Thursday, January 4, 2007

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Part 3 of 44

TEXT: "Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 'Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, "God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I possess." And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, "God, be merciful to me a sinner." I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.' " (Luke 18:9-14).

IDEA: Jesus’ villain turns out to be our hero; Jesus’ hero turns out to be our villain.

PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that Jesus constantly turns our values upside-down.

Do you like cowboy movies? Old-time cowboy movies?

Their greatest virtue is that they were always dependable: you could easily tell the good guys from the bad guys.

Their greatest failing is that they were always dependable: you could easily tell the good guys from the bad guys.

Do you think there’s a temptation to do that with Jesus’ stories? For example, with what we read in Luke 18:9-14?

I. Jesus says that the Pharisee who went to the temple to pray came home without being heard by God.

We miss the scandal in that observation.

How do we instinctively picture the Pharisee?

Why?

Our reaction was not the reaction of the men and women who first heard this story. Some things we know about the Phansees as a group:

The Pharisee stood in a great tradition.

He wasn’t necessarily a hypocrite. He didn’t pretend to be religious when he was really a fraud.

He knew the Old Testament and lived it. He was a biblical fundamentalist. He read and studied the Scriptures and believed every word he read.

He wasn’t ashamed of the Scriptures. He talked about them constantly.

He was a missionary. The Jewish communities scattered around the Mediterranean world were mostly the result of the efforts of the Pharisees.

At the time of Jesus, the Pharisees were a very popular and powerful party within Jewish society.

They were a group, mostly laymen, who wanted to apply the Bible to the everyday life of the people.

The Pharisees were “churchmen.” They maintained the synagogue with its emphasis on the knowledge of the Scriptures.

II. Jesus said that the tax collector went home vindicated before God.

The tax collector stood in an ignoble tradition.

The tax collectors were the most hated members of the community.

Roman taxes were of two types: [1] direct taxes (property, poll and—income taxes),and [2] indirect taxes (fees on sales and purchases, export and import customs). Instead of collecting indirect taxes through government officials, Rome auctioned the job out to wealthy contractors. They were called “tax farmers.” These “tax farmers” were in the strictest sense the “publicans.” The Greek word used in the New Testament literally means “to farm taxes.”

These wealthy tax farmers, however, divided their “farm” or territory into districts and then hired local agents to do the actual work of collecting the taxes. These sub-agents were customs-house officers who examined merchandise, assessed its value, then assessed the taxes. The tax-word "publican" came to be loosely used for these subordinates and these are the publicans, or tax collectors, mentioned in the gospels. (New Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol XI, p. 1012.)

Given their position, why do you think tax collectors were hated?

They could arbitrarily set the tax and that led to flagrant injustices. Everyone in the empire hated them.

The Jews had additional reasons to despise the tax men:

They saw taxes, not as a necessary fee to maintain the social order, but as a tribute paid to a hated conqueror.

They regarded the Jews who took the position as traitors. They were despised by the entire community. The people cursed them and spat at them when they passed in the street.

Think of a provincial mayor in France filling his wallet during the Nazi occupation: he licked the boots of the Nazi conquerors, reported on his neighbors, and carried out the orders of the Germans.

The tax collectors were excommunicated. They were not welcome in the temple or in the synagogue. (Note that in the parable Jesus says that the tax collector "stood afar off.")

Their testimony was not accepted in the Jewish courts of justice.

They were considered not only sinners but as heathen as well. Because they were despised by decent, religious people, they usually adopted a lifestyle that lived up to their reputation.

III. The people in the first century could decide on the good guys and the bad guys simply by looking at the cast of characters. They were wrong. God heard the tax man’s prayer.

Is it because God likes tax collectors and despises Pharisees?

Is God a reverse snob?

Men and women are not declared righteous based on their reputations: Not everyone talking about heaven is going there.

Not everyone consigned to hell will end up there.