Text: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35).
Was there a time in your life when you got up early while it was still dark, left the house to find a quiet secluded place where only you and God would be present? I pray before I leave the house and then I pray en-route to where I am going. I have prayed for safety before leaving for vacation or even a short trip.
I have a real comfortable feeling when it is just the Lord and I. The peace that comes over me gives me assurance that all is well, that I need not fear, that I need not worry, because I am in good hands. It is the kind of feeling that is felt by a child who cuddles up in the arms of a parent.
Jesus was always in contact with His Father through prayer. As the Scripture says, He liked to be alone with Almighty God. Luke tells us: “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (6:12).
Jesus prayed before any event in His life. He prayed before making any decisions. He prayed for the people of His day and especially for the people who followed Him.
He prayed all night before choosing those men who would be close to Him and would be considered the inner circle. “When morning came, He called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles” (Luke 6:13).
Jesus thought it was of utmost importance to contact the Father before making His final decision in picking the right twelve men who would carry on His work. It is interesting to note that He just didn’t shoot up a quick prayer, but He prayed all night.
Have you ever prayed all night? I have never prayed that long, but I wonder what marvelous revelation would come about if I did. Would I ever be the same?
Would I see that which I had never seen before? Would my experience bring about such a change that my friends would notice something spectacularly or radically different about me?
What would I talk to God about? I have never talked to God for more than a few minutes at any one time. I do talk to Him numerous times throughout the day. Are my short prayers or conversations with my Father not as good or not as important as long ones?
I believe God is more interested in content than length. He is interested in our truthfulness and sincerity. In all honesty, God is interested in listening to us regardless of how long or short our conversation may be.
He listens to us if we are praying within a group of people just as He listens when it is one-on-one. He is present with us in the church setting just as He is present with us in the wide open spaces of the countryside. The point is He is always present with us because He lives within our heart in the Person of the Holy Spirit.
There were people in Jesus’ day who thought they were better than other people. We have the same situation today. There are people this day who are overly confident as far as their goodness goes. In other words, they tend to look down upon others because they consider themselves superior and others inferior.
These egotistical people fail to realize that we are all God’s creation and He didn’t make one of us more valuable than the other. We were all made in His image. We are all sinners saved by grace. With Him we can do all things, but without Him we can do nothing. We cannot save ourselves. We all belong to Him just as earthly children belong to their earthly father.
In our Scripture reading this morning, Jesus talks about two men who prayed. Both men went to the temple to pray. In Jesus day, people who lived near the temple often went there to pray. I don’t think their prayers were heard any more or any sooner and I don’t think their prayers were any more accepted by God just because they prayed in the temple, but it so happens that the temple was the center of worship.
We may live near our church today, but we don’t go there on a daily basis to pray. In fact, our church doors are locked, so we wouldn’t be able to enter even if we wanted to. It is a shame this has to be the way, but some people have a tendency to steal and destroy without giving consideration to the meaning of the building or its’ contents. Just because the building is called a church does not prevent them from such sinful acts.
Two men went to the temple to pray and we are told that one was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. Some versions use the terms Pharisee and Publican.
In the New Testament, the Pharisee is often looked at in a negative way. The Pharisees were one of the three outstanding or leading societies of Judaism when Jesus walked upon the earth. The other two societies were the Sadducees and the Essenes. When we consider the three society groups, the Pharisees were probably the most influential group during Jesus time.
It is true that Jesus did refer to the Pharisees as “….brood of vipers” (Matthew 3:7). He also condemned them for their self-righteousness (Matthew 5:20). In other words, the Pharisees were willing to follow the laws outwardly, but did not let God change their heart. They looked good on the outside, but on the inside they were far from God. They were more concerned about doing things for and by themselves instead of letting God take control of their life.
These Pharisees did not know they were lost. Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” (Matthew 9:12). They did not consider themselves to be sick or to be lost. They did not want to hear what Jesus had to say, but instead, they tried to trap Him when He associated with the tax collectors and the sinners. The Pharisees thought that appearing holy was better than helping those in need.
Jesus was more concerned about helping people who were hurting, those on the broad road, and those whose lives were being influenced by the devil. Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 1910). The Pharisees thought they could save themselves, but Jesus knew this was not so.
Jesus is carrying on the same work today. He does not want our pride and our ego to occupy first place in our life. He does not want us to leave Him out of our life. He wants us to walk with Him down the straight and narrow road of this earthly life.
Jesus wants us to stay in contact with Him through daily communication by prayer to our Heavenly Father. He wants us to follow the words in red, to trust Him, believe in Him, to accept Him as our own personal Lord and Savior, and to spend eternity with Him in His kingdom.
The Pharisees accused Jesus of blasphemy. They said, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone” (Luke 5:21). They said these things after Jesus healed the paralytic and told him his sins have been forgiven.
The Pharisees also placed Jesus in the same class with the devil. They said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons” (Matthew 9:34). They also accused Jesus of being friends to the outcasts, sinners, and the wicked. They should really have accepted Jesus instead of opposing Him, but this was not the case.
Jesus did not follow their religious authority or their religious ways. He challenged what they were doing and the beliefs they were teaching people. In other words, Jesus exposed their ulterior motives. They were not happy with Jesus and therefore tried to trap Him at every opportunity.
All the Pharisees were not bad or self-righteous. There were some Pharisees who joined the Christian movement. Acts 6:7 says, “Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith”.
You have heard of the man named Nicodemus. “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews….who came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (John 3:1, 2).
Nicodemus, which means “Conqueror of the People,” was a respected and influential Pharisee. He was a brilliant man who knew the Jewish law, but he also knew Jesus was different and special.
