Purpose
To consider whether ambition or humility
is the truest signpost to God
Assessed properly, humility is the abandonment
of rose-colored self-evaluations.
Jesus did not tell parables to amuse, distract,
or even educate his hearers. Usually,
although not exclusively, about what matters
to God (and why), the stories were meant to
change how his hearers lived.
Matthew 5:5
5Happy are people who are humble,
because they will inherit the earth.
Luke 18:9-14
9Jesus told this parable to certain people
who had convinced themselves that
they were righteous and who looked on
everyone else with disgust: 10“Two people
went up to the temple to pray. One
was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11The Pharisee stood and prayed
about himself with these words, ‘God,
I thank you that I’m not like everyone
else—crooks, evildoers, adulterers—or
even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice
a week. I give a tenth of everything
I receive.’ 13But the tax collector stood at
a distance. He wouldn’t even lift his
eyes to look toward heaven. Rather, he
struck his chest and said, ‘God, show
mercy to me, a sinner.’ 14I tell you, this
person went down to his home justified
rather than the Pharisee. All who lift
themselves up will be brought low, and
those who make themselves low will be
lifted up.”
Key Verse: “Happy are people who are
humble, because they will inherit the
earth” (Matthew 5:5).
Sometimes Jesus told parables that were
full of grace. Sometimes they were full of judgment.
Sometimes we’re not sure how to understand
them. Yet the parable for this lesson seems
so straightforward at first. We’re not to compare
ourselves favorably to others, especially if that
leads us to belittle others. Instead, we are to act
humbly, not trust in our own goodness, and depend
on God’s mercy.
Besides God, there are two characters in
this parable. One is an obvious good guy (a
Pharisee); the other is an obvious bad guy (a
tax collector). There was little to like about tax
collectors. They had bought so deeply into the
Roman political system that they were universally
despised by Jews.
The Pharisees, however, were almost universally
respected. True, some of Jesus’ harshest
criticisms were directed at them, but these
men were dependable, learned, and religiously
devout. After the Holy City was destroyed and
the priesthood collapsed, it was the Pharisees
who reconstructed the Jewish faith into the
Judaism we know today. They were good guys.
If you believe the Pharisees were pious frauds,
it’s time to let go of the stereotype. It is unfair
and patently untrue.
Although our piety probably does not qualify
us to be named in the same breath as devout
Pharisees, some of us are likely pleased with
our level of church involvement. We worship.
We pray. We listen to instruction. When we
head home, we’re none the worse for wear but
perhaps none the better for the time spent in
God’s presence. And that’s the tragedy of the
Pharisee in Jesus’ story! What could be more
tragic than heading home from an encounter
with God unblessed and unchanged?
There is another way in which we may be
similar to the Pharisee. Have we ever said of a
person or a situation, “There, but for the grace
of God, go I?” We’re expressing our gratitude
that we took the paths we did. But if we then
take credit for the choices, we may begin looking
down on people (who didn’t get the same
breaks we did) as beneath us and not as good
as us.
We may want to interject that there is nothing
immoral about this. Perhaps. But here’s the
tragedy Jesus was zeroing in on: What can God
offer a people who are convinced they can look
after them-elves, who are not convinced God
has anything to offer us we need? The tragedy
is that we can enter God’s presence but remain
unchanged, maybe even grow resentful.
The other character in Jesus’ parable is not
a wholesome guy. His life has been full of bad
choices and missed opportunities. The only
thing he has going for him is that he knows this.
Like the tax collector, some of us are weathering
difficult times. In the words of the confession,
“We have not loved [God] with our whole
heart. We have failed to be obedient. We have
not done [God’s] will, we have broken [God’s]
law, we have rebelled against [God’s] love, we
have not loved our neighbors, and we have not
heard the cry of the needy.” All we can hope is
that God will be merciful to us.
Of course, the gospel has nothing to do with
what we accomplish but everything to do with
what God offers. When the tax collector spoke
to God a snippet of a psalm (“God, be merciful
to me, a sinner”), he likely had no idea he was
reciting the words of King David in Psalm 51.
