Yeah, so over the last few weeks, we've studied many of Jesus' parables, and we know what
to expect from them.
But today's parable is actually a bit different.
Because you see, in all the parables we've looked at so far, we've seen stories with
various characters and other things that stand as symbols.
We've seen farmers, shepherds, servants, sons, sheep, coins, fields, the list goes on.
And all of these had their meanings that could be understood by the people.
Time and again, we've heard this phrase, earthly stories with heavenly meanings.
And we've seen how they were often understood, even if the hearers didn't like what they were
hearing.
At the end of the parable of the talents, we read that they knew he had spoken this
parable against them.
But this time, it's a bit different.
Because he doesn't couch it in symbols.
Yes, there's a certain drama to how the story's told, but the characters are direct representatives
of the people that are sitting there in front of him.
Over the last few weeks, we've met these characters many times, sitting there in the crowd.
But this time, they themselves are in the story.
This time, he's blunt and says it as it is.
He doesn't mince his words at all.
Our story tonight has two characters in it.
And I want us to look at who they were, what they thought of themselves, how they approached
God, how they left.
And then finally, I want to look at what happened next.
And so, let's meet our characters.
A Pharisee and a tax collector.
And immediately, we've hit a big problem with understanding this passage.
If we've been around church for any time at all, we know these characters all too well.
We know that Pharisees are villains.
And we know that tax collectors come good in the end.
We know that Jesus had harsh words for the Pharisees and dined with the tax collectors.
But these are Christian New Testament stereotypes.
We need to forget about all that if we're to understand the scandal of this passage.
This parable hits home because it overturns totally what was expected in first century Judea.
Because these two figures would be well known within society.
The first, the Pharisee.
He's a respected religious leader.
He's an honored member of the community.
The Pharisees are a religious group who are renowned for their teachings on the law of Moses.
And their interpretation of it and application of it to the minutia of everyday life.
And they were particularly concerned about ritual purity.
About doing everything possible to avoid anything that might make them unclean.
Such as the other character.
A tax collector.
He's a hated and despised traitor.
He's one of their own people.
But he's collaborating with the occupying Roman forces.
He was probably very rich.
Because they were notorious for embezzlement.
Taking from their own people to give to the authorities.
And taking their own cup to line their pockets along the way.
It would be very clear to Jesus' original audience.
Who was the goody?
And who was the baddy in this story?
One was respected.
The other hated.
One gave to the poor.
The other stole and exploited.
One was considered to be a good man.
The other a sinner.
So, if that's what society thought about them.
What did they think of themselves?
Well, the Pharisee.
He's proud of himself.
And all that he's achieved.
He's confident of his status in society.
He thinks that his good deeds.
His adherence to every last letter of the law.
Makes him a good man.
And he's careful to avoid anything that might make him unclean.
Presumably he's aware that he's not perfect.
But he considers that his failings are insignificant.
They're totally outweighed by the good things that he does.
And because he's so confident in his own status,
he looks down on the others that he thinks haven't achieved that level.
He's the very definition of the phrase, holier than thou.
We read in the first verse of our passage that Jesus is speaking to some who were confident of their own righteousness.
And looked down on everyone else.
This is exactly who this Pharisee is.
So, what about the tax collector?
What did he think of himself?
Well, he knows that everything they say about him is true.
And more.
He's painfully aware of how far wrong he has gone.
He's reminded about it every day.
By the looks people give him.
By the muttering behind his back.
But even without these things,
he knows.
We don't know how he got to this position.
Presumably he had his reasons.
Maybe he'd been in a desperate situation and just needed
anything that would pay.
Maybe it was just meant to be a temporary thing until something more respectable came along.
Or maybe he went into it with eyes wide open.
He just wanted money and power and was willing to do whatever he needed to get it.
Either way, he's got himself into a position that he can see no way out of.
He's comfortable, yeah.
He's wealthy.
But he's hated.
He hates himself.
And so, having looked at how both of these characters thought of themselves,
how did they come to the temple?
How did they approach the worship of God?
How they act is completely different.
Because what they thought of themselves had a profound influence on how they came to worship God.
How that does it?
How did they come to?
First of all, we see the Pharisee.
Confident.
Proud.
Boldly strolling into the temple.
Standing apart from the crowds so that he could be seen.
He's putting on a display.
