Reading Scripture Like a Tax Collector

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men...’But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” (Luke 18:10-13) The parable of the Pharisee and tax collector is not just about prayer. It is a parable about many aspects of life. It is about how we approach God. It is about how we live, as is evident from Jesus’ concluding statement in Luke 18:14. When we read this parable, we should not limit it by saying it’s about this one thing. We are to embrace the humility of the tax collector and allow this parable to shape our lives in multiple ways.

We should allow this parable to inform how we read and approach Scripture. Humans are tempted to see things through an us vs. them lens. We want to think well of ourselves while putting others down. This was the very reason why Jesus told the parable.

“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.” (Luke 18:9) If we’re not careful, we can read Scripture like this. We can think, “I am glad I’m not like those people.” I am glad I’m not like the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness. I am glad I’m not like the people of God who were exiled because of idolatry and refusing to care for orphans, widows, and foreigners. I am glad I’m not like the crowd who cried, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” This is not how we are to read Scripture. The point of Scripture is that we are like all of these people. We are human like them, and unless we recognize this, we will repeat the same mistakes they did.

We are to see ourselves in the story of Scripture. We should not use Scripture to attack others while making ourselves look good. We come to Scripture to be transformed. We come to Scripture with a sense of humility. We come to Scripture to become more like Jesus. The only way this transformation into the image of Christ happens is if we approach the text with the correct posture and attitude. We must follow the example of the tax collector. We must read the text like the tax collector, not the Pharisee. We must recognize that any of these stories could be about us. We can grumble like Israel. We can fall short like David. We can even be found in the midst of a crowd crying out against the very person who can save us.

Whenever we open the Bible, we should begin by praying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”