Luke 18: 9-14
How To Talk To God
9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise 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, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
I do not know about you but I find today’s bible story to be of immense interest. I mean, stop and think about this for you. You have three other Gospels. Matthew, John, and Peter [Mark got his information from Peter]. These three were eyewitnesses. So, some 15 years after the Gospels of Matthew and Mark are in circulation, the disciple of Paul, Luke, goes back to find and interview people who were still alive and knew personally not only the apostles but our Lord Jesus Christ also. Can you see how our Wonderful Holy Spirit led Luke to some people who were there when our Lord spoke about the Pharisee and the Public Servant. Neither Matthew nor Mark were reminded by Adoni Holy Ghost to record for us this event – only Luke does.
In this parable now we have a twofold picture drawn of one who trusted in himself that he was supremely acceptable to God, and was not, and the one who was doubtful about his acceptability with God, and who nevertheless was made fully acceptable because he repented and called for mercy.
We need to remind ourselves that whatever we do for God can never be brought up as evidence that we deserve His appreciation and acceptance. Even if we are perfect in all that we do we are simply achieving what it is our duty. These are things that we should do. Should we therefore come short in any one thing we will have failed in the fulfillment of our duty and can no longer claim any merit.
This was what the Pharisee failed to recognize. He thought that he could start with a clean sheet and build up righteousness before God. He thought that he could earn God’s favor and build up merit. What he failed to see were all the ways in which he had come short, which more than cancelled out what he had achieved (which was what he should have done anyway). It is kind of getting ‘atta boys’ for all the good things we do and a ‘aw shucks’ for the things that we failed to do. The problem is that one ‘aw shucks’ erases all the ‘atta boys’ we earned.
We are going to see that in contrast to the Pharisee the public servant came recognizing his shortcomings, and claiming no merit of his own. And because of that he was received with forgiveness, and was put in the right with God. He would be ready when the Son of Man came. He was the evidence of faith on earth.
In a day when public servants were held in such hatred, and Pharisees in such high regard, our Adoni Jesus’ words here would have a salutary and important effect in changing people’s views, and making them think again, both about the prominence of Pharisaic teaching, and about the open door that the arrival of the Kingdom of God opened for sinners of all kinds. All would know that if a public servant could be saved, anyone could!
9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
The people described here are in direct contrast with those who will have faith on earth, or who will be the believing ones, when He comes in which we read about in verse 8. They were confident in their own righteousness, and considered all others as less righteous than they. They based that belief on their fulfillment of the requirements of the Law in accordance with their own traditions, which placed an emphasis on the outward aspects of it. They overlooked what was central to the Law, the love of God and neighbour. But worse still they set at naught and treated with contempt those who did not follow their ways. And so that none might be in any doubt who were mainly in mind He told a parable in order to illustrate His comment.
10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The contrast is between a Pharisee and a public servant. Now let us be quite clear about this, outwardly the Pharisee lived the better and more religious life. He would be highly respected, and probably a little feared. And in comparison with the public servant (before he had come to the attitude that resulted in his prayer), the Pharisee would have been seen by all as so superior to him in God’s eyes that any comparison in the goodness stakes would have been no contest. It is not, however, that that we are called on to look at. For what our Holy King Jesus wants us to see is that both were equally sinful in the sight of God. Both had ‘come short of the glory of God as pointed out in the book of Romans chapter 3 verse 23. What our Great God Lord Jesus looked at was the attitude of heart.
This must not, of course be seen as our Lord Jesus’ view of all Pharisees and public servants. There were humble and godly Pharisees, and there were all too many evil and hard hearted public servants. What our Master Lord Jesus was concerned to bring out was that while man looks at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart. And here were two concerning whom a superficial verdict would bring one conclusion, while a close examination would bring another. The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ refused to write off public servants as being unable to repent and come to God.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.
It was normal to pray standing, thus it would not need to be mentioned. The mention of it is probably therefore in order to bring out his pompous attitude. He wanted to be seen and admired. He would probably pray aloud, which was normal, but he did it quietly (‘with himself’). This too was normal practice. Rabbis who prayed loudly were criticized.
The Pharisee was full of pride at the wonder of his own life and achievements. Surely God must see that he stood out from all others. He had never tried to cheat people out of their possessions, or extort money from them, he had never behaved unjustly towards anyone, he had never committed adultery, and he had certainly not betrayed his people like ‘this public servant’ had. And it was probably all true. But what he did not realize was that the thing that stood out as separating him from the rest of men was above all his arrogant pride. What was not there in his life was any sign of repentance or awareness of need for forgiveness. He was self-satisfied and His heart was hardened against his own sin.
A further glance at his prayer will bring out its main emphasis, ‘Look at all his I’s. It was all about himself.
We must not assume that all Pharisees were like this. We may think of Nicodemus and of Gamaliel, to name but two. But a good many certainly were, and all too regularly they echoed the popular prayer, ‘I thank you that you have not made me a Gentile --- I thank you that you have not made me a woman’. And they not only prayed it, they thought it.
12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’
It was customary among the Pharisees to tithe even the smallest thing that they received ‘from God’, even when it was not required by the Law. Furthermore they fasted every Monday and Thursday, as well as on special days. The purpose of this latter was in order to make them humble, but always the danger was, as in this example, that it could make them inordinately proud. We all need to take note that not all prayer is holy.
Can you imagine this guy? I guess he thought that God should be rejoicing in having such a special man on His team. However, all in all Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most Hight - obtained from the Pharisee’s prayers a good picture of his pride, his self-conceit and his total self-righteousness. He had justified himself to his own satisfaction, but had revealed all too much to God. For God, who looked at his heart and could only condemn him for the sin that He found within it, would mark him off as another failure.
13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’
The public servant was another matter. He really was a sinner, and he knew it and regretted it. He did not approach as close as he could to the Sanctuary, where all would see him. He stood afar off. Possibly he had seen the Pharisee and thought himself not worthy to be near him. The last thing that he wanted was for God to be contrasting him with the noble Pharisee! And he did not look upwards and raise his hands in prayer, he bowed his head and beat his breast, and cried out, ‘God, be you merciful to me a sinner’.
Anyone standing nearby would have had no doubt in whom God was well pleased, because they could not hear their prayers, or see their hearts. Their vote would have gone to the Pharisee, a splendid figure as he stood there before God bearing all the signs of his ‘piety’. But God’s view was different from theirs. In the case of the public servant He accepted his change of heart and his cry for forgiveness, and he was forgiven and accounted as righteous in God’s sight. But the Pharisee was left in the same condition as he was when he came in, self-satisfied and content, and un-forgiven.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Our Holy Lord Jesus pointed out to His listeners that it was the public servant rather than the Pharisee who went away accounted as righteous in God’s sight, for the Pharisee had justified himself, and his plea had been rejected. The public servant had been justified by God’s mercy to a repentant sinner seeking forgiveness, and was therefore accepted before Him.
Our Lord Jesus sums up the conclusion to be drawn from the parable. Those who exalt themselves will be humbled. Those who humble themselves will be exalted. For God scatters the proud in the imagination of their hearts and exalts those of low degree. He draws near to those with a humble and contrite heart, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
We will see in our next study a further example of this fact when young children are brought to our Lord Jesus.
So, what do we all take away from today’s biblical truth. We need to re-read these verses a few times and let the Holy Spirit write on our minds His message. I know it will greatly affect how we live and pray.
