Humility

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector is a parable that explores the virtue of humility, and compares those who proudly justify themselves and those who humbly convict themselves. “He then addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity – greedy, dishonest, adulterous – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former” (Luke 18:9-14).

The Pharisee offered his own praises and not praise to God. He went to the Temple to pray without humility, and was so full of himself and his own goodness that he needed nothing, not even the favor of God’s grace. The publican was aware of his own sin and need of God’s favor. He went to the Temple to pray with humility, and his repentance was offered up to God in his gestures and in his devotions. He did not lift up his eyes to heaven in confidence, but he did lift up his heart in desire. (Matthew Henry’s Commentary, Volume 5 Page 775)

In Luke’s teaching about humility both men went to the Temple to worship, and it is a story about their standing before God. The Pharisee trusted in his own righteousness and thought that God owed him something for it. The tax collector knew that God owed him nothing, and because he had no merits to set before God, he could only plead for mercy. God wants us to be humble as is suggested by this parable, and this verse, “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word” (NIV Isaiah 66:2).

Humility is an honest evaluation of oneself in the sight of God. The presence of God has an effect on those who are humble, and no effect on those who are not humble. How God develops humility in us is found in many Old and New Testament examples, from the life of Moses, to the people of Israel, and even to Peter, all of whom experienced trials and frustration in order that they might humble themselves.

Contriteness is calling sin for what it is and being willing to repent from it. Just as time-lapse photography compresses a series of events into one picture our sin presents itself before the eyes of God. Where we see only isolated or individual acts, God sees an overlay of our behavior. Sin that may seem insignificant to us and passes with hardly any notice, creates a much more dramatic display from God’s time-less viewpoint.

Trembling at God’s Word is being fully convinced that God has spoken through the Bible and Tradition. Practically all the great men of the Bible went through times of trial, which resulted in praise from them. The message found within God’s Word is that He will resist the proud and give grace to the humble, and that when we make ourselves subject to God we will be exalted.

Of these three, humility may be the most important. Unless a person is humble in spirit it is difficult to take God’s Word seriously, and through this process allow God to lead us to righteousness. Those who are overconfident of their standing before God resist the work of God in their lives, and their failure to honestly evaluate themselves is often seen as a condescending attitude toward others. God sees our heart, and knows whether we have come to make an appearance or to make a confession, and He will judge us accordingly. Blessed be God that we have this prayer on record as an answered prayer, and that we are sure that he who prayed it went to his house justified. So too shall we, if we pray as he did through Jesus Christ, “God, be merciful to me a sinner” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary, Volume 5 Page 776).

Peter knelt before Jesus and declared that he was a sinful man. A woman wept at the feet of Jesus and dried her tears with her hair. The Roman centurion told Jesus that he was not worthy to have Him enter his home. In the closing sentence of Luke’s parable, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:9-14), he emphasizes the importance of this virtue for his audience. Each of these stories allows us to evaluate our standing before God, and demonstrates how humility allows us to experience His mercy. As we see in these verses it is a theme found throughout the Bible. “When pride comes, disgrace comes, but with the humble is wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2). “Only to do right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12). “Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you” (James 4:10).

Humility is the platform of all virtues, and it is the virtue of humility that permits us to live before God as we truly are, which opens the door to our freedom. The first step in our relationship with God is to understand and acknowledge that we are sinful creatures, and to believe in Jesus and trust that He will deliver us. We are all called to follow Christ and to keep him in our hearts, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your selves” (Matthew 11:29). Jesus was able to say this because he was right with God, and through his righteousness offer us repentance, grace, and eternal life. Each of us must take up our yoke as we pray, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner”, and may each of us in humility experience the mercy of God and find rest for our souls.

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Instructor's Evaluation Follows:

This paper was submitted, and was eventually returned with comments and suggestions for improvement. Unfortunately it was not early enough to submit a corrected and improved version of the paper incorporating the instructor’s suggestions. Her comments are worth passing on, and although I’ve edited the various comments here is what I learned:

1) She felt that the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector was, a “Good choice of a typically Lukan passage”, although there was, “No need to write this out”. Evidently I need to assume that the reader knows the text and move on.

2) I was confused by the comment, “Rather than exploring humility as a general theme in the Bible, it would have been better to stick with Luke alone and to explore how this passage fits into and exemplifies Luke’s interests and concerns”. I was confused because I specifically understood that our papers were to explore how the subject was reflected and treated in other Bible passages. Nevertheless, this insight will help me improve my next paper.

3) She also felt that my paper reflected, “An exercise of individualistic piety rather than contemporary pastoral applications”, and that my paper, “sounded very Calvinistic and individualistic”. This is a big oops, and it’s because my paper “relied too much on Matthew Henry’s Commentary and so reads through a Calvinist Lens”. Matthew Henry was an 18th Century Presbyterian, and as such is, “Not the best partner for today!” My wife had warned me about using it, and although I knew it was out of date, I wanted to include something from my Grandfather’s commentary. I later promised my instructor that I wouldn’t do that again.

4) She would have also preferred that I explore, “Why these two characters were chosen”, “What did they represent”, “Why Luke told these stories”, “How they fit within Luke’s larger picture”, and “How they spoke to Luke’s audience”. I also missed the opportunity to discuss, “What pastoral concerns today speak to our Pharisees and Tax Collectors?”