The Life of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels
THE FRIEND OF SINNERS
The Life of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels
THE FRIEND OF SINNERS
Lesson Plan:
1. The Pharisee’s Prayer (Lk. 18:9-12)
2. The Publican’s Prayer (Lk. 18:13, 14)
3. The Publican Zacchaeus and His Unexpected Honor (Lk. 19:1-7)
4. The Conversion of Zacchaeus (Lk. 19:8-10)
Lesson Setting:
Time: The parable of the Pharisee and publican was probably spoken on the way down to Jerusalem for
the last Passover, in March, A.D. 30. The visit to Jericho and conversion of Zacchaeus probably
took place during the week preceding Passion Week, about March 30.
Place: Perea and Jericho.
Inductive Study of the Lesson:
a. Read the lesson, and also, in connection with Luke 18:14, read Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11.
b. On
self-righteousness (v 9) see Luke 16:15; Philemon 3:4; 2 Corinthians 1:9
c. On standing in prayer see 1 Samuel 1:26; 1 Kings 8:14, 22; 2 Chronicles 6:12; Matthew 6:5; Mark
11:25
d. On the hours of prayer see Luke 1:10; Acts 2:15; 3:1; 10:9
e. For the law of fasting see
Leviticus 16:29
f. For the law of tithes see Numbers 18:21; Deuteronomy 14:22; Matthew 23:23
g. For the law of
restitution see Exodus 22:1; Leviticus 6:5; Numbers 5:7
h. On “a son of Abraham” see Luke 1:55; 3:8; Romans 4:11, 12, 16; Galatians 3:7, 9. On verse
10 see Luke 15:1-32; Matthew 18:11; 1 Timothy 1:15; Ezekiel 34:11-16
Introduction: Two bad men and how they became good; who were the publicans? – The Roman senate farmed out the taxes to capitalists in Rome, who had them collected by local tax- gatherers, publicans. Each tax-gatherer had a few subordinate collectors working for him. Zacchaeus was probably a publican of the higher order; Matthew, a sub-collector. The publicans could assess the value of property as they pleased, often assessing it far too high. They often levied blackmail by making false charges of attempts to evade payment of taxes. Each collector kept what he dared before passing on the receipts to those higher up. Publicans were considered thieves by most; but if Jewish they were hated even more, because they were instruments of Roman oppression. The Jews usually classed them with sinners and harlots, and to eat and drink with them was considered to be out of the question, not only for a rabbi expecting to be looked up to, but for all decent people. What was Christ’s relation to publicans, and why? He was the friend of these outcasts, as He was the friend of harlots. He dined at their houses. He was ready to talk with them on the streets and walk with them. They flocked to hear Him preach. In His teachings He did not hesitate to show that they could enter His kingdom, if only they would. Jesus did this, not to condone the sins of publicans or the evils of the Roman government, but to rebuke the proud exclusiveness of the Pharisee, and to illustrate the forgiving love of God, proving His purpose in coming to earth. The two incidents which we are to study are therefore of fundamental importance in the Life of Christ.
Scripture Reading: Luke 18:9-12
1. The Pharisee’s Prayer
Who were Christ’s bitterest enemies? – Those who “trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others” (v 9). Among them the Pharisees were chief. The Pharisees, as their name, ‘Perushim,’ implies, were, before all things, men who insisted on their separation from others. They came into existence as a distinct religious sect under the High Priesthood of Jonathan about a century and a half before the birth of Christ. Their ruling idea was the duty of avoiding all involvement with, all assimilation to the ways of, the unbelieving world. This was the fundamental reason for their austerity and their strict observances, and their patriotism and reputation for holiness won them great influence. Though the name is now suspect, still the principles of Pharisaism have been maintained down to the present day; and it is believed that this, more than anything else, has kept Judaism alive.
What is self-righteousness, and what harm comes from it? – Self-righteousness consists, not so much in thinking one’s self to be good as in thinking one’s self to be good enough. “The rabbis invented the most high-flown designations for each other, such as ‘Light of Israel,’ ‘Uprooter of Mountains,’ ‘The Glory of the Law,’ ‘The Holy,’ etc.; but they described the vast mass of their fellow countrymen as ‘accursed’ for not knowing the law (Jn. 7:49), and spoke of them as ‘empty cisterns,’ ‘people of the earth,’ etc.” (Cambridge Bible). Self-satisfaction cuts us off from God’s soul-training lessons in holiness. The pride of ignorance is like the stopper in an empty bottle, rendering empty vacuum inaccessible.