Everything he says is about himself.
his prayer consists of telling God
and anyone that was listening
how good he was
and in particular how much better he is
than that scum over in the corner
but he carefully wraps it in the pretense
of giving thanks to God
but as well as showing how much he thought of himself
his attitude here shows how little he thought of God
yes he knew that God was good
but he had brought God's goodness down to his own level
he actually believed that it was possible
that he might be impressive to God
he'd made God so small
that it seemed reasonable to try and impress him
rather than just to bow down
and worship
in contrast to this
we see the tax collector
he approaches the temple hesitantly
he's humble
hiding away in a corner
looking down at his feet
he knows that he's an outcast from society
but more than that
he knows he is not worthy
to come into the presence of God
and his prayer
is simple
God
have mercy on me
a sinner
he confesses his sin
and he pleads
for mercy
he doesn't compare himself
with others
he doesn't offer any mitigating
excuses
he doesn't bring up any of the good things
that probably he had done
anything that might make him look better
interestingly he doesn't actually
confess specific sins
he knows that it's not just
he is a good person who has done some wrong things
but that his nature
and identity
is a sinner
and he knows that he can do nothing
to change this
probably over the years he's tried
and failed
but he realises that his only hope
is to fling himself
on the mercy
of God
but if he
has a low view
of himself
he has a very high view
of God
because he knows
that God's goodness
is transcendent
he knows that he is not someone
to be trifled with
his reaction is the same as that
of anyone who realises
who they are
and who God is
we see this right back in Genesis
when Adam says
I heard you in the garden
and I was afraid
because I was naked
so I hid
or Isaiah
when he has his vision of the Lord
and cries out
woe to me
I am ruined
for I am a man of unclean lips
I live among a people of unclean lips
and my eyes have seen the King
the Lord Almighty
or Peter
in the boat
when he cries out
go away from me Lord
I am a sinful man
these are the natural reactions
of people who have recognised
the goodness
and holiness
and majesty of God
and in contrast with that
how depraved
and broken
that they
really are
and so
he approaches God
in humility
asking for mercy
and so
having approached in different ways
how do our characters leave?
well
the Pharisee
he left exactly the way he came
nothing has happened
nothing has changed
and to be honest
he's quite fine with that
because
he doesn't think he has any need to change
he came proud of his status
he left proud of his status
he came confident in his good works
and he left with that confidence unshaken
he came with a disdain for others
and left with the same prejudice
he came with a small view of God
and he left with that exact same view
he might as well have stayed at home
but things are totally different
for the tax collector
because we read in verse 14
that he went home justified
he left changed
he left a different man
because God heard his plea
for mercy
and forgave his sin
it isn't just God's goodness
and holiness
that is far beyond what we can imagine
but also his grace
to those who seek his mercy
the Pharisee
was the one who
tried to be careful
to avoid anything unclean
but it's the tax collector
who God declares to be clean
and he wasn't just clean
because God chose to turn a blind eye
to his sin
he didn't just brush it under the carpet
he dealt with it
Jesus' listeners at the time
they wouldn't have understood how
they knew that God could forgive sins
but they didn't yet know
how he could
but Jesus
at this point
is on his way to Jerusalem
in a few days
weeks at most
he will die for the sins
of the tax collectors
for your sins
for mine
and he'll rise again
to offer
new life
this doesn't mean
that there weren't still
consequences
that the tax collector
had to deal with
in chapter 19
we meet
Zacchaeus
a real life tax collector
who repented
and he had a lot of things
that he had to put right
starting by making restitution
to the people
that he had cheated
but before God
his sin
was dealt with
the guilty verdict
hanging over him
was gone
his status
and identity
had changed
and like we heard
about last week
there would be much
rejoicing
in heaven
over this sinner
repenting
but
I think
a really important
question
for us to
answer here
is what happened
next
what happened
to these characters
after they had
gone home
obviously
as they were just
characters in a story
they ceased to exist
as soon as the story
ended
but if they had
been real people
what might have
happened
I think
this is a really
important question
to look at
because
I'm aware
that the
vast majority
of people listening
quite probably
all of you
have already
come to God
in repentance
Christians
are already
Christians
and it's so easy
to let a story
like this
just wash over
us
we know it
so let's go back
to our two
characters
