“How To Be Right With God.”
The Parable of The Pharisee and the Publican”
Luke 18:9-14
Two men went to the Temple to pray. One is a regular; in fact he is religious leader. The other is a selfish, dishonest, greedy man who has no qualms about ripping people off for his one advantage. Which of these two do you think is going to leave in a right relationship with God?
To put this in modern setting thousands of people will attend church today, but some if not most will leave in exactly the same way they came in. To them church attendance is something you do, God addresses the issue of superficial religion when Isaiah wrote, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught. (Isa. 29:13- NIV)
That is the problem with religion, whether it is Roman Catholic religion, or Buddhist religion or Baptist religion. Any religious practice that is primarily concerned with outward performance rather than inward purity. Dr. Ray Pritchard points out rather powerfully when he wrote, “Without a life changing encounter with Jesus Christ, religion leads you to Hell while making you think y0u are going to Heaven.” [Ray Pritchard. “How to Get Right With God.” Luke 18:9-14. www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/how-to-be-right-with-god ]
In verse nine Jesus begins another parable.
Because this parable follows the parable of the persistent widow, where Jesus teaches us to be persistent in our prayers we are tempted to see this parable as also applying to prayer. And on the surface this story does have to do with prayer, the two characters of the parable are praying. But in reality this story is about what we think makes us acceptable in the sight of God.
If we stop to realize it the two prayers of the two men in this parable embody two contrasting views of how to approach God; one on the basis of supposed good works and the other on the basis of God’s grace.
“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 collec-tor, 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 abased, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
I know that intent of this parable is not to show us how to pray because after telling this parable Jesus did not say, “I tell you this man had his prayer answered.” He said rather, “… this man went down to his house justified” (v. 14). So Jesus reveals that the parable’s purpose is to answer the question, “How can a person be justified before God?”
In fact Jesus states His purpose for sharing this parable in verse nine was to enlighten a very specific group of people, those who were “confident of their own righteousness.” The Greek word used to describe these individuals (pepoithotas) depicts them as having a confidence “based on them-selves that they were righteous.”
In other words, Jesus was speaking to those who trusted in their own goodness. These were those who believed that they were good people and therefore right with God and on their way to Heaven. It is the same today. It seems that most people in America consider themselves decent people. But that does not make them right with God!
First, Two Men. (8:10)
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.”
In this parable Jesus used two people to contrast each other and make a point. You could not have come up with two people who were seen more differently by society at time than they were. The Pharisee to his society represents the “good guy,” while the tax collector represented the height of wickedness.
• The Pharisee.
Now I recognize that in our world today Pharisee has come be a dirty word. If somebody calls you a Pharisee you will be offended. We are accustomed today to having a negative view of the Pharisees, but in Jesus’ day it was the opposite. The Pharisee was in that time well respected and honored members of their community. Was genuinely a nice guy.
The thing is that everything the Pharisee said about himself was true. For instance, when he says, “I thank you that I am not like other men,” indeed he wasn’t like other men. He had a standard of morality that was far above the standard of that day. When he said, “I fast twice a week;” it happens to be literally true. The Pharisees fasted on Monday and Thursday of every week. (The Law of Moses stipulated only one fast a year, on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29-31). When he says, “I give tithes of all I possess,” he means he tithes on the gross and not on the net. He went well beyond the requirements of the Law of Moses. That’s no big deal; all the Pharisees did that. And when he says, “I am not a crook,” he was honest in his business dealings. When he says, “I am not like this filthy tax collector,” he’s really not like that guy. When he says, “I do not commit adultery,” he really is faithful to his marriage vows. When he says, “I am honest, I am faithful, I am zealous for my religion,” he means it and every word of it is true. He truly is a genuinely good man. When I read his prayer, I am reminded of that country song that says, “Oh, Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way.” What was wrong with the Pharisees prayer? It was obviously his Pride.
C.S. Lewis in his book “Mere Christianity” wrote, “How is it that people who are quite obviously eaten up with Pride can say they believe in God and appear to themselves very religious? … They theoretically admit themselves to be nothing in the presence of… God, but are really all the time are imagining how He thinks them far better than ordinary people....Whenever we find that our religious life is making us feel that we are good—above all, that we are better than someone else—I think we may be sure that we are being acted on, not by God, but by the devil. The real test of being in the presence of God is that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether.” [C.S. Lewis. “Mere Christianity.” Chapter 8 - "The Great Sin" http://www.fellowshipofthemartyrs.com/articles/60-spiritual-tuneup/191-mere-christianity-chapter-8-qthe-great-sinq-cs-lewis-]
• The Publican.
