About this sermon
Jesus told this parable to those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt. The Pharisee listed his virtues, while the tax collector stood far off and prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” The tax collector went home justified, and those who trust in Jesus learn to treat other sinners with mercy.
Sermon transcript
None can overflow, round His standard raging, victory is secure. For victory unchanging is the triumph’s goal. Please be seated. It’s good to be with you once again this Sunday evening, and let me ask you to turn in the scriptures to Luke chapter 18. Luke chapter 18, verses 9 through 14. I keep forgetting that I prepare in the ESV, so I’m going to read from the ESV. Luke chapter 18, verses 9 through 14.
Several months ago, our presbytery was examining a candidate, and the candidate was asked, if you had only one sermon left to preach in your life, what passage would you preach on? And I immediately thought of this passage. And I was immediately reminded that it’s been a long time since I had preached on this passage. And so I have revisited it, and I’d like to revisit it with you. Luke chapter 18, verses nine through 14. He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt.
Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 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. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get. 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. 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.”
Please pray with me. Oh Lord, we are reminded this evening that your word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. May it indeed pierce our hearts, transform our hearts, and change our lives for your glory and our good. I pray in Jesus’ name, amen. Some of you may know the name of John Freeman.
He is the director of Harvest USA. It is a ministry to, as they describe them, sexual strugglers in the Philadelphia area, and now it’s in the Pittsburgh area as well. He tells the story of once leaving his office in Center City, Philadelphia, and he saw a group of men standing on the street corner.
He assumed they were probably prostitutes. He says the roar of laughter, profanity, and general rowdiness of the group was causing quite a disturbance on the corner. In fact, as he observed this, he saw pedestrians walking on the other side of the street to avoid this group of men. He said he thought to himself, why do decent people have to put up with this? And he even thought about calling the police. Well, that was a Saturday when this happened, and so the next Sunday he went to worship, and that was a Sunday his congregation was observing the Lord’s Supper. And as he sat there preparing to receive the elements, he remembered those men, and he said, I sort of heard almost a voice in my spirit. And this voice said, Freeman, who do you think you are? Who do you think you are? What about us? Who do we think we are?
Jesus here imagines a scene in the temple. It’s where the people gathered to pray. Sometimes they would pray publicly. Sometimes they would pray privately. The temple, though, was not just a place of prayer. It was a cultural center in Jerusalem. All sorts of people came there for all sorts of reasons.
And so Jesus tells a parable of the temple. And it’s a pretty simple parable. And so our path is really pretty simple this evening. We’re going to learn about a couple of people in this parable. And then we will ask ourselves two vital questions of ourselves. So who are the two people? Sometimes with parables we make a mistake by reading too much into the details, but this is such a short parable with such details that are all important. We need to look at every detail to understand these two men. The first is the Pharisee.
The Pharisees were the religious overachievers of the day. They were like your coworker who doesn’t just come to a meeting with a report, he or she comes with charts and graphs and footnotes and appendices, right? This is like the college student who turns in their work two weeks early. This is like your teammate on a team who runs three extra miles without even being asked.
Pharisees were the separated ones. They lived differently from the non-Jews around them, certainly, but even from the Jews around them who weren’t quite as achievers or achieving as they were. It was good that they were serious about their faith, but it led to some problems. I see four problems with the Pharisees.
One is what we call externality. They did what the written law should do, said they should do. They did what their oral law said they should do, but they didn’t seem too concerned about the hard attitudes behind their actions. They not only had externality, they had formality. They did what the law said they should do, but they seem concerned with just crossing their duties off on a list. They had externality and formality.
They also had what I call multiplicity. They multiplied the rules. They had the written law of God, what they were required to do by that, but they also had all sorts of oral traditions that they required themselves and others to follow. And because of their externality and their formality and their multiplicity, they also had superiority. As they did what they thought they should do, they critiqued everybody who didn’t do exactly as they did.
Now what about this particular Pharisee? Just observe some things with me from the parable. He is in a certain place. He’s in the temple. Where is he in the temple? Well, different translations handle the phrase in verse 11 differently. He’s either by himself, or he’s praying to himself, or he’s praying about himself. But either way, at least spiritually, and maybe physically, he is in a place where he has separated himself from other people.
He has a clear focus himself. As one writer says, he glances at God, but he contemplates himself. So he is in a certain place. He has a clear focus. He also has a detailed list, doesn’t he? What does he discuss in this prayer? He discusses all the things he has done before God and all the things he has done for God. He fasts twice a week. The written law did not require you to fast twice a week.
But remember, he’s an overachiever. He gives tithes of all he gets. The written law required certain tithes on crops, but there were disagreements about what all should be included in the tithes, so he tithes on everything he gets. So he is in a certain place, he has a certain focus on himself, he has a detailed list, and he has a particular goal. He wants to demonstrate to God that he is not like other men. They steal. They act unjustly. They commit adultery. They collect taxes for the Roman governments.
