The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me…to set the oppressed free. Luke 4:18
The parables of Jesus are often a mystery. Jesus seems to speak in riddles; it is easy to miss the point. Even theological experts disagree among themselves on how a parable is to be interpreted.
For years, I have accepted the interpretations by conservative theologians that often claim a “moral” to every parable. Yet, context is key. Placing the stories in the context in which they were told and how they were heard is important. As I seek to do that and as I re-read them with fresh eyes, I have come to a new appreciation for Jesus’ mission and for His storytelling skill of weaving together situations that would have been common to His hearers with a totally different message or ending than they (or I) expected. A closer look at Jesus and His parables demonstrates how His teachings turned society on its head and threatened the prevailing societal order to empower the oppressed in society.
One such example is the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector found in Luke 18:9-14. Jesus tells the story of a religious leader, a Pharisee, who prays conspicuously in the temple courtyard. Standing inconspicuously off to the side is the tax collector. He prays, too, but it is a short and simple prayer begging God for mercy as he recognizes himself as a sinner. The typical interpretation of this parable is that we are to come before God in prayer with humility.
Yet, is that what Jesus is really saying? Is this parable just about humility and prayer? Could there be more to this story?
The Pharisee is a member of the elite religious establishment. The tax collector is ostracized from society for his work in collecting taxes; he is part of a much-despised group in society. Interestingly, they have something in common: they BOTH collect taxes. Yes, the temple leaders extracted taxes from the peasants just as Rome did and the amounts were just as onerous. The monies collected from the temple tax enrich the pockets of the religious leaders and other elites. This double-taxation, from the religious leaders and from the Roman rulers, imposes a horrendous financial burden on the peasants in this agrarian society. The poor become poorer while the rich become richer.
There is no mercy from the Pharisees and other religious leaders for the poor who cannot afford to pay either the temple tax or the temple sacrifice. When a poor person cannot pay, they are ostracized from the temple and from society. They are deemed “unclean” and a “sinner” because they cannot participate in the temple ritual of cleansing. This stigma creates difficulties in finding work and so the poor are pushed deeper into poverty.
In this parable, the tax collector is most likely a toll collector who sits in a toll booth collecting money on behalf of his employer. Unlike the tax collector (think of Zacchaeus) who extracts taxes over and above what is due and keeps the excess, this toll collector does not make a livable wage. He works in a job where he is despised by everyone. As a worker, he is expendable, for there are other out-of-work laborers who would take his place out of financial desperation.
The Pharisee in this story dehumanizes the toll collector, slandering him as being a robber, an evildoer, and an adulterer of God’s law. The audience would have expected this; they probably agreed. But they would have expected the toll collector to be humiliated and slink off out of the temple courtyard into oblivion. To their surprise, the toll collector agrees he is a sinner and loudly shouts to God to intervene. He knows he has cheated people (at the behest of his employer) and he expresses remorse. He also knows he does not belong at the temple as he is considered irreversibly unclean. But he is not going away quietly! And how dare he go directly to God?! His very presence challenges the Pharisee’s own claims of righteousness. The toll collector implores God directly for mercy instead of staying enmeshed in the Pharisaic system of clean and unclean. In doing so, the toll collector threatens the very economic system that profits the Pharisee.
To the shock of His audience, Jesus says the toll collector, not the religious Pharisee, is the one who receives mercy and justification from God. (Ironically, the Pharisee is everything he accuses the toll collector of being.) Even though the toll collector can never repay who he cheated because he does not know the people from whom he extracted the tolls, he is still forgiven despite the impossibility of reparations. That, too, would have shocked the listeners’ ears.
Why does Jesus tell this story? He casts a spotlight on the excesses and corruption of the religious leaders. He zeros in on who the oppressors are. He points the peasants to the problem and helps them name it: oppression. It is only when a problem is named that a solution can be found. Armed with this realization, the peasant population just might try to change this unjust system. And that is what the religious leaders fear: an uprising that would dethrone their power and rob them of their ill-gained riches.
