Luke 18:9-14 Grasping Reality
Good morning! Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke 18:9-14, that’s on page 877 in the pew Bibles.
It appears that we are returning again to Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Sons, the two sons that squandered the blessings of their father. If you think about it, our passage for this morning is a snapshot of the heart attitudes of those two men. If we really think about it, it may also serve as a snapshot of our own hearts as well.
Let’s pray.
There are two men described in our text this morning, a Pharisee and a tax collector.
Before we get to the text let’s do a quick survey. In the Gospels, in your opinion, are the Pharisees good guys or bad guys? What about tax collectors, good guys or bad guys?
What about the opinions of Jesus’ first hearers, who would they deem to be the good guys and the bad guys?
Let’s start with the tax collectors, these guys were the enemies of the people. They were betrayers of their countrymen, collaborators with the Romans and their oppression. They were crooks, overcharging people with taxes and lining their own pockets with profits. Everybody knew this but they were powerless to do anything about it because the tax collectors were the puppets of the Romans and operated with Roman authority over the people.
The Pharisees on the other hand were the teachers and leaders of the people, these were the shepherds of Israel, holy, upright, and respected. These were the guys who knew the Law, they knew the prophets, these were the guys that the people looked up to. These were the pastors of the people!
Because we have the benefit of reading the whole story we know these guys weren’t all they were cracked up to be but at that time they were highly regarded and trusted men. When they spoke the people listened.
In the eyes of Jesus’ first hearers the Pharisees were the good guys and the tax collectors the bad guys.
Now with that in mind listen to our text, Luke 18:9-14.
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Just like last week Luke tells us right up front the reason for the parable: there were people among the hearers of Jesus that trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and they treated others with contempt.
Before we get too far let’s define our terms. What does it mean to be righteous?
To be righteous means to be in right standing before God, meaning that there is nothing disturbing a person’s relation to God such as sin or disobedience of any kind.
Now to say that a person trusts that they are righteous in themselves, meaning that there is nothing that is impeding their relation to God is to say one of two things: one, that they don’t ever sin, and never have, or two, that God doesn’t really care about sin.
Now for those of us that have read any parts of the Bible ever before or care what God has to say about it, we know that this is just not reality.
And reality is really what is at stake here.
The second term that pertains to our discussion is: contempt. Contempt means to despise something or someone based on the opinion that they are worthless or have no value. This is more than disliking a person because you have differing views on things like if they were a Yankees fan or something, this is discounting a person as being less than you and not worthy of your time and effort.
Again, to consider another person as if they are worthless and without value compared to you is a denial of reality.
To illustrate this Jesus told this parable about two men, one held in high esteem and the other a vile betrayer of his people. Both of them went up to the Temple to pray.
11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
All of a sudden the good guy doesn’t sound like such a good guy. His prayer is a prayer of self-righteousness, he had confidence in his own flesh and his own religious effort.
Jesus’ first hearers would have known that fasting was only required on day out of the year in preparation for the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. Also, tithing was only required of certain parts of a person’s income but this Pharisee claimed to give a tenth of everything that he received. This guy was going above and beyond the requirements of the Law and saw himself as better than all the filthy dregs of society around him especially that tax collector.
His prayer is dripping with arrogance, speaking almost as if God owed him thanks for all his hard work.
John Calvin wrote, “Every man that is puffed up with self-confidence carries on open war with God, to whom we cannot be reconciled in any other way than by denial of ourselves; that is, by laying aside all confidence in our own virtue and righteousness, and relying on his mercy alone.”
Let’s look at the second man that went up to pray in verse 13.
13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
Who’s the bad guy now? The Pharisee spoke as if God saw Him as righteous and worthy, the Tax Collector spoke as if God saw him as he was, guilty and unworthy.
The Tax Collector looked into the clear mirror of God’s Law, what we call the Ten Commandments, and saw himself just as he was, a lawbreaker, and begged for mercy.
This man knew the reality that he was unrighteous, unworthy of God’s blessing because he was sinner. He wasn’t even willing to raise his eyes to heaven as he prayed, but pounded his chest in humility.
Jesus said, 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
To be justified means to be acquitted of your crimes, to have your guilt removed, and to be set free. This is the summary of all the good which the praying sinner can hope to gain from the Holy God.
Psalm 32:1-2 says, Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Who has the hope to gain this privilege, the one who prays like the Pharisee or the one who prays like the Tax Collector?
JJ VanOosterzee wrote, “Every natural man is more or less like the Pharisee; whoever learns to know himself as a sinner is, on the other hand, like the Tax Collector.”
The truth is, we may find in our own hearts a mix of both, but which heart attitude rules most often?
That’s a question only you can answer.
17th Century theologian Pasquier Quesnel wrote, “If wretched men knew themselves aright they would not thus so easily despise others.”
Jesus said, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
It was CS Lewis that famously said, “True humility is not thinking less of oneself, it’s thinking of oneself less.” At the risk of incurring the wrath of CS Lewis lovers everywhere, I respectfully disagree.
True humility is the acceptance of reality, the reality of our true standing before God. That’s what the Tax Collector did, he honestly recognized and admitted his guilt before God.
The Pharisee compared himself to other people and judged himself to be worthy of God’s acceptance while the Tax Collector compared himself to a holy God and saw himself as woefully inadequate because of his sin.
Which of the two men had a true grasp on reality? How is your grasp on reality?
Are you counting on your own efforts to make you right before God, your church attendance, your faithful tithing, your regular service to the church?
Do you consider yourself better than those who are outside of your own religious bubble or who clearly aren’t as faithful as you if they are faithful at all?
Do you even see a need for you to be forgiven or do you think that God loves you so much that He doesn’t care about your sin?
Or, will you accept the reality that you are a sinner in need of God’s mercy?
When we dishonor God, when we lie, when we cheat, when we steal, when we hate, we sin and fall short of God’s glory.
Begging for God’s mercy means to beg to not get what we deserve for our sin, for God to withhold His punishment. But God did not withhold His punishment for sin, He poured it out on Jesus on the cross instead of us, and that is a gift that we do not deserve but He gives it to us anyway.
Every person stands equal at the foot of the cross, there is no room for boasting. The two men in the parable compared themselves, one to other men, and one to the holiness of God. One relied on himself and his effort, and one solely on the grace of God.
In humility let us all embrace the reality that we are all desperately in need of God’s mercy that He graciously bestowed to us through faith in Jesus.
Amen.
