Did Jesus Preach the Gospel of Evangelicalism?

It has been argued that Luke 18:9-14 is evidence that Jesus did preach the Evangelical Gospel. The Lukan passage is as follows:

9 And he said to some, the ones having put confidence in themselves that they are righteous and despising others, this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee having stood, to himself was praying these things: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, swindlers, unrighteous, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice during the week, I tithe everything as much as I get.’ 13 But the tax collector having stood at a distance was not willing even the eyes to raise up to heaven, but was beating his chest saying ‘God, have mercy on me the sinner.’ 14 I say to you, this one went down having been justified to his house rather than that one, because everyone exalting himself will be humbled, but the one humbling himself will be exalted.”

The standard Evangelical gloss on this passage is to claim (from verse 11) that the Pharisee is a moral man (he doesn’t swindle, he isn’t unrighteous, he doesn’t commit adultery, he isn’t a tax collector) and to claim (from verse 12) that he is a religious (he fasts and tithes). The point Jesus is making is that one is not justified by being righteous even if that righteousness is God-given—after all, it is pointed out that the Pharisee is thanking God for his righteousness. This standard Evangelical gloss further bolsters its position by appealing to Luke 17:10 where after having done all that is commanded, we are admonished to say we are only “worthless slaves”. Also, the ruler in Luke 18:18-30 claims to have righteousness only to be told by Jesus that he still lacks.

I find serious problems with this gloss. First, I question the assumption that Jesus sees the Pharisee as a moral man. In verse 9 there is an important “and” added to the description of those who put confidence in themselves on account of their (perceived) righteousness. The “and” adds to the description those who “despise others”. No one would want to claim that despising others is a mark of the moral man. That this “despising others” is important is proved by what Jesus says at the end of the passage: exalting oneself is bad—notice the clue about the tax collector standing “at a distance” which proves his humility. Notice also, that the Pharisee is not said to be righteous by Luke (the narrator) or by Jesus (the parable teller). The Pharisee’s so-called righteousness is only learned from his own mouth, which is dubious evidence indeed. It also ought to be noted that nothing in the parable assumes that the tax collector remains a sinner after his pentitent prayer. I would think that Jesus is commending his humility, not his sinfulness.

Furthermore, in Luke 11:39-44 when Jesus confronts real Pharisees, he grants that they have a modicum of outward righteousness but they need to be clean on the inside too. Significantly, Jesus chastises the Pharisees for tithing mint, rue and herbs but neglecting justice and Love of God. The mark of tithing is precisely one of the traits the Pharisee in the chapter 18 parable advances in his favor. Equally significant, the real Pharisees are chastised in chapter 11 for loving exaltation which is exactly the sin Jesus admonishes in the chapter 18 parable.

I also take issue with the other Lukan passages which the standard gloss advances. In Luke 17:10 the point is not that doing all the commandments is not to be encouraged , but the point is that in doing all the commandments one is only doing one’s duty and should not be exalted on that account. The ruler in Luke 18 is not chastised for obeying the commandments he lists but that he needs to do more. Jesus doesn’t say the one thing he lacks is “faith” but what he does say is “sell all, give to the poor, follow me”. Jesus is not saying that righteousness is useless, but that the ruler needs more righteousness.

Therefore, I think the evidence is overwhelming that the Pharisee in the parable of Luke 18 is NOT a moral man and so the whole edifice of the standard Evangelical gloss simply cannot get going. The point of the parable is not that righteousness is bad but that what is needed is MORE righteousness. The upshot is that one cannot refer to Luke 18:9-14 as evidence that Jesus preached the Evangelical Gospel.