Let's pray.
Gracious God, as we come to your word now,
we ask that we might be challenged again
as we walk this road with Jesus to Jerusalem.
Father, we pray that you might clear up misconceptions
that we have of what it means to be your disciple.
And Lord, if we are looking to anything else but Jesus
for our justification, then Lord,
help us to clearly see that this morning,
that we might trust in him and him alone.
And we ask it for your sake. Amen.
I heard the story of a young lad who mounted a campaign
just before Christmas in order to secure a brand new bike
at Christmastime.
And he badgered his parents to the point where one day
his mother said to him, confusing Jesus with Santa,
well, why don't you go and write a letter to Jesus
and tell him that you deserve this bike?
And so the young lad trudged off upstairs,
started to write the letter, dear Jesus,
I've been good all year.
And he thought to himself, no, that's not really true.
He screwed up the piece of paper and threw it away
and started again, dear Jesus,
I've been good for the last six months.
And he thought, well, that's not really true either.
I mean, at the very least, this guy's a realist.
He started again, dear Jesus, I've been good all week.
Frustrated, he just screwed the paper up and threw it away.
He knew that wasn't true.
So in his frustration, he walked downstairs,
walked to the mantelpiece where the nativity scene was,
picked up Mary, walked back upstairs,
plonked it on his desk.
Dear Jesus, if you ever want to see your mother again,
he had a few things worked out about Jesus.
He knew that Mary was Jesus' mother.
That's a good start.
But in terms of how to relate to God,
it was kind of more like a terrorist.
He was trying to force God's hand.
And that's the story we have here.
The Pharisee and the tax collector
helps us in our confusion about how to relate to God.
Although we read a large chunk there of the narrative,
it's all kind of interconnected.
But I just want to hone in, particularly in the Pharisee and the tax collector.
We see the Pharisee and the tax collector being spelled out for us
in the story of the young children
and then following on with the rich young ruler.
They are, if you like, the Pharisee and the tax collectors
in this story as well.
And so let's just hone in on these two stark characters,
comic characters.
The issue that Jesus wants to address here is very clear for us.
In verse 9, it says,
To some who were confident of their own righteousness
and looked down on everybody else,
Jesus told this parable.
To some who were confident of their own righteousness
and looked down on everyone else,
Jesus told this parable.
But it's not just looking down on other people.
He's not just saying,
Hey, it's just not a kind thing to do.
Look down on other people.
He spills out quite clearly
that the core issue here
is a core issue of our standing before God.
Verse 14,
I tell you that this man,
rather than the other,
went home justified before God.
That's the core issue.
The core issue is,
Do I trust in myself
or do I trust in Jesus
in order to be right with God?
That's the issue Jesus wants to address here.
How to be right with God.
This story is all about people
who are self-confident, self-righteous,
and somehow think that that makes them okay with God.
Jesus,
and this is the clutcher for us,
Jesus was particularly talking
to people who make some sort of attempt at religion.
You could just imagine Jesus
eyeballing the Pharisees at this point
and his disciples at this point
because it was specifically those guys
who he was addressing.
You could say that Jesus
is talking to people like us
gathered here right now.
And his message for us is very clear.
God is not pleased by self-confidence
or self-righteousness.
He is only pleased with people
who come to him
for their righteousness.
So let's have a look at it.
We know from verse 10
that there are two men
who go up to the temple to pray,
but in verse 14,
it says that only one of them
goes home okay with God.
Only one of them
goes home as a friend of God.
It's kind of like,
if you ever watch the movie
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,
there is this post-war situation,
and if two people get into a bit of biff,
they would go into the Thunderdome
and sort it out,
and when they go into the Thunderdome
and sort it out,
it was like to the death,
that is,
this chant would go up,
two men enter,
one man leaves,
two men enter,
one man leaves.
And you kind of get that feeling
as these two men go into the temple,
you know that as Jesus' story goes,
only one of these guys
is going to come out
having any form of meaningful relationship
with God.
We are told that one of them
is a tax collector,
the other is a Pharisee,
and again,
I know I've said this before,
we need to come back to it,
we are in danger
of mucking it up right from the start
because we are familiar
with the Bible,
and we automatically,
as Christian people,
go boo his to the Pharisees
because we know that Jesus,
you know,
kicked the Pharisees
in the guts all the time.