one last time
for the Pharisee
life went on
as before
as we said
nothing had
changed in his
life
and quite
possibly
nothing ever
would
but
in time
who knows
the book
of Acts
speaks of
believers
who belonged
to the Pharisees
indeed the apostle
Paul himself
was a Pharisee
there was still
time
for the Pharisee
to turn
and repent
so what about
the tax collector
could life
carry on
the same
for him
he was
now
justified
he was
righteous
before God
could he
just go back
to his old
life
if he was
forgiven
did it really
matter
what he did
now
well Paul
that Pharisee
turned apostle
had something
to say
on the matter
in Romans 6
he addresses
this exact
question
shall we
go on
sinning
and he
has a
bold answer
by no
means
other
translations
put it
of course
not
absolutely
not
or even
God
forbid
it's
completely
inappropriate
for him
just to
continue
living his
life
the way
he had
been
repentance
that doesn't
involve
change
it's not
repentance
at all
at best
it's just
remorse
and for us
who looking
back
understand
the price
that bought
our salvation
as we
remembered
in communion
this morning
how can we
take it
for granted
so much
that we
can say
thank you
for paying
the price
for my
sin
and
oh by the
way
here's
some more
for you
to deal
with
it would
be
completely
unreasonable
for him
to just
go back
to his
old life
so does
that mean
he went
on to
live a
perfect
life
that he
never
sinned
again
well
Paul again
has something
to say
about this
in just
the next
chapter
Romans 7
here he
describes
the struggle
of warring
desires
of warring
natures
he says
what I
want to
do
I do
not
do
and what
I hate
I do
Paul
confesses
that he
is still
totally
and utterly
needy
and dependent
he may
have had
one of
the most
dramatic
conversions
in history
he may
be one
of the
apostles
with the
biggest
influence
in spreading
the gospel
around the
world
but he
is still
incapable
of living
a good
life
by his
own
strength
time and
again
he finds
that he
does
the very
things
that he
hates
so has
nothing
changed
are we
left still
just trying
our best
and failing
no
the biggest
thing
that has
changed
is our
identity
sinner
is no
longer
our
identity
as we
sang
earlier
we are
now
a
redeemed
child
of God
who
sins
sometimes
it's a
subtle
but profound
difference
because it
completely
changes
who we
are
and it
changes
how we
should
think of
ourselves
and
therefore
it
changes
how we
approach
God
we
still
like the
tax collector
need to
confess our
sin to
God
both our
general
sinfulness
and the
specific
places where
we are
aware
that we
have
failed
need to
confess our
weakness
and our
need
to acknowledge
that we
can't do
it on
our own
we need
to confess
to God
that there
are sins
that we
struggle
with
and that
we need
him to
give us
the strength
to resist
temptation
the strength
to put to
death
daily
the desires
of our
sinful
nature
and it
may be
that we
need to
confess
these
struggles
to our
brothers
or sisters
so they
might help
us in
that fight
but we
also need to
make sure
that we
don't get
caught up
by the
thinking of
the Pharisee
that doing
good things
and particularly
doing religious
things will
somehow
impress
God
we know
that our
salvation
is by
grace
alone
but do we
sometimes
feel that
maybe
going to
the prayer
meeting
reading the
Bible
listening to
some worship
music
in some
ways
might make
up for
some of
our other
failings
they don't
not
at all
oh yes
they're good
things
they're
things we
should
be doing
they're
things that
may help
us in
the fight
and in
building and
strengthening
our relationship
but just
as our
salvation
was by
grace
alone
so too
is our
ongoing
sanctification
but finally
we need to
rejoice in
our salvation
not just
grovel in
our sin
yes we
need to
be aware
of our
sin
but it
should not
drive us
to despair
but to
worship
I remember
the first
time I read
the fight
by John
White
almost 20
years ago
one line in
the first
chapter hit
me
he writes
you are not
given permission
to crawl
into God's
presence
but to
approach him
with your
head held
high
I don't
remember
exactly what
was going
on in my
life at the
time
but I still
remember the
joy that
this line
brought
because our
identity
is not
that of a
sinner
but of a
sinner saved
by grace
and that is
something
completely
different
and so
as we
come to
an end
how have
we come
to worship
God
tonight
what is
our view
of ourselves
what is
our view
of God
have we
come thinking
there is
something that
we can bring
God
that we can
somehow
impress him
or have
we come
knowing
that we
can bring
nothing
that we
are wholly
dependent
on his
grace
whether for
the first
time
or the
thousandth
time
have we
come
knowing
our
weakness
and failure
and rejoicing
in the
wonder
of our
salvation
just as
we finish
some
lines from
a song
may I
never
lose the
wonder
the wonder
of the
cross
may I
see it
like the
first time
standing
as a
sinner
lost
undone
by mercy
and left
speechless
watching
wide-eyed
at the
cost
may I
never
lose
the
wonder
the
wonder
of the
cross
grounds
minus
through
the
état
of the
sea
in the
Miller
Stealth
of the
verse
declined
as Dan
as
Tambor