He may not even have known that what he
needed was grace. He only knew his need was
greater than he could bear. Sick of being sick,
he threw himself on God’s mercy.
If that describes us, listen to a word of gospel
that is as life-giving today as when it was
first spoken! Said Jesus, “This man went home
justified before God.” The bad man received
what the good man didn’t even have the good
sense to ask for.
It’s not that God gives good things only to
the haggard and the hurting. It’s that the haggard
and hurting are often the only people who
think God has something to offer that might
benefit them.
Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.
Matthew 5:5, the third of eight beatitudes
Jesus pronounced on God’s people in the Sermon
on the Mount, declares that humble people
are blessed because they will “inherit the earth.”
The Gospel parable about the Pharisee and
the tax collector, at prayer in the Temple in
Jerusalem, appears only in the Gospel of Luke.
It illustrates not only that God is “no respecter
of persons” (Acts 10:34, KJV) but also that
Mary’s declarations regarding God’s take on
greatness and humility (Luke 1:52-53) are incisive
comments on God’s way in our world.
The Gospel text divides into five brief parts.
In Part 1 (Luke 18:9), Luke introduces a parable
Jesus told that addresses the linkage between
our actions and God’s bestowal of favor. In
Part 2 (verse 10), Jesus names two characters
depicted in the parable: a Pharisee and a tax
collector.
Part 3 (verses 11-12) recounts the Pharisee’s
prayer to God. Part 4 (verse 13) reports the
quite different prayer of the tax collector. Part
5 (verse 14) includes a surprising divine verdict
on the two persons as well as the concluding
judgment that hearers/readers are intended to
make.
Matthew 5:5. Jesus’ first two beatitudes are
linked directly to Isaiah 61:1-2. This third beatitude
is similarly linked to Psalm 37:11...
"But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace"
...as well as its immediate echoes in Psalm 37:22, 34...
Psalm 37:22 "For those blessed by Him will inherit the land, But those cursed by Him will be eliminated".
Psalm 37:34 "Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off".
It should not surprise us that Jesus, who said
that he had no interest in “[doing] away with
the Law and the Prophets” but intended to “fulfill
them” (Matthew 5:17), was steeped in the
words of Holy Scripture.
“Humble” is a helpful translation that avoids
the largely negative feelings associated with the
word “meek” (KJV, NRSV, NIV). In a culture
in which it is considered normative to be ambitious
and self-assertive, the almost visceral
reaction to and largely negative assessment of
Charles Wesley’s hymn’s depiction of “gentle
Jesus, meek and mild”1 unfortunately says
more about the human qualities we value than
those valued by Jesus.
It is worth recalling that Jesus said of himself
that he was “meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew
11:29, KJV), “gentle and humble” (NASB,
NRSV, TEV).
And it was said of Moses that he
was “very meek” (Numbers 12:3, KJV), “very
humble” (NASB, NRSV, NIV), “a quietly humble
man, more so than anyone living on Earth”
(The Message). Neither man was considered by
his peers to be arrogant, boisterous, or proud.
Exercising humility or displaying meekness
is regularly asserted by many to be an open
invitation to be treated by others as a doormat,
someone who can be walked over easily.
However, given Moses’ willingness to confront
Pharaoh and the Egyptian people repeatedly
(Exodus 5–11.) and even to argue with God
(Exodus 32:9-14; 33:12-16; Numbers 14:1-20),
the assertion is difficult to defend. The same
is true of Jesus, who neither grew hesitant nor
expressed fear when in the presence of prominent
Jewish officials (John 18:19-23), detachments
of soldiers (John 18:3-8), or appointed
Roman officials (John 18:33-37).
Assessed properly, humility is the abandonment
of rose-colored self-evaluations. It is
the result of an accurate, “true estimate of ourselves.”
2 The meek are those who know that
they “stand empty-handed before God in total
dependence upon him.”3 Since God “shows
favor to the humble” (Proverbs 3:34; quoted in
James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5), that is not a bad situation
to be in.
Proverbs 3:34 - "The Lord mocks the mockers but is gracious to the humble."
“[Inheriting] the earth” is an oft-named
divine promise in the Old Testament (for
example, Psalm 25:13; Isaiah 57:13) first spoken
to Abraham (Genesis 15:18-20; 17:8).
