“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. 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. 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.” – Luke 18:9-14 (ESV)
Jesus’ lesson is clear from Luke chapter 18. His words penetrate our souls deeply if we consider them for just a moment. Both men in the parable came before God to be “justified”. To “justify” in the Bible means to declare “just” or “righteous” as God is just or righteous. As we consider this parable, consider which man you most closely resemble.
The Pharisee was a Jewish religious leader of Jesus’ day. Pharisees were well-versed in Jewish doctrine, the Old Testament Scriptures, and were zealous for keeping God’s Law flawlessly. They were religious people who served as pious models for the Jewish people and worked hard to keep the Jewish faith pure and obedient to God’s Law. The Pharisees sound like committed religious people, right? They were certainly religious. Sadly, they usually missed the point of the Jewish faith altogether and to Whom it pointed…Jesus Christ. Pay very close attention to the Pharisee’s words in the parable.
“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.”
How did the Pharisee view himself? He saw himself as unlike other men who were sinners (extortioners, unjust, adulterers). He was unlike “sinners” in that he obeyed God in action as evidenced by his fasting and giving of money (tithes). The Pharisee went so far as to thank God for him not being like other men who are sinful. In fact, the Pharisee pointed out another sinner who was even in his presence…the tax collector.
Obviously, the Pharisee was abrasive with his self-righteous attitude. However, Jesus did not seem concerned with this man’s self-centered arrogance alone. Here’s why: The Pharisee’s arrogance is a symptom…not a cause…of his own unrepentant sinfulness. Under all of the Pharisee’s religious exterior, “good works”, and delusional thinking was a heart that clearly did not understand his place as a sinner before the holy and righteous God. He does not see his need of God’s mercy and forgiveness in any way. In essence, the Pharisee’s prayer was a bold proclamation to God and to all of those around him that he had no real need of God despite his hollow “thanks” to God. The Pharisee saw himself as doing really well, and God was fortunate to have him on His team. The Pharisee did not sense any need to be forgiven and to be declared just by God. Rather, the Pharisee felt he was doing everything he needed to be acceptable to God. Hence, why Jesus said this Pharisee did not go away from his prayer justified. He remained a sinner in God’s sight…uncleansed and unrighteous despite his thoughts to the contrary. Instead of being a true light of God’s Word and goodness to the people, this Pharisee was actually a hypocrite in as much need of God’s forgiveness and mercy as anyone else. How sad, how terrible, and how terrifying for the Pharisee to stand before God’s seat of judgment someday clothed in his own filthy rags of sin and self-justification while he believed he was clothed in his own beautiful and lofty self-righteousness!
What about the tax collector? Tax collectors were a hated group of Jesus’ day because they collected taxes from the citizens for the Roman government. They were the exact opposite of the Pharisees. Rather than revered, they were reviled and viewed by their fellow Jewish citizens as traitors who favored the Romans and their military occupation of Israel. Tax collectors were all too worthy of their reputations. They often took bribes, extorted money from their fellow citizens, and lined their pockets well from their over-taxing activities. Such wealth often led to riotous and sinful living by such people. Tax collectors were despised especially by the religious leaders like the Pharisees who also viewed them as godless sinners who were only worthy of God’s harshest condemnation for their sins against Israel’s people. However, Jesus tells us it was the tax collector who went away justified before God and not the Pharisee.
“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.“
How could a traitor and swindler like the tax collector possibly be justified before a holy and righteous God and not the religious Pharisee? This goes against the grain of everything we know in this world! We work…we earn…we succeed…It’s what we do that matters in this world! Don’t our good works, our right motives, kindness, and other important matters make the difference with God, too? Does God not take our good deeds and bad deeds and weigh them in his balances to see if we do or do not have more good deeds in the end? Is it not our net performance that matters to God? The answer is no…God justifies us through faith in Jesus Christ and not because of anything we do because our best deeds today cannot correct our sins of yesterday. We build up quite an account of sins over time, and we cannot erase them ourselves.
“yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” – Galatians 2:16 (ESV)
Our sins always remain if God does not remove them, and that is the lesson of the tax collector and why he went away justified that day. He was convicted and distressed at the presence of his sin and his helplessness before a holy and righteous God. What was the tax collector’s only recourse? He pled for God to simply have mercy upon him, and he did not attempt to justify himself before God. What more could he do but appeal to God’s loving and merciful nature? It was the tax collectors only hope, and it is your only hope and my only hope, too…God’s mercy. Dear reader, if you at all believe that you are declared righteous with God for any reasons outside of God mercifully forgiving your sins through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and Him alone, you are mistaken.
Hear Jesus words very well…The tax collector went away justified despite all of his history of sin, and the religious Pharisee did not. Which man best represents you and your faith? Is your faith in a vain hope that God does not exist? Is your faith in a hope that you have chosen the right cause, the right religious group, or the right set of activities that will be seen as so good in God’s sight that He will forgive your sins? Despite all of your best efforts and hopes, Jesus’ words still ring out clearly. Do not trust in your own hopes, thoughts, science, religious activities, political groups, morals, etc. That will make you like the Pharisee. The truth is that self-righteousness is a killer of self. It deludes us into thinking like the Pharisee. Self-righteousness is eternal suicide, dear reader, and Jesus Christ’s call is to abandon self and turn to Him in faith to save you.
If we observe other religions carefully, we will notice that they are all some sort of pursuit of self-improvement, self-justifying works. Christianity is at its heart a sinner’s religion with no hope of salvation except in God Himself. All are sinners…Pharisees, tax collectors, and everyone else…in need of God’s mercy. Christianity is a hope grounded in God’s mercy, God’s justification of sinners through Jesus Christ instead of a sinner’s self-justification, and God’s love that is so undeserved. Turn to Jesus Christ today and embrace God’s mercy while today is still the day of salvation.
May Your Eyes Be Opened To Your Need of Christ,
Eric Conner
Photo by cottonbro from Pexels