Fundamentally, the goal of this man’s thinking, the goal of this man’s prayer, is to make clear for all to see, including God, especially God, to make clear for all to see that he is not like other men. He is in a different category. He is on a deeper sphere. He’s on a higher level than the common rabble around him. Whether it’s those non-Jewish dogs and pigs, or whether it’s those Jews who aren’t quite as devoted as he is. and are too benighted to see how much more faithful they should be. That’s who he thinks he is. Fundamentally different than other men.
Every now and then, You read in the paper or hear on the news about what I call do you know who I am incidents. It usually involves an entertainer or an athlete or a politician and it usually seems to happen on an airplane, right? Something goes wrong. Maybe a flight is overbooked. Maybe first class is full. Maybe the food or the booze runs out. And the airline personnel are trying to deal with things and follow their procedures, but that athlete, that entertainer, that business person stands up and walks over and says, do you know who I am? What are they saying?
I’m not like these other people. I’m not like these common, average, mediocre, unaccomplished, unimportant people. I’m great. I’m valuable. I should have the right to do whatever I want to do because of all I’ve done and because of who I am. That’s what the Pharisee is doing. He is saying to God, and by implication to others, do you know who I am? What about the tax collector?
If the Pharisees were the religious overachievers of the day, the tax collectors were the societal losers of the day. They had at least four things going against them, okay? First, they were traitors. They collected taxes for the hated Roman government, and people hated taxes then just like they do now.
The Romans hired the locals like this because they knew the terrain. They knew the area. They knew the people. They were traders. They were also thieves. You can guess how the system worked. The tax collector owed a certain amount to Rome, and so what the tax collector would do would be to collect what he was owed and then take a little bit more for himself. So they were traitors and they were thieves. They were also unclean. You see, what did they do? They handled money. They touched all these things that non-Jews touched.
You weren’t supposed to touch a tax collector. You were not supposed to touch anything they had touched. They were also Sabbath breakers. The Roman culture didn’t care that much about the Jewish Sabbath. They weren’t concerned about the scruples of these religious people. And so these collectors worked when they had to work, even if it was on the Sabbath. So let’s notice some things about the tax collector then.
He’s also in a certain place, just like the Pharisee. In verse 13, we read that he stands far off. He may be at a distance from God. He may be at a distance from other people. He may be in a corner of the temple. And that’s okay with everybody. They don’t want him around. So he’s in a certain place, like the Pharisee. He also has a certain focus, a clear focus, a literal focus of casting his eyes down.
It’s a symbol of submission, of humility, of shame. You know what it’s like, what’s it like when you can’t look somebody in the eye? Well, sometimes it’s because people are shy, I get that, but sometimes you don’t want to look somebody in the eye because you’re ashamed of what you’ve done and you don’t want them to look at you and you don’t want to look at them. You tremble at what you might see. This man in his heart trembles as he contemplates what might happen if he would actually look toward God.
So he’s like the Pharisee in some ways, but there’s one way he’s not like the Pharisee. He doesn’t have a list. He has no list of his accomplishments before God. He just stands there at a distance with his eyes down and he beats his breast in grief and mourning and repentance and sorrow. So he’s in a certain place, he has a clear focus, he does not have a list, but he is like the Pharisee in one other way.
He has a particular goal. What does he want? What does the tax collector seek? What does he hope to get from his approach to God? He cries, God be merciful to me, a sinner. It’s interesting, the word translated merciful here is not the word we usually see in the New Testament that’s translated merciful. It’s the word that gives us the English word propitiation. What is propitiation? It’s the quenching of God’s wrath toward human sin. God is holy. God is just. He hates sin. He hates injustice. He hates wrong. And he responds to sin with holy and just and righteous fury.
Now we know we live in a culture where many say, I don’t believe that. That’s God’s nature. We have many in our culture who say they don’t like that. I would argue that deep in our hearts we do want a just God. As we see the injustice and the unrighteousness around us, we cry out for a certain level of justice. Well, part of us does. You say you want justice, then you think, well, if he’s going to deal justly with those people, he may be dealing justly with me, too.
And the news doesn’t sound so good. You realize, as you think about it, you have on your own no way to avoid the wrath of God. And when you know that, it’s when you cry with the tax collector. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. He knows he faces the condemning judgment of a holy God. And so he begs God, quench your wrath, free me from the judgment I deserve.
This all points us to the biblical concept of sacrifice. Transgression has to be punished to the fullest extent of the law or God is not just. Either you will pay for your sin yourself, or someone will have to pay for your sin for you. And Jesus is hinting at what He makes explicit elsewhere. He’s the sacrifice.
