18:9 Jesus 16 also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down 17 on everyone else. 18:10 “Two men went up 18 to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee 19 and the other a tax collector. 20 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: 21 ‘God, I thank 22 you that I am not like other people: 23 extortionists, 24 unrighteous people, 25 adulterers – or even like this tax collector. 26 18:12 I fast twice 27 a week; I give a tenth 28 of everything I get.’ 18:13 The tax collector, however, stood 29 far off and would not even look up 30 to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful 31 to me, sinner that I am!’ 32 18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified 33 rather than the Pharisee. 34 For everyone who exalts 35 himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
21:28 “What 38 do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 21:29 The boy answered, 39 ‘I will not.’ But later he had a change of heart 40 and went. 21:30 The father 41 went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered, 42 ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. 21:31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” 43 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, 44 tax collectors 45 and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God!
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the implied contrast present in this context.
2 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
3 tn Or “and their scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
4 tn Or “grumbled”; a term often used in the OT for inappropriate grumbling: Exod 15:24; 16:7-8; Num 14:2, 26-35; 16:11.
5 sn The issue here is inappropriate associations (eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners) and the accusation comes not against Jesus, but his disciples.
6 tn Grk “Behold a man.”
7 sn Neither were they happy with Jesus (the Son of Man), even though he was the opposite of John and associated freely with people like tax collectors and sinners. Either way, God’s messengers were subject to complaint.
8 tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
9 tn This is a good example of a second class (contrary to fact) Greek conditional sentence. The Pharisee said, in effect, “If this man were a prophet (but he is not)…”
10 sn The Pharisees believed in a form of separationism that would have prevented them from any kind of association with such a sinful woman.
11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
12 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
13 tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
14 tn Or “grumbling”; Grk “were complaining, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
15 tn Or “accepts,” “receives.” This is not the first time this issue has been raised: Luke 5:27-32; 7:37-50.
16 tn Grk “He”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Grk “and despised.” This is a second parable with an explanatory introduction.
18 sn The temple is on a hill in Jerusalem, so one would go up to enter its precincts.
19 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
20 sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.
21 tn Or “stood by himself and prayed like this.” The prepositional phrase πρὸς ἑαυτόν (pros eauton, “to/about himself”) could go with either the aorist participle σταθείς (staqeis, “stood”) or with the imperfect verb προσηύχετο (proshuceto, “he prayed”). If taken with the participle, then the meaning would seem at first glance to be: “stood ‘by himself’,” or “stood ‘alone’.” Now it is true that πρός can mean “by” or “with” when used with intransitive verbs such as ἵστημι ({isthmi, “I stand”; cf. BDAG 874 s.v. πρός 2.a), but πρὸς ἑαυτόν together never means “by himself” or “alone” in biblical Greek. On the other hand, if πρὸς ἑαυτόν is taken with the verb, then two different nuances emerge, both of which highlight in different ways the principal point Jesus seems to be making about the arrogance of this religious leader: (1) “prayed to himself,” but not necessarily silently, or (2) “prayed about himself,” with the connotation that he prayed out loud, for all to hear. Since his prayer is really a review of his moral résumé, directed both at advertising his own righteousness and exposing the perversion of the tax collector, whom he actually mentions in his prayer, the latter option seems preferable. If this is the case, then the Pharisee’s mention of God is really nothing more than a formality.
22 sn The Pharisee’s prayer started out as a thanksgiving psalm to God, but the praise ended up not being about God.
23 tn Here the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used as a generic and can refer to both men and women (NASB, NRSV, “people”; NLT, “everyone else”; NAB, “the rest of humanity”).
24 tn Or “swindlers” (BDAG 134 s.v. ἅρπαξ 2); see also Isa 10:2; Josephus, J. W. 6.3.4 [6.203].
25 sn A general category for “sinners” (1 Cor 6:9; Lev 19:3).
26 sn Note what the Pharisee assumes about the righteousness of this tax collector by grouping him with extortionists, unrighteous people, and adulterers.
27 sn The law only required fasting on the Day of Atonement. Such voluntary fasting as this practiced twice a week by the Pharisee normally took place on Monday and Thursday.
28 tn Or “I tithe.”
29 tn Grk “standing”; the Greek participle has been translated as a finite verb.
30 tn Grk “even lift up his eyes” (an idiom).
31 tn The prayer is a humble call for forgiveness. The term for mercy (ἱλάσκομαι, Jilaskomai) is associated with the concept of a request for atonement (BDAG 473-74 s.v. 1; Ps 51:1, 3; 25:11; 34:6, 18).
32 tn Grk “the sinner.” The tax collector views himself not just as any sinner but as the worst of all sinners. See ExSyn 222-23.
33 sn The prayer that was heard and honored was the one given with humility; in a surprising reversal it was the tax collector who went down to his home justified.
34 tn Grk “the other”; the referent (the Pharisee, v. 10) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
35 sn Everyone who exalts himself. See Luke 14:11. Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor.
36 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
37 sn The issue here is inappropriate associations. Jews were very careful about personal associations and contact as a matter of ritual cleanliness. Their question borders on an accusation that Jesus is ritually unclean.
38 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
39 tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here the referent (“the boy”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
40 tn The Greek text reads here μεταμέλομαι (metamelomai): “to change one’s mind about something, with the probable implication of regret” (L&N 31.59); cf. also BDAG 639 s.v. The idea in this context involves more than just a change of mind, for the son regrets his initial response. The same verb is used in v. 32.
41 tn “And he”; here δέ (de) has not been translated.
42 tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated. Here the referent (“this boy”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
43 tc Verses 29-31 involve a rather complex and difficult textual problem. The variants cluster into three different groups: (1) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. The second son is called the one who does his father’s will. This reading is found in the Western
44 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
45 sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.