The parables of the Bible offer us guidance and insight for living in the Kingdom of God. In Luke 18:9–14, we encounter a well-known parable that encourages persistence in prayer, but also reveals the dangers of self-righteousness. The Pharisee in the parable struggles with this issue, stemming from a misunderstanding of his place before a holy God.
Many still grapple with this problem and misunderstand the gospel and their standing before God. This misunderstanding can only be remedied by correctly understanding the gospel, which should lead to humility. This article explores the lessons we can learn from this parable and how we can avoid the trap of self-righteousness. Whether we have been on the giving or receiving end of self-righteousness, we must remember that we are all equal in Christ, and any form of superiority is not of God.
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
In this passage, Jesus presents the contrasting parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. It’s another parable on prayer, but instead of teaching about prayer in general, Jesus contrasts two different kinds of prayers. One prayer comes from a very prideful man, and the other comes from a very humble man.
The parable is found in Luke 18. And in verse nine, Jesus tells us why he is sharing this parable. He told the parable to some people in the crowd who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt.
In the parable, two men went to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself, thanking God that he was not like other people, including the tax collector. He fasted twice a week and paid tithes. But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast, saying, “God be merciful to me, the sinner.” In verse 14, Jesus gives commentary on the story, saying that the tax collector went home justified before God rather than the Pharisee. He says that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.
Examining the Attitude of Our Hearts
Jesus cares about the heart above all, and in this parable, he contrasts the heart of the humble tax collector with the heart of the arrogant Pharisee. The Pharisees were respected above all in Jewish society as experts in interpreting and applying the law, but many of them missed the point. In the story, the hero becomes a zero, and the zero becomes the hero. The tax collector was the least respected in society because of the severe oppression Jews faced under Roman rule. The Jewish tax collectors were hired by tax farmers, who were representatives of the Roman empire, to squeeze money out of their own people. The tax collectors didn’t have a salary and would only make money from the additional fee they added to the required taxes.
Jesus Flips the Script
It’s hard to find a comparison in our society today for how much a tax collector was hated 2,000 years ago. These tax collectors were despised because they bilked money out of their own people under harsh Roman oppression. They did not have a fixed salary, so they could charge as much as they wanted on top of what was required to send to Rome. The tax collector in this story was not the hero because of his awesome life, but because of his humble heart. When he and the Pharisee went to the temple to pray, the tax collector, who was the least respected in society, humbly pleaded for mercy. Jesus’ commentary says that the tax collector got it right, and he became the hero of the story. The Pharisee, on the other hand, was the prideful one, oozing with self-righteousness and not the hero. A humble person, like the tax collector, does not need many words to express their heart.
God only needs your heart, not elaborate words. Jesus aims to eliminate self-righteousness and promote humility for acceptance into the Kingdom of God. The parable aims to convict the self-righteous and facilitate a heart change for thriving in God’s Kingdom. The application is simple: don’t trust in your own righteousness in all areas of life. Although the context of the passage is prayer, it applies universally, as there is no time when one should trust in their own righteousness. Therefore, the point remains the same: don’t trust in your own righteousness.
Christ’s Righteousness is Better than Self-Righteousness
In all areas of your life, you don’t need your own righteousness apart from Christ. The imputed righteousness of Christ is everything you need and everything you could ever want. This is a fundamental Christian tenet we often forget. However, some off-base, or even heretical, fundamental Christians believe they can stand before God on their own merit, which is impossible.
The first layer of not trusting in your own righteousness has to do with your salvation. That’s where God wants us to start. The whole point of the New Testament is that you can’t do it on your own, which is why Christ had to die in your place. Romans 3 emphasizes this point.
Paul quotes from the Old Testament, showing us that self-righteousness was never OK with God. Neither in the Old nor in the New Testament did anyone have merit on their own that would make them acceptable to the God of the universe. Romans 3:10 says, “There is none righteous, not even one.”
This point alone should be enough to make us understand that we cannot depend on our own righteousness to be accepted by God. But Paul emphasized that no one understands, no one seeks God, all have turned aside and together have become useless. There are none who do good, not even one.