He’s the one who quenches the wrath of the Father by suffering the punishment we deserve for our sins. And so even in His wrath over sin, God burned with love for His people. And he sent Christ to receive the punishment we deserve, so that we receive the mercy of God and rejoice in the mercy of God. You see, that’s the mercy the tax collector knows he needs. A mercy he cannot demand, a mercy he does not deserve, and a mercy he knows only God can give to him as a gift.
I read a story a few years ago from the author David Kuo, who actually has died since he wrote his book. This man, David, tells the story of his father, who was in China, trapped after World War II, and he wanted to migrate to the United States, so he went to the appropriate U.S. embassy to apply to migrate to the U.S., and he received an application application and it was returned to him with the word stamped on it rejected. So he tried again and the same man was at the counter and the same man pulled out the same stamp and raised his hand to stamp it on the application again and somebody behind him called him and talked to him and whispered in his ear. And the man came back and pulled out a different stamp and banged it down on the application and said, accepted.
That’s what the tax collector’s goal is. Acceptance by God. He knows on the basis of his life and deeds, he will be rejected. But we might say when the savior whispers in the ear of the father. On the basis of the cross work of what Christ has done, a different stamp will come crashing down for this tax collector. A stamp that says accepted. And so we have two men. We have a Pharisee and a tax collector. Jesus says one exalts himself and he will be humbled. The other humbles himself and he will be exalted. It’s because the tax collector knows that he needs the saving mercy of God that he goes home justified. He’s in a right relationship with God.
You’re one of the two men. I’m one of the two men. Which are you? Luke starts this parable with some helpful words. And that leads to two questions I want to ask as you think about that. Luke says, Jesus is speaking to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and who treated others with contempt. So you have these two men. Ponder these two questions.
First, how much do you trust yourself? How much do you trust yourself? Now don’t answer too quickly. Jonathan Edwards wrote that pride is the worst viper that is in the human heart. The greatest disturber of the soul’s peace and sweet communion with Christ. The most difficultly rooted out and is the most hidden secret and deceitful of all the lusts. and often creeps in insensibly into the midst of religion and sometimes under the disguise of humility.
You say, wait a minute, we’re the OPC. I say, I’m the PCA. We believe in all five points of Calvinism. We’re really reformed. But I’m not asking about the sign on your front lawn or my front lawn. I’m not asking about our shared confessional documents. I’m asking about your heart. I’m asking about my heart. What’s there? What does God see? How much do you trust yourself?
Maybe you’re trusting in your doctrine, but you’re not saved by your doctrine. Maybe you’re trusting in your service to the church, but you’re not saved by your service to the church. Maybe you’re trusting in the ways you’ve obeyed God’s law, but no one is saved by obeying God’s law. Maybe you’re trusting in the absence of scandal in your life, but you aren’t saved by merely staying out of trouble. Maybe you’re saved by the fact that you do better than a lot of the people around you, but God doesn’t grate on a curve.
You know what’s helpful here? What’s really helpful here is the 15th chapter of the Westminster Confession. The writers say we should not be content with a general repentance. We should repent of particular sins, particularly. Now, why is that important? I believe that if you content yourself with a general repentance, you will be a Pharisee. If you content yourself with a general repentance, you will be a Pharisee.
The Pharisees didn’t think they were sinless. The Pharisees knew that there was some role of God’s grace and mercy in their lives. But because of all that externality, all of that formality, all of that multiplying of laws, all of that sense of superiority, they couldn’t see the particular ways they’d sinned and the particular ways they needed God’s grace.
They had a sense of sin that was shallow and narrow and comparative and transactional. What do I mean by that? Their sense of sin was shallow. Oh yeah, I’m obeying in the ways people can see. They had a sense of sin that was narrow. Well, I obey in these certain ways. They had a sense of sin that was comparative. Well, I may do some things wrong, but I do better than other people. They had a sense of sin that was transactional.
I obey God, God blesses. That’s the deal. I obey God, God blesses. And so when the day was done, they were trusting in themselves. They were trusting in themselves to do whatever needed to be done to make themselves righteous before God. So how much do you trust yourself? You know, at night, as you reflect on your day, it’s good to get particular. You know, some of our sins are out there for everybody to see. So many of them are inward. Nobody can see.
Some of our sins are purely against God. Some of our sins are against others as well. Some of our sins are our sins of thought. Some are sins of words. Some are sins of deed. Some of our sins are commission, doing what I shouldn’t do. Some are omission, not doing what I should do. Some of our sins are unintentional. Some of our sins are very intentional. As some of our sins are clearly sin, there’s other things where we’re not so sure whether we’ve sinned. There are some sins we admit easily, and there are some sins we resist admitting. There are sins we remember, and there are sins we forget. Repent particularly.
