Luke 18:9-14

Luke 18:9-14 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

In this passage, God justifies a collaborator with the hated Romans, a man considered a traitor by his own people. The tax collectors were known for cheating: collecting more taxes than the Romans required and pocketing the excess for themselves. Tax collectors were rejected by the Jewish community. Yet, even though this tax collector was considered one of the worst people in the Jewish world, he was justified by God who heard his prayers and forgave him. On the other side of the coin, we have a leader in the community, a man who constantly sought to live a holy life. He did everything he knew to please God, even tithing his spices. This "holy man" willingly lived a very restricted and demanding life for God. Nevertheless, God did not justify him, would not forgive him for who he was: a sinful man. This story reveals a righteous God who hears humble and contrite hearts. He justifies those who repent, who come to God knowing who they are and who God is in his holiness.

The tax collector needed mercy and grace, and he received it because of his contrite heart. HE KNEW WHO HE WAS. He knew he could not hide any part of his life from an all-knowing God. He knew God reads the external activities and attitudes of our lives, but He also reads the thoughts in our hearts. We are an open book to him. Jesus says, if you have adultery in your heart, you might as well have committed the act, for your evil desires are registered in heaven as adultery. It is in the book. That is true of every wayward thought that passes through our minds. If you have thoughts of anger, bitterness, murder, revenge, envy, rage, sexual impurity, and the like, you might as well have acted on these thoughts because in reality they are registered in heaven. In God's domain, everything that is not God-like is sin: unbelief, faithlessness, anxiety, fear, restlessness, depression, fickleness, indecision, and so on. The tax collector knew who God was; the Pharisee who prayed about himself did not understand God's nature. The tax collector knew his life and thoughts were an open book to God; the Pharisee thought God did not know parts of his life. The tax collector found grace and mercy; the Pharisee found judgment.

I am surprised to think that some Christians think their lives are more acceptable to God than other Christians. I fear for them for they don't really understand the total necessity of God's grace and mercy in their lives. No man will stand before God in his own righteousness. No one will be able to say to God, I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. All have sinned and have come short of the glory and holiness of God. Like sheep, we all have gone our own way. No man can come to God with an attitude of self. Right standing with God comes through who Jesus Christ is and not who we are in ourselves. God says, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. When we accept Christ as our Lord, we humble ourselves and repent of our lives. As we receive Jesus as our Savior and life, we become one with God.

The story of the Pharisee and the tax collector tells us that God hears a humble and contrite heart, but He will not accept people's works as a propitiation for sin. When Jesus died and rose again, He became our sacrifice for sin. Jesus humbled himself and went to the cross. IN HIM, we humbled ourselves and went to the cross. IN HIM we are resurrected to freedom from sin and to eternal life. Now we can approach God boldly IN JESUS CHRIST. My friend, IN CHRIST we are all equal, all in need of God's grace. Through the blood of Jesus, we all have equal access to the Father. We are known as his beloved children. If you have fallen into self-righteousness or you have viewed yourself as less sinful than others, repent today and be restored to your Lord. His grace is sufficient for you and for me.