The Road Down Is the Way Up

 Settling into a new town, Farmer found & went to a church. But members criticized his farm clothes. Afterwards, Pastor warned him. "Around here, we dress up for church." "But I don't have any. What'll I do?" "Pray," Pastor said. "God will tell you what to do." Next week, Farmer returned in different clothes. But they were no better. Pastor noticed & interrupted the service. "Didn't I tell you to ask God what to wear?" "Yes sir, you did." "Did you?" "Yes sir, I did." "What did God say?" "Pastor, God said He didn't know. He said he's never been here before." In today's verses, Farmer could've been the tax collector. Pastor, the Pharisee. Long before our verses, Jesus started teaching his disciples. What do they need to know for their mission? All about the KoG. About being disciples, the KoG's citizens. About God's forgiveness. How we need forgive if we want to be forgiven. The faith we'll often need in order to forgive. In Lk 17, Jesus starts talking about the humility disciples need. In Lk 17:10, he explains, 10When we've done all we're told to do, remember. "We're unworthy servants; we've only done our duty." Jesus healed 10 lepers. 1 came back to say 'thanks.' Jesus said his faith saved him. Jesus' point? Humble disciples are thankful. In Lk 18, Jesus' told the parable of the persistent widow. The widow persists & is rewarded. Jesus' point? Humility in a disciple's prayers includes persistence. Are you seeing a theme? Humility. Jesus continues in our verses. Let's turn to Lk 18:9-14. 9aSome were confident of their own righteousness. The problem? Humility looks at truth. They didn't. Ps 143:2 warns, no one living is righteous. They think it's about others. So, they 9blook down on everyone else. Pride. Humility's opposite. For them, 9cJesus has a word. 10a"2 men went up to the temple to pray. The two couldn't have been more different. 10bOne's a Pharisee. We've heard this so often, we already think he's a harsh, legalistic, self-righteous, 'judgy' hypocrite. In Jesus' day, no one sees Pharisees that way. To them Pharisees are role models. People to imitate. Not avoid imitating. Why? Long history. ~300 years ago, pagan Greeks conquered the world & imposed Greek culture. Pharisees rose up to preserve true Jewish religion & obedience to the law. Their hearts were good. Theologically, Pharisees accept all the OT & the oral tradition (Mishnah). They believe 'God inspired both.' (Sadducees (priests) only accept the Torah, Gen-Dt as Scripture.) They tithe on everything, even herbs. Pharisees fast, the most religious even 2x / week. Other Jews esteem them more highly than any others. Josephus says people even take their word over the word of the priests! Who are our Christian role models? Elders? Deacons? To Jesus' hearers, Pharisees are the role models. 10cThe other man was a tax collector. Pretty much the opposite. Pharisees never sold out their people for money. Tax collectors victimized everyone, even Pharisees. How? Rome taxed its subjects. But to collect, they auctioned tax businesses to the highest bidders. Tax collectors then got wealthy doing the dirty work. How? They extorted more than they had to collect. All they can from other Jews. To their people, they're traitors to Jewish religion & the political state. Scum of the earth. "Monsters." And some were. Tax collectors couldn't even hold public office. Courts wouldn't allow their testimony. They're complete outcasts. Untouchable. Today's drug pushers. Pimps. Those who prey on society. Making money off others' bodies & misery. Making a living by stealing. In every way, Jews saw them as bad examples. People not to imitate. Why'd the two come to the temple? To pray. The Pharisee, up front. The tax collector, way in back. 11aThe Pharisee stood up. Like others who prayed he stood & looked up to heaven. But 11bhe prays about himself. 11c'God, I thank you that I'm not like other men. Is this already wrong? Not necessarily. It isn't wrong to thank God humbly for who He's made us to be. 11dNot like robbers, evildoers, or adulterers. So far, it could be humble. But he goes on. 11eNot even like this tax collector. Oops! He's standing in for God as judge! That's hubris, not humility. 12aI fast 2x a week & tithe on all I get.' Only the most devout Pharisees fast that often. Torah (The Law) only required fasting on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). And tithing on everything-not just income? Again, above what law required. He looks good. But is he? Notice what Jesus says about him. Praying about himself. The truth? He's praying to himself. Making himself look good at others' expense. The picture of self-righteousness. Humility's opposite. The Pharisee stands & prays up front. 13a"But the tax collector stands at a distance. He doesn't dare go up front. 13bHe won't even look up to heaven like everyone else who prays. 13cHe just beats his breast, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' No comparison to others. He just looks at his sin & God's holiness. Inescapably, he sees his unworthiness. And so he prays... Jesus' point? 14a"I tell you this man, not the other, went home justified before God. Why? The great reversal. 14bEveryone who exalts himself will be humbled. He who humbles himself will be exalted." Jesus is challenging us all. Will we see ourselves as God does (apart from Christ)? It takes humility to look at our sin. Not to look at how good we look compared to others. Unless we're perfect, we'll never look good enough. Will we accept that we need a Savior? Only one ever paid the price to save us: Jesus. Will we accept Him as Savior? Will we show it by also accepting Him as Lord? The instant we do, His righteousness is ours. The Pharisee & the tax collector were both devout. Religious. Committed to God. One man obeys the law in every detail. At least, he thinks he did. The other has a sinful job. People expect extortion & dishonesty. Yet the man who looks so good that others imitate him isn't accepted. And the one with the sinful job is. Is that fair? It doesn't feel like it. The Pharisee seems to have it all. All but one crucial thing. The tax collector? He has only the 1 thing necessary. He knows he has nothing. Humility. A sense of God's holiness. His/our unworthiness. The need for God's grace. The result? The Pharisee leaves with only his self-righteousness. The tax collector leaves with true righteousness. God's forgiveness of all His sin(s). How we compare to others can't save us. Nor can how hard or how long we've work at obeying Jesus. Nor can obeying The Law. Not even how many good deeds we rack up. That doesn't seem fair, does it? But God never promises to be fair. No, He promises to give us better than we deserve. Really? Look at Jesus' parable of the workers in the vineyard. In Mt 20:1-16. The vineyard's owner hires workers at daybreak, then again 3hrs, 6hr, 9hr, & 11hr later. At sunset, he settles up. All receive a day's wage. Just what each needs to live. Those who toiled all day grumble. Look at the owner's response in Mt 20:13-16. 13But he answered, 'Friend, I'm not being unfair. Didn't you all agree to work for a denarius? 14Take your pay & go. I want to give the man hired last the same as I gave the 1st. 15Don't I have the right to do what I want with my money? Or are you envious because I'm generous?' 16 "So the last will be first, & the first will be last." No matter how hard we toil, God promises to give us what we need to live eternally. He gives us salvation. Will there be other rewards? Yes. But none will compare with the richness of salvation, freely offered to all. Working harder won't earn us a better salvation. Even a deathbed conversion is sufficient. (Ask the thief on the cross.) Humility is crucial. How can we gain it? Look at our verses one last time. The Pharisee judged the tax collector by his actions. He judged himself by his intentions. Too often, we do too. What if we reverse it? What if we assume (judge) their good intentions, regardless of their action? And what if we judge ourselves by what we did, not what we meant to do? That's a giant step on the road to humility! Now, remember the Beatitudes in Mt 5:3-12. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Humility is the starting point. Accept that we're sinful. We need a Savior. Then comes, 'blessed are those who mourn' their sin. Each step up into a beatitude opens a view of the next step up. Humility is crucial for believers. Humility is the road down. But the road down is also the way up into heaven. The Road Down Is the Way Up- Luke 18:9-14 Page 1 of 1