Reading: Luke chapter 18 verses 1-14
Ill:
• When a night club opened on the main street of a small American town;
• The local Church held an all-night prayer meeting.
• One member asked God to burn it down.
• Within a few moments, lightning struck the club and it was burnt to the ground.
• The owner sued the church,
• While the Church denied all responsibility.
• In court the judge said, “It seems that wherever the guilt may lie;
• The night club owner believes in the power of prayer, while the church does not!”
In our passage tonight we have two stories about people who prayed:
• Verses 1-8: The story of a demanding widow.
• Verses 9-14: The story of a deluded Pharisee.
(A). The story of a demanding widow.
• In New Testament days;
• Widows usually had a difficult time making ends meet.
• There was of course no pension schemes and no state benefits;
• A widow without children had to literally survive day-by-day – it was a hard existence!
Reading between the lines of the parable - This widow may well have had an adversary:
• Someone who was trying to take advantage of her.
• It’s likely someone was trying to cheat her out of money or land that her husband left her.
• This was prevalent in Bible times, because women had few legal rights.
Note: As you read the parable remember this is set in an Eastern context;
• Ill: For example the Courtroom was not a fine building;
• But a tent that was moved from place to place as the judge covered his circuit.
• It was the judge who set the agenda;
• He decided what cases he would consider.
• The judge would sit in his tent surrounded by his assistants.
• Anybody could watch the proceedings from the outside,
• But only those who were approved and accepted could have their cases tried.
• It was not uncommon for people to bribe one of the judges assistants;
• So that he would call the judges attention to a particular case.
• Ill: We have seen similar cases among politicians;
• Who have taken cash or bribes to raise particular questions in Parliament.
(1). The woman (vs 3-5)
• For this widow to get her case heard by the judge;
• She would have to overcome 4 obstacles:
(1). SHE WAS A FEMALE;
• That may sound obvious but it is important to emphasize;
• Because it meant in this culture she had little standing before the Law.
• In fact in New Testament times in Palestine;
• Women did not go to court – they were not even accepted as witnesses!
(2). SHE WAS A WIDOW.
• Once again this is an important part of the scenario;
• It meant that she had no husband to stand with her in court.
• The Law should have protected her (Moses gave conditions regarding widows);
• But her culture & customs overlooked those laws and made her situation very difficult.
(3). SHE WAS POOR.
• Question: How do we know she was poor;
• Answer: Is in the fact that she could not pay a bribe to the judges assistants;
• For them to bring her case to the attention of the judge.
• Quote: “She was between a rock and a hard place”
(4). SHE FACED A HARD-HEARTED JUDGE.
• Notice how Jesus described the judge in verse 2:
• We are told up front that this judge does not care about God or about men.
• He is moved neither by fear of God nor by compassion for his fellowman.
• In other words he is cold, hard-hearted - the sort of judge you want to avoid!
(2). The lesson:
• There is one primary point that Jesus wants his followers to learn;
• Jesus tells this story to make an important point concerning prayer.
• Verse 1 Dr Luke tells us upfront the exact reason for the parable:
• “He is encouraging his disciples to pray and not give up!”
• ill: That is illustrated in verse 3: “A widow that kept coming to him…”
• ill: Again verse 5 says; “Because this widow keeps bothering me”.
• Note: In fact the word translated “bothering” literally means to “poke in the eye.”
• In other words; ‘He was upset because this widow was constantly in his face.’
• The widow kept coming every day;
• And the more the judge refused to listen to her, the more she came!
• She peppered his ears with persistent petitions.
• Because the widow had become an unbearable nuisance, the judge finally listened to her.
• Notice that it is this constant begging and nagging;
• That will make the impact and cause the judge to listen to her case and rule in her favour.
THE PRINCIPLE HERE IS PRAY AND DO NOT GIVE UP;
• Keep on keeping on – your reward will come!
• Quote: Spurgeon: “By perseverance the snail reached the ark”.
Ill:
John Wesley was a member of the clergy and Christian theologian:
• He is largely credited with founding the Methodist movement.
• The Methodist movement began when Wesley took to open-air preaching
• But do not think he welcomed with open arms as he went outside preaching;
• This was radical to preach outside of a Church building and he faced much opposition.
• A page from John Wesley’s Diary reads as follows:
• “Sunday morning, May 5, preached in St. Ann’s, was asked not to come back anymore.
• Sunday p.m., May 5, preached at St. John’s,
• Deacons said, "Get out and stay out."
• Sunday a.m., May 12, preached at St. Jude’s, can’t go back there either.
