Last Friday, I spent my night watching a short movie called, “Jump Shot: The Kenny Sailors Story”. This incredible film depicted the life of the 1930’s basketball superstar. If you’re anything like me, you’re most likely asking, “who is this guy and why did they make a movie on his shooting technique?”. It’s alright, I’ve played basketball my whole life and I couldn’t come up with an answer either.
Before I go any further, did you know - for the first forty or so years of basketball’s existence, players would shoot the basketball without jumping? They would throw the ball towards the hoop with both feet planted on the ground. Once again, if you are like me, I had NO clue! I was in awe when I learned that. This realization brought the inspiring true story of Kenny Sailors to life. He radically changed the game as we all know it today by originating the “jump shot”.
Without knowing the style of how basketball was played previously to Kenny Sailor’s jump shot, I would’ve always assumed that it was normal to shoot the basketball while jumping in the air. This brings me to my point: context is key. It gives meaning by shining light on important surrounding details. A lack of context will result in a lack of understanding.
Before diving into the meaning of the Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector, it is essential that we spend time unraveling the core contextual clues that are necessary to know for our study. The parable is a story told within a larger story, the Bible. We must not simply read the story, but study it.
Jesus was on his last trip from Galilee to Jerusalem (Luke 17:11). He passed through Samaria, then went to the east of the Jordan River before going to Jericho (Mark 10:1). After telling the Parable of the Persistent Widow, he went on to share the Parable of Two Men Who Prayed – also known as the Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector. Jesus wanted to call out those who thought of themselves as self-righteous and looked down on others, which were the Pharisees.
Pharisees displayed a meticulous devotion to Jewish law. In this parable, he went beyond his fellows, fasting more often than was required, and giving a tithe on all he received rather than ten percent. Additionally, they were confident in their religiosity for salvation.
Tax Collectors worked alongside the Roman government collecting tolls and taxes. They were despised and hated. They were regarded as sinners. Also, many were dishonest and abused the system, which explains why they were disliked so greatly.
We could spend several days sifting through contextual clues, details, and meaning, but this is a good foundation for our continued studies. As a reminder, the Bible is the Word of God, literally "God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16), and we are commanded to read, study, and understand it. By looking carefully look at the context and using the entirety of Scripture as a reference, we can understand the meaning of our passage at hand.
Heavenly Father, use your word to convict and correct. Show me in your word how I am falling short. Search my heart. Cleanse me from my sin. Wash me clean with the truth of your Word and draw me closer to you. Amen.
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