Although it referred originally and specifically
to the geographical land of Canaan/Israel, by
extension it pointed to the certainty of God fulfilling
God’s promises.
As Psalm 37:11 made
clear, the humble will most assuredly “enjoy
peace and prosperity” (NIV). Shalom shall be
theirs.
With these thoughts in mind, we are ready
to think about Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee
and the tax collector in Luke 18 as an apt illustration
of this beatitude.
Luke 18:9. As was true of most of Jesus’
parables, this story (one of the last that he told)
had a particular audience in mind. In the Gospel
of Luke, only the parables of the talents (Luke
19:12-27) and the tenants (20:9-16) remained.
While some had almost immediately transparent
meanings, they were not simple tales told so that
even children could understand them. Often, the
stories left (and still leave) hearers deeply puzzled,
requiring them to ponder the tales at length if they
want to understand them.
Readers must be careful not to equate “certain
people” with the Pharisees. Identifying the
“bad guy” in the story with persons whom we
believe we are not is a self-serving attempt to
distance ourselves from the story’s harsh conclusion.
Indeed, the rest of the verse carefully
clarifies that the “certain people” are those who
“[convincee] themselves that they [are] righteous
and who [look] on everyone else with
disgust.”
Since classifying people as good or bad,
right or wrong, or wise or foolish is something
that almost every single one of us does,
it is critically important to pay close attention
to the two ways Jesus described these “certain
people.”
(1) They were “convinced” that they “were
righteous.” That is, they believed that they were
thinking the only correct—and thus approvable—
way to think about the issue(s) in question.
(2) Because they (alone) were thinking
rightly, anyone thinking or acting differently
was clearly wrong and could therefore be
“looked on . . . with disgust,” regarded “with
contempt” (NASB, NRSV), “scorned” (NLT),
“despised” (KJV, RSV, TEV), or “looked down
on” (NIV).
In telling this story, Jesus was not suggesting
that there aren’t right and wrong ways to
think or act. Nor was he declaring that right
and wrong, or good actions and bad actions,
are beyond our ability to determine. Nor was he
suggesting that it is necessarily wrong to have
specific beliefs or to make particular judgments.
Nor was he declaring that any belief or judgment
should be tolerated as equally admissible
as any other. His very telling of the story was an
attempt to correct something that he considered
wrong and to advocate something that he considered
right.
No matter how right we may convince ourselves
we are on a political, social, or religious
issue, being right never gives us permission
to despise those who disagree with us or treat
them with contempt. As Cyril of Alexandria
(376–444) said long ago, “No one who is in
good health ridicules one who is sick for being
laid up or bedridden.”
Verse 10. “Two people went up to the Temple
to pray.” While there were scores of synagogues
in Galilee, Judea, and in other regions
throughout the Roman Empire, there was only
one Temple, which was located in Jerusalem.
Situated on a 35-acre mount that had been leveled
by construction workers approved by King
Herod, the Temple complex was enclosed by
walls that towered 100 feet above the streets of
Jerusalem. Thus, persons literally “went up” to
the Temple.
Described by the prophet Isaiah as “a house
of prayer” (Isaiah 56:7), the Temple complex
was open for public prayers twice daily, at 9 am
(Acts 2:15) and 3 pm (Acts 3:1). Of course, persons
could pray privately at the Temple at any
time.
“Pharisees” were Jewish laypersons who
took God’s call to live holy lives so seriously
that they declared that priestly standards of conduct
were applicable for all people. Although
the numbers of persons who committed themselves
to a strict Pharisaic way of life remained
small (probably never more than five percent
30 Adult Bible Studies Teacher
of the Jewish populace), by the time of Jesus
the religious renewal movement had become a
political force in Judea and Galilee that had to
be reckoned with.
While some New Testament critiques of some
of the Pharisees encourage some Christians
today to disparage all Pharisees as “hypocrites,”
the power of this parable’s conclusion (Luke
18:14) to surprise hearers/readers is severely
compromised if the Pharisee in the story is considered
at the outset to be a villain rather than
a holy man.