• Sunday p.m., May 12, preached at St. George’s, kicked out again.
• Sunday a.m., May 19, preached at St. somebody else’s,
• Deacons called special meeting and said I couldn’t return.
• Sunday p.m., May 19,
• Preached on the street, kicked off the street.
• Sunday a.m., May 26, preached in meadow,
• Chased out of meadow as a bull was turned loose during the services.
• Sunday a.m., June 2,
• Preached out at the edge of town, kicked off the highway.
• Sunday p.m., June 2, afternoon service, preached in a pasture,
• 10,000 people came to hear me.”
• Wesley learnt the important principle;
• Don’t Give Up the Answer May Be Just Around the Corner!
THE PRINCIPLE HERE IS PRAY AND DO NOT GIVE UP;
Question:
• Is God like that crooked judge?
• Does He have to pestered and coerced before He will answer your prayers?
Answer: Not at all.
• Parables not only contain comparisons but contrasts as well.
• Jesus used the mean judge as the antithesis…
• The direct opposite of what God is like.
• According to verse 2 the judge was totally uncaring, cold and indifferent,
• Whereas Jesus teaches again and again that God is caring, warm and concerned!
• If a poor widow can get an uncaring judge to answer her request by perseverance,
• Then how much more should we expect that the Righteous judge (God);
• Who does care will answer the request of his children’s persistent request.
ILL;
• A recent story in the press reported about a group of post office customers;
• Who succeeded in speeding up some slow-moving service.
• One man said, “It was like watching grass grow.”
• There were 26 customers jammed into two lines.
• They realized they weren’t getting enough attention,
• So a 73-year-old man organized the group.
• In an uncommon show of unity, the 26 customers shouted together,
• “We want service!”
• Two minutes later,
• Another counter opened and without cracking a smile said, “Next?”
• Well, the 26 knew they were on to something, so they tried it again.
• You guessed it, one more counter opened.
• An amused customer summed up the situation like this:
• “I got through that line in 4 minutes. I’ve never seen anything like it!”
• It’s a great story of customer power;
• And in many ways a modern version of our parable.
Note:
• Jesus concludes with a question in the last part of verse eight:
• “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"
• Why does Jesus want us to be persistent in prayer?
• Because prayer demonstrates faith - That is really what Jesus is after.
• Without faith, prayer becomes little more than a ritual that we perform;
• With faith prayer is a powerful force!
Ill:
• A few snowflakes falling on your face will make it wet;
• A few thousand snowflakes can bring the traffic of a busy motorway to a stand-still.
(2). The deluded Pharisee.
Ill:
• A man with three sons won £1 billion on the lottery.
• Since he now had more money than he knew what to do with,
• He offered to buy his sons anything they wanted.
• He stressed money was no object.
• His first son said he had always wanted a Jaguar car,
• So his father bought him seven Jaguar cars in seven different colours,
• So he would have a different one to drive every day of the week.
• His second son wanted a motorcycle.
• So the father went out and bought him 30 new motorcycles,
• So he would have a different bike to ride every day of the month.
• His youngest was only 8, and he said he wanted a Mickey Mouse outfit.
• So his father went out and bought him the Southampton Football Club.
Sadly, at the time of Jesus:
• The Pharisees (the religious leaders) had a Mickey Mouse religion;
• It was a sad caricature of the real thing. Ill: caricature pictures (a vague resemblance).
Question: Who were the Pharisees?
• (a). The Pharisees were an important, powerful,
• And at first, popular group of religious leaders among the Jews of Palestine.
• (b). The Pharisees were religious fundamentalists – the guardians of the faith!
• Who prided themselves on strict observance of the Jewish laws, ceremonies & traditions.
• (c). At the time of Jesus there were around 6,000 Pharisees;
• (d). They were not priests more like politicians,
• (e). Many Pharisees were leaders in their local synagogue.
• And it was the Pharisees who held the power (Ill: Name for anyone who crossed them – victim!)
• (f). So in matters of religious practice, they were highly scrupulous,
• Careful to do all that the law required and more.
The word "Pharisee" simply means "separated".
• All Israelites avoided, as far as possible, any physical contact with Gentiles;
• In order to avoid being defiled.
• But the Pharisees took that idea a step further;
• They avoided all physical contact with anyone who was not a Pharisee!
• Ill: So it was no wonder they constantly were shocked and outraged by Jesus;
• Who had regular contact with tax-collectors, prostitutes and sinners.
Note:
• Reading this parable to you lot of Bible readers;
• Is a bit like telling a joke when you all know the punch-line!
