De’Aisha Waller
Professor Trokan
Religion 102
November 11, 2013

"For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." This one sentence summary found at the very end of Luke 18:9-14 should give us all a good slap in the face. This particular passage is of vital importance in the Christian walk. Luke 18:9-14 tells us about a Pharisee and a tax collector who both go to a temple to pray. The Pharisee stands before God praying about himself; he thanks God that he is not like other men and women and that he is not like the tax collector beside him. At the same time, the tax collector lays himself down before the Lord praying that God have mercy on him, a sinner. Recognizing his sin and unworthiness the tax collector humbles himself and asks for the Lords mercy; which brings him forgiveness and peace. The Pharisee on the other hand looks down upon the tax collector and even thanks God that he is not like other men and women. This sense of self drives a wedge in the Pharisees relationship to God and also brings wrath and judgment upon himself. As I read this passage I found myself saying, "I must remain humble." Asking that question daily in every situation and circumstance will help each to avoid a mind set of self-righteousness as seen in Luke 18:9-14. (cf. Forerunner Commentary)

The historical context of Luke is fairly interesting. Upon reading the gospels one might conclude that Matthew, Mark and Luke all pretty much say the same thing. This is slightly true; the gospels' sole purpose is centered on the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus. However, the gospel of Luke begins by dedicating the writing to Theophilus in order that he might know that what was taught was trustworthy and true. It is thought that the gospel of Luke was written in order to stress the fact that the events he described in his gospel were real and actually did happen. The author of Luke's purpose for writing might have been to counter the notion that the stories of Jesus circulating throughout the early church were just myth and legend. (Smith)There are a few notable differences between the gospel of Luke and the other gospels. Matthew and Mark were both written around 60 AD while Luke was written some time after that.

The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector is also unique to the gospel of Luke; of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John this parable is only found in Luke. I find it interesting that the gospel of Luke contains 45 parables, 28 of which are found in the gospel of Matthew. The gospel of Matthew contains 50 parables while the gospel of Mark has only 10 parables, 9 of which are also found in Matthew. The gospel of John has a fair amount of parables but none of them can be found in any other gospel. I think it is fairly safe to say that the gospel of Luke was written for a specific reason and task.
The gospel of Luke (specifically Chapter 18:9-14) has much to offer and teach us. (Randle)The teachings directly before and after Luke 18:9-14 are vital to understanding what the Lord has to teach us in this passage. , Luke wrote this gospel in such a way that it would be an orderly account. If it is an orderly account of all things than it can be said that Luke 18:1-8 is step 1, Luke 18:9-14 is step 2 and Luke 18:15-17 is step 3. If step 2 (our passage about being humble and not being self righteous) is the desired outcome then step 1 (Gods elect crying out to him day and night in prayer) is what we must do first to get there. Though being humble and not self-righteous is a great goal and even greater attribute it is still only step 2. If someone practices step 1 (crying out to God in prayer) then they shall arrive at step 2 (being humble and not self-righteous) and step 2 shall help us to reach step 3 (receiving the kingdom of God like a little child). Receiving the kingdom of God as a little child is the end result of practicing the first two steps on a daily basis. One could say that it is the ultimate goal, seeing that Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." We all want to enter the kingdom of God; being likened to a child is a great step in that process. (Egelkraut) If someone were to ask "how do I become like a child?" the proper response would be, "you must become humble." Humility is not just found or chosen however, it requires crying out to God and praying. This is portrayed by the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14. His crying out and praying to God (step 1) was a show of his humility (step 2) and that humility likens him to a child (step 3), who ultimately finds his way into the kingdom of God. The Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14 however, does not even understand step 1. His prayer consisted of thanking God for making him righteous, for making him unlike other men and women who were evil doers, robbers and adulterers. His self-righteous mind set blocked him from receiving justification from God. He held himself above the rest of Gods children when Christ Jesus himself spent all of his time with the very type of people that the Pharisee looked down upon. The Pharisee did not cry out to God in prayer. As far as God was concerned the Pharisee was more lost than any of them; for the Pharisee was lost but believed he was found. Is it not better to be lost and know you are lost? The tax collector could be put in this category of one who is lost but knows it. His lost a weary soul lead him to his crying out to God in prayer. The Pharisee was blind to his own depraved and wicked ways. This led him to pride and self-righteousness.