He was a crook. There was no doubt in any one’s mind that the tax collector was the bad guy in this story. Tax collectors were the scum of Jewish society. He was the money grubbing, cheating, Roman collaborator. (With a lot of unnecessary detail let me just say that tax collector contract with Rome to collect taxes and anything above that was his to keep.) Perhaps in today’s culture the closest social equivalent would be a drug pusher or a pimp or an American fighting with the Isis. People would literally cross to the other side of the street when they saw him coming. He was not being falsely modest he was every bit as bad as he said he was!
Secondly, Two Prayers. (8:11-13)
• The Pharisee. (vv. 11-12)
The Pharisee is an example of how man can-not come to God. We are told in verse eleven, “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.” This Pharisee represents the individual who is comfortable in a religious setting. The Pharisee stands while he is praying. This was a typical posture for prayer. Standing, with head looking toward Heaven and arms outstretched. It was not uncommon to pray aloud that others could hear what he was praying, but the words attributed to the Pharisee in verse eleven, are not so much what he may have said but what he thought. ‘…. God I thank You that I am not like other men – extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.”
The text says, He “prayed thus with himself,” (v. 11a) some translations say, “prayed to him-self.” In fact if you look at verses 11-12, there are five personal pronouns used in this prayer, He says “I, I, I, I, I.”
Two things characterized the Pharisee’ viewpoint.
• He Had An Inflated View Of Himself.
He is downright impressed with himself, not with how he compares with God, but how he com-pares with others. The Apostle Paul’s advice on this to the church at Corinth seems pertinent, “For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among ourselves, are not wise.” (1 Cor. 10:12)
• He Had A Distorted Sense Of Others.
He seems to be one of those individuals who builds himself up by putting others down. Almost inevitably the more impressed we are with our-selves, the more judgmental we are of others.
The truth is that we judge other people by their actions and ourselves by our intentions.
The content of the Pharisee’s prayer reviews a great deal about his heart. He felt that he was on a completely different level than the really bad people. He knew that he was not perfect but he certainly wasn’t that bad. In fact he reveals in verse twelve that in his own opinion he was even better than God’s Word demanded. He said, “I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.” He was so righteous that he even went beyond the requirements of the law. As I already stated The Law of Moses only required one fast a year and he fasted twice a week. What guy!! The law only required a tithe on certain parts of one’s income. He tithed on all he received. And in that he is still a model for us today.
The problem with the Pharisee was that his focus was on what he did not do not what he was. The Bible tells us clearly in Romans 3:10, “There is none righteous no not one.”
• The Publican. (v. 13)
? He Was Aware Of His Sin.
The prayer of the tax collector also reveals much about what the he thought of himself, verse thirteen, “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 verse says that the tax collector, “stood at a distance,” “would not even look up to heaven,” and “beat his breast.” This man had no illusions about himself. He did not raise his hands up or look toward Heaven anyone looking on would not know that he was praying. He was not there to see and be seen but to pour out his heart to God. He came with a burden of sin that he could no longer bear.
The tax collector’s prayer has the distinction of being one of the shortest prayers in the Bible – seven words in English, and six in the original Greek. What he says is, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” He makes no excuses. He makes no pro-mises to do something good to earn God’s favor. He understood that God does not forgive excuses but God forgives sins. He has no interest in comparing himself with anyone or anything apart from God. He simply admits that he is a sinner and asks for mercy. He understood that only the grace of God could meet his needs.
The end result is that the tax collector con-fessed himself a sinner by nature and practice and guilty before God. The Pharisee denied that he is a sinner. In fact the tax collector is so aware of his sin that he did not just call himself “a” sinner at this point, the literal translation would be “the” sinner. In his own eyes he was the worst of sin-ners. It is reminiscent of the Apostle Paul’s words about himself in when he said, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief.” (1 Timothy 1:15)
? He Is Aware That God Has The Answer To His Sin Problem.
His is not just a plea for mercy but a plea for mercy based on what God has done. When he says in verse thirteen, “God be merciful to me a sinner” the words “be merciful” is the verb form of the word used for the “mercy seat” (hilastheti). It could literally be translated “be propitiated for me” or “be mercy-seated for me.” It means, “treat me as one who comes on the basis of the blood shed on the Mercy Seat as an offering for sins.”
To understand what this means we must understand what the “Mercy seat.” The Mercy Seat was a part of the “Ark of the Covenant” and was located in the “Holy of Holies.” You will remember that the “Ark of the Covenant” held the stone tablets on which the “Ten Commandments” were written. It was seen as a symbol of the presence of God among his people. It was the place where the sacrificial blood was sprinkled on the “Day of Atonement.”
The astonishing thing about God’s mercy is that the Pharisee though he deserved it and there-fore he missed it. The tax collector knew he didn’t deserved and because he knew he didn’t deserve it he received it. The mercy of God comes to the people who seen to deserve it the least.
Third, Two Destinies. (8:14)
? The Pharisee
The Pharisee stood in prominence, the tax collector stood at a distance. The Pharisee stood with his head erect with his eyes toward Heaven.
