And He spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Luke 18:9
Two qualifications are required for those who would find themselves the focus of the parable that the Lord Jesus is about to tell. It’s an interesting parable, because of the sharp contrast in personalities: a respected religious leader and a despised tax collector. But the attention is really on the respected religious leader, the man who matched the qualifications set forth. If anyone was to be identified as righteous, surely it would be the Pharisee! He regularly spent considerable time studying the Scriptures and in prayers – especially if he thought anybody was watching him. He was confident in his religion, satisfied that he was meeting God’s requirements for righteousness. He had no idea how far short he was came! He also met the second requirement, that of despising others who were less righteous than he perceived himself to be. His disdain toward the publican was appalling. He would have been shocked if he could have known that in the sight of God, the publican obtained a greater righteousness than he.
The key to the Pharisee’s grave error was that his righteousness was based on himself. He failed to understand that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). He also failed to understand that he was only a helpless sinner in the eyes of a holy God (Isaiah 64:6). The man was not alone in his attitude. Actually, most of the people we encounter every day assume they are as righteous as they need to be. Those who hide behind the ‘there is no God’ excuse have no care about righteousness. Those who are involved in religious organizations trust that their participation and contributions are all that are needed to be righteous enough to satisfy God’s requirements. But what saith the Scriptures? The Word of God declares that righteousness does not come from ourselves and cannot come from ourselves. Consider the words of 2 Corinthians 5:21: For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. There is righteousness to be found and we have found it, not in ourselves, but in Christ our Saviour.
Missing the mark in terms of righteousness was bad enough, but the Pharisee was arrogant as well. Maybe he thought that in his position he had a right to be. After all, he was the most religions guy in his neighbourhood, he was the one who could point out to all those around him exactly where they were in violation of the law of Moses and of the many rules and regulations that the Pharisees had set in place. As a religious leader, he could see how irreligious other people were. He could listen to their talk and know how far most people were from the standards of holiness that God demanded. Because he observed all of the rules and regulations, he looked down his nose at those who didn’t. He despised them. What a difference between that man and those who have the righteousness of Christ! Because we have experienced the grace of God that rescued us from our unrighteousness, we know we are no better than the worst of those around us, apart from our salvation. And so, we display the love of Christ that was displayed to us. Or at least we should. Despising others who have not received the Gospel is not a part of the any believer.
From the Pharisee in the parable we learn how not to live and respond to those around us. Our righteousness is not our own. We love, and not despise, the poor sinners. -Jim MacIntosh