• When we read the word "Pharisee," we immediately say to ourselves, "hypocrites".
• We assume that the Pharisee is going to be the villain of the piece.
• But remember for a first-century audience,
• The initial reaction would have been precisely the opposite.
• They would have assumed that the Pharisee would be the hero of the story.
• Because the Pharisees were highly respected.
• They were not scorned as hypocrites;
• They were not mocked or ridiculed.
• On the contrary, they were admired as pious and devout men;
• They were looked up to as examples of godliness.
ON THE OTHER HAND,
• When Jesus mentioned a "tax collector" as the second character in the story,
• The reaction of his hearers would have been one of anger and disgust.
• Tax collectors were the most despised of all men.
• Question: Why?
• Answer:
• Well, paying taxes to the government has never been popular in any society.
• But the Jews’ hatred of tax-collectors was intensified by the fact;
• That Israel was at this time under the control of Rome.
• Tax-collectors were seen as traitors;
• Those who for money had sold themselves to work for the Roman oppressors.
• Tax-collectors also cheated, extort money from their countrymen,
• And so, many tax collectors grew wealthy at the expense of the poor,
• Tax-collectors were seen as both dishonest and treasonous;
• Corrupt men who had sold out their brothers for the sake of riches;
• Despicable money-grabbers who had enriched themselves;
• By collaborating with the Roman occupation.
I love this story because Jesus is setting up his listeners:
• He knows the disciples are emotionally programmed to root for the Pharisee;
• And to hiss and boo at the tax collector.
• So his story is all the more shocking when he reveals at the end of it;
• That it is actually the tax collector God is pleased with, and not the Pharisee.
• The first listeners and readers of this story;
• Would have been astonished. Dumbfounded. Outraged.
• A tax collector accepted by God, and a Pharisee rejected?
• Impossible! How could that be?
(1). The lesson (vs 9).
“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:"
• Whenever you find a proud, self-righteous spirit;
• You can be certain to find alongside it a critical, judgmental spirit as well!
• Once again we are given an explanation for the story;
• Right at the beginning and not at the end – so that you cannot miss the point!
(2). The story (vs 10-14)
Consider the prayer of the Pharisee (vs 11b):
"God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get."
• This is a perfect example of how it is possible to be completely right,
• And at the same time, be completely wrong!
• The content of his prayer was probably factually 100% true!
• But the attitude behind the prayer was 100% wrong!
The Pharisee’s prayer was all about himself "I - I - I - I".
• He wasn’t really praying to God.
• He was boasting to God and probably to anyone else within earshot!
• He wasn’t seeking anything from God,
• Instead, he was bringing his self-righteousness to God, so that God could bless it and admire it.
• His attitude wasn’t one of overwhelming gratitude;
• That he had such a merciful and gracious God.
• His attitude was the opposite;
• That God should be thankful to have such a faithful and obedient servant as himself.
• The whole speech is just an orgy of self-congratulation,
• A blatant display of arrogance and spiritual pride,
• With God as the supposedly appreciative audience.
Consider the prayer of the tax collector (vs 13):
’But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
• Notice first of all that he stands at a distance.
• He is not self-confident. He is not presumptuous.
• In contrast to the Pharisee:
• He does not regard it as his due that God should receive him or listen to his prayers.
• He is painfully aware of the fact that he is a sinner and that God is holy,
• And so he is not quick to enter God’s presence.
• He is gambling on God be gracious and merciful;
• He comes more in desperate hope than in any confident assurance.
• And as he comes he trembles. And mourns. And beats his breast in an agony of spirit.
• And cries out, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
Notice: Did you notice how few his words were.
• In verses 11-12: The Pharisee babbled on for thirty-three words.
• In verse 13: The tax collector uttered only seven words.
• Yet, those seven words were exactly the right ones.
• He knew he had nothing to offer God, and so therefore he didn’t try!
• All he had to offer was his guilt, his emptiness, his need, his failure, his sin.
• And that is what he confesses.
• But the tax collector saw his need, and he asked for and received forgiveness.
• In contrast the Pharisee asked for nothing, because he didn’t think he had need of anything.
In summary:
• (1). The Pharisee was deluded about himself.
• For he thought he was accepted by God because of what he did or what he did not do.
• (2). The Pharisee was deluded about prayer;
• For he prayed with himself.
• (3). The Pharisee was deluded about the tax-collector;
• He viewed him as worthless and as someone wasting his time.
In contrast:
• The tax-collector went home justified (made right with God);
• His humble faith saved him!
• He cast himself on God and depended on God’s grace and mercy to forgive him!
