“God’s Great Love for Humble Sinners”
Luke 18:9-14
Pastor John Bright
Luke 18 “9 Jesus also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else. 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 about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ 13 The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!’ 14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” New English Translation
Pause right there. Why are you listening to this? Do you want to become more like Jesus? The power of the Holy Spirit is available to you right now – right here! Do you want to become more like Jesus? It’s a question only you can answer.
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So, I was looking around for some appropriate humor to go with this sermon. I found this joke:
A Pharisee and a tax collector walk into a bar. One of them is carrying a duck… 😊
Actually, that’s NOT the setting for this parable. As always, when I teach on the parables in Luke’s Gospel, I give thanks to Dr. Harry Wendt for his book, “The Parables of Jesus.” (1997)
The Setting for this Parable
Why is this Pharisee and this “tax collector” both at the temple at the same time? When we hear that term – tax collector – we think of a job like working for the Internal Revenue Service. That’s not what the folks listening to Jesus heard. They heard “sinner” and “unclean.”
Every day in the temple, at dawn and at 3:00pm, a lamb without blemish was sacrificed on the altar in the Temple to atone for the sins of the people. The Atonement Offering was the means by which God and man were reconciled in the sacrificial system in Jesus’ day. Then, the priest would offer the incense. This represented the prayers of the people going up to God after the blood of the lamb had covered the sins of Israel. In their way of thinking, it was then that the way to God was open. That was the best time to pray.
Here comes two very different people to pray as the incense is burned in the Temple worship. The Pharisee considered himself to be a strict keeper of the law – “haberim” in Hebrew. He was part of an exclusive group… then there was everybody else. Those other folks fell into different degrees or levels of ritual impurity. At the very bottom – the lowest level of all – was the tax collector. I told you not to think of an IRS agent. The tax collectors in Jesus’ day were collecting taxes for the Romans. They were viewed as collaborators of the foreign oppressors.
The Prayer of the Pharisee v. 11-12
“11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’”
They would not be only ones praying that day. The Pharisee and the tax collector would both be standing away from the others. It was the Pharisee that would be seeking an audience for his prayer. Jesus explained this practice in Matthew 6:5 “Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward!”
The Jews had a pattern for their prayers that would be familiar to Believers today. They started by thanking God. Then, praising God for His good works. Finally, lift up your needs. This sounds like the way we pray, amen? This is NOT what the Pharisee prays. All he does is brag about his religious accomplishments and pat himself on the back. There is an old saying – God designed us to make it hard to pat ourselves on the back or kick ourselves in the rear-end, but we manage to do both.
His prayers continue as he attacks the tax collector. In his study, Dr. Harry Wendt believes the whole list the Pharisee uses is meant to refer to the tax collector – “extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers.” Actually, this is not a prayer. It is an attack based on the Pharisee’s view of himself. It is all about his self-righteousness. His fasting and tithing are beyond what is required by the law. In the way the system was designed, the Pharisees were the ONLY ONES who could keep the Law and this kept others away from God.
The following info comes from a 2021 op-ed:
“In a 2017 Lifeway Research survey, a majority (66%) of Americans ages 23-30 said they stopped attending church on a regular basis for at least a year after turning 18. Among their top reasons was that church members seemed divisive, judgmental, or hypocritical.”
“Pastor Andy Stanley of the Atlanta area recently cited the top five reasons that people leave the church. On the list was “they had a bad church experience,” where church members prioritized or defended viewpoints over people.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2021/06/29/american-christians-turning-people-off-church-bethany-christian-services/5370555001/
In every generation of the Church, we must ask the question – “What is keeping others from joining us?”
Prayer of the Tax Collector v. 13
“13 The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!’”
He is also standing away from the others, but it is because he feels unworthy. He does not even follow the proper procedure for making his prayers by crossing his hands on his chest. Instead, he is beating on his chest. This is a sign of great emotional pain. This man feels his great need for God deep down inside.
Have you felt this way? Felt it lately?
His prayer is not a general cry for mercy. He uses the wording from the Atonement Sacrifice. The tax collector longs for God’s presence for himself. He wants the sacrifice to be for him rather than for the whole nation of Israel. So, he actually admits to being a sinner. WOW! Jesus was the spotless lamb that was sacrificed for your sin and my sin. He did that each of us.
There is an ancient prayer practice known as the Breath Prayer. It combines breathing in and out with words of prayer. One of those, The Jesus Prayer, sounds like the tax collector’s prayer. “Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Give it a try. Repeat these words for two minutes.
Jesus Explains the Parable v. 14
“14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
This is very simple but so important for us to understand.
