1. The Audience verse 9
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:
Jesus in this parable targets those in the crowd around Him who were self-assured (who trusted in themselves) and were convinced that they were good people pure and ethical before God. They were so arrogant of their moral standing before God that they looked down their noses on others who they think are not “spiritual.”
Galatians 6:3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
2. Two Men verse 10
"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
A. Pharisee
Object Lesson: Dirty Cup (a cup that is clean on the outside but dirty on the inside)How would you like a nice, cool drink from this cup? Do you really think you would? It is a nice cup, isn’t it? And it does look clean, but I’ve only shown you the outside, Look at the inside. Now, nobody wants to drink.
A Pharisee was a member of the Jewish faith. They were the most highly esteemed group in Jewish society. They were church goers of their time who attended every Bible study, prayer meeting. They tried to obey every law of the faith.
The Pharisee knew how to pray. They applied themselves to the art of prayer (they made it their hobby). Jesus tells us in
Matthew 23:14 ["Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, even while for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you shall receive greater condemnation.]
Matthew 6:5-8 "And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. [6] "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. [7] "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. [8] "Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him.
We today when we hear “Pharisee” automatically we think of them as bad religious people, but during those days they were honored members of the Jewish community in order to fully understand this parable. They were the good guys, the best of the best, the crème of the crop. The apostle Paul was a Pharisee.
B. Tax Collector
A tax collector was at the other end of the spectrum, the community considered them as monsters or traitors. Josephus the famous Jewish historian describes them “as despicable.” In today’s culture, the closest social equivalent would be drug pushers and pimps, those who prey on society, who make money off others’ bodies and make a living of stealing from others.
Note: Rome imposed taxes on its conquered peoples, but the collection of those taxes was delegated to private Roman contractors (tax farmers), who then employed Jewish underlings to do the dirty work, their pay being whatever extra they could extort from their fellow Jews.
3. Two Prayers verses 11-12
The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ’God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
A. Pharisee’s Prayer
He stands – prays only with himself and thank God for making him what he is. In other words the Pharisee prayed this way “O Lord its hard to be humble when I see how rotten other are compared to me. Thank you Lord I’m not like those people, you know, people who steal, who do bad things and who cheat on their wives or even like this guy over there who works for the IRS.
He Brags about His Religious Activities Read verse 12. Yes Lord I am one of the very, very few who does more than even the law requires. The Pharisee fasted—without water, despite the health hazard—two full days a week (Mondays and Thursdays), at least during the dry season. Pharisees were meticulous about tithing to the full extent one could infer from the law (several different tithes, together constituting more than 20 percent of one’s income).
B. Tax Collector’s Prayer
He Stands from afar He stood way at the back of the temple, out of sight.
He Feels Undeserving to Face God He was full of shame the he couldn’t approach the Holiness of God. He recognized How holy God is and How unholy He Is. When the prophet Isaiah saw the Holiness of God, his response was
Isaiah 6:5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty."
He Cries for Mercy - Here Luke tells us that he beats his breast. It was a sign of great mourning or grief, in this case, in repentance for sin (which in Jewish custom was expressed by mourning). Mark 2:17 & Hebrews 4:15-16
Luke 23:47-48 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man." [48] When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.
I like what Luke say’s here God be merciful to me, the sinner. Not a sinner, but the sinner. I am everything people say I am, and more. I will not attempt to make myself look better by comparing myself with someone else. I am the sinner. His cry “have mercy on me.” This is the same words David said in Psalms 51 following his adultery and murder. The tax collector knew that God’s wrath was upon him. Luke 1:50
4. Two Outcomes
A. Tax Collector
The tax collector went home from the temple “justified before God” forgiven been made right. He has now a right standing before God.
Psalm 32:1-2 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. [2] Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
B. The Pharisee
The Pharisee went home not having been justified before God. He went home with nothing. How sad that this Pharisee, zealous for the faith and well versed in the Scriptures, had somehow overlooked Isaiah 64:6
Isaiah 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
Conclusion:
How shall we then Pray? What does the Lord’s parable teach us about the spirit with which we are to pray?
Adoration -Reflect on God Himself. Praise Him for His Attributes, His Majesty, His gifts of Christ.
Confession - Admit to God you have sinned, be honest and humble. Remember, He knows you and loves you.
Thanksgiving - Tell God how grateful you are for everything He has given you, even the unpleasant things. Your thankfulness will help you see His purposes.
Supplication - Make specific requests. Pray for others first, then for yourself.
