LUKE 18:9-14

Luke 18:9-14

What makes a person right before God? A person acceptable to God? Those may sound like fundamental and simple questions at church and for most in the Christian faith, since the answers are what makes Christianity, Christianity. It’s what sets the Christian faith apart from other religions. But understand, how you answer the questions may determine your destiny, your eternity. You see, I believe those are some of the most important questions of all, and ones we must get right.

And I wonder how many don’t truly know the answers to the questions. Let me ask the question this way – you’ve probably heard it before, but when you die and let’s say you go to the entrance of heaven – there to meet you is Jesus Himself. And He asks you, “Why should I let you into My heaven?” How would you answer Him? Because if you answer that question in the first person, because I, then you may not understand the Christian faith at all. We’ll come back to that.

We talked about prayer last week and continue this week. Back-to-back parables. Last week, we learned about persistence in prayer – to pray at all times and to not lose heart. But, Jesus made a significant lesser-to-greater argument, suggesting that if an unrighteous judge can be pestered by a poor widow into answering requests, how much more can we expect our supreme and infinitely righteous Father who loves to hear and answer prayers – according to His always good and glorious purposes. How much more?

This week, we will learn a bit more about prayer. You see, last Sunday, the focus was on the One to whom we pray; this week, we learn about the ones who pray – and the attitude with which we approach the throne of grace. I said throne – you understand when we pray, we are approaching the King of the universe, God on His throne.

I recently reread the book of Esther – great book – I know the ladies studied it this summer. You may remember when Uncle Mordecai encouraged Esther to go to her husband, the king, to intercede for her people the Jews against Haman, she responded, “Um, we’ve got a slight problem here, uncle. The king has not summoned me. Even I can’t just waltz into the throne room – into the king’s presence uninvited. If he doesn’t extend the golden scepter, signaling his favor, I will die.” Of course, Mordecai reminded her that if she didn’t go, not only would she die, but so would all the Jews. That’s when she said, okay, I’ll go – tell everyone to fast for me. And then the famous words, “and if I perish, I perish.” You could die going into the presence of the king uninvited.

Think about it – Esther had enough sense to tremble at the prospect of approaching the throne of an earthly king to ask for help for her people. How much more should we approach the throne of God – the King of all kings – with a degree of reverence and fear? How much more should He be the focus of our prayers.
And yet, the author of the book of Hebrews tells us remarkably we can approach the throne of grace to find help in time of need. When? Whenever we want. We have open access to the Father, the King, because of the work of His Son. It’s why we go in Jesus’ name – on His merit, not our own. If I can make a silly comparison – Jesus became the golden scepter continually extended to us through His cross-work, such that we are always invited, always welcome, and God is always favorably disposed to receive us. But, we don’t waltz into His presence and make demands as if we have the merit to do so. We have no merit – we have no righteousness by which to approach – we come humbly in the name and merit of Jesus Christ.

That truth is in our text – Luke 18:9-14. It’s always been one of my favorites. Let’s read that.

Another story that would have shocked the listeners – as Jesus brought this upside-down kingdom. A Pharisee praying at the Temple? Of course. But a tax collector at the Temple praying – unheard of. Shocking. As I’ve said before, I’ve never taught through Luke – and since this story is another found only in this gospel, I’ve never taught it. Oh, I’ve referenced it many times – and so, I couldn’t wait to get to it this week. I approached the week with great enthusiasm and finished the week with great humility. I hope that happens to you this morning. You see, there is a way to approach God on His throne.

This story is one of significant contrasts – eternal contrasts. We’re supposed to notice. Consider – two men went up to the temple to pray, which is where the similarity ends. One was highly esteemed, the other was universally hated. One came near, the other stood at a distance. One raised his eyes, the other lowered his. One raised his hands toward heaven, the other beat his breast. One boasted a spiritual resume, the other had nothing to offer. One listed his accomplishments, the other signaled his failures. One was righteous in his own eyes, the other was a sinner in his. One condemned others, the other condemned himself. And therefore, one left condemned, the other left justified. It’s an amazing, humbling story. It’s our story, if we really know the Christian faith.

As I thought about it, I thought, this would have been a good Sunday for you to invite all those good people you know – who don’t know Jesus. Because, you see, even good people need Jesus. But, maybe you are here – good people who don’t know Jesus. If you have no relationship with Christ, I want you to listen especially carefully – to be humbled, find out you’re not quite as good as you think you are, and to find Jesus. If you know Jesus, I want you to be humbled by the gospel one more time. It’s an amazing story. Here’s the outline of this incredible text:

I. The Purpose of the Parable (9) – like last week, given at the beginning lest there be any confusion to whom He’s talking and why.
II. The Parable Proper (10-13) – again, it’s a stunning story of contrasts. Two men, two prayers, and two destinies. There are only two destinies – the broad road and the narrow road, the wide gate and the narrow gate, the many and the few.
III. The Parable Applied (14) – applied to the self-exalted and to the humbled.