There is a danger to be avoided! Do not exalt yourself! When we lift up ourselves and think our way is right, that’s the definition of self-righteousness. It makes us look down on others and their way:
• That person did not attend the Walk to Emmaus.
• That person is not Holy Spirit baptized.
• Those folks approve of _____________________.
I have mentioned this to you before – remember, you don’t know what you don’t know.
What is the alternative to exalting self? We are told to humble self. Seek God. Seek God’s will. Seek God’s way. Don’t look at others!
God is not asking for your resume. He does not need a list of your accomplishments. God could care less if you can pray a great and mighty prayer. God is waiting to pour out His great love on the one who comes in humble submission to Him.
Will you come this way? If you do, expect to have God’s love poured out on you! Amen
Question: "What is the meaning of the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector?"
Answer: The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in the temple (Luke 18:9-14) is rich with spiritual truth. In fact, it contains the very essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As verse 9 tells us, Jesus spoke this parable to those who "trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others" (NKJV). Jesus spoke often of the issue of righteousness, pleading with His hearers to understand their utter inability to be righteous enough to attain the kingdom of heaven. This knowledge was essential if they were to understand His mission on earth, which was to save sinners - those who knew they could not save themselves.
The tax collector exhibits precisely what Jesus spoke about in the Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). Being poor in spirit means admitting we have nothing to offer to God to atone for our sin. We come to God as empty, impoverished, despised, bankrupt, pitiable, desperate beggars. The tax collector recognizes his sinful condition and seeks the only thing that can bridge the gap between himself and God. "Have mercy on me," he cries, and we know from the end of the parable that God heard his prayer for mercy and answered it. Jesus tells us in verse 14 that the tax collector went away justified (made righteous) because he had humbled himself before God, confessing that no amount of works could save him from his sin and that only God's mercy could.
If we are truly broken-hearted over our sin, we can be assured of God's boundless love and forgiveness in Christ. He has promised in His word to accept us, love us, and make us alive again through His Son (Colossians 2:13). No amount of good works, church attendance, tithes, community service, loving our neighbor or anything else we do is sufficient to take away the blot of sin and enable us to stand before a holy God on our own. That is why God sent Jesus to die on the cross. His death is the only "work" that is able to cleanse us and make us acceptable to God.
In addition, we must not make the mistake of comparing ourselves with others and gaining confidence from what we see in that comparison. In fact, Jesus specifically warns us against this attitude at the beginning of the parable. When we try to justify ourselves by comparing ourselves to others, we naturally end up despising them. Our standard for comparison is God Himself and we all fall short of His glory (Romans 3:23).
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TEACHING SHEET
“God’s Great Love for Humble Sinners”
Luke 18:9-14
The Setting for this Parable
What do you think of when you hear tax collector?
In that day, they thought of “sinner” and “unclean.”
Every day in the temple, at dawn and at 3:00pm, a lamb without blemish was sacrificed on the altar in the Temple to atone for the sins of the people. The Atonement Offering was the means by which God and man were reconciled in the sacrificial system in Jesus’ day. Then, the priest would offer the incense.
The Pharisee considered himself to be a strict keeper of the law – “haberim” in Hebrew. He was part of an exclusive group… then there was everybody else.
The Prayer of the Pharisee v. 11-12
Matthew 6:5
Prayer pattern:
• Giving thanks to God.
• Praising God for His good works.
• Lift up your needs.
In his study, Dr. Harry Wendt believes the whole list the Pharisee uses is meant to refer to the tax collector – “extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers.” Actually, this is not a prayer. It is an attack based on the Pharisee’s view of himself
In every generation of the Church, we must ask the question – “What is keeping others from joining us?”
Prayer of the Tax Collector v. 13
This man feels his great need for God deep down inside. Have you felt this way? Felt it lately?
Breath Prayer The Jesus Prayer
Breath out – “Jesus Christ”
Breath in – “Son of God”
Breath out – “have mercy on me”
Breath in – “a sinner”
Jesus Explains the Parable v. 14
There is a danger to be avoided! Do not exalt yourself!
What is the alternative to exalting self? We are told to humble self. Seek God. Seek God’s will. Seek God’s way. Don’t look at others!
God is not asking for your resume. He does not need a list of your accomplishments. God could care less if you can pray a great and mighty prayer. God is waiting to pour out His great love on the one who comes in humble submission to Him.
Will you come this way? If you do, expect to have God’s love poured out on you! Amen
For further study on this parable – check out
Question: "What is the meaning of the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector?"
https://www.gotquestions.org/parable-Pharisee-tax-collector.html