We know the Pharisees
are the bad guys,
they're the ones
that Jesus consistently hammers,
and so we need to try
and hear this story
as it would have been
for first century Palestine,
in there,
for Jesus' friends,
for Peter, James and John
and the rest of the boys,
they would have known
that the tax collector
was the scum,
they knew that,
the tax collector
was the guy
who wore the black hat,
he was the guy
who rode around
on the mean looking camel,
he was the one
that no one really liked
very much,
he was the low life
of first century Palestine,
he was filth,
he was traitor,
they sold out God
for money,
they were not welcomed
in a place of worship,
he was scum,
the Pharisee,
on the other hand,
was deeply,
deeply respected,
it's hard to imagine
how deeply respected
a Pharisee was
in first century Palestine,
they were the guys
who wore the white hats,
right,
they wore the respectable camels,
you know,
the nice ones
with the smile
and the speed limited camels,
they were the kind of,
they were the kind of
the Camry drivers
of first century Palestine,
they were not men
who made their living
out of religion,
they were regular
church attendees
who were deeply,
deeply serious
and set the pace
for everyone else,
in Jesus' day
the people would go
boo his scumbag
tax collector
but the Pharisee
definitely not,
the Pharisee
is the guy
who is dead
earnest about God,
a valued member
of society
and a very valued
member
of the community
of God's people,
well that's the
two extraordinary men,
now let's look
at their two
extraordinary prayers
because their prayers
reveal what their heart
is like,
let's look at
the Pharisee's prayers,
now I occasionally,
I'll let you in
a bit of my psyche here,
occasionally enjoy
the read of the
personal ads of a paper,
you know,
I don't know if you've
ever done that before
but I can't ever
imagine what it
would mean for someone
to actually
advertise
their finer points
and ask for someone
to love them
kind of thing,
I find that kind of
odd
and it must be
kind of frustrating
for them
example,
I read this one,
30 year old,
6 foot tall,
brown hair,
green eyes,
6 lady,
21 to 28 year old
for friendship
and or relationship
and it's like,
haven't you got
anything else to offer?
He's 30 year old,
6 foot tall,
brown hair,
green eyes,
well that just
pretty much opens it up,
that's him putting
his good foot forward,
that's him advertising
his higher points,
now I've got to
understand here
that I've never read
a personal ad
where someone
highlights
their negative points,
you know,
I like to sleep in,
I don't have a job,
looking for a house
for my greyhounds,
you know,
that's,
you know,
like I've never
ever seen that,
looking for someone
to cook and clean
for me,
is there anyone
out there
who's willing
to take on this gig?
I've never seen that,
that is because
our natural human
tendency is to put
our best foot forward,
we always put
our best foot forward,
we promote ourselves
and it's no different
when it comes
to our relationship
with God,
our nature is to
outline the wonderful
things that we are
or that we do
and we don't mention
the things that we do
too wrong,
too often,
unless we are
absolutely confronted
with it and have to,
we even go to the
point of justifying
our wrongdoing
by giving them
different kind of names
which kind of lessen
the sin of it,
so I don't evade tax,
I just minimise tax,
I don't lie,
I just,
you know,
occasional white lie,
I don't gossip,
I share prayer points,
I don't ridicule people
because I was just
kind of joking
and I'm not committing
adultery,
I'm having an affair
or a midlife crisis,
I didn't steal
the stamps from work,
I borrowed the stamps
from work
and by the time
that we've justified
our position,
we're kind of like,
actually,
I'm not that bad
after all,
but God knows
our hearts
and so the Pharisee
prays like this
in verse 11,
God,
I thank you
that I'm not like
other men,
robbers,
evildoers,
adulterers,
or even like that
tax collector
over there,
I fast twice a week
and give a tenth
of all that I get.
Now,
it is so easy
to send this guy up
because I think
that's exactly
what Jesus is doing
here.
Hey God,
I am
just ever
so terribly
marvelous,
God.
But,
you know,
the awful thing
about it,
the way he does it,
is he spiritualizes it.
Thank you,
God.
Thank you,
God,
that you've made
a difference
in my life.
Thank you,
God,
that you've changed me.
Thank you,
God,
that I'm not like
other people.
Thank you,
God,
that I'm not like
that scumbag
tax collector
sitting over there.
He spiritualizes it,
thanks God
for it
because he
even recognizes
that God
has made a change
in his life.
He then goes on,
explains how he's
different from other people.
He fasts twice a week,
he says.
That is,
he goes without food
twice a week.
Normal Jewish practice
by this time
was that you did it
once or twice a year
and occasionally
as you felt like it.
And this guy
does it twice a week.
He is
really serious
about his relationship
with God.
But not just that.