"For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:14) This verse is very powerful and speaks volumes about the way society should live. According to Strong's Concordance the word humble here means to make low or bring low; to level, reduce to a plain; to lower, depress; of one's soul bring down one's pride; to have a modest opinion of one's self; to behave in an unassuming manner; devoid of all haughtiness. The word humble obviously has much to do with having a proper view of ones self. Having a proper view of self leads to a proper attitude and lifestyle of living, which is below God and below others. We are called to be servants to God and to Gods children who are our brothers and sisters. Being humble is of great importance and without humility the Christian walk is nothing more than a religion to comfort our own self-righteousness. (Blue Letter Bible)

The word humble in this pericope has the Strong's Number G5013. It matches the Greek word Ï"ÃŽÃ'±Ãâ'¬ÃŽÃ'µÃŽÃ'¹ÃŽÃ'½Ã¡Ã'½Ã'¹Ã"° (tapeinoÃ...Ã'), which occurs 18 times throughout 11 verses in the Greek concordance of the NASB bible. Some other like verses using the same Strong's Number are found in Matthew 18:4, 23:12, Luke 14:11, James 4:10 and Philippians 2:8. Each of these verses shows us the importance of humility and how one lives out a life in humility. A great supporting verse for this word study is Philippians 2:8, "And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross!" Jesus Christ himself shows us the way to humility. It was Gods will that Jesus die on the cross. Jesus had asked God the father to spare him from being beaten and nailed to the cross. But Gods will was final and rather than fighting God or puffing up his chest, "Jesus humbled himself and became obedient." Jesus above any other person had the right to be self-righteous but he was not. In fact Jesus was just the opposite; he was completely humble to the point of washing his disciples feet and even dying on the cross. (Blue Letter Bible)

My conclusions to the study of this pericope and the word studies within are life changing. In my thesis questions and statements it was clear to me that one must strive to be humble. I have found that being humble is far more than a mental decision however. My first question was, "am I humble?" The answer to this question was far more complex and larger than any answer should be. Thus, I concluded that however humble I may be there is always an abundance of opportunity for improvement. In this area of growth, I have learned that one should never compare himself/herself to another human being. This is the initial spark that catches fire to the mind set of self-righteousness. Our spiritual walk and level of humility to Christ is between us and Christ; no one else. It has been made ever clear to me that humility like many other things is only seen through actions. My analysis of the Pharisee and the tax collector has shown me that our physical actions alone show the condition and position of our heart and souls.

This answer and conclusion led me to the second set of questions which deals with response and application. "How do/will I avoid exalting myself?" and "How can I exalt the image and glory of God?" I have found that these questions are unlike the first. These questions require daily and even individual momentarily speculation and reflection. In every situation we face we must ask ourselves if we are glorifying ourselves or Christ. A spirit of humility demands continual work, reflection and proper spiritual perspective.

The work involved is all-encompassing. Work must be done mentally, physically and even emotionally. To avoid exalting ourselves we must continually, in every instance, work to exalt Christ. The glory is his; the more we pound that fact into our brains the better our growth in humility will be.

Reflection is a must when trying to gain humility. Rejecting reflection and meditation will lead us to a path of sin and self-righteousness. Recalling the 6 parts of Luke reminds me that Jesus had times of preparation. Jesus would spend time in prayer alone reflecting upon his actions both in the present time and for the future. In order to succeed in our goal of gaining humility we must do as Jesus did. He is the ultimate example and each part of his life and ministry is given in order for us to follow him. If Jesus spent time preparing his heart, mind and body to act in a Godley way then so must we.

Lastly, proper spiritual perspective is of utter significance in our walk toward greater humility. As we have read in Luke 18:9-14, the Pharisee had a wrong and sinful spiritual perspective while the tax collector had a justifiable and honorable spiritual perspective. This spiritual perspective involves seeing God in a proper way. When we see God in a proper way then we can see his children properly. When we find ourselves puffed up to God, taking life on by ourselves and doing good works for our own sake then we are long overdue for a dosage of being humbled. Our good works are to glorify God and our life is to be fully submitted to him in every aspect. Any other recipe will result in self-righteousness.

Therefore, our greatest goal should be to learn and keep a proper view of God. When we strive for a proper view of God our goal for gaining humility will come naturally. We must remember however, that goals are not reached by metal decision but rather by living and practicing the correct steps in an orderly way. Step 3 is never accomplished without having first practiced step 1. Humility is only the second goal in a 4 part process. To gain humility we must first cry out to God in prayer. Being likened to a child in order to receive the kingdom of God is only attained after first calling out to God in prayer and thereby gaining humility by doing so. Having a proper view of God is ultimately reached only by first calling out to God in prayer with humility and thereby being likened to the nature of a child. Understanding Luke 18:9-14 requires daily work/practice, reflection/meditation and having a proper spiritual view. Each in an orderly fashion just as Luke as arranged his gospel. I believe that this will help us answer the thesis questions, "How will I avoid exalting myself?" and "How will I exalt Christ?"

References
Forerunner Commentary. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2009, from Bibletools.org: http://bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Bible.show/sVerseID/25698/eVerseID/25703

Randle, R. (n.d.). Chronology of the Parables of Jesus. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from xomba.com: http://www.xomba.com/chronology_parables_jesus

Robertson, A. (n.d.). The Gospel of Luke. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from internationalstandardbible.com: http://www.internationalstandardbible.com/L/luke-the-gospel-of.html

Smith, B. D. (n.d.). The Gospel of Luke. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from The New Testament and its Context: http://www.abu.nb.ca/Courses/NTIntro/Luke.htm

Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for tapeinoÃ...Ã' (Strong's 5013)". Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2009. 6 Dec 2009. < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/ lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G5013&t=KJV >