...and he stood, praying this to himself...
Brian E. Wilson (brian@twonh.demon.co.uk)
Thu, 17 Apr 1997 09:05:43 +0100
In message , Mike A Porter <nikeo@juno.com> writes
>PROS EAUTON TAUTA PROSHUXETO
>
>Luke 18:11
>
>Has anyone got an opinion as to who the Pharisee was praying to? It
>seems that the prayer is terminating on the Pharisee, rather than this
>being a reference to the Pharisee praying off by himself. I say this
>for what appears to be obvious contextual reasons, and they are: 1) He
>was praying in such a way to be noticed, and Jesus seems to be mocking
>him, saying that his prayer was ineffective since it did not leave him.
>It almost is as if Jesus is saying that he was a god unto himself, but
>that is interpretation, and not grammar.
>
>So, how do you all read this passage? Is he talking to himself in the
>sense of thinking out loud, or is Jesus saying that he is praying to
>himself?
>
According to C. F. Evans and others, custom required that prayer at the
temple was spoken aloud (as it still is at the Western "Wailing" Wall
today). I think Jesus may have been depicting the Pharisee as sincerely
self-righteous and unable to see that he was praying to himself, and not
to God. PROS hEAUTON does not seem to me to be ambiguous - literally
"towards himself".
The irony is world-shattering. The orthodox Pharisee who was sure his
relationship with God was good, was blind to his predicament. On the
other hand, the excommunicated tax-collector who knew his relationship
with God was wrong, could see. No wonder the Pharisees branded Jesus
as "Friend of tax-collectors and sinners", and wanted to kill him!
Brian E. Wilson
Please visit my home-page:
http://www.twonh.demon.co.uk