Tax Collector and Pharisee

Luke 18:9-14

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: "God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God have mercy on me, a sinner.'

"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

At first glance, you would think that the Pharisee would be a more righteous man. Tax collectors were considered to be some of the lowest of the low in Biblical times. You see, the Romans were smart when they occupied a land. They wanted their tax but they found a local to collect it for them. The typical tax was 5% but the local would know what income and property people of a town would have. The tax rules allowed for the collector to take the 5% and anything else they wanted resulting in tax collectors who could be extremely wealthy and despised.

Notice the Pharisee and how he prayed about himself (verse 11). He makes a big deal out of his "righteousness" through fasting twice a week (Mosaic law only required fasting on the Day of Atonement) and giving 10% of everything he got. The tax collector, on the other hand, can not even bear to look towards heaven and admits that he needs God's mercy.

In the end, Jesus tells us that the Pharisee did not think he needed mercy and got none. The tax collector knew he needed mercy and got it, perhaps a great lesson for us to keep in mind.

Blessings

Mark