However, some people, like the Pharisees, and others in our society today, think they have it all figured out and believe they can be the exception to the rule. But by thinking so, they show themselves to not have it figured it out at all.
If you meet someone claiming to have kept all Ten Commandments their whole life, you can already tell they’ve broken one of them because they’re lying to you.
Righteousness Is Impossible without Christ
The Pharisee is an example of someone who lied to themselves by thinking they could keep the law and not have sin when it was evident. His arrogance was evident as he stood in a position before God that no one had ever stood in before, and he thought he could stand on his own merit.
He thanked God for not being a thief, unrighteous, an adulterer, or like the tax collector, but he was all of those things. Even good things done with the wrong heart are meaningless, as God cares chiefly about the heart.
Christ exchanged his perfection and righteousness for our imperfection and sinfulness on the cross, and the only way to gain righteousness before God is through Christ alone. The Pharisee’s prayer was selfish and not God-honoring, as he made the prayer about himself rather than about God.
Humility must continue even after salvation, meaning we should never come before God on our own righteousness. When we fail to realize the depth of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, we may fall into the trap of Pharisaical arrogance, judging and looking down on others. However, we must remember not to trust in our own righteousness and refrain from casting harsh judgment on others, as we are not God.
Jesus teaches us in Matthew 7:3 to focus on our own sins, rather than those of others. While we should hold others accountable for their sins and set boundaries to protect ourselves and our loved ones, we should never consider ourselves superior to others. We are all sinners, and the only way to be justified is through repentance and faith in Christ.
It is essential to share the gospel with all, regardless of their past mistakes and sins, and to welcome them into our church family. What matters most is who we are in Christ today, not who we were before. As believers, we are all equal at the foot of the cross, and everyone who trusts in Christ will be with him forever.
True Righteousness Instills Humility and Dependence
If we can stand before a Holy God based solely on the merit of Christ, it will have two significant effects on us. Firstly, it will eradicate arrogance, and secondly, it will usher in humility. With humility, we are unable to look down on others who are unlike us, and this is exemplified in the story of the tax collector. The message is clear: we should humble ourselves before the Lord, and He will lift us up.
The difference between the prayers of the Pharisee and the tax collector highlights the importance of humility. The Pharisee prayed a long and loud prayer to be heard by others, whereas the tax collector, in his humility, simply pleaded with God for mercy. Humility does not require a lot of words; God knows our hearts, and we should be honest with Him. The Pharisee boasted of his righteousness, while the tax collector acknowledged his sins and, as a result, one received justification while the other received judgment.
Next Steps
Get Rid of Self-Righteousness
This passage can be convicting for those who look down on others and need to be reminded of the importance of humility. It is life-changing for those who think they can merit their position before God based on their own goodness. For most of us, it is freeing and encouraging because it shows that even the worst of sinners can receive mercy with just a little humility.
God desires humility and cares about our hearts, and He wants to give us what we need most: a touch of mercy. If we have been walking the path of arrogance and self-righteousness, we should come to God, confess our sins, and believe in Christ and His sacrifice on the cross.
This is how we can receive the touch of mercy that we desperately need. We should stop trying so hard to save ourselves because it is never going to happen.
Accept Christ’s Mercy
Maybe you are a believer who needs a touch of mercy, not for the first time in salvation but for the hundredth time. This mercy is available to you today, for any period of your life where you have looked down on someone else’s sin while ignoring what Christ has done for you because of your own sin. It is my prayer that God would show you how to apply this message to your own life, what you need to start doing, and what you need to stop doing.
Invite Others into Mercy
You can take it one step further and ask yourself who else in your life needs a touch of God’s mercy. If you are a believer and this message is convicting you, who else needs to be convicted? Maybe it is a child in your home, a neighbor on your street, or a friend in your circle who needs a fresh touch of the power of the gospel in their life. Perhaps they have thought their whole life that they can somehow earn their position before God with their own righteousness. I want you to put their name on your mind and lips. I am asking you to pray for them and invite them to your home or a church service, so they, too, can experience the mercy that the tax collector received.
