"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. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' 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!'"
--Luke 18:11-13 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on August 19, 2013 of Psalm 142; Luke 17:20-18:14; Esther 3-5.
In the opening to today's focus verses, Luke notes that Jesus "spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others" (please see verse 9). These are what we might call the self-righteous, who feel certain they are doing right in the eyes of God yet they don't follow some of His most basic commands like loving one another. This pretty much describes the vast majority of the Jewish religious leadership at the time when Jesus walked this earth, and indeed he even uses a Pharisee as the antagonist in this tale. In His parable Jesus compares the prayers of a Pharisee and a tax collector who both go into the Temple to pray.
The Pharisee opens his prayer and immediately puts himself above others. He thanks God that he is not like the more common men. Now in all fairness, those he lists are kind of nasty and sinful. Even the tax collector, who in those days was despised and considered almost as traitors to the Jewish people for serving the Roman occupiers. Sometimes we use the phrase, "There but for the grace of God", when comparing ourselves to others, often due to some misfortune they endure but sadly as often if not more so when we consider ourselves better than they. And the Pharisee followed the rules and tithed from all he owned, not just based on his earnings. As far as Pharisees go, this one would have been among the best of the bunch. But he still ran counter to what Jesus taught, to how we should relate to others and to God. He exalted himself. Rather than putting others first, in the role of a servant, he put himself above others. He let his dislike for others taint his view of them. And he had no love for them, seeing in them only their sin rather than separating the person from the sin. Jesus teaches to hate the sin while loving the sinner. The Pharisee trusted in himself and his works to justify his salvation.
The tax collector, on the other hand, knows he is a sinner, knows he has done wrong. He stands far off, as if afraid to get too close to the altar lest God punish him right there on the spot. He berates himself and asks for mercy, readily acknowledging his sinful nature. Everything about him speaks "humble", and that is exactly how he approaches God. He doesn't think that he deserves anything or is worthy of anything, nor does he give God a list of all his good works. No, he has faith in God's mercy and trust in His grace when he humbly begs forgiveness.
Jesus concludes the parable with His moral. The Pharisee who exalted himself in prayer to God will be humbled when he stands in God's presence on his day of judgment, and it won't be pretty. The tax collector, because he humbled himself before God, will be exalted and justified by our Lord Jesus Christ to his salvation. We can choose whether we want to be like the Pharisee or the tax collector, whether we want to be exalted by man and humbled by God or humble before man and exalted before God. Choose wisely. Amen.
Heavenly Father, too often we fit the image of the Pharisee more than the tax collector. We think we are doing what You would have us do. We obey the rules and give charitably, we sit in church each Sunday and sing Your praises. But our heart isn't always in the right place. Sometimes we want to be highly esteemed by our fellow men than serve them and be seen in a lower light. Forgive us Lord when we fail to follow the example Your Son set for us, that of a humble servant. Help us be humble now so that we might be exalted and justified by our Savior when we stand in Your presence. In the most blessed name of our Savior Jesus we pray. Amen.
The Pharisee opens his prayer and immediately puts himself above others. He thanks God that he is not like the more common men. Now in all fairness, those he lists are kind of nasty and sinful. Even the tax collector, who in those days was despised and considered almost as traitors to the Jewish people for serving the Roman occupiers. Sometimes we use the phrase, "There but for the grace of God", when comparing ourselves to others, often due to some misfortune they endure but sadly as often if not more so when we consider ourselves better than they. And the Pharisee followed the rules and tithed from all he owned, not just based on his earnings. As far as Pharisees go, this one would have been among the best of the bunch. But he still ran counter to what Jesus taught, to how we should relate to others and to God. He exalted himself. Rather than putting others first, in the role of a servant, he put himself above others. He let his dislike for others taint his view of them. And he had no love for them, seeing in them only their sin rather than separating the person from the sin. Jesus teaches to hate the sin while loving the sinner. The Pharisee trusted in himself and his works to justify his salvation.
The tax collector, on the other hand, knows he is a sinner, knows he has done wrong. He stands far off, as if afraid to get too close to the altar lest God punish him right there on the spot. He berates himself and asks for mercy, readily acknowledging his sinful nature. Everything about him speaks "humble", and that is exactly how he approaches God. He doesn't think that he deserves anything or is worthy of anything, nor does he give God a list of all his good works. No, he has faith in God's mercy and trust in His grace when he humbly begs forgiveness.
Jesus concludes the parable with His moral. The Pharisee who exalted himself in prayer to God will be humbled when he stands in God's presence on his day of judgment, and it won't be pretty. The tax collector, because he humbled himself before God, will be exalted and justified by our Lord Jesus Christ to his salvation. We can choose whether we want to be like the Pharisee or the tax collector, whether we want to be exalted by man and humbled by God or humble before man and exalted before God. Choose wisely. Amen.
Heavenly Father, too often we fit the image of the Pharisee more than the tax collector. We think we are doing what You would have us do. We obey the rules and give charitably, we sit in church each Sunday and sing Your praises. But our heart isn't always in the right place. Sometimes we want to be highly esteemed by our fellow men than serve them and be seen in a lower light. Forgive us Lord when we fail to follow the example Your Son set for us, that of a humble servant. Help us be humble now so that we might be exalted and justified by our Savior when we stand in Your presence. In the most blessed name of our Savior Jesus we pray. Amen.
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