The Pharisee prayed with confidence and no doubt left feeling self-satisfied. The Pharisee left feeling good but unjustified and under God’s wrath. He went home proud, self-righteous and condemned
? The Publican
The tax collector could not bring himself to even lift his head. The tax collector sorrowed over his sin and pled with God for mercy. The Pharisee left feeling good but unjustified and under God’s wrath. He went home proud, self-righteous and condemned.
The Lord does not leave this parable hanging the air with each person able to draw his own con-clusions. He concludes the parable by saying in verse fourteen, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every-one who exalts himself will be abased, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” When He says this He is not referring to you having a low view of yourself regarding your appearance, strengths, talents or abilities. Jesus is referring to spiritual humility.
When Jesus says that he was “justified” it means that God banged the gavel at His judgement bench and declared, “Not Guilty!” This man who walked into the Temple as a guilty, despicable tax collector walked out of the Temple “righteous” before God. How can that be true? It is true because he received a righteousness which is not his own it is imputed to him! (What is imputed?)
Conclusion
“You must approach God in humility if you want to receive His forgiveness. You can’t strut into His presence bragging about how nice you are. In Bethlehem, The Church of the Holy Nativity is built over the place believed to be Jesus’ birthplace. It is a huge stone complex, but it only has one tiny door through which people can enter. It’s called the door of humility and it is less than 48" high. Originally, there was a larger door, but when the Muslims first conquered Bethlehem, the soldiers rode their horses into the church to defile it. So the monks reduced the size of the door so only a person can enter. And every person must stoop and bow and enter alone. What a lesson! The doorway of salvation is open to you today, but it is a door of humility as well. You can’t approach God on the basis of your parents’ salvation–you must do it alone. And to receive His mercy and forgiveness you must humble yourself and bow down before Him.” [Borrowed from Dr.David Dykes. “The Peril of Proud Praying” http://www.gabc.org/wp-content/uploads/s111702.pdf ]
This is good news for those of us who have really blown it, when we have really made a mess of our lives by our choices, and are now willing to admit our responsibility, ask for forgiveness, we will be forgiven. There is no one who is too great a sinner to be saved, but only too righteous.
The Good News is although that God will never welcome those who trust in their own good-ness, He always welcomes those who come on the basis of His grace.
I don’t end the service this way often but today I like offer a simple prayer you could pray? There is nothing mystical about these words, there is no magical formula, but perhaps these words will help you trust in Christ with all your heart.
Dear God, I know that I am a sinner. I know that I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe He died on the cross for my sins. I believe he rose from the dead on the third day. I confess that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Lord Jesus I ask you to forgive me of all my sins. Here and now I receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Amen.
“How To Be Right With God.”
Luke 18:9-14
(Isa. 29:13)
The parable’s purpose is to answer the question, “How can a person be justified before God?”
First, Two Men. (8:10)
• The Pharisee.
Everything the Pharisee said about himself was true. What was wrong with the Pharisee’s prayer? It was obviously his Pride.
• The Publican.
He was every bit as bad as he said he was!
Secondly, Two Prayers. (8:11-13)
• The Pharisee. (vv. 11-12)
He “prayed thus with himself,” (v. 11a) some translations say, “prayed to himself.”
? He Had An Inflated View Of Himself. (1 Cor. 10:12)
? He Had A Distorted Sense Of Others. (Rom. 3:10)
• The Publican. (v. 13)
? He Was Aware Of His Sin.
The tax collector confessed himself a sinner by nature and practice and guilty before God. (1 Tim. 1:15)
? He Is Aware That God Has The Answer To His Sin Problem. His plea was for mercy.
Third, Two Destinies. (8:14)
? The Pharisee
? The Publican
“How To Be Right With God.”
Luke 18:9-14
(Isa. 29:13)
The parable’s purpose is to answer the question, “How can a person be justified before God?”
First, Two Men. (8:10)
• The Pharisee.
Everything the Pharisee said about himself was ______. What was wrong with the Pharisee’s prayer? It was obviously his __________.
• The Publican.
He was every bit as ______ as he said he was!
Secondly, Two Prayers. (8:11-13)
• The Pharisee. (vv. 11-12)
He “prayed thus with himself,” (v. 11a) some translations say, “prayed ____ himself.”
? He Had An ________ view Of Himself. (1 Cor. 10:12)
? He Had A Distorted Sense Of Others. (Rom. 3:10)
• The Publican. (v. 13)
? He Was Aware Of His _____.
The tax collector confessed himself a sinner by nature and practice and _________ before God. (1 Tim. 1:15)
? He Is Aware That God Has The Answer To His Sin Problem. His plea was for _______.
Third, Two Destinies. (8:14)
? The Pharisee
? The Publican
