The Humble and Exalted

Last week we read through one of Jesus’ many parables, that of the Persistent widow. In it, we found a widowed woman demanding justice from an unjust judge. It was a story of broken expectations, persistent faith, and persistent prayer. Jesus laid out a scenario that seemed unlikely, and used it to highlight God’s goodness and faithfulness to His people.

This week, we read the parable that directly followed this one. Except now, Jesus is teaching about ones self-perception, self-reliance, and how one treats another...

Listen to Jesus’ parable once again...

Luke 18:9–14 NRSV

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Let’s break this parable down a little bit.

In verse 9 Luke lays out exactly who it is that Jesus is talking to, and why. He gives us the answer to “what does this mean,” before we even read the parable. He says that Jesus is telling this parable to “some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt.”

We can assume that this audience may have included some Pharisees, maybe some religious leaders, and maybe even some of the disciples who were still working through their own struggles. It could be that here, Jesus is comparing Simon the Zealot with Matthew the tax collector. We don’t really know for sure though. But, we do know that Jesus is going to give us a parable about someone who is self-righteous and had a very small view of others.

Verse 10 begins Jesus’ dialogue and we learn that Jesus is going to compare a tax collector with a Pharisee, both have gone up to the temple to pray. First, understand that the wording “up to the temple to pray” reflects that the Temple was on a hill in Jerusalem. Whenever anyone wanted to pray, to pay sacrifice, to be in or near the temple, they had to climb up to God, and then descend back down.

What’s really intriguing in this parable is that the comparison is being made between a Jewish Pharisee and a tax collector. Luke’s intended audience would have immediately recognized the contrasting nature of these men. Pharisees were religious leaders, high and mighty. They walked around with the rule book, enforced Jewish Law, and tried to force everyone to get all 613 right (even though they disregarded many themselves). They saw themselves as the prime example of what it meant to be a good Jew. That is being compared with a tax collector, who was also likely Jewish. They worked on the Sabbath, often took more than necessary and lived lavish lifestyles. They betrayed their Jewish brothers and sisters and worked for Rome. While many people hated and feared the Pharisees, nothing was more detestable than a tax collector.

Yet, here they are, together in the Temple, praying to the same Yahweh.

In verse 11 we begin to see the nature of the Pharisee. He’s separated himself from the detestable tax collector, and like Pharisees often did, he prayed out loud and boastfully… “God, I thank you that I am not like other people...” as he says this I imagine him looking over his shoulder and staring down at the tax collector. He continues, “thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.”

Right here the Pharisee has not only placed himself up higher in the temple physically, but through his attitude of “prayer.” Really, he isn’t thanking God, he’s thanking himself. He states everything that he isn’t, and focuses on the sins that he does not commit, while highlighting the sins of others.

Verse 12 has the Pharisee continuing on by saying, “I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all of my income.” He is displaying to others in the temple court just how good and pious he thinks he is. The Jewish law called for fasting once a year, during the Day of Atonement. But, he was so devoted and righteous that he fasted twice a week! He said this, hoping people would ooh and ahh over his righteousness. Then, he added the little nugget on top, saying that he tithed all of his income, not just parts of it.

Up to this point he separates himself from others, putting himself in a superior position, looking down upon these awful and terrible sinners. He then goes on to explain his superiority, pointing out not only what he avoids doing, but what he performs. Funny enough, he listed things that every Pharisee prided themselves on, tithing and fasting.

The Pharisee, in this self-congratulatory speech, glances at God, but contemplates himself.

What counters this entire scene and chain of events is a tax collector, also standing to pray. This time, he separates himself from the Pharisee. While the Pharisee stood proud and confident before Yahweh and others in the Temple, looking around to make sure everyone could see him… the evil terrible no-good tax collector wouldn’t even look up to heaven. He beats on his chest and repeats, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

While the Pharisee places himself in a class of righteousness, of strict adherence to some of the law, and is proud of himself for doing so, the tax collector comes acknowledging his wrongs and sinfulness and begs for mercy from God, not even feeling worthy to be in God’s presence.

While the tax collector beat his breast, acknowledging his sin, the Pharisee remained blissfully ignorant of his own heart.

