Even Me

Thank you for reading this sermon from Christ Fellowship. I hope and pray that this sermon will be a blessing of grace and truth to you. With that said, let me encourage you not to use this sermon as a replacement for your local church. Christ Jesus did not establish his Church simply for us to consume content. Instead, He calls us to be part of a real, covenant family. 

Sometimes, when we approach the Bible, our knowledge of it can get in the way. We can make assumptions about things before the story has had time to work.

For instance, when we read the Gospels, the Pharisees already have a bad reputation with us. We know that Jesus had major problems with these men. We know that they were the ones primarily responsible for the plot to kill Jesus.

But the original audience did not think of the Pharisees the way we do. They were respected and admired by most of the people in their own time.

Very often, we are supposed to be identifying ourselves with the Pharisees. But that is difficult to do if we already have a bias against them. So, for this morning, I want to encourage you to approach this story with a fresh perspective. Don’t assume too much, because you might risk missing any personal application. Luke 18, beginning in verse 9:

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

Again, Luke gives us some important information even before he tells the story. The target audience here is the self-righteous person… a person whose self-righteousness leads them to treat others with contempt.

Here’s where the bias comes in, because most of us immediately think of religious people or churchy people. But the statement here is ANYONE who trusts in themselves that they are righteous. In other words, I am my own standard of right and wrong. And with that definition, we really live in a culture of self-righteousness. Everyone does what is right in their own eyes. That’s what self-righteousness means!

And I have to say, I have really appreciated the providence of God these last few weeks in providing us with Scripture that serves as an opportunity for wisdom and conviction surrounding a Presidential election.

There is a spirit of self-righteousness and contempt in our country on both sides of the political aisle that has no place in the Church of Jesus. We could ALL use some humility as we reflect on current events and this parable cuts deep to that end.

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

If you remember, this section of Luke began in chapter 15 when some of the Pharisees criticized Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners. In some ways, this parable is the high point of that theme.

Jesus tells a story with only these two characters. The audience is probably the Pharisees. So, Jesus is effectively saying, “Imagine you and a tax collector praying in the temple.”

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.

Standing was the typical posture of prayer in the temple, most likely facing the center of the temple – the holy place. The Pharisee begins his prayer of thanksgiving with a list of things he’s not guilty of.

But in Luke chapter 16, Jesus highlighted the sins of the Pharisees. They were lovers of money and experts at bending the law for their own purposes, even in cases of divorce.

And so, the irony here is that the Pharisee declares himself innocent of sins that he has probably committed! It’s easy to believe yourself to be innocent and superior when you are the standard of your own righteousness.

We also get the impression that he is looking around the room as he prays, comparing himself to the other worshippers instead of fixing his attention on God. He compares himself specifically to the tax collector. Then he says:

12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

Notice, he offers these words as a self-defense. How do I know I’m better than these other people? Because of these spiritual disciplines.

It should be noted, these are not bad things. Fasting twice a week was a personal choice – not something required by God’s law. Tithing was required, but the Pharisees clearly missed the spirit of the law in their efforts to keep the letter of the law.

These were good spiritual disciplines. Noble efforts. But they are also a weak self-defense in the presence of a Holy God. The Old Testament is full of indictments against the people of God for keeping the outward disciplines with a wicked heart. Stop fasting and tithing if you’re doing it to get something from God!

Jesus offers a similar indictment in Matthew 23, directed specifically at the Pharisees – you tithe your spices, but you have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness…

Self-righteousness can be very deceptive… it can be very difficult to see, especially in yourself. It hides under a pile of evidence we amass for ourselves, insulating us from the truth.

Self-righteousness can also be very confident. This man feels safe with God. He doesn’t seem insecure or confused about his relationship with God. And yet, according to Jesus, he is wrong. He is deluded. He is far from God. And now let’s turn our attention to the second man.

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!’

Be merciful to me. There’s a closer translation that says, “Be merciful EVEN to me” or “let there be atonement EVEN for me!”

This is a man aware of his sin. He is aware of his unworthiness. He is aware of his need. And that’s because he is also clearly aware of the holiness of God.

He has an obvious humility. In fact, the tax collector demonstrates a posture of shame. He’s looking down and he’s beating his own chest. That’s what shame looks like. And what does shame feel like?

It’s more than just “I did something wrong”, which is guilt. It’s a belief that “I AM something wrong.” Something is wrong with me. I’m not who I should be.

And so, we have these two men – side by side – praying to the same God. One comes in self-confidence and a short list of reasons why God should be proud to have him around! The other man comes in shame, asking for mercy.

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.”

The tax collector receives mercy, which is what he asked for. The Pharisee asked for nothing and got nothing, because he didn’t think he needed anything.

In the end, this is more than a cute story. It was a clear message to the Pharisees – you sat in the place of self-righteousness, passing judgment on my dinner guests. All the while, you yourselves are facing judgment without the mercy of God.

But it’s also another call to repentance… an invitation to humble ourselves under the holiness of God and seek His mercy.

At your lowest point, you are perhaps closer to God than you realize. At your most confident, you are perhaps farther away than you realize.

And so, we are being called to repent specifically of our self-righteousness. But remember, as I said earlier, self-righteousness is tricky. It’s deceptive. And it suffers from a false confidence.

For instance, consider again the prayer of the Pharisee: “God, thank you that I’m not like these sinners.” That’s an obviously self-righteous attitude. Right?

But what if we flip it? What if the tax collector glanced in his direction and said, under his breath, “God, thank you that I’m not like that Pharisee?” Do you see? It’s tricky.

You are not immune to self-righteousness just because you’ve lived a difficult life outside the church!

Perhaps you identify more with the tax collector in the story. You’ve always felt marginalized by the church… like an outsider. Church people drive you up the wall! But if you search your heart, you realize that is equally self-righteous, don’t you?

“God, thank you I’m not like those religious people!” And it extends outward from there.

God thank you I’m not like those Republicans. God thank you I’m not like those Democrats. God thank you I’m not like those… fill in the blank…

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

I can make a case for myself, but I can’t make a case for you. You’re a lost cause.

Treating other people with contempt comes from the belief that you are better than or more valuable than those other people… according to Jesus, this is a deep, serious spiritual problem.

The only answer to this problem is right there in verse 14. Humble yourself or you will be humbled.

How is a person justified? The Apostle Paul answers that question clearly in Romans 4 verse 5. We are justified not by works, but by faith. God justifies the ungodly, counting our faith in Jesus as righteousness.

In other words, Jesus decides who gets to be righteous. Not us. It has nothing to do with our efforts or our feelings about the matter. It is a gift. It cannot be earned.

Which of those two men seems to believe that? The Pharisee? Or the tax collector? It was the tax collector. But it’s not too late for the Pharisee. Otherwise, Jesus would have never told this parable. This was a mirror, held up to show us how foolish we have been, to believe that we deserve the favor of God.

Christians see this most clearly by returning time and time again to the cross. Why? Because the cross of Jesus puts two things on display at the same time… it was my sin that held him there AND it was the love of God that held him there.

There is atonement EVEN for me… mercy EVEN for me… thanks be to God in Christ.