I would suggest to you this story has important application and perhaps confrontation for us today – especially in the Bible Belt South with lots of church-going people. I suspect we probably have a higher percentage of people who attend church than the rest of the country – maybe even the rest of the world. Which makes us prime targets for self-adulation, self-congratulation, and self-righteousness. You see, this story takes religious people to task – especially those who see themselves as religiously acceptable, even superior and therefore looking down condemningly, contemptuously toward others.

That’s what Luke says when he gives the purpose of this parable in verse 9. Notice the change of audience. Jesus was addressing the Pharisees in the middle of chapter 17, switched to the disciples with whom He continued last week into chapter 18. But now He switches back. We don’t know if this was at the same time – the word also there in verse 9 has no temporal reference. It was perhaps at the same time since it has the same topic, or Luke puts it here for that reason. But notice, He told this parable to some people – hanging around, always present – I suppose some to listen and learn, like Nicodemus – but most just to catch Him, trap Him, and oppose Him.

He told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves – don’t miss that phrase – it’s important. Let it sink in – it is the way of all other world religions – working to make it – and it’s also the way of many in our country. If there is a God, I’ll be okay – because I’m better than most. Truthing in themselves. They were not trusting in God for righteousness, but in themselves for their own righteousness. These were good people – as their culture – our culture would count good people. They did good things – they were good workers, good students, good neighbors, maybe even attended the local synagogue – or the local church. They obeyed the laws – even the law of God – mostly. They were just good people. At least they saw themselves that way – others saw them that way, too – and they therefore trusted in their goodness for their righteousness’ sake.

Oh, but that’s not all. Because they were so good, they viewed others with contempt. What others? Well, those who had not achieved the level of goodness they had. Jesus even said, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom. But these people, no doubt God would accept them – of all people. They were good people – who rightly rejected others. The word contempt is a strong word speaking of condescension, despising, and passing judgment – what we would call looking down your noses at others not as good as you. It’s a bit stronger than that – but you get the idea.

Which brings us to the parable proper in verses 10-13. And we meet two characters in this story. Last week, there were also two – they were the unjust judge and the poor widow – on opposite ends of the social and economic spectrum. This week, they are the Pharisee and the tax collector – on opposite ends of the social and spiritual spectrum.

Two men went up into the Temple to pray. Most of you know the Temple was built on a mount – the Temple Mount. Yes, there were higher mounts around – today, Mt. Scopus, Mt. Zion and the Mount of Olives. But it was at the time the highest mount in Jerusalem. Wherever you came from, you always went up to Jerusalem, and up to the Temple. So these two men went up to the Temple to pray. Likely going on the Southern Steps up to the Huldah Gates. There were two specific times of public prayer when most went to pray – 9:00 am and 3:00 pm, the latter of which was the time of the evening sacrifice – so most went then. We can rightly assume that’s when these two went. Big crowd – lots to see them.
Now, you probably also know there were a number of courts on the Temple Mount, like concentric circles getting closer to the Temple and its Holy of Holies. Farthest out was the Court of the Gentiles, followed by the Court of Women in which all clean Jews could enter, obviously including Jewish women. Gentiles were not allowed. It was on the wall between the court of the Gentiles and the court of women that the sign appeared – any foreigner found beyond this point will be responsible for his ensuing death. Next came the Court of Israel reserved only for Jewish men and last came the Court of the Priests which contained the brazen altar for burnt offerings. Obviously, only the priests could enter this court to do their priestly work.

Most agree the Pharisee, wanting to be seen as most holy, most righteous, and most acceptable, undoubtedly went into the court of Israel, right up to the entrance to the court of the priests – to be closest to the Holy Place. There, he would be most conspicuous to be seen and admired by the many present. The second man, a tax collector, likely stood at the farthest boundary – perhaps in the court of women or even at the outskirts of the court of the Gentiles.

Well, let’s meet these two men and their respective prayers as Jesus introduces them to us. In verse 11, we read the Pharisee stood and was praying – no doubt with his long and flowing phylacteries. There are lots of different postures for praying throughout Scripture – standing, sitting, kneeling, prostrate – but the most common was standing, with eyes fixed heavenward and hands raised. This demonstrated a godly and heavenly perspective from the needy one praying. Nothing wrong with that – so far, so good. But, when we read his prayer, we begin to see why this one stood for all to see. And he was not a needy one at all – oh no, he had it all together.

