TEACHING NOTES Introduction Most southern Christians are familiar with what is often called “the sinner’s prayer.” Most commonly, this prayer sounds something like, “God, I confess that I am a sinner. I believe that Jesus is your Son and He died on the cross for my sin. Please forgive me of my sin and come into my heart so I can go to heaven.” But is this prayer found in the Bible? Do we find the apostles leading people in this kind of prayer? Nope. However, there is a “sinner’s prayer” found in one of Jesus’ parables (Luke 18:9-14). This prayer is much shorter and simpler and is prayed by a Jewish tax collector. ‌ A Quick Tour of Tax Collectors in Luke’s Gospel Before we dig into Jesus’ parable in Luke 18, it would be helpful to see how Luke presents tax collectors throughout Luke’s Gospel. This exercise will help us to have the right context in mind as we study the parable. Without this context we may assume the same attitude of the Pharisees toward tax collectors, which would be a big mistake. We should not assume that the Pharisees had the correct view of these Jewish tax collectors. We should take Luke’s presentation as telling us how Jesus and the apostles view the tax collectors. ‌ Luke 3:12–13 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” ‌ Tax collectors came to be baptized = This would have shocking to those who considered tax collectors to be beyond the forgiveness of God. This was certainly the attitude of the Jewish leaders and many of the common people. However, throughout the Gospels we see all the worst sinners coming to John and Jesus for repentance and forgiveness. ‌ Collect no more than you’re authorized = Tax collectors in the ancient world were allowed to add additional fees to the people in order to enrich themselves. This was common practice and was one of the reasons the Jews hated tax collectors. Notice that John the Baptist does not does not command the tax collectors to stop being tax collectors. We might expect John to tell them to repent of collecting taxes, especially since the Jewish culture of that time considered them to be worse than other sinners. Apparently, being a tax collector was not sinful, but ripping people off was definitely sinful. Also, if a tax collector quit his job it was very likely that no Jewish person would hire them or do any business with them. Therefore, to require them to stop being tax collectors would lead to dire poverty. ‌ Luke 5:27–29 27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi [Matthew], sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. 29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. ‌ Luke 7:28–30 “28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.) ‌ Luke 15:1–2 1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” ‌ Jesus Responds with “Lost-and-Found” Parables: 1. The Lost Sheep (Luke 15:3-7) 2. The Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10) 3. The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) ‌ Luke 16:14–15 14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” ‌ Justify yourselves before men = In the New Testament, the Greek word for “justified” and “righteous” is the same word—dikaioo. Jesus is saying that these Pharisees like to appear righteous in front of everyone else. Declaring yourself righteous is not only arrogant, but also impossible. You are not your own judge. Only God can declare us righteous. ‌ God knows your hearts = While we may attempt to appear righteous to others, God knows who we are on the inside. Who we are on the inside is who we really are. The Bible tells us many times that God is most interested in the condition of the heart (Gen. 20:6; Deut. 6:5; 9:4; 1 Sam. 7:3; 1 Kings 8:61; Ps. 51:6, 10, 17; Jer. 17:9-10). ‌ An abomination in the sight of God = The things that we humans exalt and elevate as something to gain can also be an abomination (Grk. bdelygma - detestable, loathsome) to God. Things that we tend to value in this world are the very things God hates. Why? Because many of the things we strive for are actually destructive to us and others. The Parable of the Pharisee & The Tax Collector Luke 18:9–10 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.” ‌ Parable = Using parables as a teaching tool was common in ancient cultures, especially in Jewish culture. The parables of Jesus are hypothetical stories that illustrate a point He is making. Jesus asked His audiences to imagine certain situations, which leads to questions or problems giving the audience an opportunity to arrive at a conclusion. We could refer to this teaching tool as interactive learning. ‌ Trusted in themselves = Luke tells us who this parable is meant to address. It is “some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous” that Jesus is addressing. To trust in yourself for righteousness is to believe that you can be righteous on your own. This was the attitude in most of the Pharisees. The Pharisees believed that if everyone would just be righteous enough, God would return to the temple and drive out the Roman occupation. ‌ Treated others with contempt = Not only did the Pharisees believe they were righteous on their own, but they also “treated others with contempt.” The Greek word for contempt here is exoutheneo, which means “to despise, look down on, or ridicule.” They mistreated anyone who they deemed less righteous than themselves. This means that they treated people as dirty outcasts. ‌ Pharisee = The Pharisees were an elite class in the Jewish religion. While the Old Testament describes a few groups—the priests, the Levites, the elders, and the prophets—the Pharisees and Sadducees came much later during the intertestamental period. The Pharisees were the more theologically conservative, while the Sadducees rejected most the Old Testament writings, rejected anything spiritual, and rejected the resurrection and afterlife. The