When it comes to the Bible, most of us have favorite parts. For some of you, it's maybe a book-- Psalms, or Matthew. For others, it's maybe a type of literature-- prophecy. We know the whole Bible is inspired. We know it's useful. We read it all. But some parts, we enjoy more than others. We read them, and we're like a duck taking to water. It just feels right.
For me, near the top of my list of favorites, is Jesus' parables. Parables jump out of the pages at me. They grab me, and don't really let go.
At the same time, some parables are confusing. We read them, and we find ourselves wrestling with what Jesus meant. We struggle with where to put our focus. What's important? What's not? And how do you know?
What I'd like to do today, is work through two short parables from Luke 18. Through them, I want to teach you a trick to help you understand the parables. When I tell you the trick, you might not be very impressed. It's obvious, once you see it. And it's not going to work for every parable. Some parables are just tough. But when the trick works, it works great. So that's my nerd goal for the sermon. But as we work through our passage, I'm also hoping that you'll be stretched spiritually, and maybe change two things in your life: (1) how you pray, and (2) how you treat non-Christians.
So let's turn to Luke 18, and start by reading just verse 1:
(1) Now, he (Jesus) was telling them a parable to show them that they must always pray and not be discouraged, saying,
Let's pause here. Whose words are we reading, in verse 1?
Right. These are not Jesus' words. They are Luke's-- the narrator for our story. Luke is giving you an introduction-- a framework-- for understanding the parable you are about to read. He's telling you, up front, what you are supposed to learn. He's like the nice teacher, who gives you the answer before asking the question.
That's the trick I wanted to show you. Lots of parables have an introduction that tells you how to read them, or what you should learn. This maybe seems really simple, and obvious. It maybe doesn't seem like much of a trick. But it's amazing how easy it is to miss this, if we aren't looking for it.
So what Luke's introduction does here, is tell you that this parable encourages you to always pray, and to not get discouraged. Sometimes when you pray, God doesn't answer. You pray, and you get nothing. And if that happens for long enough, you might stop praying. This parable is designed to keep you from stopping.
In verses 2-5, Jesus gives his parable. These are Jesus' words, now:
"There was a particular judge in a particular city,
God not fearing,
and people not respecting/having regard for.
(3) Now, there was a widow in that city,
and she kept coming to him, saying,
"Give me justice against my opponent/adversary,"
(4) and he wasn't willing for a time.
Now, after these things, he said to himself,
"If even God I don't fear, nor man respect/have regard for, yet because this widow is bringing me trouble, I
will grant her justice,
in order that she doesn't, in the end, by her coming, torment me."
(6) Now, the Lord said,
"Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying."
So let's stop, and listen to the unrighteous judge. This judge doesn't fear God, and he doesn't care about people, at all. That's a horrible combination in anyone, but especially in a judge. But even this judge, in the end, does the right thing for the widow.
Why? The judge tells us. He gives us a window into his thought process.
It's not because the judge cares about the merits of her case. It's not because he cares about her. And it's not because he knows that God is picky about how judges make decisions, and that the judge has his own day of judgment coming. None of those things matter to him in the slightest.
The judge does the right thing, because this widow is a pitbull. She's tenacious. She's relentless. She's the kind of person who won't leave you alone, until you help her.
So if you're the judge, you may have a million other things to do. But that widow's case, rises to the top of your inbox. You have to deal with her, so that you don't have to deal with her any longer.
What should we learn from this?
Jesus tells us, in verses 7-8:
(7) Now, isn't it a sure thing that that God will carry out the giving of justice to his chosen ones-- the ones
crying out to him day and night--
and will He delay toward them?
(8) I say to you that He will carry out the giving of justice for them soon.
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
If even an unrighteous judge will eventually cave to a tenacious widow who relentlessly asks for justice, how do we think it works with God?
God is not an unrighteous judge. And God cares about people-- especially, his chosen people.
So if you, as a disciple of Jesus, are suffering injustice, what should you do? You should be pitbulls in prayer, relentlessly asking God for justice. Day and night, you cry out for justice.
And Jesus promises, your help will come quickly.
Jesus then wraps up his parable, with a haunting question.
"Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
I've come to decide that God can be trusted. I stand on the promises of God. I have faith that God loves me, and the people around me. I have faith that God is good, and that God will help. Sometimes things happen that I can't explain. Sometimes, I don't understand what God is doing-- or what He isn't. But I will live by faith. And hopefully, this is true for you as well. When the Son of Man returns-- Jesus Christ-- he will find faith in each of you.
