Scripture to Read: Luke 18:9-12
Jesus continued teaching through parables, and the next parable concerns a Pharisee and a tax collector. God had Luke record the following in Luke 18:9–12, “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 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. 12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’” To better understand why Jesus chose these two people, we need to know how people viewed them in Jesus’ day. Pharisees were generally seen as respected religious experts. They were the ones whom people saw as the strict keepers of the law, but then there were also those who viewed them as being overly rigid. Now, tax collectors were usually hated by most people because they were seen as traitors who worked for the Roman Empire. Most people saw them as dishonest thieves who would take more of the people’s money and fill their own pockets with the extra above the required tax. In Jesus’ time, this contrast would have been very strong. Pharisees had status while tax collectors were widely shunned. Note the Pharisees’ prayer: it is filled with bragging, zero humility, and a great deal of self-righteousness. He bragged to God about all he did and how much better he was than others.
Challenge & Application
What were some of the problems with the Pharisee’s attitude toward himself and others?
How do we guard against a self-righteous attitude and falling prey to comparing ourselves to others?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!