Luke 18:12
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. - KJV
Other translations use get, gain, income
Our modern day tithe teachers quote Luke 18:12 and tell us that tithing was paid in the form of money during the time of Jesus.
Let us see what the Greek says:
Strong's Greek: 2932. κτάομαι (ktaomai) — 7 Occurrences
Example: Luke 18:12
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. - KJV
I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get - NASB
Matthew 10:9 Acquire or provide gold/silver/copper Luke 18:12 possess or get - ????? Luke 21:19 gain or possess lives/souls Acts 1:18 get or purchase or acquire land/real estate/property Acts 8:20 obtain or purchase the gift of God Acts 22:28 acquired or obtained or bought citizenship by money 1 Thessalonians 4:4 possess holiness
The rest of the 6 places where ktaomai is used, are not related to earning money as salary or wage.
Therefore it is intellectually dishonest to conclude that in Luke 18:12 ktaomai means earned income or money or salary!
Luke's style is the most literary of all these books. Graham Stanton evaluates the opening of the Gospel of Luke as "the most finely composed sentence in the whole of post-Classical Greek literature."
Knowing Dr. Luke's proficiency and the language skill in Greek, we should wonder why Luke did not use one of the other 2 Greek words for wages: "opsōnia" ὀψώνια and "misthos" μισθὸς
a) Greek word "opsōnia" ὀψώνια - wages
Example: Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. - KJV
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - NIV
Variants: Strong # http://biblesuite.com/greek/strongs_3800.htm
Luke 3:14 be content with your wages.
Romans 6:23 for the wages of sin [is] death;
1 Corinthians 9:7 his own charges? who
2 Corinthians 11:8 taking wages [of them]
b) Greek word "misthos" μισθὸς - wages
Example: James 5:4
Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. - NIV
Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, cries: and the cries of them who have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts. - KJV
Strong # http://biblesuite.com/greek/misthos_3408.htm
(7 times)
Variants: Strong # http://biblesuite.com/greek/strongs_3408.htm
(29 times)
μισθὸς (misthos) — 7 Occurrences
Matthew 5:12 your reward in heaven
Luke 6:23 your reward is great
Luke 6:35 your reward will be great,
Romans 4:4 his wage is not credited
1 Corinthians 9:18 then is my reward?
James 5:4 the pay of the laborers, the wage of the workmen, the hire of the labourers
Revelation 22:12 the reward of me with
If Jesus was talking about the self-righteous Pharisee paying tithes out of the income he had earned/salary he received, someone who was excellent in the Greek language like Luke would have used either misthos or opsōnia instead of ktaomai and Luke himself has used the other 2 words for wages elsewhere!
How to interpret Luke 18:12?
a) Scenario 1:
There was such an incident that had really happened and Jesus (reported) mentioned it in Luke 18:12 and made a parable out of it.
If that is the case, the self-righteous Pharisee paid tithes in the form of money to CHARITIES or to the POOR and not to the Levites.
Because in the Jewish tradition (which was condemned by Jesus as the "leaven of Pharisees") they paid one tenth of the income to CHARITES or to the POOR. Only in a gemara in the Jerusalem Talmud it is mentioned as "Ma'aser Kesafim". So if it was a true incident, this Pharisee was referring to tithing to the POOR or CHARITIES and NOT to the Jewish temple or paying the Levitical tithes.
Description does not equal to prescription. It is very unlikely that this Pharisee had lied to God that he had been tithing from all his possessions, "tithing from all my possessions" could be a figure of speech!
b) Scenario 2:
This was a fiction and did not really happen and Jesus made it up to prove another point in the form of a parable.
Parables are pictorial, easily grasped, quickly remembered, and attention holders. Jesus used parables to teach great theological truths. The characters mentioned in the parable were not real but they prove a point.
If this is the case, fasting twice a week and tithing from all possessions did not happen in real life but points out the prideful nature of the Pharisees and how they boasted about their own righteousness even to God!
How to interpret parables (please refer the link below):
Other facts about Luke 18:12
1. Tithing is not the primary subject of this verse. It is a passing/incidental remark to distinguish between pride and humility.
2. It does not command Christians to tithe (and Jews either!)
3. Author's (Luke's) intent was not to teach about tithing but to teach how God disapproves pride and shows mercy to the humble
The Pharisee mentioned in Luke 18:12 lived inside the Promised Land
Tithe teachers forget another important fact about tithing. In order to tithe someone need to LIVE INSIDE the promised land.
Even if we assume that Luke 18:12 is talking about a true incident and the Pharisee here was paying tithes from his wages, Christians (even Jews) living outside the promised land are still unqualified to tithe just because they live OUTIDE the promised land.
Who was justified: the tither or the non-tither?
Ultimately who was justified by God? It was the tax collector who did not claim to have tithed. God was obviously not impressed by the tithing claims of the Pharisee
Fasting twice a week:
Another important point we need to observe in Luke 18:12 is "Fast twice a week" which is overlooked by the cherry picking tithe teachers.
The Exceeding Righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees argument:
Matthew 5:20
For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Tithe teachers try to make a connection between Matthew 5:20 and Luke 18:12 and teach us that we need to exceed the righteousness of the Pharisee by paying more than 10% to the local church. In other words non-tithers will go to hell, supported by dreams, visions and visitation of certain tithe teachers. Nothing against dreams, visions or visitations, the real ones (given by the Holy Spirit) do not contradict the Bible, those who have claimed to have gotten revelations that non-tithers would go to hell obviously had fake experiences given by deceiving demonic spirits!
Since Luke 18:12 talks about "fasting twice a week", should we fast 3 times a week in order to exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees. Will a Christian go to hell for not fasting 3 times? None of the tithe teachers that we see today fast for 3 times a day but they cherry pick only the "tithing" part.
Fasting twice a week was never commanded in the Bible neither to the Jews nor for the Christians. Therefore tithing from "all possessions" falls into the same category - not commanded in the Bible.
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