Do you remember the show starring Tim Allen? It was called, “Home Improvement?” Tim’s character in the show hosted his own local cable program called “Tool Time.” Each week he would introduce the tool of the week. If you have seen the show you know the more powerful the tool; the better! He would then explain how to build with this tool or to use this tool. Finally, he would demonstrate it, generally wrong, and he would injure himself or almost destroy the set in the process. As we start today, I want us to picture ourselves in an episode of Tool Time. The tool (or discipline) we introduce today is probably the most powerful tool in our toolbox for spiritual growth.
Now I know many people don’t see prayer as a powerful growth tool. And if we do, we think it’s too powerful to play with and we leave it unused in the toolbox. We think that only a trained profession should use it! Today we will consider the prayer of a trained professional and one who knows nothing, a rank amateur.
Luke 18:9–14 (NKJV) 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.”
ILL. The story is told about Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. It seems one day he visited a prison and talked with each of the inmates. There were endless tales of innocence, of misunderstood motives, and of exploitation. Finally the king stopped at the cell of a convict who remained silent. “Well,” remarked Frederick, “I suppose you are an innocent victim too?” “No, sir, I'm not,” replied the man. “I'm guilty and deserve my punishment.” Turning to the warden the king said, “Here, release this rascal before he corrupts all these fine, innocent people in here!” The man was released because he was honest and humble enough to accept his mistake. This is the attitude Jesus asks us to have when we go to pray. Not the arrogance of the Pharisee, but the humility of the sinner. [1]
Our passage today about prayer, we understand this parable. It’s wrong to pray pridefully, and we need to be humble before God. That is the Sunday School answer. We get it. But there is more. More in the since that we, including me, tend to be more like the Pharisee than we care to admit. We often become self-righteous and we don’t realize it.
ILL. A 2010 study by Canadian psychologists found that people who purchase environmentally friendly items feel a “moral glow” that makes them more likely to cheat and act selfishly elsewhere in their lives. In the study, which was a computer game, subjects rewarded themselves with money based on certain results.
The “Green” consumers were more likely to lie about test results so that they could take more money. The explanation for this is that acting virtuously in one area seems to make people feel they have earned “credit,” and now they have a license to act unethically and selfishly in other parts of their lives.
Our lives are to be an open book before the Lord. Because we are righteous in one area doesn’t give us license to fail to live for God’s glory in every other area. [2]
We come before God having done a good work and we’re proud of ourselves. Perhaps we have given above and beyond. Perhaps we have spent time with someone who needed us when we didn’t have time to give. Now we think in our hearts that God owes us one. Jesus had just taught on that subject back in chapter 17 of Luke; The parable about servants doing their duty, Jesus said:
Luke 17:10 (NKJV) So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ”
Let’s look again at this parable about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector:
Luke 18:9 (NKJV) Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Jesus knew who would be listening. And obviously the one who trusted in themselves and despised others was the Pharisee in the story. Was this typical of all Pharisees? Probably not, but it is interesting that Jesus never had any good thing to say about Pharisees, Scribes and the priests, the professional holy men of that day.
Luke 18:10 (NKJV) “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
To the listeners of this parable in that day, how did they view these two men? To be fair, the Pharisee was the one the people would try to be like. They didn’t just keep the Law, they place boundaries to keep from them even approaching the edges of the Law. They didn’t keep the Law, they exceeded it. Jesus, in his woes to the Scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23, addressed their legalism, he said:
Matthew 23:23 (NKJV) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
The Pharisees were into filling squares, and doing more than the Law requires, so that they would look good to others. Now the tax collector on the other hand was one that most people despised. They were consider traitors because they worked for the Roman Government. They were assigned a territory to collect taxes and as long as they submitted the expected amount, they were good with the Romans. This opened them up to much corruption and often they would collect more than was required. There was no such thing as a poor tax collector. Tax collectors were commonly listed with other “sinners” such as prostitutes:
Matthew 9:11 (NKJV) And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But as we look at these two, we need to look beyond what they are, we need to look into their character.
Luke 18:11–12 (NKJV) 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.’