Pharisees were extremely concerned with purity laws, which explains why they would not enter a Gentile home or be seen with known sinners. ‌ Tax Collector = If a Jewish man became a tax collector for the Romans, he was considered by the Jewish leaders to be worse than a sinner and a traitor to his own people. Tax collectors in the ancient world often would add additional fees to the people in order to enrich themselves. The tax collectors were hated. Therefore, the presence of a tax collector in the temple praying in this parable would have been somewhat shocking for Jesus’ audience. ‌ Historical Note: It was actually hypocritical for the Jewish leaders to hate Jewish tax collectors working for Rome. The Sadducees, who were in charge of the Jewish temple, also overtaxed their own people with temple taxes. They were actually charging God’s people to attend God’s temple. When people got behind on the temple taxes, the Sadducees would take their land. By the time of Jesus’ birth, the Sadducees had come to own most of the land around Jerusalem through taxation of their own people. It could even be the case that Jewish men become tax collectors for the Romans in order to pay the tax debts for the temple! ‌ Luke 18:11–12 “11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’” ‌ The Pharisee, standing by himself = The Pharisee would not get close to sinners and tax collectors. Why? He likely thinks that the tax collector’s presence would make himself unclean. ‌ I thank you I’m not like other men = Notice the Pharisee’s prayer begins with pride in himself and distain for others. It is even an oxymoronic prayer in that he is thanking God for what he believes is his own righteousness. ‌ Extortioners, unjust, adulterers = This were considered “public” sinners, meaning that everyone knew about their sins. Public sinners were considered to be much worse than everyday sinners. The kind of sins that the Pharisee lists here are sins that directly effect others. In the Pharisee’s mind, these sins are worse than his own, although he does seem to think he has any sin himself. ‌ This tax collector = Notice that the Pharisee is ridiculing this specific tax collector while he is praying to God. Jesus is showing that the Pharisee’s view of tax collectors and their view of God is severely flawed. The Pharisee thinks that God views this tax collector the same way he does. ‌ I fast twice a week and tithe = While the Torah commanded fasting and tithing at specific times, the Torah never commands the Jews to fast twice a week, nor to tithe from everything they have. However, Jewish leaders added traditions to the Torah and enforced those traditions as if they were God’s laws. The Pharisee is bragging that he even holier than the Torah commands. ‌ Luke 18:13 “13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’” ‌ Standing far off = This tax collector knows his sin is a big problem. He knows that he is not holy like the others in the temple. So, he stands far away from everyone else. ‌ Would not lift up his eyes = This is a sign of great humility and humiliation. This tax collector feels unworthy to even look up toward heaven. This humility is a good sign of true conviction and repentance. ‌ Beat his breast = This was a sign of mourning in that culture, similar to tearing one’s clothes. Since the heart is in the chest, beating the chest could also show that what’s in the heart is really the problem. ‌ Be merciful = Grk. hilaskomai - forgive, show mercy, reconcile, wipe clean. Several forms of this Greek word (hilasmos, hilasterion) are used in the New Testament to translate the Hebrew word kippur, “to atone.” ‌ The sinner = Grk. to hamartolo - While most English Bibles read, “a sinner” the Greek phrase here is “the sinner.” In the eastern churches, this prayer is called “The Jesus Prayer” and reads, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.” The fact that this tax collector is standing far away from others and claims to be “the sinner” indicates that his is prayer is only for himself. He is not focused on everyone else’s sins. He is focused on the fact that his sin is between him and God. He considers himself to be “the sinner” in the room. ‌ Luke 18:14 “14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” ‌ This man went home justified = Literally, “this man went down to his house declared righteous.” This means that this tax collector left the temple forgiven for his sins. Jesus wants everyone to know that He forgives all the sinners that we think can’t be forgiven and restored. ‌ Rather than the other = Jesus says that the Pharisee is the unrighteous one in the parable. The Pharisee is not declared righteous, while the tax collector is forgiven. Why? Because the Pharisee believes that he is not a sinner. He confessed no sin, but only bragged about his own perceived righteousness. The Pharisee is a sinner, but he does not admit or realize his sins. The Pharisee doesn’t repent, so he is not forgiven nor righteous. ‌ Everyone who exalts himself = Those who ride a high horse eventually fall off or get knocked off. To be prideful is to makes yourself opposed to God. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5; quoting the Greek version of Prov. 3:34) ‌ The one who humbles himself = Remember that humility is a matter of the heart or the inner self. Psalm 51:16–17 tells us, “16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” ‌ How Luke 18 Guides Prayer: ‌ The Pharisee’s prayer teaches us not be arrogant and not to be focused on the sins of others. ‌ The tax collector’s prayer teaches us to be humble and heartbroken over our sin, while trusting in God’s mercy and forgiveness. ‌ How to Respond Prayer: Ask God to reveal what needs to change. Repentance: Agree with God and repent of sin. Worship: Thank God for what He is doing in you. Communion: Take Christ in and renew faithfulness.