What picture did Christ present in His parable? – A picture of two men, a Pharisee and a publican, going up to the temple to pray. They went up to the temple, “from the lower city to Mount Moriah, the ‘Hill of the House,’ on which the temple stood” (Int. Crit. Com.). Perhaps they went at one of the hours of prayer, such as twelve o’ clock (Acts 10:9) or three o’clock (Acts 3:1). They both stood up as they prayed, which was the usual attitude of prayer among the Jews. “Kneeling and standing are indifferent, if the knee of the soul be bent, and the heart upright towards God” (Whitefield).
What was the Pharisee's prayer? – He “prayed ... with himself” (v 11). More soliloquy than prayer. “His words could scarcely be spoken in the hearing of others, both because of their arrogant self-praise and of their insolent calumnies of ‘all the rest’” (Maclaren). (b) “God is complimented with being named in the first two words, ‘I thank thee,’ but that is only formal introduction” (Maclaren). He says, “I thank thee,” but is not conscious of anything received; only of something achieved. He has brought only a prospectus of his qualifications, seeking divine endorsement. “Indeed he almost pities God, who, but for himself, would be destitute of faithful servants” (Int. Crit. Com.). (c) He boasted that he was “not as other men are” (v 11). A prayer that sets us apart from our neighbor is not a true approach to God. But it is probable that this boast was false, for Christ charges the Pharisees, as a class, with extortion (Matt. 23:25) and injustice (Matt. 23:23), and rebukes their shameful laxness in the matter of divorce (Matt. 19:3- 9). These charges are upheld by contemporary writings. He was praying with his eyes open, because he adds “or even as this publican.” “This is no longer to exult, but to insult” (Augustine). (d) He bragged of fasting “twice in the week” (v 12). “This practice had no divine sanction. The Law appointed only a single fast-day in the year, the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29). By the time of Zechariah there seem to have been four yearly fasts (Zech. 8:19). The bi-weekly fast of the Pharisees was a mere burden imposed by the oral law. The days chosen were Thursday and Monday, because on those days Moses was believed to have ascended and descended from Sinai” (Cambridge Bible). (e) He further boasted “I give tithes of all that I possess” (v 12). “The law commanded only to tithe the fruits of the field and increase of the cattle; but he, no doubt, tithed mint and cumin (Matt. 23:23), all that came into his possession, down to the trifles about which there was question, even in the Jewish schools, whether it was obligatory to tithe them or not. He will thus bring in God as his debtor” (Trench).
Why was this prayer a failure? – Because it was all about himself. “I thank God,” “I am not,” “I fast,” “I give,” “I possess.” When do we show the spirit of the Pharisee’s prayer? When we look more to the duties we perform than to the spirit and motive from which they spring; when we become satisfied with ourselves because we do certain things which others might not do, and when in place of lowliness and charity our ‘religion’ produces self-complacency, i.e., either a hard contempt or compassionate patronage of other people. Many prayers remind one of a quotation from William Barclay, describing a certain prayer as “the most eloquent prayer ever offered to a Boston audience.” Failure to be thoughtful to the lowest of the low among us speaks of vulgarity, producing a social Pharisee.
Scripture Reading: Luke 18:13, 14 (also read Matt. 23:12; Lk. 14:11)
2. The Publican’s Prayer
How did the publican show his humility and contrition? – (a) He stood “afar off” (v 13), his eyes humbly lowered. “It is not certain whether the ‘afar off’ means ‘afar off from the Pharisee,’ or (as is more probable) afar off from the Holy Place to which the Pharisee would thrust himself, as of right, into closest proximity” (Cambridge Bible). Because the publican stood afar off, God brought him close by hearing his prayer; because, in his humility, not lifting his eyes to heaven, God looked down from heaven, lifting him up into the light of His countenance. (b) He “smote upon his breast” (v 13). The meaning is “continued to smite.” He was striking his breast again and again in the agony of his self-reproaches.