In fact, the parable goes on – the Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself. Now, some suppose that simply means he was praying silently. Every so often, someone will say something like, why don’t we all just pray to ourselves. I always want to yell out – no, don’t pray to yourself – you’ll be creating a new religion. But it’s possible that’s what was meant here. Probably not.

You see, Jesus said, the man was praying this to himself. All could hear his prayer. Now, it could be translated, the Pharisee was praying with reference to himself – he was praying about himself – he was praying to himself. He was at least praising himself. What did he say?

God, I thank you. At least he starts okay. That’s a good way to begin a prayer, thanking God, showing gratitude to Him. But who is this man actually thanking? I thank you that I – his gratitude is a smoke screen, opening the way to show and tell – to drag and brag. I thank you that I’m not like other people – swindlers (thieves and cheats), unjust (unrighteous, like the judge), adulterers (sexually immoral, yeah, let’s list all the really bad sinners I’m not like), or even like this tax collector. We’ll meet him in a moment. I’m much better than they are. What was the purpose of the parable in verse 9? It was given to people who were trusting in themselves and viewed others with contempt. And felt justified doing so. The Pharisees were actually proud of the fact they didn’t associate with sinners. Remember Matthew, the tax collector, and the party he threw for Jesus. No, they were proud they didn’t attend such parties – I don’t smoke, and I don’t chew, and I don’t with girls that do. I thank you, God, that I’m such a great guy.

Look at the next verse as this Pharisee now gives his spiritual resume – the things he does that makes him better. I fast twice a week – then, it was on Mondays and Thursdays. Aren’t you impressed? You’re supposed to be. Even though, there was only one fast day per year required – on the Day of Atonement – not this guy and his cronies. Sure, there were other called national fasts – but twice a week? Do the math – they were fasting one hundred times a year – a hundred times more than required. Of course they thought themselves righteous.

Not only that, I tithe – that is, I give ten percent of all I get. Now, tithing was prescribed under the Law to the Israelites – in terms of animals and certain produce. But as we saw earlier, these guys tithed on everything – they even counted their seeds to make sure God got His tenth – even though it wasn’t required. The point is, they went way above and beyond what the Law required. See how righteous I am. By the way, two short verses, two sentences, and in this prayer to God, the Pharisee says I five times – I-I-I-I-I. All in the active voice – all the things I do. We get to the tax collector, and his prayer is in the passive – this is what I need you to do. Who was this prayer really about?

So, let’s meet the next character – the tax collector. We’ve looked at tax collectors before, so I won’t belabor the point. You may remember during this time, Palestine had been under the oppressive rule of Rome for almost a hundred years. And one of the worst parts of Roman oppression was their system of taxation, which was horrible. The ability to tax was sold at public auction in Rome. The well-to-do, the upper class, like the senators, would buy the right to tax in certain regions, like Palestine. They didn’t collect the taxes personally – they hired people to do that. There was an entire hierarchy of tax collectors – until you finally reached the area you taxed – and that taxation was handled by countrymen, the locals, in this case, fellow Jews.

So these Jewish tax collectors were seen as traitors – and indeed, in some sense, they were. Whatever they could collect beyond what they had to pay upstream they kept for themselves. The tax collector was therefore rightly despised. Get that – he taxed the Jews for the hated Roman oppressors, and extorted and robbed the people along the way for his own benefit.

As a result, tax collectors, while often wealthy, were at the bottom of the social and religious strata in Israel. He was barred from the synagogue. He was forbidden to have any religious or even social contact with fellow Jews. He was ranked with unclean animals, which a devout Jew wouldn’t touch. He was in the class of pigs. You see, because of his position, he had to deal with dirty Gentiles. And, because he was seen as a traitor, a liar, and a cheat, he wasn’t even allowed to give testimony in a court of law. He was an extortioner, a traitor, he was greedy, unclean. He was ranked with the lowest of human society – with sinners, prostitutes, and Gentiles. He was completely ostracized by his own countrymen, and rightly so. In fact, it would have been shocking as Jesus told this parable that this tax collector was at the Temple at all – and we find this guy was, praying. Really? Nah, they don’t pray, and even if they do, God won’t listen.

What did this nameless tax collector do? First, he stood some distance away. Away from the Temple – probably just inside its boundaries. Why? He knew who and what he was. He was unwilling to lift his eyes toward heaven – his shame drove his gaze downward. The Pharisee looked down on everyone else; the tax collector looked down on himself. He didn’t raise his hands in the normal posture of prayer – he used them to beat on his chest. The word means he did it over and over – pounding on his chest, fully aware of his state before God.

