Verse 9: “And
he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were
righteous,and despised others:”
This
is a parable giving an account of a Pharisee and a publican who went to the
temple to pray. The following statement is written by Matthew Henry. “Christ
designed this parable for the conviction of some who were righteous and trusted
in themselves and despised others. They were conceited and had a great
confidence in themselves before God, and they despised others thinking they
were holier than them.”
Verse 10: “Two men went up into the temple to pray;
the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.”
The two men went to the temple to pray. It was
Jewish custom to pray three times each day – one for each sacrifice. Morning,
afternoon and evening. It is referred to as “an hour of prayer”. 9 a.m. is the
1st prayer (Acts 2:15) Jewish time: 3rd hour (the 3rd
hour from sunrise). Roman time: 9th hour (Roman time began at 12
midnight). 3 p.m. is the 2nd prayer (Acts 3:1, 10:9). Jewish time: 9th
hour. Roman time: 15th hour (this is where our military time comes
from).
Verse 11: “The
Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not
as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.”
a. “Stood and prayed thus with himself.”
– The Pharisees didn’t like to interact with others because they were afraid it
would “pollute” them. In other words, they were too good to be around others.
It might “lessen” their image. Have you ever encountered anyone like this?
b. “God I thank thee” – The Pharisee appeared to have religion. Many people
today do this. They’ll say one thing and do another. My biggest pet peeve is
when I updated the church facebook announcing a service and it will get
“likes”, but then those people won’t be at the church services. Wednesday
nights are the worst. Then you ask their loved ones who come where the other
member is and they can’t get an excuse out fast enough. They will post
devotions and scripture all day long but then won’t show up to church. They’re
giving the appearance that they are model church members, when in all
actuality, Sunday mornings are the only time they come. Hypocrites know the
truth, admit it and use it. This is how they create the image of being true.
WATCH THEIR ACTIONS. This will explain everything.
c. “That I am not as other men are” – He
was giving the appearance of being holier than thou. In other words, he was
saying “Lord, thank you for not letting me be a liar, an adulterer, a murderer,
etc.” We have to remember that it is only by God’s grace and mercy that we
aren’t in the other person’s situation. Make wrong choices and you could still
end up there. It’s ok to thank God for his deliverance, but not at the hands of
others.
d. “Or even as this publican” – In other
words, “thanks for not letting me be like this guy over here”. Remember, they
were praying aloud. How would you feel if you went to the altar to repent for
something you had done and you heard the person next to you saying “Lord,
thanks for not letting me end up like so and so…”?
4. Verse 12: “I
fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.”
a. “I fast twice” – Pharisees fasted on
the 2nd and 5th days of each week in private. This was in
addition to the public days of fasting required in the Law of Moses. The
Pharisees thought highly of themselves because the two times were in addition
to what was required. They did more so they thought recognition was deserved.
This Pharisee was expecting to hear “good job”.
b. “I give tithes of all that I
possess.” –In Matthew 23:23 Christ gets on to them by talking about their
tithes. Jews were to give one tenth of all their property to the support of the
Levites (Numbers 18:20-24). Another tenth paid for the service of the sanctuary
(Deuteronomy 14:22-24). Besides these, a tenth was to be given every 3rd
year to the poor (Deuteronomy 14:28-29). This was all before their voluntary
offerings were made. The Pharisees gave a tenth of everything down to the herbs
they grew. These weren’t even mentioned in the Law of Moses. It said to offer
their first fruits of the earth. Jesus said they paid attention to the minute
details and followed rules strictly but they were overlooking the main point. Matthew 23:23-24 “Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have
omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these
ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24 Ye blind guides,
which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel”. Their actions were all for
show. This is similar to people who will go out of their way to outdo someone
else. He was boasting before God.
Verse 13: “And
the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto
heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”
“And
the publican, standing afar off.” – The Pharisee stood on the side of the court
that was closest to the temple. The publican stood as far away as he could
because he was aware that he was unworthy to be on God’s holy ground. The rest
of the verse shows the humility and honesty of the publican. He knew he had
sinned, it says he wouldn’t even look up to the skies because his guilt was so
strong. He was ashamed. For someone to “smote upon his breast” was an
expression of grief. He cried out saying “God be merciful to me, a sinner”. He
was being honest with God and he didn’t care who heard. His pride didn’t get in
the way. He was being honest with God.
Verse 14: “I
tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for
every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself
shall be exalted.”
One man
left the temple being justified by God. The other was justified by his peers.
His words meant nothing to God because they were in vain. To be abased means to behave in a way that is belittling
or degrading. Christ says those that exalt themselves shall be belittling
themselves. Those who come to him humbly will be exalted.Question 1: When you pray, do find similarities with the Pharisee or the publican? Do your prayers focus on you or those that you are burdened for?
Question 2: Would you rather have
God’s approval or man’s?
We also listened to part of a message by Tony Evans called "The Theft of Stewardship". You can find it here: http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/the-alternative/listen/the-theft-of-stewardship-400866.html.
I hope you all have a good week :) Next week we'll be going over depression. We'll wrap things up with fear/doubt as our final lesson.
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