The Pharisee and the Tax
Collector
Sermon, Newcastle
May 11th, 1996
Phil Hopwood
Theme Scripture:
Luke 18:9-14
9 To some
who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus
told this parable: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the
other a tax collector. 11 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. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
13 "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.'
14 "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." (NIV)
DRAMA:
JUDGING FROM APPEARANCES
A Modern Version of the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican
NARRATOR: Today we are going to have the unusual opportunity of over hearing
two prayers.
Bob here, (gesture to Bob) has been a faithful long-time member. He’s been
actively involved with organising the church’s fundraising projects, help-the widows
programs, the drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs and teaching Children’s
Church, for over 23 years.
Max, (gesture to Max) was introduced to the church three years ago by his
probation officer. Since his conversion, Max’s lifestyle has changed in some
respects. He is no longer involved in armed robbery and drug pushing but his clothes and
record number of tattoos are regarded with suspicion by some members of the congregation.
Let’s listen to their thoughts. (Narrator ducks out of sight)
BOB: I was far from happy with that special evening service the other
night. I felt the modern music and the drama were irreverent.
MAX: It’s amazing what’s happened to me over the last few
years. Three years ago I’d have been down at the pub right now.
BOB: There’s something else which annoys me. At the evening service,
with the irreverent, modern music, the collection was way down compared to a normal
week’s collection. I think it’s typical of the modern attitude.
MAX: It’s great the way the youth club’s growing. So many have
joined since I took over. They can really identify with people like me.
BOB: It’s also been worrying me that I cannot identify with the
leadership of this church. I haven’t liked the new minister. He’s so young and
inexperienced and doesn’t want any guidance or counsel. I have been extremely
reluctant to give him my support.
MAX: Lord, I really thank you that I became a Christian. I really thank
you that I’ve conquered the past. I’m so happy that I can give my talents to you
and that I can go anywhere and talk to anybody and bring the light of your gospel to all
people who feel rejected. I really thank you that we don’t have to be hypocritical,
dress up and act religious to be a Christian. I really thank you that I’m not like
that. Amen.
BOB: Lord, I’m ashamed of all my attitudes. How can you ever forgive
me? (Head down, nodding remorsefully) Amen
NARRATOR: Jesus said, "I tell you that THIS MAN, (gesture to Bob) 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."
INTRODUCTION:
 | Talking of the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, the Expositor's
Commentary mentions; |
The modern reader will probably not feel the impact of this story to
the extent a first-century reader would. We already think of the Pharisees as hypocrites
and the tax collectors as those who receive the grace of God. Jesus' original hearers
would have thought, to the contrary, that it was the pious Pharisee who deserved
acceptance by God.
The drama we have witnessed today is designed to have
a similar impact FOR OUR TIME;
- Just as with Jesus parable, there is an element of shock, or at least a unexpected
twist, with a resulting conclusion that we may not be comfortable with.
INVITE SOME REACTIONS TO THE MESSAGE OF THE DRAMA:
Before they concluded their prayers --which individual did you feel was the good and
righteous person?
Why?
Which person best paralleled the Pharisee?
Why?
Why is the concluding statement, that Bob (the critical individual who didn't like the
new trends) was the one declared righteous a bit of a surprise?
Why is it a surprise that Max (the highly involved new person), is evaluated as a
parallel to the Pharisee, and unjustified?
PURPOSE:
Today we will talk about another one of the teachings of Jesus that turns conventional
wisdom upside down;
- How is it that Max in our play, and the upright religious leader of Jesus parable are
not justified?
- And how is it that those with a terrible track record of sin, whose minds and actions
have been sinful can be so quickly justified, and walk away as righteous in God's sight?
BODY:
LUKE 18:9; INTRODUCTION TO THE PASSAGE:
Luke 18:9
9 To some
who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus
told this parable: (NIV)
Verse 9 shows that the topic is self righteousness,
and looking down on others
To describe what he means,
Jesus gives us this parable about a scrupulously religious Pharisee, and a notoriously
sinful Tax collector.
To grasp the full impact of this parable, it is important that we understand the
reputation of tax-collectors at the time of Jesus
Elsewhere in the gospels tax-collectors are grouped along with sinners and robbers.
Roman writers lumped them in with brothel-keepers. They were looked upon as among the
worst members of society.
The office of tax-collector was sold to the highest bidder, which encouraged them to
highly inflate tax assessments
Because they held a government office they had the power to intimidate people, and
demand more of them than they rightfully should
They pocketed the extra money for themselves
They were seen as traitors because they collected taxes on behalf of the Romans who were
an enemy occupying nation
Tax collectors are referred to many times by Jesus
a good example, and one that
amplifies our parable is;
Matthew 9:10-12
10 While
Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners"
came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his
disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and `sinners'?"