And here were his words, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” He, like the Pharisee, addressed God first. But then, their prayers diverged and took drastically different directions. While the Pharisee cited his spiritual resume, the tax collector was aware he had none. He simply cried out for mercy. Only, it’s not the normal word for mercy. It’s the verb form of propitiation - hilaskomai. God, be propitious toward me. What is propitiation? It’s an offering so God would turn away from His rightly deserved wrath to the sinner. God, be propitious – show me mercy by turning away Your righteous wrath. To propitiate actually has two ideas: to expiate, which means to remove my sin, and propitiate, which means to remove your wrath.

And here was his spiritual resume – it had two words. He simply listed his job title – I am the sinner. Not a sinner, the sinner. When it came to standing before God, he knew he stood by himself. He was not one sinner among many, he was the sinner. There was no comparing himself to others standing around like the Pharisee did. When it comes to you and me, God, I am not just a sinner – I’m the sinner. He doesn’t try to deny his sin or his need. He knew he had no righteousness to bring to God – he simply cried out for mercy. Sometimes we hear of the so-called sinner’s prayer. If there is a sinner’s prayer in the Bible – this is it. God, be merciful to me. I am the sinner. You are the holy God. You are the only one who can make me righteous and acceptable to You. That’s the answer to the questions – only God can make me right and acceptable to Him.

It reminds us of Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 1 – this is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all – the worst of all. Remember, Paul had a spiritual resume he could have presented. He was, after all, a Pharisee – not just any Pharisee, a Pharisee of the Pharisees. As to the Law, the way the Pharisees kept it, blameless. But now, having come face to face with Christ on the road to Damascus, he knew who he was, the foremost of sinners. Well, I’m not that bad. Yeah, you are.

Jesus applies the parable in verse 14. I tell you – that’s an interesting way to speak – He doesn’t appeal to some authorized rabbi – actually not even to the Scripture directly – He speaks with His own authority as God – I tell you, this man (the tax collector, the one who cried out for mercy) went to his house justified. Stop right there. This is what sets Christianity apart from every other religion. It is the justification of God for sinners like this guy, like me, and like you. To be justified is to be declared righteous by God through the accepted work of His Son. We are justified not by our works – but by faith in His finished work. God, be merciful to me, the sinner. That’s how we would answer Jesus if He asked us, why should I let you into My heaven? It’s not, because I, but because You died on the cross for my sin. I have trusted in You and You alone for my salvation. What is it that makes a person right before God – acceptable to God? Trusting in the work of His Son.

Don’t miss it, because it has eternal consequences: the other man, who was proud of his spiritual resume did not go home justified, declared righteous. And he, and anyone else, who thinks they will get to heaven with their impressive resume with its list of all your accomplishments will be turned away. There are two destinies – one for the justified sinner, one for the unjustified good person. For, everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. That simply means, the one trusting in his own righteousness, exalting himself will be humbled at the entrance to heaven – his eternal destiny will not be there. He will be humbled. And everyone who humbles himself now – who cries out to God for mercy, will be exalted in the life to come – he will be accepted into the kingdom of heaven.

So I’m talking to people today who feel like the sinners that you are. Maybe you keep yourself at the edge of the Christian gatherings, you feel dirty and sinful and rotten. And you are. And you’re feeling beyond the reach of God’s grace. You aren’t. I have good news this morning. Would you hear the words of Jesus speaking to you right now – you can go home justified if you will simply call out to God, be merciful to me, the sinner. You can be forgiven. God will give you a brand-new heart, if you ask Him to. Paul says it clearly in Romans 3, “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been revealed…even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ.”

And second, I’m talking today to any here who may be modern-day Pharisees. You’ve never really thought yourself that bad. You’ve kind of depended on doing it right to make yourself acceptable to God. You’ve gone to church, you’ve crossed all the spiritual i’s and dotted all the religious t’s. And you feel pretty good about yourself. In fact, you feel pretty superior to others. You’re not nearly as bad as other people, and not nearly as bad as you could be. You think you’re pretty good. My message for you this morning is this. Jesus didn’t come to call the righteous – He came to call sinners. If you’re relying on your own goodness – you won’t make it. The gospel is not for you. It’s for people who realize their own sinfulness. Sinners are not saved by what they do – they are condemned by what they do. They can only be saved by what God has done through Christ. When you realize you can’t do it on your own, that despite all your external acts of righteousness, you’re rotten to the core, the gospel then becomes your only hope.

Listen to a poem titled, Two Went up into the Temple to Pray, by Richard Crenshaw, 1858:

Two went to pray? Or rather say,
One went to brag, th’other to pray:

One stands up close, and treads on high,
Where th’other dares not send his eye.

One nearer to God’s altar trod,
The other to the altar’s God.