Gospel in Art: The tax collector, not the Pharisee, went home justified

The Tax Collectors, by Quinten Massys. Painted in late 1520s. © Liechtenstein Collection, Vaduz

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 23 October 2022
Luke 18:9-14

Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else: 'Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, "I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get." The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." This man, I tell you, went home again at rights with God; the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.'

Reflection on the painting

Today's Flemish painting depicts a tax collector in his office and a man paying his taxes (he is not looking too pleased!). How do we know that the man on the left is a tax collector and not an accountant, for example? First, all the riches shown are a clue: money and jewellery on the table, a lavish brooch on the head-dress, a fur edged coat, all indicating excess. Most importantly, however, scholars have been able to read what the man wrote in his book: the sequence of lines lists excise receipts for wine, beer, fish, using words such as weigh-house ('weghe' in Flemish), market ('halle'), ferries ('veren') etc… The activity therefore listed, is the business of tax farming. So the man holding the pen is a city tax official. The other man, who looks straight at us, is in the uncomfortable position of being audited: he will have to pax his tax. So he looks rather annoyed and points towards the book, perhaps thinking 'Do I have to pay all this?' The purse that he holds is emptied, whilst the official is counting the coins he gave him.

The Pharisees were the strict Jews. Whilst they believed and were highly disciplined, sometimes their observance of the Law made them feel as though they were above everybody else: superior and more important. Feeling confident in their own righteousness, they were tempted to become self-righteous, which is an entirely different thing altogether. Luke writes that the Pharisee was praying 'not to be like this tax collector here', which points towards a complete lack of humility.

The tax collector in our Gospel on the other hand is humble: he repents and asks God for forgiveness. He wants to grow closer to God, a beautiful act of humility by a man who was probably very much despised by those around him in society because he was a tax collector. In this parable Jesus makes the point that even a tax collector can be a wonderful, good person seeking a close relationship with God.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/

Today's reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/luke-18-9-14-2022-2/