he uses the phrase "I thank God." we know from verse 14 that his intention is to exalt himself. He's going through the expected liturgy. He's saying the prayers as he was taught to say them with thanksgiving. For him his is a force of habit.

We are vulnerable to the same thing when we say things out of habit in our prayers. When we add the phrase, "In Jesus name." to our prayers, are we really asking, "Lord, will the reputation and glory of Jesus be enhanced by this prayer? And, "Lord, if it won't, then let this prayer go unanswered?"

Notice again what he does in his prayer: He compares himself with others. He focuses on their faults and sins. By comparison to them, he looks pretty good to himself. Of course he picks someone whose standards were lower than his. This is always effective. He says,

"I'm not like other men cheaters, unjust, adulterers and this tax collector standing over there. Instead, I fast twice a week and give tithes on everything I get."

The Competitive Spirit
Linger on that phrase, "I'm not like other men." Can you sense his approach to other people? Can you feel the competition he has created with others? Can you see how impossible it is for him to have genuine fellowship with God or other people? These "other men" are the means to his own sense of approval. He can't worship; he's too busy filling out his scorecard. He's assessing where he stands in comparison to others.

I have a friend who served a small church in Phoenix one block away from a huge mega church. He told me that the members felt ashamed and like failures because the mega church, seemingly, had everything compared to their meager resources. When these church members came for worship they were so busy assessing, evaluating, monitoring, looking around, judging the process, the preaching, the singing, the size of the crowd, there was no space or time in their hearts to lay themselves bare and exposed before God. A spirit of blame, comparing and accusation surfaced. They were preoccupied with how they were doing in comparison to a standard not even found in the Bible. It stole their hearts away from worship. Beloved, you can't compete with others to establish your righteousness and worship at the same time. It's a terrible temptation because by nature we are fierce competitors. In our culture how we compete establishes our net worth.

The Pharisee was so busy competing with the man next to him that there was no room left to meet with God at all. And there is a warning in this. You can come to church and by force of habit pray the prayers, sing the songs, and give to the offering and never have an honest connection with God at all. You can do all of this without ever exposing your soul before God for Him to examine, assess and till. Many compete hard all week long to survive and make it in a highly competitive world. But you must turn that switch off if you want to worship.¹

The downside of establishing your own righteousness is that there are only two outcomes. First, when you think you have succeeded you get puffed up and bloated with pride. Second, when you sense that you have not lived up to the standard you're devastated by shame and guilt (and that's when the accusation cannons come out. Also, these are the only two options in hell. As long as he wins out over the other man he has a case to make for himself. As long as he is a notch above, he has something (he thinks) to recommend him to God. So to be safe he must accuse. Listen to the conversations of the world. How many of them are filled with subtle and not so subtle accusations. It's the accusation that makes him feel safe. And that's what the Hebrew word Satan means. It means "accuser".

I understand this man. Without the grace and tender mercies of God I'm this guy! And if I forget the gospel I can default to that in the blink of the eye.

Can you see how this life without God's mercy will rob you of the capacity to love God or others? On the outside this man may project a caring loving demeanor; he probably leads a local charity. These are good things. But on the inside he can't love anyone. He's too busy justifying himself to think about God and too busy using others to make a case for himself that he can't really love them.

How do you fill in the blanks? "I thank Go that I am not like..." Who are you competing with? Who are you glad that you are not like? And the moment you fill in that blank you will miss God. It's possible to even think, "I'm glad that I'm not like this Pharisee!" But, there is nothing in your record that recommends you to God. You are what you are by the grace of God. That's both humbling and the only real source of Hope at the same time.

How does he deal with guilt? After accusing others the Pharisee lists his credits. "I fast twice a week and I tithe on everything I have." Again these are good things. The law called for fasting once a year. It called for tithing. But he makes sure that God knows that he has exceeded the requirement. Five times he uses the word, "I". He is the real object of his prayer. He mistakenly thinks that his record will deal with his guilt. When he's not accusing others he is self-absorbed.

Do you recognize this demon? I do. In Dante's Inferno, the last circle of hell is a frozen lake of ice where people are frozen in their polarization and isolation. They are frozen with their mouths open as if they were saying something. I think they are frozen cold in their accusations and self-approval, which makes them isolated alone and unable to love anybody. As someone once said, "Hell is the sleepless, relentless, joyless, hopeless concentration on self." There is no room for loving others. There is no room for Jesus. All the pieces of his pie of his life begin with "Me".

Now the Publican (13)
"But the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God, be thou merciful to me a sinner. "

There couldn't be a greater contrast. He demonstrates his lack of self-confidence first by what he does. He stands at a distance. He can't even bring himself to come near. He can't even look up to heaven because he knows that without mercy he cannot gaze at the brightness of God's holiness. He beats his breast in self-disgust and self-loathing.

He is hopeless without God's mercy so he says to God, "Be merciful to me the sinner." There is only one thing that can recommend him to God and that is God's mercy and he knows it.

