Are You the Pharisee or the Tax Collector?
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He walked into the temple feeling rather proud of himself and his accomplishments: fasting twice that week, tithing what he should, and staying in tuned with God through his prayers. The man looked around at others in the temple and had to laugh to himself, seeing all these people who were beneath him in status, ability, and contribution to community.
The message given that day at the temple would be like many shared over time, a message he felt was more for those less-than people in the congregation who didn’t follow the Law as well as he did.
When it came time for the man to go forth and pray, he was standing next to the local tax collector and had to smile to himself in amusement. Of all the people who needed God’s help, the tax collector was by far the one who needed it most. The man said so while praising God openly for not letting him become like this man of lowly standards.
The man’s belief of the tax collector was confirmed when the tax collector beat his chest and cried out to God to “be merciful to me a sinner.” Little did the man, a Pharisee, know the transformation that was occurring before his eyes in the tax collector, revealing how much he needed to change but wasn’t willing to.
Even though this story is a parable that Jesus shared in Luke 18:9-14, the Pharisee and the Tax Collector are two personalities that we can still see in the church body today. Today’s congregations see a blend of people who feel they are God’s golden children in all that they do to follow His commandments, while others realize that without the saving grace of Jesus, their efforts are for worthless in building a right relationship with God.
As we explore more of Jesus’s parable involving the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, we will come to realize who we thought we were in this parable may not be who we really are.
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
The Pharisees, during the time of Jesus, were seen as the holy people of the community, those who upheld the Law of God and made sure to point out who was and wasn’t following it. The Pharisees especially found fault with Jesus, who seemed to gravitate to those deemed unworthy.
They regarded tax collectors in the same manner, seeing them as loathsome because they forced collections of money from a community that could barely survive at times. Tax collectors would collect money on property and income, as well as duty on imports and exports, and could sometimes be involved in unlawful matters. Jews especially didn’t like tax collectors if they were also Jewish, as usually they would collect taxes to be given to the Roman empire.
In Jesus’s parable, such two individuals were the ones praying at the same time, and both carried outside perspectives with them when going forth to pray. The Pharisee saw himself as someone of value and status while the tax collector saw himself as hated and lowly among others. While the Pharisee boasts about what he had done for God that week and was thankful that God hadn’t made him like the tax collector, the tax collector asked in anguish for God to forgive him. “God, be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13).
What Jesus reveals to us in this parable is that the one who humbled himself before God will be exalted before Him, while the one who exalts himself is the one who will be humbled. In other words, the tax collector left the temple more prepared for God’s love and favor while the Pharisee would eventually be humbled by God.
What This Parable Teaches Us
Though tax collectors are not as hated as they were in Jesus’s day, and Pharisees aren’t as prevalent as they were before, the personalities of both men can still be seen among church congregations today.
Though we don’t have Pharisees leading the charge in our churches, we do have men and women who may act as the Pharisee in the parable did. They read Bible verses, listen to sermons, and worship as though their efforts are what bring them into right standing with God. They look down at people who they feel are lowly and have done more wrong than right for God’s glory. In their mindset, sermon topics don’t apply to them (but do for others), reading the Bible is more for checking off a to-do list than letting change take place, and worship is just being thankful you are not like others.
Meanwhile, we see the tax collectors among those in the congregation who feel ashamed for their past and/or current sins, those who believe that God could never love them the way they are. They wonder if God’s grace could ever be for them. Could Jesus have really died for someone as shameful as them? So, when they hear the sermon, read the Bible verse, and sing in worship, it comes from hearts that are aching to know God in a personal way.
What these two personalities show is that we all need God’s grace, guidance, and love, whether you think you don’t or you feel you do (but aren’t worthy of receiving it). We can’t navigate this world effectively, nor experience the abundance of God’s blessings, if we feel it is all based on our works. When the Pharisee celebrated his efforts to God in prayer, he was only celebrating himself and not what God had done in his life.
As Christ followers, we should see every sermon, every Scripture, and every song as a reminder of how much we need the Lord in our lives, how our efforts are like filthy rags compared to what Jesus did on the cross, and what God provides for us each day in the form of the Holy Spirit. None of us are above one another; we all need Jesus to save us and redeem us back into a relationship with God.
Action Steps to Be More Like the Tax Collector and Less Like the Pharisee
If you felt as moved by this parable, you may start to wonder if you are more of a Pharisee than a tax collector and what needs to happen to experience the peace and joy the tax collector felt after calling out to God for mercy.
One step you could take is to come to the realization that though God appreciates what you do to glorify Him to others, it is a humble heart and surrender that matters more to God. With humility comes the desire to change for the better and help those around you.
As you recognize the need for God in your own life, you will start to see others the same as yourself, struggling with the same issues and needing reassurance of the Lord’s love and guidance. In time, you will start to have less of a Pharisee mindset and more of the tax collector’s mindset, wanting to be authentic with God and with others.
The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector is one of the treasured parables of Jesus that people still find insight and value in for their own walks of faith. As the Pharisee gloated his achievements and status over the dejected tax collector, we also can be guilty of thinking that sermons, Scripture, and songs of God are more for others than for ourselves.
However, we are all in need of Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross, so let’s look less at what we did for God today and more of what He has done for us.
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