God, I thank you that I am not like other men . . . even as this tax collector. v11
One day a Pharisee went to pray in the temple. Seeing a tax collector who was also there for prayers, the Pharisee prayed those famous words above. We can learn something about this Pharisee from his prayer.
Firstly, he thought he was better than many others. He thanked God that he wasn't like those extortioners outside there. He could by no means be counted as an unjust person. And he was certainly not one of those alduterers.
Most of all, he was not like a tax collector. No, he wasn't thinking of tax-collectors in general as he was of those extortioners, unjust people and adulterers. Instead, he was thinking of one particular tax-collector - the one standing over there, "afar off" (v13), praying by himself.
. . . even as this tax collector. v11
What made this Pharisee think so highly of himself in the temple that day? The last part of the his prayer tells us
I fast twice a week: I give tithes of all that I possess. v12
Clearly, in this parable by our Lord, this Pharisee is portrayed as somebody who trusted in himself. He trusted in his fasting. He trusted in his tithing. One tenth of everything he owned was offered to the temple of the LORD. He counted on these works. By trusting his works, he thought he had made himself righteous.
But the Pharisee didn't stop there. He went one step further - he despised others. He distinguished himself from the sinners, or rather, that sinner: the tax-collector who dared not even stand near him, in the same temple.
In contrast, the tax collector looked so pathetic compared to the Pharisee. While the Pharisee "stood and prayed" (v11), the tax collector "stood afar off"(v13). While the Pharisee began his prayer proudly by uttering, "God, I thank you . . .", the tax collector bowed his head, and dared not even raise his eyes to heaven. And while the Pharisee despised others in his prayer, the tax-collector beat his own chest, asking aloud for God's mercies.
At the end of the parable, our Lord Jesus said of the tax-collector:
"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." v14Finally note, from v 9 at the beginning of this passage, that our Lord did not merely tell this parable about people who exalted themselves. Instead, he was actually telling this parable to some people who were present in the audience that day.
Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: v9Christians, let us remind ourselves today, to take heed that we do not fall into the same snare as those people had: to trust their own righteousness and to despise others.