What was the publican’s prayer? – A very short one, perhaps repeated over and over “God be merciful to me a sinner” (v 13), literally, the sinner. A short prayer is better than a long one (Matt. 6:7, 8; 23:14). Also, prayers should be directed, not to ourselves, nor to the audience, but to God. This man did not say, “Nature be merciful,” or “Laws of my constitution be merciful,” or “Society be merciful,” or “I will be merciful to myself,” but “God be merciful!” Also, he did not say, “God be merciful to sin in general,” but “to me a sinner.” The publican did call sin by its right name. We can play with words, but likewise words will eventually take their turn and play with us. An ambiguous name given to a bad thing saps from the bad thing its essential ugliness. For instance, “prevarication” instead of “life;” “conjugal infidelity” instead of “adultery;” and “theft” cuts closer to the marrow than “embezzlement,” though less specific. Why should we pray like the publican? Because, like the publican, we are all sinners, and only God is able to determine the worse among us. Without a doubt, the greatest need of modern man is a sense of sin.
What was the result of the publican’s prayer? – The publican “went down to his house justified rather than the other” (v 14). “Justified” means “treated as righteous” not “made righteous.” For a sinner it is equivalent to forgiveness. Since God resists the proud, it is certain that the Pharisee was not justified. How can we gain the true humility which Christ praises (v 14)? By truly understanding ourselves and recognizing the evil within us. A good topic for a sermon would be, “Remorse as a Lost Art.” Consider Judas. Whatever he lacked, he did have a genius for remorse. It was his rope.
Illustration: Before modern day security systems, the cash box of a certain business firm was frequently tampered with and money extracted. The cashier arranged a camera so that a slight pull on the cash drawer set off the power, and a film was taken. The trap worked and when the film was shown, three boys were caught in the act of opening the cash drawer. When confronted, they were overwhelmed and confessed. Yet no inventor has ever been to make an instrument as perfect in its power to record sound, touch, form or fact as your heart’s memory.
Scripture Reading: Luke 19:1-7
3. The Publican Zacchaeus and His Unexpected Honor
The scene shifts to the fair city of Jericho, with its palaces, palms and abundant growth of trees. The whole place was stirred with excitement. The company of those going up to the Passover was in and of itself enough to provide much excitement, but it was greatly increased by the presence of Jesus Christ, the Prophet of Nazareth, whose miracles everyone was talking about. When Napoleon the Great was on his way to Russia, men, women, and children stood contentedly for days and nights, waiting to see him pass alone his way; and a story is told of a clergyman in the far north of Scotland, who trudged on foot all the way to London to see the Duke of Wellington, and when he had seen him he quietly thanked God and trudged home again, counting himself well rewarded. But of all the crowd thronging to see Jesus, only two, so far as we know, really saw Him – the blind Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus.
What do we know about Zacchaeus? – (a) He was a chief publican. “It was only natural that Jericho, from its position close to the fords of Jordan (Josh. 2:1), and as the frontier city on entering the land from Perea, set, too, as it was in the richest plain of Palestine, and that which abounded most in the choicest productions of that favored land, in the rare and costly balsam above all, should be the seat of an officer of a somewhat superior rank, who should there preside over the collection of the revenues of the state” (Trench). “The name, which means ‘pure,’ shows him to have been a Jew” (Int. Crit. Com.). (b) He was rich. “His motto was the motto of that Roman emperor who said, ‘Money has no smell,’ out of whatever cesspool it may have been fished up” (Maclaren). (c) He was little of stature. Humanly speaking, Zacchaeus was in as unfavorable a situation for turning to God as anyone could be at that time. He was one of a set of men who might emphatically be called “that which was lost.”
Why did Zacchaeus want to see Jesus? – “Doubtless his riches increased the odium of his position, and being accustomed to contempt and hatred, he wished to see one who was not only a great prophet, but also kind to tax-gatherers and sinners” (Cambridge Bible).
How did Zacchaeus show his energy? – After repeated attempts (implied in the tense of the Greek verb, “sought”), he was prevented from seeing Jesus because of the great crowd and his small size. So, he ran on ahead of the crowd and scrambled up into a sycamore tree by the side of the road Jesus was sure to take. He had none of the false dignity which bars us from so many blessings. “This ‘sycamore’ is quite different from our sycamore. The word means ‘fig mulberry.’ Like the English oak, its shade is most pleasing; a favorite wayside tree. It is very easy to climb, with a short trunk, and wide lateral branches forking out in all directions” (Tristram). “I saw a good many sycamore trees growing near the ruins of Jericho ... The sycamore figs were growing in their strange way, directly out of the trunk of the tree. It was a fruit disliked by most” (Dr. James E. Priest).