12 On hearing this,
Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. (NIV)
NOTICE:
Tax collectors are lumped in with sinners
Jesus is criticised for being with them
Jesus' comment in v 12 fits in
with our parable
"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick."
What did he mean?
Plainly he is the spiritual doctor or physician who has come to heal the spiritually
sick
Instead of seeing God as a judge who is out to condemn the wicked and give approval to
those who have done well under their own steam, Jesus is telling us we should see him not
only as a Judge, but as a Physician, or Doctor whose task it is to heal, to cure, to
remove disease and bring people from the edge of death back to life
Additionally, Jesus often showed that those that were assumed to be spiritually well --
by their own good works and diligent law keeping -- were not willing to admit their need
of help, or be helped.
Notice the following verse (13)
Matthew 9:13 13 But go and learn what this means: `I
desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but
sinners." (NIV)
He quotes Hosea 6:6
God was telling the people in Hosea's day that they needed to focus on the mercy and
love of God, to worship him from their heart, and practice mercy, which means
"covenant love," rather than just outwardly complying with the rules and
regulations of temple worship.
In the parable of the Pharisee
and the Tax-Collector, the Pharisee has certainly not neglected the sacrifice aspect of
things
His whole life has been full of religious activity
Of performing the works of the Old Covenant and the sacrificial system that lay at its
core
He was very much like those at the time of Hosea and Malachi, who outwardly did what was
required, but inwardly they lacked appreciation for the mercy seat of God
They hovered all around the temple, forgetting that the centre of it was the mercy seat
in the Holy of Holies
Forgetting that God's ultimate will was mercy, grace and forgiveness, not sacrifices
The sacrifices were to show that sins needed mercy and forgiveness, and that entailed
the payment of a substitute sacrifice
Little did they know, that the teacher who stood before them with these mind boggling,
upside down and seemingly heretical teachings -- was that source of mercy;
he was that substitute sacrifice the Pharisees were picturing with all of their
religious activities
They couldn't see the wood for the trees
or to rephrase it
THEY COULDN'T SEE THE MERCY FOR THE SACRIFICES
Their religious activity had become self-righteous, rather than leading them to see that
the rituals and observances of the law were to focus them on the ultimate sacrificial
payment for sin, and the mercy of God in forgiving them not because of their works but
because of a substitute sacrifice given on their behalf by God himself!
So in Matthew 9 -- Jesus was
saying that he has come to spiritually heal those who recognise their sins, and need of
his help
The desperately ill know they are sick, they know they need a doctor, and call for him,
and rely on his help
All human beings are spiritually sick, but most don't recognise it, especially the
religiously self-righteous
He is pointing out that he
spent time with the "sinners", the tax-collectors of that society, because they
needed help
Interesting to note that they wanted his help, whereas the so called
"righteous" people of the day refused Jesus teachings, and eventually had him
crucified
LUKE 18:10-12 The ATTITUDE of the PHARISEE
Luke 18:9-14
9 To some
who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus
told this parable:
10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax
collector. 11 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.
12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
As we saw in Matthew 9
Jesus is revealing the danger of religious rules and regulations
It is so easy for the human mind to seek exact standards and measures of righteousness,
so we know exactly what we have to do in order to be good, to be accepted, and seen as
righteous
By having and reaching certain defined standards we feel good, and okay with God, and
assuage our fears of being rejected by God, or by others
Isn't this exactly what is happening with the Pharisee
Jesus is not saying it is wrong to tithe, or observe the law
What he is saying, is that the Pharisee was relying on his efforts at law keeping for
his standing before God
v 11b ....`God, I thank you that I am not like
other men -- robbers, evildoers, adulterers -- or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast
twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
Notice on top of his pointing
to his legalistic works, he also puts down the tax-collector
This was what Max was doing in our play;
I really thank you that we don’t have to be hypocritical, dress up and act
religious, to be a Christian. I really thank you that I’m not like that. Amen.
What Maxine was saying was that Bob was a snob, and didn't fit the true Christian image
that he had in his mind. Maxine felt that because he wasn't all caught up in fancy
clothes, that he was superior to Bob
Max looked down on Bob as snobby, critical, uninvolved
Was Max wrong?
Was Bob sinning in his snobbishness,
his critical and uninvolved approach to the church
Yes!