Self-Esteem or Humility
I find this so interesting in light of the value our culture puts on self-esteem. He has no self-esteem! Psychologically, he's weak. He has low self-esteem. But look, Jesus says he and not the other man went away justified. Which is more important to be justified before God or to strut proud like a peacock with self-esteem? Maybe we need less self-esteem.

Notice he doesn't say, "I've made my share of mistakes." Or, "You know... to err is human." He makes an unambiguous and clear confession that he has broken the laws of God and he knows it. He confesses that he has no hope of clearing himself on the basis of his record before a holy God.

Jesus says this man and not the other went away justified. The word justified is a law court term. It's the final verdict that a judge would say when a defendant was found innocent in a court of law. It's an irrevocable legal declaration. And in this case it comes from the lips of Jesus Christ our creator, judge and redeemer. This man was cleared, accepted, and free from his true moral guilt, forgiven!

I read this quote about Jesus somewhere.

"In Jesus Christ and in the gospel you realize that you are weaker and more sinful than you ever believed. But, through Jesus you are more loved and accepted than you ever dared hope."

This is the way of heaven. We have been forgiven accepted, justified by His mercy.

How can He do it? How can He justify this sinner? Shouldn't the Pharisee have been cleared? After all wasn't he a better person in life? Well which is worse? To claim that you are better than most and to spend your life accusing others or stealing tax money from people? It doesn't matter. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We asked the same question with the prostitute and Simon the Pharisee, which is worse, to be a prostitute or to reject the Son of God come to earth as the Pharisee had done? When it comes to being cleared and accepted before God it doesn't really matter... all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

How can Jesus do it? Isn't it easy for God to forgive?
But how can He clear this man or any of us? When Jesus was in agony in the garden of Gethsemane, was it because He was afraid of the physical pain of the crucifixion? Of course not! He could have put a stop to that at any moment. He could have called down the heavenly host and ended all of that with one word.

However, 2 Cor.5:21 says that God "made Him to be sin who had no sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God". Jesus was about to become the most notorious sinner in the history of the world. He was about to take our place as the sinner and bear the guilt and penalty of all of that on himself. That means that He would take on himself the wrath of God. Everything that we suppress, cover up, all our lust, pride, duplicity, and disobedience. Think now, to all of that for all of His people for all time Jesus said, "Give it to me. I'll take that for you." He became sin. What a thing to drink to the bottom!! The extent of that suffering is unimaginable. The extent of that love is without measure.

The word the Taxman uses for mercy here means "God be propitiated towards me." It means to remove wrath by the offering of a gift. It was the specific word used of the life of an animal offered for the atonement of sin. It was what the Priests were doing while these two were praying. Look at v. 10. The taxman is praying while the priest is offering up an animal sacrifice on the altar. By using this word mercy, which means the atoning sacrifice, I believe he is saying, "Accept the death of that animal sacrifice on my behalf. Be propitiated and appeased toward me." The point of Jesus using this word is to show us that the taxman is not merely appealing to God's better nature. Instead, he is laying claim to God's remedy for the true moral guilt that sinners like us have. And in doing so he highlights what our world today doesn't know. And that is, there can't be the real assurance of forgiveness without an act of atonement that satisfies God's righteous indignation/ wrath. Many think that forgiveness is easy for God. They think that that is what God just does. But forgiveness is the most excruciating thing God ever does. He is absolutely righteous. He can't simply overlook sin; that would make Him unjust. For God to forgive a just penalty must be paid. The taxman knows this. The word he uses for mercy points to the bloody loss of a life. It pointed to the animal sacrifice-taking place while he was praying. God's remedy is that Jesus would become the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. He would die in your place and mine so that we wouldn't have to face God's judgment for our sin. It is harder for God to forgive than you could ever imagine; it demanded a righteous bloody sacrifice of His only Son. Do you think that came easily? How absurd. However, He loves us and has done it for us for His glory and our joy.

You cannot earn this grace. You cannot merit this grace. It can't be won or enjoyed by competition. This is the gospel. God saves sinners. We cannot save ourselves. What must we do?
In Rom.10:3 we are told that:

"Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believe"

He says they would not submit to God's righteousness; they insisted on establishing their own. Jesus says, "I will earn it and give it to you as a gift to those who will submit to my mercy". This is something you must submit to the rest of your life. That is the only way you will know the freedom of God's mercy. Your instinct says, "I will earn it and God will have to listen to me and deal with me because I have done well. "

In the Old Testament the priest stood and made sacrifices every day. But when Jesus was finished with His sacrifice He sat down. The work that earned our righteousness was done and finished!

If you are in Christ you have been seated with Christ and your life is hidden with Christ. So, you can find rest in Him. Jeremiah 50:6,

"My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains. They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place.

Will you submit to His righteousness and abandon your own?

- No one can love you like Jesus!

- He lived the life we should have lived and died the death we deserve so that we can live.

- Rest in Him.

- Trust in Him.