So when you think about God, and prayer, start from a place of faith. Think about the persistent widow. Cry out to God day and night. Be relentless. Be pitbulls. Don't give up. Some of you have had some really sad things happen in life. It's been hard. But don't let the hard things in your life, or God's inactivity, keep you from being the persistent widow. Have faith that God loves you. Have faith that God will answer you.
Let's wrap up our first parable, by rereading verse 1:
(1) Now, he (Jesus) was telling them a parable to show them that they must always pray and not be discouraged.
Luke's introduction here, tells us what we should learn. "Always pray." "Don't be discouraged."
Okay?
With this, we come to our second parable. Let's start by reading just verse 9:
(9) Now, he also told to some-- to the ones sure about themselves that they are righteous,
and looking down on the rest-- this parable:
Who is speaking in verse 9? Whose words are we reading? Right. Here again, we are not reading Jesus' words. We are reading Luke's. Luke is giving us a framework-- an introduction-- for the parable we are about to read.
Only here, the introduction doesn't give us the answer. Instead, the introduction tells us where we are supposed to focus, when we read the parable. So Luke is a little less helpful, deliberately. He's going to make us work at this a little more, and really think. But we know what to think about-- Luke has pointed us in the right direction.
This parable is addressed to people who have two defining qualities.
(1) When they look at themselves, they are confident that they are righteous.
Before I say anything else, I think we need to hit the brakes, and talk about what it means to be "righteous" in the gospel of Luke. If we don't do this, we will badly misunderstand everything else. So let's work through verses in Luke where this word is used.
Luke 1:5-6:
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,[a] of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.
Luke 1:16-17:
16 And he (John the Baptist) will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just ("righteous"), to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
Luke 2:25:
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
Luke 5:27-32:
27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
Luke 14:12-14:
12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers[b] or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just (=righteous).”
Luke 15:7:
7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Luke 23:50-51:
50 Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God.
There are two kinds of people in Luke: the righteous, and the unrighteous, who are called "sinners."
Now, the way Luke talks about these two groups is maybe a little confusing to us. What we want to say, is that all of us were "sinners" apart from Christ, but that Jesus saved us from our sins, and made us saints. And that's all true. But it's not how the NT usually talks.
When the NT talks in terms of "the righteous" and "sinners," it's talking in terms of the covenant relationship between God and Israel. If you were a Jew, walking blamelessly before God, keeping the Mosaic covenant, you were considered righteous. We just read about lots of righteous people in Luke-- Zechariah, Elizabeth, Simeon, and Joseph. Jesus even seems to call the Pharisees and scribes righteous (and they are; Matthew 5:20).
But who's not righteous? Who's a sinner?
If you were a Gentile, you were considered a sinner. And if you were a Jew not living for God-- maybe you are a criminal, or a murderer, or an idol worshipper, you're a sinner. "Sinners" are people who live outside of God's covenant with Israel. They deliberately, openly, disobey God, and live however they want.
Maybe the clearest passage that shows this is in Galatians 2:11-16 (NRSV): (I just read verse 15)
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood self-condemned; 12 for until certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But after they came, he drew back and kept himself separate for fear of the circumcision faction. 13 And the other Jews joined him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”[c]
Jews and Gentiles Are Saved by Faith
15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is justified[d] not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.[e] And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ,[f] and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.
Paul here doesn't call himself a "sinner." He is a Jew by birth, and he was a righteous, faithful Jew. "Sinners" are Gentiles. "Sinners" are people who live outside of God's covenant with Israel. They don't obey God. They don't keep the Mosaic covenant.
So when Jesus says that he didn't come for the righteous, but for sinners, what does he mean?
Jesus didn't come for righteous people like Joseph, or Elizabeth, or Zechariah. The righteous should be thrilled that Jesus came. They've been waiting for him. They've been the kingdom. But Jesus didn't come for them. He came for people who lived outside of God's covenant with Israel. He came for sinners and tax collectors, to call them to repent, to follow him, and to invite them into God's kingdom.
That was kind of a huge rabbit trail, and I'm not sure I explained that very well. But let's reread Luke 18:9:
(9) Now, he also told to some-- to the ones sure/trusting in themselves that they are righteous,
and looking down on the rest-- this parable:
There are only two kinds of people-- there are sinners, and there are righteous people-- people who act rightly toward God and others, within God's covenant.
And each one of you has to make a decision about which group you fall into. Are you righteous-- are you like Elizabeth, and Joseph? Or are you a sinner?
I'm pretty sure all of us would say that we are righteous. We are committed to pleasing God, and doing his will, and obeying his commands. We are Jesus' disciples.