Remember that the Pharisee looked down on those others that are far from the example they set. For example: If they had by accident (they would never on purpose) touched or bumped into a tax collector they would: Spit instantly, to express his disgust for touching him. Then he would go home and burn his clothes. Finally he would take a scalding bath to purify himself.[3]
It was questionable as to whether this Pharisee was even to praying to God. Look at the words: “prayed thus with himself” and that is how it is in the Greek. We can easily translate this as “He prayed to himself.” We wonder whether that prayer went any higher than the ceiling. There were several times during the day when people prayed publicly at the temple, this was probably on such time. His prayer was loud for others to hear. This Pharisee was stuck on Himself. We see this often times with our politicians, especially those who wanted to puff themselves up in front of others. Notice the pronoun “I.” The pharisee referenced himself 5 times in these 2 verses. Wasn’t God fortunate to have someone like him! It was all about him. Who got the glory in this prayer?
Now compare the Pharisee's prayer with that of the Tax Collector:
Luke 18:13 (NKJV) 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!’
this is the true "Sinner's Prayer." The Tax Collector knew who he was before God. Our translation may have missed a small word in this prayer. I believe the NASB got it right. The Tax Collect didn’t call himself “a sinner” meaning one sinner among many, but rather the article in the Greek is not an “a” but rather the article “the.” The tax collector called himself “the sinner.” Not one sinner among many, but “the sinner.” This tax collector did not compair himself to others, all he was concerned with was his standing, or lack of standing before God. His point of comparison was not all the people around him like the comparison the Pharisee made. His standard was God and he knew he missed it. He really understood the verse in Romans: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23). The Tax Collector knew his sin and how grievous it is to God.
The word we translated “be merciful to me” is a peculiar word in that is only seen a few times in the NT and generally translated “propitiate.” More exactly, the word is a plea to God to withhold His wrath. God’s wrath is on all sinners who have not been forgiven. The HCSB has: “God, turn your wrath from me, a sinner”
This man understood his offenses was before God and he understood how enormous it was. The Pharisee was blissfully ignorant of his own heart.
The tax collector who understood his sinful condition, knowing that it is only by the grace of God that he could be pardoned, finds it difficult to look down on and to despise others. The Pharisee, relying on his own perceived goodness, had no need for God, found it easy to look down on others not achieving his moral excellence.
The Tax collector would not even look upward. He stood at a distance so not to contaminate others, he was ashamed of his sins, and he beat his chest, a sign of grief and sorrow. He had expressed godly sorry over his shortcomings. The Pharisee was boastful about how good he was compared to others.
Luke 18:14 (NKJV) 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.”
When Jesus says “I tell you,” a phrase Jesus uses 28 times in Luke, Jesus is about to say something profound. One man was justified before God, the other was not.
that word “Justified” means more than just being forgiven, for it involves the gift of a new standing before God. What happens after being justified is not mentioned in this parable, but Luke goes on and tells the story about Zacchaeus , the chief tax collector in Jericho in Luke 19. Justification was not due to moral perfection, or a good moral character, but is due to God’s mercy alone.
The tax collector did not cry out to God because it was a way to be forgiven. He cried out to God because it was the only way to be forgiven.
Romans 10:13 (NKJV) For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
The Tax Collector went home justified before God. The pharisee went home self-satisfied.
The prayer of the sinner was heard. The prayer of the proud holy man was not.
How do we pray? How do we talk with Almighty God? What power there is when we humble ourselves before God.
“for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” It is not who you are before others, being humble is knowing you are before God.
Luke 16:15 (NKJV) And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
God knows your heart, and that is a scary thing. Only when we come before Him humbly, careful to give Him all the glory is our prayers heard.
We each much come before God. We each much humble ourselves before Him. Our prayer are not heard based on whether we are the preacher, the Sunday School teacher, the Deacon. God hears you as you are humble before him. It is not the flowery words, it’s the humbleness and reliance on him.
Does God hear your prayers? Do you know who you are before Him?
[1] https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/is-your-prayer-good-enough-sajeev-painunkal-sj-sermon-on-humility-151162?ref=SermonSerps
[2] Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell, “Righteous for Being Green?,” in 300 Illustrations for Preachers, ed. Elliot Ritzema (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015).
[3] https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/a-prayer-god-will-answer-brian-bill-sermon-on-mercy-136451?ref=SermonSerps
