Bible Art
Pharisee and the Publican
Artist: James Tissot
c. 1880
Painting
This painting is opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper. The image measures 9 7/8 x 6 1/2 in. (25.1 x 16.5 cm) and it is housed in The Brooklyn Museum.
The referenced scripture is Luke 18:9-14. The parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (also called the publican) is a surprising story full of plot twists and rich spiritual truths.
The Pharisees were often thought to be self-righteous hypocrites and tax collectors as the model of righteous.
But in Jesus’ day it was reversed. It was the Pharisees who were the models of righteousness and the tax collectors who epitomized sinners. When Jesus told this parable it was a shock to his audience.
Luke tells us up front: “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable.” This parable is about pride and humility.
Now, the audience is likely expecting the Pharisee to be the prime example of what we would look like. After all, no one expected the low-life tax collector who betrayed his own people for money to be the prime example to follow.
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.” Luke 18:10-12
The Pharisees considered themselves worthy of God’s grace based off their religious performance. They thought they earned the right to demean others and make demands. And this prayer shows this self-righteous attitude.
In Luke 18:11 he’s demeaning others so that he can elevate himself. Even going so far to point out a particular person around him, the tax collector. He thinks he’s better than them.
In the next verse he reports all the wonderful things he does. He fasts twice a week and gives a tenth of all he gets. He’s showing off, bragging.
The Old Testament Law only required a fast once a year. But the Pharisees fasted twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays. But really this is just a ploy to attract attention to themselves. These were the days the market convened and many people came to town. They were just showing off. And the Pharisee in this parable is proud of his religious piousness.
His entire prayer centers around how great he is and how terrible everyone else is, especially the tax collector.
If you count it up he uses the pronoun “I” five times in this prayer. His prayer is all about himself.
When the Romans invaded they set up a tax collecting system that leveraged Jews to collect taxes on their own people. The deal was you sent Rome their tax and then you were allowed to keep an additional amount you chose to collect. This lead to tax collectors getting rich by effectively stealing from their own people. To say they were hated is too mild.
But Jesus flips the script. Look at the tax collectors prayer: “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.” Luke 18:13
His prayer is a stark contrast from the Pharisee’s prayer. He stands at a distance and refuses to assume the normal posture of prayer of looking to heaven, as the Pharisee did. The tax collector recognizes his unworthiness and is like a child who knows he’s in trouble and refuses to look his parents in the eyes.
While the Pharisee used his prayer to beat down others, the tax collector beats his own chest, further showing that he understands his own sinfulness.
And when the tax collector prays he doesn’t pray to himself, he prays to God. It’s a simple prayer in which he recognizes his only hope is for God to save him.
The Pharisee used his prayer to elevate himself as the righteous. The tax collector used his prayer to elevate himself as the sinner.
A Summary of the two prayers this way: “He did not boast of his own righteousness but pled with God for mercy acknowledging his sin. He used God as the standard of righteousness and confessed that he fell short. He knew that his only hope was God’s mercy. The Pharisee felt no need and voiced no petition, whereas the publican felt nothing but need and voiced only petition.”
In the last verse of this parable Jesus tells us what the application is: “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 18:14
Ironically both men got what they prayed for. The tax collector humbly asked for mercy, and he received it. The Pharisee asked for nothing because he thought that he already had it all, and he received nothing.
The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector shows us whose prayers God respects. It’s not those who appear righteous and exalt themselves, but rather those who humble themselves because they see how sinful they really are.
Pietà
Artist: Annibale Carracci
1600
Painting
In Pietà, Carracci presents the moment in which the Virgin Mary holds her crucified son, who lay lifeless on her lap. To the right of the composition, angels are depicted in the act of mourning Christ's passing.
This oil on canvas painting is in the National Museum of Capodimonte, Naples
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