A tax collector was a Jew in the employ
of Roman overseers responsible for collecting
official (and unofficial) taxes, tolls, duties,
customs, and other fees from the Jewish populace.
Because these agents obtained their salary
by overcharging persons however much
they believed they could reasonably collect—a
standard practice granted and approved by the
overseers—tax collectors were generally disapproved
of by Jews as traitors of the Jewish
people. Just as first-century Jews would have
believed that Pharisees were generally honorable
and pious, so they would have believed
that tax collectors were dishonorable thieves,
not heroes.
Verse 11. Adopting the usual posture for
prayer, the Pharisee “stood.” His prayer began
appropriately as well, with thanksgivings to
God. However, instead of thanking God for
what God had done––not making the Pharisee
a Gentile or a slave, for instance—he spoke of
the things he had not done. He was not guilty of
breaking any of the Mosaic laws; he didn’t steal,
give false testimony, or commit adultery. Nor,
he added, espying in the distance a traitorous
figure, was he like “this tax collector,” extorting
questionable tolls from his fellow Jews.
Verse 12. In addition, his piety had advanced
to the point that he no longer fasted only one
day a year on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement)
or even one day a week; he fasted “twice
a week,” probably on Mondays and Thursdays,
the days on which Moses was said to have
ascended Mount Sinai to meet with God and to
have descended the holy mountain with the Ten
Commandments in hand. And his tithing practice
was equally well-developed; he paid a tithe
on everything. To offer a contemporary parallel,
he didn’t just tithe his net; he tithed his gross.
Before turning our attention to the tax collector,
it’s important to acknowledge that nothing
mentioned by the Pharisee would have been
considered a bad thing—then or now. What
church today would not be thrilled to have a
member who tithed his gross income, was a
regular practitioner of private piety, could honestly
say that he kept the Ten Commandments
fully intact, and did not engage in shady, traitorous
deeds of any kind?
Indeed, if we’re looking for something to
slight, about the only thing we can say concerning
the man is that he has drawn our attention
to the good deeds he does, as well as to his
successful avoidance of bad deeds. That, and
perhaps this: “Proper thanks to God for one’s
lot in life never involves condescension toward
others.”
Verse 13. As noted by the Pharisee, there
was also present at that time of public prayer a
“tax collector.” One gets the sense that he felt
uncomfortable and rather ill at ease in the Temple
complex, for he “stood [apart from others,]
at a distance.” Furthermore, as he spoke privately
to God, he couldn’t quite bring himself
to lift his eyes heavenward (as Jews then regularly
did and as we today tend to do, too).
The picture Jesus painted of the man was
that he was distraught in spirit, unsure if he
even should be speaking to God. He was, after
all, not a good man. He was a tax collector. So,
keeping his eyes averted, perhaps with a deeply
furrowed brow, he repeatedly “struck his chest”
in anguish (Luke 23:48), much as a priest today
might do during the worship services of Lent
and Holy Week. The act is a visual acknowledgement
of his unholy status.
Knowing that there was nothing to which he
could draw God’s attention to commend himself
to God, all he could do was be honest and
throw himself on the mercy of the strict judge
before whom he stood. “God, show mercy to
me, a sinner.”
Verse 14. Jesus concluded his story with
a shocking, even breathtaking declaration.
The tax collector, not the Pharisee, “went . . .
home justified.” The conclusion is so shocking
that it forces us to reread the parable immediately;
surely, we must have missed or misread
something.
On second (or third) reading, many readers
decide that the Pharisee’s “problem” was that
he praised his own goodness rather than thanking
God for helping him to act rightly. That may
be, although it is quite possible to read verse 13
as his list of the things he does—he fasts, he
tithes—to express his gratitude to God
There is, however, a simpler reason as to why
the tax collector “went . . . home justified” and
the Pharisee did not. It’s not that God refused
to offer mercy to the Pharisee because of something
the man did or did not do. For whatever
reason, the Pharisee never asked for mercy. Not
having asked for it, he didn’t receive it. The tax
collector, on the other hand, aware of his need,
asked for mercy and received it. Jesus’ concluding
comment, a repetition of Luke 14:11, reinforces
the point.