Luke 18: 9-14

Theme: Humility

Series: Parables of the Kingdom

A HUMBLE HEART

It was probably about the time for the evening sacrifice. All around the temple were out-of-the-way corners and rooms where people met for teaching and instruction. Some of these rooms were designed to be a quiet place of meditation, rooms dimly lit by candles or small, oil burning lamps, perhaps afternoon sunlight beaming in from high windows. It was here one would find worshipers pouring out their souls to God.

Two men went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee. He was a fine man. He did not swindle others out of their money. He was just, he was not an adulterer, and he certainly was not like that tax collector over there in the corner. He fasted twice a week even though the Law only prescribed that he fast once a year. He tithed on all that he earned.

The Pharisee probably came from a good family. One did not get to become a Pharisee without a lot of money and without certain family connections. A Pharisee was expected to be refined and to exhibit a certain kind of social grace. Not everyone was qualified to be a Pharisee. The Pharisee was well connected, he knew how to act in sophisticated circles. He had a sense of being on top of society.

This unnamed Pharisee came to pray. But, who was he praying to? He only glances at God, but he contemplates himself. He commends himself to God as a one who has worked hard at keeping the Law. He even went well beyond the requirements of the Law. But, these are external things. What was the condition of his heart? What motivated him to live this "righteous lifestyle?" It was his faith in himself to live righteously before God. He seemed to believe that it was a privilege for God to count him as a Hebrew, as a follower. God should be proud to have him in the fold. This was one proud Pharisee.

But standing over in the corner, all alone was someone you would not expect to see at the Temple for prayer. It was the tax collector. He was considered to be a nonperson as far as the church was concerned. He was a traitor, he sold out his people by working for the enemy so that he could make money. He was a swindler, a common thief. He was considered to be among the ranks of sinners like the adulterer. We can assume that he came from a poor family. Undoubtedly, he was crude, lacking in the social graces.

Certainly, the tax collector was a despised man. The Romans used locals to collect taxes for the government. They did not care how they collected the taxes as long as they turned in the required amount of tax. The tax collector could collect from the people as much as the system would bear and do so with the protection of the Roman guard. It was easy to get rich that way. So this man became a tax collector.

But this despised man was at the temple. His heart was troubled. He understood who he was, a sinner, something ugly before God. He was unwilling to even lift up his eyes to heaven as was the custom in that day. He beat his chest and cried out, "God, be merciful to me, THE sinner." Not a sinner, but THE sinner. His sin hung over him like a smothering cloud of poisonous gas. He knew that there was nothing good in him. There was only one thing that he could ask for and that was mercy, undeserved grace.

Who do you identify with? Do you see yourself as the suave, self assured, righteous Pharisee who does everything right? Do you feel the advantages of growing up in a good family with all of its benefits? Or, is your life marked by the awkwardness of poverty and low self esteem? Do you feel that no matter what you do, you are not good enough? But, is your social upbringing really the problem? Don’t we find both the Pharisee and the tax collector repulsive?

There is an element that cannot be described by one's social upbringing or one's credentials. The Bible calls it sin. Both of these men were equal before God, both were sinners. One of these went home justified and who it is surprises us. To our shock, it was the tax collector! Jesus said this man went home justified rather than the Pharisee. We might think that the pharisee is closer to God than this awkward tax collector. Yet, it is the tax collector who goes home justified.

That word "justified" is a precious word in the Bible. It describes that state of being made right with God. Understand, it is a passive term, we are made justified, there is no way we can justify ourselves. That is the whole message of the Christian faith. Until one trusts that God will change our adversarial relationship to being a son or a daughter of God, then one is not saved. You are saved when God justifies you. This sinful tax collector went home that day justified. God heard his prayer and had mercy on him and cleansed him from all sin. The Pharisee went to the temple feeling self righteous and left feeling more so, but he left lost.

What was the difference? It was pride. Pride is the attitude that makes us the center of the universe. It is a sense of adequacy before God that leads one to believe that they can please God by their efforts. It is a smoke screen that hides the radical nature of our sin problem. In reality, pride reflects our continuous rebellion against God and his sovereign right over us. Pride is the hindrance that will keep us from repentance.

Whatever worldly success the tax collector might have had, it could not hide the fact that he was a sinner. So he hid his face and he smote his breast and he cried out to God "be merciful" or literally, "be propitious" to me, the sinner. His prayer is for God to cover the nakedness of his sins, for only an act of God could redeem him. Propitiation means that I cannot make myself right with God, only a worthy substitute can. And the Bible says that Jesus is our Propitiation, our substitute for sin.

The Pharisee, on the other hand, was so fooled by his own act that he thought that he was truly righteous. He was proud of himself. It is so easy for us to forget how revolting we are to God, how naked our sins are to him. We think that because we don't commit adultery or rob or rape or steal or run around with people who do that somehow we are not in need of forgiveness. Pride will keep you from seeing your true self.

Humility means to have a right view of ourselves. The Greeks thought it was a debased and ignominious condition to be humble. Humility was the sign of a slave, not a proud, free citizen. But, the New Testament writers transformed the meaning of "humility" by infusing the word with meaning from the Old Testament. To be humble did not mean self debasement or self-inflicted severe acts. Only pride called for severe, personal acts.

Humility recognizes our real condition before God and it will elicit from us repentance of our sins and gratitude for God’s loving-kindness. The humble recognize God’s sovereign rule over us. The humble realize the futility of trying to redeem themselves. The Pharisee thought that by his great works, God accepted him. It was salvation by his own heroic efforts. Yet, this is the one sin that Old Testament prophets spoke against time and time again. God would not tolerate the proud, rather, would humble them and bring them to submission by the tragedies of life itself. God has to bring us low before we realize who we are and who he is.

This morning, we stand in the presence of the sovereign God who made us. In a moment we will leave and some will say that was the most boring hour I have ever spent, what a waste of time! Others will go away justified. It is a matter of a humble heart.