The Pharisees understood this parable and its accusations against them. It instilled fear in them, fear that Jesus was turning the crowd against them. While Jesus helped the peasants identify the problem of oppression that was killing them, the religious leaders were plotting their own solution to kill this problem called Jesus.
As part of His mission, Jesus came to free the oppressed (Luke 4:18). The Pharisees would have none of that.
NOTE: Unfortunately, oppression is all too common and not just in Bible times. Today, laws that seek to take away our individual rights, such as bodily autonomy and being able to get the medical care we need, are indeed oppressive. Oppressive laws and the underlying attitudes supporting them impact women, people of color, immigrants, the LGBTQA+ community including trans people, pregnant people, as well as other minority groups. Standing up for the oppressed is what Jesus did. We must go and do likewise.
NOTE: Inspiration for this blog is from Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed by William R. Herzog II.
NOTE: June is Pride Month. Check out history.com.
Text and photograph copyright © 2024 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. The two characters in this parable are opposites but they both reflect the corrupt societal system at work. This photo is of the swirling reflection of the mountains with a hint of color from a setting sun, taken on Trollfjord in the Lofoten Islands, Norway.
Not a subscriber to the monthly blog posts? Click here to subscribe. Subscribers receive an email each month that includes the post with the lead photo as well as bonus photos not posted on the website. Email addresses are never sold or shared.
A NOTE ON SOCIAL JUSTICE:
Jesus says the greatest commandments are to love God and to love people (Matthew 22:37-40). The Christian faith boils down to these two precepts.
Social justice puts that love into action by helping individuals who are oppressed, mistreated, or suffering, and by pursuing ways to dismantle systems of oppression. How we treat others, particularly those less powerful in society than ourselves, matters (Matthew 25:31-46).
Racial justice is one aspect of social justice. Check out my web page on “Justice Matters” to find resources and to connect with organizations engaging in the cause of racial justice. Click here to learn more.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
The parables of Jesus are often a mystery. Jesus seems to speak in riddles; it is easy to miss the point. Even theological experts disagree among themselves on how a parable is to be interpreted.
For years, I have accepted the interpretations by conservative theologians that often claim a “moral” to every parable. Yet, context is key. Placing the stories in the context in which they were told and how they were heard is important. As I seek to do that and as I re-read them with fresh eyes, I have come to a new appreciation for Jesus’ mission and for His storytelling skill of weaving together situations that would have been common to His hearers with a totally different message or ending than they (or I) expected. A closer look at Jesus and His parables demonstrates how His teachings turned society on its head and threatened the prevailing societal order to empower the oppressed in society.
One such example is the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector found in Luke 18:9-14. Jesus tells the story of a religious leader, a Pharisee, who prays conspicuously in the temple courtyard. Standing inconspicuously off to the side is the tax collector. He prays, too, but it is a short and simple prayer begging God for mercy as he recognizes himself as a sinner. The typical interpretation of this parable is that we are to come before God in prayer with humility.
Yet, is that what Jesus is really saying? Is this parable just about humility and prayer? Could there be more to this story?
The Pharisee is a member of the elite religious establishment. The tax collector is ostracized from society for his work in collecting taxes; he is part of a much-despised group in society. Interestingly, they have something in common: they BOTH collect taxes. Yes, the temple leaders extracted taxes from the peasants just as Rome did and the amounts were just as onerous. The monies collected from the temple tax enrich the pockets of the religious leaders and other elites. This double-taxation, from the religious leaders and from the Roman rulers, imposes a horrendous financial burden on the peasants in this agrarian society. The poor become poorer while the rich become richer.
There is no mercy from the Pharisees and other religious leaders for the poor who cannot afford to pay either the temple tax or the temple sacrifice. When a poor person cannot pay, they are ostracized from the temple and from society. They are deemed “unclean” and a “sinner” because they cannot participate in the temple ritual of cleansing. This stigma creates difficulties in finding work and so the poor are pushed deeper into poverty.
