Luke 18:1–14
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 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. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “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.’
14 “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.”
Honestly Loving Our Enemies
*Take two minutes to breathe deeply and slowly, feeling the tension in your body release. *
What happens to you when you see those you don’t like? Or better yet (although we are often unwilling to admit it), what do you do when you see those you hate? Not a simple dislike, but a deep abiding hostility that you feel in your guts.
Is it a coworker who has been put forward for a promotion you expected to get? Is it a friend who has mistreated you? Is it a self-righteous person who, although from the outside they look good, you have a feeling it’s a front?
Take time to notice your feelings about these relationships.
Maybe it’s a visceral feeling in the pit of your stomach, maybe it’s a boiling anger that emerges, maybe it’s the desire to undercut them; whatever it is, be honest with yourself.
Your honesty surrounding how you feel toward people is sorely needed. Jesus does not shy away from the reality that we have enemies. In fact, he essentially promises that we will have them when he tells us that they are to be the object of our love and prayers.
The question for you today is, “How do we get there?” How do we move toward a place where we can honestly love those who we hate? Let’s lean into a story that Jesus told that might help us get a step closer.
In the passage, we’re told that Jesus has an audience in mind as he tells the story: those who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on others. To communicate with the self-righteous, Jesus tells a story that names two primary characters: a Pharisee and a Tax Collector.
Each of these characters are set-apart, so to speak. The Pharisee is on the margins because of their righteousness, the Tax-Collector for their unrighteousness.
The Pharisees were the religious elite; they were like pastors, the people who knew Torah better than anyone else. They were defenders of truth and facilitated the places of encounter with God for the people. As we read, however, there were many who fell into the very familiar place of spiritual pride.
The Tax Collectors, on the other hand, were hated in society. With Israel under Roman occupation, they were subjected to taxation, and frequently, the Romans would hire Israelites as Tax Collectors. Rome had to hit their taxation numbers, but they didn’t mind if the Tax Collectors added a little on top to pay for their wages, so the people were often being gouged by their own. The Tax Collectors would have been considered robbers and evildoers.
They’re opposites as far as society is considered—and you can hear this in the Pharisee’s prayer: “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’” (18:11-12).
The Pharisee recognizes his position in society, and thanks God that he has brought him this far; however, his prayer reveals something of his inner world, doesn’t it? Each of the people he lists are people within society he sees as lower down than him. From his lofty position he looks down his nose at them.
We find within his prayer not a desire to encounter God, but a desire to validate himself. He is the spiritual powerhouse in the story, and his prayer reminds everyone around him, including God, of this reality.
On the other side of the story, however, we see the Tax Collector—the hated one. This Tax Collector is given to us as an archetype. He is like a blank canvas upon which to draw the person with which we struggle (The person you thought of as you entered this devotional).
Imagine seeing them, with all the feelings you feel, and hearing them pray, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” How does that make you feel?
This is the place that Jesus wants to speak to in your life, the place where mercy has not broken in, where contempt for others resides. Jesus longs to take our contempt and transform it into compassion.
His desire is not for us to look down on others from a high position, but to go to the lowest place that we might lift others up. Regardless of societal standing, we need to recognize everyone as a person who longs to know they are created and accepted by God.
Some of us will see our Tax Collectors and resist the urge to come alongside them in prayer. Some of us will see the Pharisee and think to ourselves, “God, I thank you that I am not like this Pharisee.”
This wonderful parable invites us to consider the places in our lives that are in ongoing need of healing, and come once again to the Redeemer and say—God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
*Take some time again to ask God how he sees the one you hate and ask him how he would have you pray for them.*
Father, reveal to me the places where comparison and contempt have taken the place of joyful compassion. Teach me again to marvel at your love and empower me to share it with the world. In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, all for your glory.
Amen.
Author Bio
Parker Friesen is a campus pastor at
Prairie Alliance Church in the beautiful town of Neepawa, MB, a student at Regent College, and a lover of good coffee and conversation. His hope and passion are to see people encounter Jesus and come alive in him.
Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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