It says here
he gives a tenth
of all that I get.
I give a tenth
of it all.
He
tithes
his herb garden.
He gives
some of his peas
away.
This guy
is
thoroughly
religious.
He's
keeping the
command of God
to the letter
of the law.
And so he says,
God,
I must be okay.
But the problem
is,
is his evaluation
of himself
is based on
the wrong standard.
He compares
himself with other
people on the
surface
and he doesn't
look deep,
deep in his
heart.
He looks at
the tax
collector and
goes,
I must be okay
because I'm
clearly not as
bad as that
guy.
And that
is our
normal
human
tendency.
We do
it by
default.
When it
comes to
morality,
we look
down the
line.
When it
comes to
riches,
we look
up the
line because
there's
always
someone
richer
than me.
That means
I don't
have to be
so generous
because
someone else
should be.
But I
look down
the line
when it
comes to
morality
because
there's
always
someone
worse
than me.
And that
makes me
feel good.
I
know a
guy who
is serving
two
consecutive
life
sentences
in
Long Bay
Jail.
He killed
a mother
and her
baby.
And he
was in
the same
wing of
Long Bay
Jail as
the
Milpera
Bicycle
Massacre
guys.
You know,
the guys
had the
shootout
in Milpera
years ago.
One day
those
bikey
guys grabbed
this guy,
they beat
him up and
poured
boiling water
all over
him for
daring to
murder a
baby.
How dare
you do
that,
you scumbag.
Now,
these are
the guys
who gun
down a
seven-year-old
girl.
If she
was seven,
it's kind
of different.
When it
comes to
morality,
we look
down the
line and
even when
you're
sitting,
languishing
in a
prison cell
in Long
Bay Jail,
there is
always
someone
worse
than
you.
It is
our
default
position.
Even
people who
should know
better,
consequence of
their sin,
they live it
for the rest
of their
life around
them,
still look
down the
line.
And I
think Jesus
says very
clearly that
that is our
normal human
tendency and
how much
easy it is
for us,
the religious
people,
to do
it.
The tax
collector is
in total
contrast to
the Pharisee.
He beats
himself on
the chest
and he
says,
God have
mercy on
me,
a sinner.
Who does
he compare
himself with?
Well,
nobody as
far as we
can tell
from the
text.
A better
reading of
this statement
is,
God have
mercy on
me,
the sinner.
He's not
trying to
find comfort
in the fact
that he's
part of a
large group
in the
same boat.
He doesn't
say,
sure,
I've made
a few
mistakes,
I've made
even some
really big
mistakes,
I acknowledge
my mistakes,
but I'm no
different than
anyone else,
I'm only human
after all.
He says,
God,
I am the
sinner.
I am the
model sinner,
I am the
essential sinner.
He doesn't
care how he
compares with
other people,
he doesn't
even look
to the
Pharisee,
he just
knows he's
not okay
with God
and he
cries out
in despair.
And Jesus
says that
that scumbag
goes home
justified
by God
while the
other is
rejected.
The scumbag
tax collector
goes home
with God
as his
friend.
The way
that we
are always
to approach
God is
God have
mercy on
me,
the sinner.
The
fulfillment
of religious
duties
doesn't put
us in
God's good
books.
There is
no other
way to be
right with
the God
of this
universe
than to
ask him
for mercy
through
Jesus.
And we
need to
all do
that.
Don't
expect to
get into
God's good
books by
the terrorist
method and
to make
demands of
God.
Don't
expect to
get there
by the
resume
method and
give him
a big
list of
all my
finer points
and hopefully
they will
outbalance
my bad
points and
God will
be okay.
God is
not impressed
by the
resume
method,
even the
resume
method of
religious
people.
And that's
when Jesus
eyeballs us.
No,
no,
forget that.
That's when
Jesus eyeballs
me.
Because in
reality,
I am more
religious than
the average
Aussie bloke.
I read the
Bible, I
pray, I
go to
church, hang
out at
church.
In fact, I
live at
church.
I've got a
theological
degree and
something else
called a
diploma in
ministry, not
that anyone
knows what
that is.
I work
full-time in
ministry.
I travel
around the
country and
speak to
church leaders
and train
church leaders.
I read
deep
theological
books.
I run
youth
ministry
programs.
And I
even get
to wear a
dress.
I look
religious.
I'm
probably more
religious than
anyone here.
Are you
impressed?
God's not.
Don't fall
into the trap
of thinking
that we
impress God
by what
we do.
Anyone who
says that
there is
something
religious
activity,
some form
of religious
activity that
you must
do is
wrong.
