35- The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God, Amen

Lesson No. (35)

References
Luke 18:10-14.

Notes for Servants
-Jesus told us this parable to teach us in a simple way the centre of the Christian live which is
humility.
-It is very difficult to teach humility if you do not practice it, and you can not practice it unless you
believe in it.

Objectives
General: Humility.
Specific:
The children will be able to
A. Understand humility in Christianity.
B. Learn how to pray and confess their sins while they pray.
C. Believe that God will forgive them if they confess what they did wrong.

Bible Verse

“God be merciful to me a sinner.”
( Luke 18:13 )

Teaching Aids
None.

Instruction
(1) Review last week's lesson.
(2) Who remembers the verse?
(3) Remind the children about the church occasions for the coming week.
(4) Servant may ask the following question: Who collects taxes? Why are taxes collected?
(5) Teacher should prepare the appropriate questions to emphasize the objectives during the
lesson.

Story Time
Jesus told this parable to people who thought they might be better than others. One of the men in
Jesus* story was a Pharisee. A Pharisee was a member of a religious group who obeyed very strict rules
and practices about their Jewish religion. Many of these rules were the peoples’ ideas, not God’s. Some
of the Pharisees cared more about keeping rules than they cared about other people or showing God that
they loved Him.
The other man in Jesus* story was a tax collector. Most Jewish people did not like tax collectors
because tax collectors made them pay money to the Roman government. Each tax collector had a certain
amount he was responsible for paying to the government, but he could collect as much as he wanted from
the people. Some of them overcharged people and cheated them..
It was the custom for Jewish people to go to the temple three times a day to pray. Jesus* story
began with the Pharisee and the tax collector going to pray in the temple.
The Pharisee stood up and prayed aloud to God, but he prayed mostly about himself. He told God
that he was not like robbers or evildoers, and he was thankful for that. Looking around and seeing the tax
collector who had also come to pray, the Pharisee thanked God that he was not like him. The Pharisee
reminded God that he went without food for two meals every week and that he gave a tenth of his income
to the temple.
The tax collector stood at a distance from everyone. Perhaps he did not want to be noticed since
he knew a lot of people did not like him. When he prayed, the tax collector did not lift his face toward
heaven. He bowed his head and hit his chest in sorrow. He asked God to be kind to him though he said
he did not deserve God’s forgiveness. He admitted that he had broken God’s law and had not done what
God had wanted him to do. He confessed his sins and didn’t try to make excuses for himself.
Jesus said that the tax collector went home from the temple with his sins forgiven. The tax collector
compared himself to God and knew that he had not done what God expected of him. He admitted that
he had done wrong. That’s how God wants us to pray, not with pride, but with humility.

Discussion
1 - Follow up the story by talking about it with the children.
2 - Continue the discussion while the do the activity.

Learning Activities
Activity Sheet.