The apostle Paul was a Pharisee from birth. Paul said, “They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee” (Acts 26:5).
Paul persecuted the Christians without mercy. He was a very dangerous individual. He was brilliant, having studied under the great Gamaliel, he knew God’s Word, but he disliked the Christians. He was convinced Christians were a threat to Judaism. He believed that what he was doing was right, but God had a different idea.
God had a different plan for Paul’s life. He met Jesus on the road to Damascus, saw the Light, and his life was never the same. He helped shape the history of Christian faith. He carried the message to the non-Jews while Peter carried the message to the Jewish people.
I tell you all this because I want you to know that the Pharisee who went to the temple to pray was not necessarily a bad person. He undoubtedly followed the Law and contributed his share of income to the work of God. He was a Godly person, an honest person, and a person of good character. He had good intentions when he went to the temple to pray.
I want to talk a little bit about the other man who went with him to the temple. The other man was a tax collector or Publican. In Jesus day, there appears to have been two classes of publicans. One class is the “chief of the publicans” and the other is the “ordinary publican” which is the lowest class.
Zacchaeus is an example of the “chief of the publicans” while Levi is an example of the “ordinary publican”. The story of Zacchaeus is found in Luke, chapter 19 and Levi (Matthew) is found in Luke 5:27. Levi or Matthew is the one Jesus called to be one of His disciples.
Inside the temple, the Pharisee got up and prayed about himself. He said, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector” (Luke 18:10-11).
Look at these two verses for a moment. What tiny little word stands out? It is the letter or word “I”. It does not sound as though he was praying and praising God, but it sounds like he is very much concerned about himself. He did say “God, I thank You”, but his thoughts are really upon himself and not upon God.
He talks about fasting twice a week, but God already knows that. Then he reminds God that he gives a tenth of all he gets. He places the tax collector in the same class with robbers, evildoers, and adulterers. He is telling God and all the other people in the temple that he is better than all these other people. He is tooting his own horn. He is blowing hot air into his bubble. The Pharisee is not praying to God, but he is praying to himself.
The tax collector or publican is a very humble and down to earth person. Scripture says, “But the tax collector stood at a distance” (v. 13). In other words, he wanted to be in a more or less solitary place with God. He wanted to speak to God on a one-to-one basis. He was speaking from his heart and not from his mouth. The tax collector was not talking about himself or other people. He was not concerned about standing close to other people so they could hear him, but he was concerned about standing in close proximity with His Father whom he could praise, worship, and commune or talk with.
He was such a humble, modest, or meek man that “He would not even look up to heaven….”(v. 13). The tax collector knew he was a sinner and he begged God for His mercy. He did not claim self-righteousness. He did not have an inflated ego. He didn’t claim to “holier than thou”. His pride was not in himself, but it was in Almighty God.
The tax collector pounded upon his own chest as he looked down to the earth. He pleaded to have his soul cleansed. He wanted to be accepted by God. He wanted God’s grace. He desired God’s mercy because he knew he was a sinner.
The Pharisee’s life was built upon himself and things of the world while the tax collector life was centered on God. Since the time of the Pharisee and the tax collector, nothing in the world has changed. I am saying we have Pharisees today and we have tax collectors.
The Pharisees of today are the people whose life centers on themselves and the world. The publican or tax collectors are the people whose life is built upon the words written in red. They walk daily with God. Their trust, faith, obedience, and love follow the same course as that which Jesus had for His Father.
Jesus loves everyone. He may not agree with some of the things they do, but He still loves them. You see, these two men praying in the temple were just like people today. The one man, the Pharisee despised people. He said he was glad for not being like the unworthy folks. He stood close to them so that they would hear and know how he felt.
The publican or tax collector stood far away from the other people in the temple because he considered himself unworthy of their friendship. That is why he could not look up to heaven in prayer. He was so humble that he cried out to God for forgiveness and mercy.
Conclusion:
How do you and I compare to these two men who went to the temple to pray?
Are we like the Pharisee or are we like the publican?
Are we self-righteous or are we humble?
Are we living worldly or are we living heavenly?
Are we condemning people or are we loving people?
Do we pray to honor ourselves and inflate our ego or do we pray to honor and praise our Heavenly Father?
If we are truly followers of Jesus, we will follow the pattern He set before us. He liked to spend time alone with His Father. We, too, need a quiet peaceful place where we can pour out our heart to Almighty God.
Jesus was one who loved people regardless of their position or status in life. He did not always agree with what they were doing, but He was always present and willing to help them make necessary changes in their life. As a Christian, we may not always agree with people, but we should be willing to listen to them and guide them to the One who has the power to bring about a change in their life.
Jesus spent hours in prayer with His Father. Scripture tells us that He prayed all through the night. We, too, need to spend time in prayer. We don’t necessarily have to pray for extended periods of time, but we do need to talk to God often during the day and night.
When Jesus was near the temple, He spent time inside praying and teaching the people who were willing to listen. He also spent time praying and teaching the multitudes on the hillside. We need to attend services in the church when possible so that we can be in the company of other Christians who are worshiping and praising God. On the other hand, we need to pray and talk to people wherever we might be – at work, at school, at the grocery store, or at home.
You and I need to humble ourselves and pray as did the tax collector.
I want to close with this prayer that someone emailed to me:
Heavenly Father, help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.
Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can’t make change correctly is a worried 19-year-oid college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with this fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.
Remind us. Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.
Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.
Heavenly Father, remain us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.
This is the type of prayer the publican prayed and this is the type of prayer we should pray. Jesus prayed for others and we should do the same.
Amen.
