Luke 18:9-14 - Reeking 'Righteousness'

God listens to and forgives the humble.

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Gospels: Week 8 — Mercy, repentance, and the Good Shepherd

Luke 18:9–14 (NASB95)

⁹ And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: ¹⁰ “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Heidelberg Catechism

Q&A 117

Q. How does God want us to pray so that he will listen to us?

A. First, we must pray from the heart

to no other than the one true God,

who has revealed himself in his Word,

asking for everything he has commanded us to ask for.

Second, we must acknowledge our need and misery,

hiding nothing,

and humble ourselves in his majestic presence.

Third, we must rest on this unshakable foundation:

even though we do not deserve it,

God will surely listen to our prayer

because of Christ our Lord.

That is what he promised us in his Word.

Summary

Luke clues us in right off the bat as to the context of Jesus' teaching here: He told this parable to some people who had three specific problems. They:

• Trusted in themselves - They were smart, confident, and had successfully navigated many of life's challenges. They were there to help point out to God the frailties and problems other people had, but they needed no such assistance from Him themselves. It makes sense, then, the way Jesus describes their prayer: The Pharisee... was praying this to himself. Even though the Pharisee began his 'prayer' by addressing God, he wasn't really talking to Him. Over cooked self confidence has no need to pray to anybody else. Nor does he even ask for anything in his 'prayer', because in his mind, he doesn't need anything from anybody.
  

• They had confidence that they were righteous - They had reduced God's Law to a checklist, so as long as they covered their external bases doing things like fasting twice a week (which ironically isn't something God ever commanded anyone to do) and paying tithes on all they get, they felt themselves to be good in God's eyes. That's why the Pharisee ostentatiously stood while he prayed. He felt that he had nothing to be ashamed of in the presence of a holy God.
  

• They viewed others with contempt - How could they not? After all, in their own minds, they're not like other people! This comes out in the Pharisee's self congratulating 'gratitude' in which he thanks God that he was not a swindling, unjust adulterer, and especially that he wasn't like this tax collector.

Chances are, if you're anything like me, Luke's description of the people Jesus confronted with this parable stung a little bit. Maybe a lot. It's so easy to misinterpret the blessedness we so often enjoy as having resulted from our own accomplishments, and not from the fact that God has carried us through so many of life's challenges and that His Spirit has strengthened us against sin.

So too often, we proudly stand before God, praying to nobody but ourselves, confidently contemptuous of all those unrighteous others.

Dale Ralph Davis writes, "You see what this means? Religion is very deceptive. Though you may despise the slightest scent of self-righteousness, the reek of it may cling to you. How deceptive our self-righteousness is!"

  Dig Deeper  

The tax collector Jesus presents is certainly a broken man. He too stands as he prays, but his posture is far different than the self-confident Pharisee. He beat his breast and was even unwilling to lift his eyes up to heaven. But even if his eyes pointed elsewhere, Jesus makes clear who he prayed to. Like David's model prayer of confession in Psalm 51, he cries out God be merciful to me, the sinner. Literally translated, the man was asking God to make propitiation - atonement - for his sins and to turn away the righteous wrath the man knew he deserved.

But then Jesus comes to a remarkable conclusion. God had heard the prayer of this humbled sinner. This man, Jesus reports, went to his house justified. That is, he was forgiven of the guilt of his sin and placed in right standing with God.

Jesus goes on to explain why: everyone who exalts himself [lifts himself up] will be humbled, but he who humbles himself [repents of his self-confidence] will be exalted.

This paraphrase from John Calvin's commentary on this passage sums up today's lesson from Jesus:

At first, it might seem wrong to put every believer on the same level, since many Christians clearly live more faithfully than the tax collector did. But no matter how much a person has grown in holiness, he still falls far short of what God requires. For that reason, every Christian must begin prayer by confessing his guilt. Some may be more sinful than others, but all are guilty before God. Christ therefore gives a rule that applies to everyone: God is not reconciled to us because of our works, but only when we stop trusting in them and ask Him to forgive and accept us freely.

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our merciful Father in heaven;

  ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Humbly confess your guilt before God;

• ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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