Jesus finishes the parable in verse 14 by saying that the tax collector went down to his home being justified rather than the Pharisee. Meaning, the dirty sinner that is the tax collector (at least according to the self-righteous Pharisee) left God’s presence being forgiven. Justified is truly a judicial term meaning, “not guilty.”

This declaration from Jesus would have been shocking to many. It made no logical sense to them that of the two men in the parable, the tax collector was the one forgiven. But, knowing their hearts and refusal to listen, Jesus concludes by saying, “all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Self-centeredness is at the heart of unrighteousness.

Jesus lays before his audience one man who comes in the spirit of prayer, of self-humiliation before God and others. The other man is one who comes in the spirit of pride, self satisfaction.

As you can probably assume, this was not a popular teaching from Jesus. In fact, this is probably one of the lessons that rang loud in the ears of the Pharisees as they screamed out “Crucify Him!” with self-righteous grins.

But, what we want to consider this morning is this, “with what Spirit do we approach God and others?” Do we find ourselves standing before God with prayers that say “Thank you that I am not as bad as THOSE sinners” or do we come before God saying, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner?” The importance here is that God promises to justify those who are humble, who come before the Lord with a genuine heart of repentance and reliance on Christ.

While this may not be something you struggle with now, it’s likely you have before, and may be tempted to do in the future. If we listen to others in the world as they talk you’ll often hear that sentiment, “Thank God I’m not as bad as… [insert name/sin here]”

Or, we may find ourselves being tempted to boast in all the good we do and all of the ways we seek righteousness. If, in our process of becoming more like Christ, we boast in our own abilities, if we seek to lift ourselves up on a pedestal, if we come forward with a spirit of pride and self-congratulations… then we are harming ourselves greatly. Not only that, but we bring harm to those around us.

What our attitude needs to be, in all situations, is that of a humble sinner. One who knows they are forgiven, yet their remorse is still great. One who lives in joy of forgiveness, while equally fleeing from future sin. We each need to be sure that we are coming to God not out of a sense of privilege or pride, but recognizing the simple miracle that God would even allow us to approach Him at all.

When we look at this parable, at the differences between the two men, we must decide if we are going to be like the Pharisee or the tax collector. Recognizing that both are sinners, but both handle their sin and their approach to God very differently.

This will help us to understand the importance of being humble vs exalting ourselves. The only choice is whether we want God to be the one to humble us or we take that posture ourselves. God’s plan to exalt his people is much better than his people’s plan to exalt themselves. When we exalt ourselves we deny our dependence on God, and that is the essence of sin.

It is in our understanding of utter dependance on God that we can feel humble, where we can be humble. It is a deep and genuine humility, not surface level. As John Carroll says,

“So a self-aware, self-abasing tax collector who comes to the temple seeking only mercy finds favor with God. Divine validation, meanwhile, is withheld from a Pharisee who fails to recognize his need for it. For all his zeal to observe the Torah, he stumbles in observance of the key commandments to love God and neighbor.”

We, as believers in Jesus Christ, must become so self-aware that we not only come to God for mercy, but that we strive to bring others before God so that they too can strive for God’s mercy. The moment we take a “holier than thou” approach to our faith is the moment we are the Pharisee in this parable. This, of course, does not mean that we delight in the sins of others, nor ignore those sins. But, our correction and reproof needs to come from a humble heart steeped in concern for the livelihood and soul of our brother or sister. As soon as the focus becomes an elevation of ourselves above someone else, that is when we have failed them the most.

So, when you meet another person who is very openly sinning, consider how you treat that person next time. Do you say, “Thank God I’m nothing like them,” or do you see them and say, “Lord, have mercy on, a sinner.” Our growth in Christ should not mean that we are elevated above all else, but that we become more and more humble in our everyday interactions with others.

If you are here this morning and are struggling with humility, know that even a desire to become more humble is a great first step. But, also know this, no matter who you are, whether you have spent your whole life like the Pharisee, or you are like the tax collector in this parable, Christ our Lord loves you. Christ our Lord died for you and is there offering you justification, offering you forgiveness. It is not too late, no matter who you are or what you’ve done, to be justified by Christ.

I pray that all of us, in our own lives, step off of our moments of self-righteousness and self-congratulations and humble ourselves before one another and the Lord. Let us each become so aware of God’s mercy that we recognize his greatness, and not our own. Let our hearts be humble.

Lord, have mercy on us, sinners before you.

Amen.