Which One Am I?

WHICH ONE AM I?

LUKE 18:9-14

#SpiritualPride

INTRODUCTION

I was reading and listening in the Gospel of Luke the other week and a parable of Jesus smacked me right in the heart. I am going to share the parable with you today and see if it smacks you as well. The passage comes right after a parable that Jesus teaches that is very hard to understand (Luke 18:1-8) and often needs some digging to fully understand. The parable we are going to focus on today is not hard to understand at all, but we often don’t think it applies to us. The parable that Jesus tells needs absolutely no explanation, but does need honest application in each of our lives. We will be in Luke 18 today. We will focus on the second parable Jesus teaches in this chapter.

This parable occurs in the middle of several other parables, significant teaching, and memorable events. Jesus is traveling to Jerusalem to die. Luke 16-19 all lead up to Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, which we call the Triumphal Entry, in Luke 19. Think of this as happening two weeks before Jesus dies on the cross. There is a lot going on in this section of Luke:

#1 Parable of the Dishonest Manager (16:1-13)

#2 Teaching on Divorce and Remarriage (16:18)

#3 Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (16:19-31)… one of my favorites

#4 Cleansing of the Ten Lepers (17:11-19)

#5 Parable of the Persistent Widow (18:1-8)

#6 Jesus’ interaction with the Rich Young Ruler (18:18-30)

#7 Jesus heals a blind beggar (18:35-43)

#8 Jesus and Zacchaeus (19:1-10)

TRANSITION

In the middle of all of that teaching and travel and interaction we have Luke 18:9-14. Jesus tells a parable where we do not have to pray or dig for the meaning, but rather the beginning of the passage tells us right away what the meaning of the parable is about. Let’s read Luke 18:9-14.

VERSE 9: POINT OF THE PARABLE

READ LUKE 18:9 (ESV)

“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.”

Honestly, we have to stop right there even after one verse. This parable will need very little explanation, but as I said, it will need honest application in our lives. Depending on how self-aware we are emotionally or spiritually, we may not see that Jesus is speaking directly to us.

The parable was directed: “to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous.” That word “righteous” probably describes those who ritually kept the Law of God from the Old Testament. Jesus is talking to those who thought they were morally superior to others around them. There is a reason, in a moment, one of the people in the parable is a Pharisee. Pharisees were known for being super religious and very observant of all of God’s commands.

The parable was directed to those who not only considered themselves better than others, but: “treated others with contempt.” That word at the end of verse 9 is “contempt” (ESV, KJV, AMP, NASB) or “scorned” (TLB) which means to “utterly give no account” about someone. It is a pretty intense word. There is a reason, in a moment, that the other person in the parable is a tax collector. In Jesus’ day, tax collectors were considered traitors and thieves because of how Rome set up the tax system and had local people draining their neighbors’ pockets.

There are other examples of this same attitude in the teachings of Jesus and even in the life of Jesus that He experienced. I think about Jesus’ parable earlier in Luke (chapter 15) which we title the ‘Parable of the Prodigal Son.’ In that parable, the older brother felt morally superior to his younger brother who had sinned… and yet we see that the older brother was living in just as much error as his brother. I think about the religious leaders, like those in Matthew 23, that claimed moral and spiritual authority over Jesus and others and yet looked down on those they defined as sinners and even plotted to kill Jesus.

TRANSITION

Let’s keep reading. After we read, we will navigate a series of thoughts because as I thought and prayed about this parable, my mind went from one Truth to the next. As I studied and reflected about this parable, my thought process was much like one domino falling on another or one dot connecting to another. Let’s keep reading.

VERSES 10-14: PARABLE ABOUT SPIRITUAL PRIDE

READ LUKE 18:10-14 (ESV)

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up 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, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”