And as you do that, you know what you will say to God at the end of the day? In the words of the song, what you’ll say to God is, I’ve got nothing. I’ve got nothing. I have no magic words for you God. I have no makeup deeds for you God. I have no excuse for my sin God. You will say, God have mercy on me, a sinner. Through the perfect merits of Jesus, by the propitiating mercy of Jesus, God have mercy on me, a sinner. I have nothing to stand before you in my own righteousness. It all has to be Christ. How much do you trust yourself?
Charles Spurgeon tells the story of an artist. He was painting pictures of people around the city of London. And he was especially fascinated by a street sweeper in the city of London. And street sweepers were notoriously dirty people physically. And so he got this street sweeper and he said, come, come to my studio, let me paint you. Let me paint a portrait of you. And the street sweeper showed up and he was all cleaned up. And the artist sent him away.
Spurgeon said, in the same way the gospel will receive you into its halls if you come as a sinner, not otherwise. Do not wait for reformation, but come at once for salvation. Christ justifies the ungodly, and that takes you up where you are now. It meets you in your worst state.
My friends, don’t trust yourself. You are like other men. Trust Jesus alone. One more question. How do you treat others? How do you treat others? Luke says Jesus offered this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt. See, I think your answer to this question will flow from your answer to the first question. If you have a firm grasp of the gospel, if you realize you need Christ just as much as anyone else needs Him and everyone else needs Him, you will treat people very differently than the Pharisee did. You will approach them not from an arrogant disdain for how much they have wrong and how stupid they are, but you will have a humble grasp of how fallen all of us are. and how we all need Christ.
We’ll do this culturally. I’m not going to stand here and recite for you all the foolishness we see in the culture. We want to rant and rave about it all the time, but then we have to say, wait a minute. Apart from Jesus Christ, the human mind is futile. The human heart is darkened. It’s only by God’s common grace that this world is not as bad as it could be. Should we expect sinners to do anything but sin? We should also remember that apart from the grace of God, that’s us.
That’s us calling something marriage that isn’t marriage. That’s us chopping up children in the womb and selling the body parts. That’s us worshiping money. That’s us killing random police officers out of anger and vengeance. That’s us calling evil good and calling good evil in all kinds of ways. Apart from the grace of God, that’s you, that’s me, that’s us.
So how do I think and speak about these people out there in my culture? Do I think and speak of them with a compassion and a humility that comes with the knowledge that I am also a desperately needy tax collector apart from the grace of God? I think this applies personally too. I want you to think about your relative who’s addicted to something, legal or illegal. I want you to think about that neighbor who’s making the most foolish decisions. Think about that marriage you know of that is falling apart because the husband and wife are so relentlessly selfish.
Think about that coworker whose worldview can only be described as sort of a mishmash of narcissistic do-goodism and Buddhism and materialism and fatalism. How do you treat those people? Do you treat them with contempt? Do you dismiss and disdain them? Do you wish they’d just go away? Or do you pray for them? Do you seek to serve and bless them? Do you ask for the opportunity and the ability to direct their hearts and minds to Christ?
John Newton told the story, he said, a company of travelers fall into a pit. One of them gets a passenger to draw him out. Now, he should not be angry with the rest for falling in, nor because they are not yet out as he is. He did not pull himself out. Instead, therefore, instead of reproaching them, he should show them pity. A man truly illuminated will no more despise others than Bartimaeus after his own eyes were opened would take a stick and beat every blind man he met.
You see, when we treat people arrogantly, we play the part of the Pharisee. We betray the very gospel we say we believe. But when we approach people humbly, we play the part of the tax collector. and we display the glory of the gospel and we show people the only one who can free sinners from the guilt and power of sin.
So someday I will preach my last sermon. I hope it’s not tonight. And someday you’ll hear your last sermon. I hope it’s not tonight. Someday you will be before God in the Temple of Temples. How will you stand before Him? With the arrogance of the Pharisee? Or with the humility of the tax collector? And how will He judge the way you have treated people in your life?
James Boyce told the story of an elderly Scotswoman who was talking to a preacher. And this woman was just so good at talking about how she’d gone to church and how she’d read the Bible and how she’d prayed and how she’d done good deeds. And this Scottish preacher said to this woman, you know, you have to choose between trusting in these and trusting in the redemption that God offers you in Christ.
You can’t have both. You can’t be both a Pharisee and a tax collector. Either you’re trusting in yourself, or you’re trusting in Jesus. And if you are trusting in Jesus, my friends, it will change everything about the way you treat the people around you. Who do you think you are?
Let’s pray. Lord, I don’t know if these people needed to hear this sermon, but I know I did. I’m pretty confident we all needed to. Give us the heart of the tax collector. Give us hearts that trust purely in Jesus and love people the way Jesus would have us to love them. God have mercy on us sinners. And God help us to have mercy on sinners. Because that is what we are. Thank you for your glory. And thank you for your grace. Through Jesus, in Jesus, by Jesus. Amen.
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