To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone 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 by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like 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 all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14
“The Pharisee in this parable has many positive characteristics: he is portrayed as a very religious and spiritual man, and should be commended for his spirituality and commitment to his religious tradition. He fasts twice a week and gives a tenth of all his income to the ministry and work of God…
The problem is that instead of being content to give thanks and observe his religious tradition, the Pharisee feeds on his own virtues and makes sinful comparisons. He is typical of those religious people who look upon themselves as more holy… His sin is self-glorification at the expense of someone else.
The tax collector, too, stands and addresses God directly. But where the Pharisee offers a prayer of thanksgiving, the other offers a petition for mercy… Standing before God the tax collector describes himself as a sinner, deeply in need of justification and sanctification…
In his unconditional admission of his sinfulness before God, he beats his breast. He has come to true repentance and casts himself unreserved confession of sin before the feet of God… Which of these two do we identify with? I suggest we should see ourselves in both.
The good in the character of the Pharisee is his religious commitment; the bad is his self-righteousness. The negative soide of the sinner was his sinful exploitation of his neighbors. But he is not content to remain sinful but confesses…”
Paul John Isaak (Namibia) in “Luke” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 1265.
When this posts I will be en route to Cotonou, Benin in West Africa, to meet up with Samson Adoungbe. I have my Africa Bible Commentary with me to read texts through African eyes.
On the first day in each of the four countries that we will visit (Benin, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal) we block time for prayer and couple it with fasting and confession.
At GTP we have learned that to grow stewards who help ministries follow standards and turn brokenness to blessing in their context requires these three spiritual practices.
Join us in taking a posture of prayer, fasting, and confession to ask God to turn brokenness to blessing wherever you are. For a good example of this, read Nehemiah 1.