This parable is addressed to people who put themselves in that camp, AND, ALSO, have a second characteristic about them.
(9) Now, he also told to some-- to the ones sure about themselves that they are righteous,
and looking down on the rest-- this parable:
Lots of people are confident that they are righteous. They look at their lives, and they know they are seeking first God and his kingdom. That's us, right?
But when we look at the rest of the world, how do we view everyone else? Jesus is very deliberately addressing people, who are confident they are righteous, and also look down on people who aren't righteous. They think they are superior to sinners. That they are above them.
Can we hold these two things together? Can we be righteous, and look down on people?
That's the framework Luke provides for this parable. That's the question we ask ourselves, as we dive in.
Verse 10:
(10) Two men went up to the temple to pray-- one a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector.
(11) The Pharisee, standing by himself, these things he was praying:
"God, I give thanks to you,
that I am not like rest of the people-- robbers, unrighteous, adulterers, or even/also like this tax collector.
(12) I fast twice a week.
I tithe all that I acquire/gain."
The Pharisee knows that there are two types of people in the world. There are people who act rightly toward God and others, and people who don't. The Pharisee knows he is righteous, and he gives thanks to God for that. He understands that God has in some way helped him be righteous. God, in some way, gets credit for that.
But he prays about all of this in a really nasty way. The Pharisee here models the attitude of being confident that you are righteous toward God and people, AND AT THE SAME TIME looking down on others. He stands apart from the world, looking down on the world. He "stands by himself."
Verse 13:
(13) Now, the tax collector, far away standing,
didn't want even his eyes to raise to heaven,
but was beating his chest, saying,
"God, be merciful to me-- to the sinner."
The normal posture for prayer, is to look up to heaven, arms up, eyes up. Honestly, the way we pray isn't particularly biblical. But the tax collector can't pray the normal way. He knows he is unrighteous. He is so aware of his need, and guilt, that he can't do this. All he can do is show his humility, and ask God to be merciful, and forgive him.
Verse 14:
(14) I say to you, this one went down, having been made righteous, to his house rather than that one,
because each one exalting himself will be humbled.
Now, the one humbling himself will be exalted.
What's necessary to be righteous? "Righteousness" isn't just a matter of tithing, and keeping vows, and avoiding sins like stealing and adultery. Those things are all good things. That's how God expects you to live. But God is also looking for something else: humility. You have to be humble toward God. And you have to humble, toward others. You have to be humble, to be righteous.
Our natural tendency, as a church, and as individual Christians, is to look down on outsiders-- sinners. This is something we have to fight.
We see the sins people commit, and the destruction they bring on their own lives, and we find ourselves... what?
What's our reaction?
Do we avoid them, separating ourselves from them? Do we thank God, and piously say, "There but for the grace of God, go I." Do we gossip about the mess they are making of their lives?
In the gospel of Luke, Jesus has already showed us a better way. Let's reread Luke 5:27-32, a passage from earlier:
(5:27) And after these things, he went out,
and he saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth,
and he said to him,
"Follow me,"
and, leaving everything, rising up, he was following him,
(29) and Levi made a great banquet for him in his house,
and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and others,
who were with him reclining,
(30) and the Pharisees and their scribes were grumbling to his disciples, saying,
"Why with the tax collectors and sinners do you eat and drink?,"
(31) and Jesus, answering, said to them,
"Need, The healthy ones don't have for a doctor,
but the ones having sickness/evil.
(32) I haven't come to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance."
When Jesus looks at sinners, what does he see?
He sees their brokenness. He sees their need. Jesus knows they need forgiveness. He knows they need to be made right(eous) with God. And he knows that it was for this mission, that he came.
Since Jesus knew that, how did he live? Where did he spend his time? Jesus was well-known, for hanging out with "sinners."
If Jesus lived in Gackle, how would he live? He'd hang out with sinners-- with outsiders. He'd be barbequing with them. He'd go hunting and fishing with them. He'd watch football with them. And if Jesus lived in Gackle, where would he be on a Friday night? I'm pretty sure he'd be where the cars are parked.
Jesus knew, you can't call sinners to repentance, if you don't hang out with sinners. And Jesus had no problem with this, at all. He didn't look down on anyone. He enjoyed hanging out with sinners.
What I've found, is that some of the happiest moments of my life, are where I got to spend an evening hanging out with non-Christians. I go to bed happy, content, pleased. Those evenings, are some of the best evenings I've had for the kingdom. Those evenings, are the ones where my life looks the most like Christ's.
Let's turn back to Luke 18, and reread verse 14:
(14) I say to you, this one went down, having been made right(eous), to his house rather than that one,
because each one exalting himself will be humbled.
