Luke 18:12
I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’
BSB
ASV
I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I get.
KJV
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 120 (444)
What profit is there in fasting twice in the week if it serves only as a pretext for ignorance and vanity and makes you proud, haughty and selfish? You tithe your possessions and boast about it. In another way, you provoke God's anger by condemning and accusing other people because of this. You are puffed up, although not crowned by the divine decree for righteousness. On the contrary, you heap praises on yourself. He says, "I am not as the rest of humankind." Moderate yourself, O Pharisee. Put a door and lock on your tongue.
(19. Mor. c. 21.) So it was pride that laid bare to his wily enemies the citadel of his heart, which prayer and fasting had in vain kept closed. Of no use are all the other fortifications, as long as there is one place which the enemy has left defenceless.
I fast twice in the week,.... Not "on the sabbath", as the words may be literally rendered, and as they are in the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions; for the sabbath was not a fasting, but a feasting day with the Jews; for they were obliged to eat three meals, or feasts, on a sabbath day, one in the morning, another at evening, and another at the time of the meat offering: even the poorest man in Israel, who was maintained by alms, was obliged to keep these three feasts (f).
I give tithes of all that I possess - Or, of all I acquire, κτωμαι. Raphelius has well observed, that this verb, in the present tense, signifies to acquire - in the preter, to possess: the Pharisee’s meaning seems to be, “As fast as I gain any thing, I give the tenth part of it to the house of God and to the poor.” Those who dedicate a certain part of their earnings to the Lord should never let it rest with themselves, lest possession should produce covetousness.
I fast twice in the week - So did all the strict Pharisees: every Monday and Thursday. I give tithes of all that I possess - Many of them gave one full tenth of their income in tithes, and another tenth in alms, the sum of this plea is, I do no harm: I use all the means of grace: I do all the good I can.
The Pharisee denies himself to be a sinner; none of his neighbours can charge him, and he sees no reason to charge himself, with any thing amiss; he is clean, he is pure from sin. But the publican gives himself no other character than that of a sinner, a convicted criminal at God's bar. (2.) He has no dependence but upon the mercy of God, that, and that only, he relies upon.
The parable we have now read, is closely connected with the one which immediately precedes it. The parable of the persevering widow — teaches the value of importunity in prayer. The parable of the Pharisee and tax-collector — teaches the spirit which should pervade our prayers. The first parable encourages us to pray and never give up. The second parable reminds us how and in what manner we ought to pray. Both parables should be often pondered by every true Christian. Let us notice, firstly — the sin against which our Lord Jesus Christ warns us in these verses.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
Matthew 6:1“Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
leads to
All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.
Through
Luke 17:10So you also, when you have done everything commanded of you, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
leads to
Yet when I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am obligated to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
“Can a man be of use to God? Can even a wise man benefit Him?