In this parable, the tax collector is most likely a toll collector who sits in a toll booth collecting money on behalf of his employer. Unlike the tax collector (think of Zacchaeus) who extracts taxes over and above what is due and keeps the excess, this toll collector does not make a livable wage. He works in a job where he is despised by everyone. As a worker, he is expendable, for there are other out-of-work laborers who would take his place out of financial desperation.
The Pharisee in this story dehumanizes the toll collector, slandering him as being a robber, an evildoer, and an adulterer of God’s law. The audience would have expected this; they probably agreed. But they would have expected the toll collector to be humiliated and slink off out of the temple courtyard into oblivion. To their surprise, the toll collector agrees he is a sinner and loudly shouts to God to intervene. He knows he has cheated people (at the behest of his employer) and he expresses remorse. He also knows he does not belong at the temple as he is considered irreversibly unclean. But he is not going away quietly! And how dare he go directly to God?! His very presence challenges the Pharisee’s own claims of righteousness. The toll collector implores God directly for mercy instead of staying enmeshed in the Pharisaic system of clean and unclean. In doing so, the toll collector threatens the very economic system that profits the Pharisee.
To the shock of His audience, Jesus says the toll collector, not the religious Pharisee, is the one who receives mercy and justification from God. (Ironically, the Pharisee is everything he accuses the toll collector of being.) Even though the toll collector can never repay who he cheated because he does not know the people from whom he extracted the tolls, he is still forgiven despite the impossibility of reparations. That, too, would have shocked the listeners’ ears.
Why does Jesus tell this story? He casts a spotlight on the excesses and corruption of the religious leaders. He zeros in on who the oppressors are. He points the peasants to the problem and helps them name it: oppression. It is only when a problem is named that a solution can be found. Armed with this realization, the peasant population just might try to change this unjust system. And that is what the religious leaders fear: an uprising that would dethrone their power and rob them of their ill-gained riches.
The Pharisees understood this parable and its accusations against them. It instilled fear in them, fear that Jesus was turning the crowd against them. While Jesus helped the peasants identify the problem of oppression that was killing them, the religious leaders were plotting their own solution to kill this problem called Jesus.
As part of His mission, Jesus came to free the oppressed (Luke 4:18). The Pharisees would have none of that.
NOTE: Unfortunately, oppression is all too common and not just in Bible times. Today, laws that seek to take away our individual rights, such as bodily autonomy and being able to get the medical care we need, are indeed oppressive. Oppressive laws and the underlying attitudes supporting them impact women, people of color, immigrants, the LGBTQA+ community including trans people, pregnant people, as well as other minority groups. Standing up for the oppressed is what Jesus did. We must go and do likewise.
NOTE: Inspiration for this blog is from Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed by William R. Herzog II.
NOTE: June is Pride Month. Check out history.com.
Text and photograph copyright © 2024 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. The two characters in this parable are opposites but they both reflect the corrupt societal system at work. This photo is of the swirling reflection of the mountains with a hint of color from a setting sun, taken on Trollfjord in the Lofoten Islands, Norway.
Not a subscriber to the monthly blog posts? Click here to subscribe. Subscribers receive an email each month that includes the post with the lead photo as well as bonus photos not posted on the website. Email addresses are never sold or shared.
A NOTE ON SOCIAL JUSTICE:
Jesus says the greatest commandments are to love God and to love people (Matthew 22:37-40). The Christian faith boils down to these two precepts.
Social justice puts that love into action by helping individuals who are oppressed, mistreated, or suffering, and by pursuing ways to dismantle systems of oppression. How we treat others, particularly those less powerful in society than ourselves, matters (Matthew 25:31-46).
Racial justice is one aspect of social justice. Check out my web page on “Justice Matters” to find resources and to connect with organizations engaging in the cause of racial justice. Click here to learn more.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
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