How did Jesus single out Zacchaeus? – He called him by name, “Zacchaeus!” “The same eye that saw Nathanael under the fig-tree saw Zacchaeus in the sycamore; and, seeing in secret, knew without being told the names of both” (Maclaren).
v 5 ... “Make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house.” The Lord accepted many invitations into the houses of men, but Zacchaeus is the only one we read about who was honored by Jesus offering Himself to his hospitality. Say what we will about Zacchaeus seeking Jesus, the truth is, Jesus was seeking Zacchaeus.
What invitation like this does Jesus give us? – He is always standing at the door of our hearts and knocking. His word to us is always, “Come unto Me; let Me come unto you.” How did Zacchaeus receive the honor? There was just one little man named Zacchaeus in the tree. And the little man answered to his name, and, no doubt quicker than the time it takes to read this, he came down to meet the Savior – isn’t that what salvation is all about? Meeting the Savior? “Did you ever think that it was now or never with this publican; that Jesus Christ was never to go through the streets of Jericho anymore; that it was Zacchaeus’ last chance? A rabbi said, when they asked him when a man should repent, ‘Repent on the last day of your lives.’ And they said, ‘But we do not know when that will be.’ And he said, ‘Then repent now’” (Maclaren).
How did the bystanders receive Christ’s act? – “They all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be a guest with a man that is a sinner” (v 7). Had Jesus been intent on being popular, He would not have cast His eyes on the sycamore. Perhaps they also murmured, “He could have chosen someone else to be his host. After all, Jericho is a city of many priests as well as publicans.” “The Talmudists tell us that there were almost as many priests there as at Jerusalem itself” (Trench).
What may have happened in Zacchaeus’ home? – The little company would arrive, the master of the house proud and excited. He would give hurried orders for a fine meal. While it was preparing, perhaps Jesus and Zacchaeus enjoyed a quiet conversation.
Scripture Reading: Luke 19:8-10
4. The Conversion of Zacchaeus
In what way did Zacchaeus make his great confession? – He did not whisper it in Christ’s ear. He did not wait until he and Christ were alone. Immediately, and before the entire crowd, he determined that if Jesus thought he was worthy of His company, then he would make himself worthy. He stood up boldly, and spoke out.
What promises did Zacchaeus make? – (a) “The half of my goods I give to the poor” (v 8), a vast sacrifice for one whose very position showed that he had not been indifferent to wealth. “I give” means, “I now propose to give,” i.e., a purpose, not something he had done in the past. With the other half he desired to make reparation to those whom he may have defrauded. He wanted to free himself completely from unlawful gain. (b) He promised to restore fourfold, if he had “taken anything from any man by false accusation,” that is, by alleging that someone was concealing property and income, thus defraud the taxes; a type of blackmail. This was all the law required of a thief caught and punished (Ex. 22:1). In a case of voluntary restitution it was enough to restore the property with the addition of one-fifth of its value (Lev. 6:5; Num. 5:7).
How did this statement by Zacchaeus show his conversion? – “The one test of a true reception of Christ is the abandonment of past evil and restitution for it as far as possible” (Maclaren). Zacchaeus met this practical test.
How did Jesus accept Zacchaeus? – By declaring “This day is salvation come to this house” (v 9), to the whole family in the person of the head. By adding that Zacchaeus (though a Jewish publican was considered to have lost his privileges as a descendent from Abraham) had by this act of charity, contrition, and restitution, won his restoration and the right to be added to the number of Abraham’s true children.
What great statement of His mission did Christ make? – “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (v 10); like Zacchaeus.
Illustration: Dr. William Harrison once compared the work of Christ to that of a geologist, who gathers up the rough and crumbling fragments of ancient animals, and with endless pains pieces them together till at last they are restored to their former shape. So Christ toiled among the wrecks of our humanity, and breathed into them the breath of life.
How can Christ’s mission of saving the lost be accomplished? – Only through the activity of Christ’s disciples who are filled with His Spirit. How to reach the masses seems to be very simple in the light of the example of Jesus: it is to go where they are for the express purpose of reaching them. It was the manifested fellowship of the Son of man that brought salvation to Zacchaeus’ house. When we live the Gospel and preach the Gospel, sinners will be brought to God.