Max was
right -- just as the Pharisee was right in noting the sinful life of the Tax-collector
- BUT by focusing on his own outwardly righteous actions, and on the plainly sinful life
of the Tax-collector, he was blinding himself to the reality of his own sinful heart and
mind
- Not seeing that his righteousness was SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
And remember -- this is the attitude that led Jesus to
give this parable...
Luke 18:9
9 To
some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else,
Jesus told this parable: (NIV)
| Let's continue on... |
LUKE 18:13; the attitude OF the TAX-COLLECTOR
LUKE 18: 13
"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.'
Here we have an obvious echo of Matthew 9
The spiritually diseased tax-collector recognises his sinful state
He can't even look up
Why?
Where the Pharisee was proud; he is ashamed
Where the Pharisee was self-righteous; he is filled with guilt and remorse
Where as the Pharisee is blind to his sins of pride and self-righteousness; the
tax-collector knows his true state -- that he is cut off from God, desperately wicked, and
corrupt in his mind, heart, and actions
He hasn't been praying, or going to the synagogue or the temple, he probably doesn't
even know how to pray properly
His prayer certainly doesn't conform to the form of prayer taught by the Rabbis
Knowing his desperate plight, his sinfulness -- how
does he react?
He doesn't make any excuses, and he doesn't compare himself with others
The Pharisee pointed out to God all his good works and sacrificial religious deeds
Simply, briefly, sincerely, with deep humility, the Tax-collector begs God for mercy!
He knows he cannot offer anything to God to deserve that mercy and forgiveness, he
totally casts himself, sins and all at the feet of God.
He has to rely on the SACRIFICE of Jesus, not his own religious deeds or sacrifices,
which wouldn't make him righteous even if he had made them
AGAIN; The Tax-collector does just two things;
He confesses his sins,
and asks for God's mercy!
LUKE 18:14 GOD'S ATTITUDE AND ACTION
14 "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."
The righteousness God applies to us at
justification,
is a much higher level of righteousness than we can ever achieve
-
And no righteousness short of that will reconcile us to God
-
The Pharisee thought he had become righteous by his works
- He needed to realize that no matter how good or humanly obedient and righteous he was,
he would still fall infinitely short of God's holiness
The "sinful"
tax-collector went home as a saint, forgiven, justified before God
- -- because he humbly relied on God's grace
The "righteous"
Pharisee went home an unforgiven sinner
because he confidently relied on his righteousness
WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THIS PARABLE?
 | COMMENTS? |
Salvation is based on the mercy and grace of God, not
our religious works
The Pharisee to could be forgiven, if he stopped relying on his works, recognised and
confessed his desperately sinful heart, and put his faith, humbly in God
Paul is an example of a Pharisee doing just that;
Philippians 3:4-6
4 b If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in
the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of
the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal,
persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. (NIV)
1 Timothy 1:15
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance:
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners -- of whom I am the worst. (NIV)
That if we feel dirty, sinful and overwhelmed by our
human nature, God is the one we can and must turn to
He will not look down on us as some others, who think they are good, may
Many of us have absorbed a lot of negative thinking from relatives and other influential
people in our lives
We need to be careful that we don't allow the deep inculcation of negative messages from
our past, to dominate our thinking to the stage we believe we are unacceptable,
irredeemable, and too rotten for God to ever forgive us
Jesus constantly communicated
the message that God is not like human beings
His ways are not our ways
His thinking is not our thinking
His judgment and evaluation is different to ours
His justice is more exacting, and his standards of righteousness are much higher than
ours
And his love, his grace and mercy are almost beyond our comprehension
In our parable Jesus is showing
that righteousness before God comes through casting ourselves, warts and all at his feet
That no matter how low we have sunk -- and the tax-collector was one of the those
reckoned to be the lowest of that society -- we are not so low and sinful that God will
not forgive us if we look to him for it
This is the message the world needs to hear!
This is the message that we
need to know, and practice so it is real in our lives, and that we can with joy, with
appreciation for the Love of God, we can take the message to others
This is the message we see repeated throughout the Bible, and particularly in the words
of Jesus and the writers of the New Testament
We all need to know that God accepts us just as we are -- because there is nothing we
can do to make ourselves anything else than what we are
guilty, pitiful, weak and sinful human beings who have no chance of being righteous in
God's sight
no capability of earning our ticket into God's kingdom
If we will look to him in
humility and in faith place our lives in his hands!
And as we will talk about at Pentecost, this then leads us in a new life, in which both
their heart and deeds will be continually transformed by Jesus and the Holy Spirit
CONCLUSION:
| We all need to hear, understand and act upon
the message of the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector |
Luke 18:13-14
13 "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.'
14 "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." (NIV)
PRAYER:
|