Now, the one humbling himself will be exalted.
What we saw in this parable, was that the Pharisee exalted himself. He lifted himself up to a high perch, and he looked down on the sinner.
Once you've done this, God gives you a choice. Your first option is to admit you've sinned, and humble yourself.
Your second option, is to let God humble you.
One way or another, you're going to be humble. That's not the choice. The choice, comes from who does that to you. You can break yourself, and humble yourself. Or you can wait for God to humble you.
It's far better for you, that you humble yourself, than for you to leave it to God.
Let's close today, by circling back to the framework Luke gave us for his parable. Luke 18:9:
(9) Now, he also told to some-- to the ones sure about themselves that they are righteous,
and looking down on the rest-- this parable:
Luke began this parable by telling us it's for people who try to hold together two qualities-- (1) they are confident that they are righteous, and (2) they look down on others.
What we learn from this parable, is that these two qualities are like oil and water. You can't hold them together. So if you are sure that you are righteous, consider how you view sinners.
Do you view them with humility? Are you compassionate? Are you friends with them? Do you intentionally hang out with them?
Look at your life. Be honest.
Sometimes, when we've been Christians a long time, we slip from where we started. We reach a place, where we need to relearn how to view outsiders. We're grateful for the mercy, and the forgiveness, that God shows us. But at some point along the way, we started to think that God's mercy was only for us. We forgot that what God did for us, He wants to do for everyone around us. God wants everyone in Gackle to be saved. But rather than view people the way Jesus does, at some point, we started to look down on people. And if we do that, we become useless. We will never effectively talk about Jesus to people that we look down on. It's not possible.
So let me just encourage you to take this parable, as a chance to think about your life. How do you view outsiders? How do you feel about your neighbors, and coworkers? How do you relate to them? What do you want for them?
The next time you're walking down the street in Gackle, and see a non-Christian, look at your heart. Think about how you're responding.
If you truly love non-Christians, and have compassion for them, you won't look down on them. You'll hang out with them. Eventually, you'll invite them to follow Jesus.
And when we step back, and look at the parable as a whole, what is Jesus teaching us?
We want to call ourselves righteous. But we need to understand that righteousness isn't just a matter of not stealing, or avoiding adultery. It's not just a matter of tithing, and fasting. If we want to be truly righteous, we have to be humble toward God, and humble toward people. That's what God wants from us-- humility.
Luke 18 Translation:
(1) Now, he (Jesus) was telling them a parable to show them that they must always pray and not be discouraged, saying,
"There was a particular judge in a particular city,
God not fearing,
and people not respecting/having regard for.
(3) Now, there was a widow in that city,
and she kept coming to him, saying,
"Give me justice against my opponent/adversary,"
(4) and he wasn't willing for a time.
Now, after these things, he said to himself,
"If even God I don't fear, nor man respect/have regard for, yet because this widow is bringing me trouble, I
will grant her justice,
in order that she doesn't in the end, by her coming, torment me."
(6) Now, the Lord said,
"Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying.
(7) Now, won't God for sure carry out the giving of justice to his chosen ones-- the ones crying out to him day
and night--
and will He delay toward them?
(8) I say to you that He will carry out the giving of justice for them soon.
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
(9) Now, he told also to some-- the ones trusting in themselves that they are righteous,
and looking down on the rest-- this parable:
(10) Two men went up to the temple to pray-- one a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector.
(11) The Pharisee, standing by himself, these things he was praying:
"God, I am thankful/give thanks to you,
that I am not like rest of the people-- robbers, unrighteous, adulterers, or even/also like this tax collector.
(12) I fast twice a week.
I tithe all that I acquire/gain.
(13) Now, the tax collector, far away standing,
didn't want even his eyes to raise to heaven,
but was beating his chest, saying,
"God, be merciful to me-- to the sinner."
(14) I say to you, this one went down, having been made right, to his house rather than that one,
because each one exalting himself will be humbled.
Now, the one humbling himself will be exalted.
Luke 5:27-32 Translation
(5:27) And after these things, he went out,
and he saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth,
and he said to him,
"Follow me,"
and, leaving everything, rising up, he was following him,
(29) and Levi made a great banquet for him in his house,
and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and others,
who were with him reclining,
(30) and the Pharisees and their scribes were grumbling to his disciples, saying,
"Why with the tax collectors and sinners do you eat and drink?,"
(31) and Jesus, answering, said to them,
"Need, The healthy ones don't have for a doctor,
but the ones having sickness/evil.
(32) I haven't come to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance."