He's
wrong.
The best
case scenario
is I think
potentially the
first believer.
If he wasn't
the first
believer, he's
certainly the
first guy to
follow Jesus
into heaven.
you know
the bloke?
He's stuck
up there on
the cross
beside Jesus.
He's on the
cross beside
Jesus and he
says to Jesus,
remember me
when you come
into your
kingdom.
That is, he
recognized who
Jesus was.
It was a
statement of
faith and
trust in
Jesus, the
guy who was
dying beside
him on the
cross.
He recognized
that Jesus
must be a
king because
he's going
into his
kingdom and
his kingdom
is going to
come when
he dies.
And so
what did
Jesus say to
this guy?
Yeah, mate,
not a problem.
If you can
manage to get
yourself down
off the cross
and get off
the church,
then guarantee
you can be
part of the
kingdom.
No, that
wasn't it.
Or did he
say, hey
disciples, bring
up the hoses,
we need to
baptize this
guy.
No, that
wasn't it.
Today you
will be with
me in
paradise.
Today you
will be with
me in
paradise.
God
is
because he
put his
faith in
Jesus.
Christianity
isn't about
self-righteousness,
it is about
God-given
righteousness and
that man had
it right there
and then on
the cross.
Without any
activity, on
the cross,
God-given
righteousness.
But there is a
message here for
us, not just for
those who need to
put their trust in
Jesus, but that
for those of us
who have put our
trust in Jesus,
it is so easy
for us to start
with faith in
Jesus.
We look at
where we are,
where we're at,
what God has
done for us, and
it seems like a
pretty simple
choice to put our
trust in Jesus.
But it's easy to
move from that
faith in Jesus and
back into religion
and start having
confidence because of
what I do.
it's often a
subtle shift, but
it's so easy to
do it.
The longer and
longer you've been
a Christian, the
more that God has
worked in you and
changed you and
you've been in
church and you go
to youth group and
you go to read the
Bible and pray and
you're involved in
all these Christian
activities and you
hang around with
Christian people and
you kind of get
changed.
And you can start
looking down on
others.
Even just within
the church, you
can start looking
down on others.
It's so easy for
your shift to
happen from faith
back into who you
are and what you've
done for Jesus.
You start to think
maybe I'm not that
bad after all.
God must be
impressed with me.
And so you start
putting your trust
in religion.
And so the
question for us is,
are we totally
looking away from
ourselves?
When you see
yourself standing
before the King
Jesus, the Holy
Judge, what are
you going to look
to?
What are you
going to trust
in?
Let me say that
it would be
absolutely shocking
for us to
have read that
Bible passage and
not be terrified
by those four
words in the
middle of verse
14.
Terrified by
those four words
in the middle of
verse 14.
I tell you,
this man,
that is the
tax collector,
went down to
his house
justified.
And here are
the four words,
rather than
the other.
Rather than
the other.
The Pharisee,
the righteous
one, the one
thanking God
for his
righteousness,
was not
justified.
He was
condemned.
People who
trust in the
righteousness that
God has worked
in them for
the basis of
their acceptance
and acquittal
and justification
before God
do not go
down to their
house justified.
people who
really believe
that the
righteousness
that God
helps them
do in this
life is a
sufficient basis
for their
justification,
Jesus says,
will not
be justified
before God.
So,
Paul's,
this is very
serious.
Very
serious.
we are not
justified by
the righteousness
that Christ
works in
us,
but by the
righteousness
that Christ
is for
us.
Let me say
that again.
We are not
justified by
the righteousness
that Christ
works in
us,
but the
righteousness
that Christ
is for
us.
Me having
a reverent
in front
of my
name,
a theological
degree at
the end
of my
name,
and all
the works
that I
do in
between day
after day
for God's
glory mean
deadly squat
for my
justification.
And if you
don't know what
deadly squat is,
it means
nothing.
And so I
plead with you
today on behalf
of Jesus that
for your
justification,
you do not
look to,
that you
do not
trust in
what God
has worked
out in
you.
Instead,
look to
and trust
in Christ
alone and
all that
God is
for you
in him.
2 Corinthians
5,
God made
him to be
seen who
knew no
sin,
so that in
him we
might become
the righteousness
of God.
And so hear
the words of
Jesus again,
everyone who
exalts
himself will
be humbled
and he
who humbles
himself will
be exalted.
Everyone who
ensuring
himself will
be humbled
and he
who humbles
himself will
be exalted.
Thank you.