The Pharisee & the Publican Luke 18.9-14 14 Once upon a time Jesus also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else. "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.' The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!' I tell you that this man went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who h bl Context Part of Luke s s Travel Narrative Stands alone in the NT Preceded by Parable of Unjust Judge Followed by Jesus & Little Children First parallel from Mark (10.13-16) 16) since 9.49 Anqrwpoi du,o avne,bhsan eivj to. i`ero.n proseu,xasqai( o` ei-j Farisai/oj kai. o` e[teroj telw,nhjå o` Farisai/oj staqei.j pro.j e`auto.n tau/ta proshu,ceto\ o` qeo,j( euvcaristw/ soi o[ti ouvk eivmi. w[sper oi` loipoi. tw/n avnqrw,pwn( a[rpagej( a;dikoi( moicoi,( h' kai. w`j ou-toj o` telw,nhj\ nhsteu,w di.j tou/ sabba,tou( avpodekatw/ pa,nta o[sa ktw/maiå o` de. telw,nhj makro,qen e`stw.j ouvk h;qelen ouvde. tou.j ovfqalmou.j evpa/rai eivj to.n ouvrano,n( avllv e;tupten to. sth/qoj auvtou/ le,gwn\ o` qeo,j( i`la,sqhti, moi tw/ a`martwlw/ Å le,gw u`mi/n( kate,bh ou-toj dedikaiwme,noj eivj to.n oi=kon auvtou/ parv evkei/non...\ Textual Issues o` Farisai/oj staqei.j pro.j e`auto.n tau/ta proshu,ceto\ How do you translate? 1
Options pro.j e`auto.n with staqei.j gives us stood to himself or stood by himself OR pro.j e`auto.n with proshu,ceto which gives us prayed to himself or prayed about himself So which is it?? NET Bible Footnote The prepositional phrase pro.j eàuto,n ("to/about himself") could go with either the aorist participle staqei,j ("stood") or with the imperfect verb proshu,ceto ("he prayed"). If taken with the participle, then the meaning would seem at first glance to be: "stood 'by himself'," or "stood 'alone'." Now it is true that pro,j can mean "by" or "with" when used with intransitive verbs such as i[sthmi,, but pro.j eàuto,n together never means "by himself" or "alone" in biblical Greek. If this footnote is correct OH YEAH??!! RSV NRSV ESV NOAB TEV CEV NCV are WRONG! 1 Maccabees 10:54 Πρὸς ἐαυτὸν (together) + any morpheme of ἴστημι kai. nu/n sth,swmen pro.j au`tou.j fili,an And now let friendship stand between ourselves 2
. Luke! Can anyone make an assertion that πρὸς ἐαυτὸν NEVER means by himself based on only one occurrence? The case for stood by himself It works grammatically Προσ can be rendered as by when in the context of denoting proximity. Cultural Would Pharisee stand near the tax collector? Or stand apart (alone) to be seen or out of a sense of maintaining purity? Πρὸς εἁυτὸν with προσηύχετο prayed to himself prayed about himself? Liddell Scott: II. of Time, towards or near, at or about, poti.. e[spera at even, Od.; evpei. pro.j e`spe,ran h=n Xen..; pro.j hvw/ / Theocr.; pro.j gh/raj for or in old age, Eur. Louw-Nida Nida: : a marker of a point in time NET Bible Footnote (part 2) On the other hand, if πρὸς ἐαυτὸν is taken with the verb (προσηύχετο), then two different nuances emerge, both of which highlight in different ways the principal point Jesus seems to be making about the arrogance of this religious leader: (1) "prayed to himself," but not necessarily silently, or (2) "prayed about himself," with the connotation that he prayed out loud, for all to hear. Since his prayer is really a review of his moral résumé, directed both at advertising his own righteousness and exposing the perversion of the tax collector, whom he actually mentions in his prayer, the latter option seems preferable. If this is the case, then the Pharisee's mention of God is really nothing more than a formality. The case for prayed to himself It works grammatically Cultural If tax collector stood far off,, would the Pharisee realistically be praying loud enough for the tax collector to hear? Would praying that loudly about himself be disruptive to other temple worshippers? Would it be more likely that the Pharisee prayed quietly to himself? 3
Survey says No official consensus Stood by himself Prayed to himself Prayed about himself Intentional ambiguity Scriptural Parallels Search on di,kaioj for references to justification Romans 14 times Sirach 11 times Gospels 2 references in Matthew 5 references in Luke Scriptural Parallel Sirach 7:5 Do not assert your righteousness before the Lord, or display your wisdom before the king. Scripture Parallel Matthew 12:36-37 37 I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Scripture Parallel Luke 16:15 So he said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others; but God knows your hearts; for what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God. Surprises Who was the audience? Content of Pharisee s s prayer His fasting was beyond what was required Tithes on all he acquires (κτάομαι)) including items purchased 4
Surprises Who is Justified? Tax Collector in the temple Stood far off Unusual prayer posture Be merciful (ἱλάσκομαι)) only found here and in Heb. 2.17 God declares him justified Pharisee Why not? What is his barrier? I m m not like them Tax Collector Why? What is his barrier? I m m not worthy Hultgren Parable of Exemplary Behavior About one s s presumed standing before God Condemns self-righteousness / commends humility in the presence of God General conduct of life is not what is judged here Who is reliant on God s s grace? Robert Farrar Capon Forget preconceived ideas about Pharisees Upstanding citizen Leader in community Takes obligations to God seriously Caught up in works righteousness Tax collector knows he s s scum Extorts money from his own people Living high life Knows he can t t do anything to save himself Robert Farrar Capon What do they have in common? Both are dead / facing death Death is the ultimate equalizer We are addicted to works righteousness Addiction and Grace Addictions are our attachments taken to extremes Humans all have the capacity for addiction Addiction brings us to the realization that we are utterly dependent on God s s grace 5
Addiction and Grace Where are the Addictions? Tax Collector Pharisee Hesychastic Prayer Desert Fathers & Mothers Orthodox Monastics Prayer of the Heart Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me a sinner The Pharisee & the Publican Luke 18.9-14 14 6