Knowing What We Really Are
Notes
Transcript
9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
we see a key phrase in verse 9, they trusted in themselves
they had lost their humility, they had lifted themselves up
the way the pharisees operated, had a tradition will thousands and thousands of rules to follow, such as -
The Babylonian Talmud, Volumes 1–20: Original Text, Edited, Corrected, Formulated, and Translated into English Chapter XV: Regulations concerning the Tying and Untying of Knots on the Sabbath
Following are the knots for the tying of which one becomes culpable. The knot of the camel-drivers (made on the guiding-ring) and the knot of the seamen (made on the bow of a ship); just as one becomes culpable for tying them, so also one becomes culpable for untying them. R. Meir said: “One does not become culpable for any knots that can be untied with one hand.”
The Babylonian Talmud, Volumes 1–20: Original Text, Edited, Corrected, Formulated, and Translated into English Chapter XV: Regulations concerning the Tying and Untying of Knots on the Sabbath
One may fold his clothes (just removed) even four or five times (on the Sabbath). On the eve of Sabbath one may prepare his beds for use on the Sabbath, but not at the close of Sabbath for use after the Sabbath is gone.
The Babylonian Talmud, Volumes 1–20: Original Text, Edited, Corrected, Formulated, and Translated into English Chapter XVI: Regulations concerning Articles Which May Be Saved from a Conflagration on Sabbath
One may cover the top of a lamp with a vessel in order that the ceiling may not catch fire, and also cover the ordure (of poultry*) on account of the children (in the house). (One may also place a vessel) over a scorpion in order to prevent him from biting. R. Jehudah said: “A case of this kind happened once in the presence of R. Johanan ben Zakai in Arab, and he said, ‘I am not certain whether (the man) is not culpable (and bound to bring a sin-offering).’ ”
the reasoning behind all these rules is so they didn’t inadvertently break any commandment from the OT, like doing work on the sabbath
so they put so much effort, so much time into being supposedly righteous, that they got puffed up.
they figured, “I do all these things, surely I am righteous!”
“despised others”
to show by one’s attitude or manner of treatment that an entity has no merit or worth
they lifted themselves up so much, that they were looking down on everyone else
the way they saw it, they’re going through all this effort, doing all these things, to be righteous and these other people aren’t
they had lost perspective - they had lost sight of who is really the one who is righteous - God
no matter how many arbitrary rules they follow, they could come nowhere near the righteousness of God
that’s why they had their whole system in the first place, because they were fallen people, sinners
you hear the phrase, “pride comes before the fall”, and it’s because people let their egos get in the way, it blinds them
they puff themselves up to the point to where they aren’t seeing things for what they truly are
it’s like putting a pair of glasses on with a filter
10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
When we read this pasasge, we have to remember what prayer really is, it’s coming into God’s presence
a true privilege, something that is a real opportunity every single time we get to do it
so we must value it for what it truly is
but we must also come before God with all humility and a pure heart.
who are we compared to God?
we must take it seriously
what a blessing that we can come to Him knowing that He loves us, wants the best for us, and wants to build us up
though we must respect Him for who and what He is, we can come to Him casting our burdens on Him, for He cares for us.
They go up to pray - this has the appearance of humility and righetousness
“hey, they’re both going to pray”
how often are looks deceiving - the pharisee follows all these rules and surely goes to the synagogue every sabbath, he looks like he’s doing everything right
the publican (tax collector in Greek)
“The tax collectors would bid to collect taxes for the Roman government, and then add a surcharge, which they kept. Since tax collectors worked for Rome, they were viewed as traitors to their own people and were not well liked.”
“Tax gatherers sometimes collected extra money and kept the profit; although this practice was not legal, it was difficult to prevent. In rural Egypt, where we have the fullest evidence, they were known to even beat old ladies to discover where tax fugitives were; on occasion, an entire village would even relocate to escape tax collectors.”
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Immediately, he starts the prayer by thanking God
but He thanks God for making him better than others, more righteous than others
even with another sinner right beside him, he obviously thinks nothing at all of him
he has no compassion for someone in a different situation, he’s immediately judgemental, thinking he knows this guys heart
Additionally, he’s trusting in his works, and not in God and His power
he obviously believes his works are his righteousness, that they’re one and the same
If we look at verse 8, earlier in the chapter
8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
right before this parable, Jesus is talking about faith not works.
faith is a state of the heart, it’s a state of the soul, it’s an outlook, it’s belief in the core of your being
it’s something not tangible, not something you can see, like works
surely, faith can produce good works, but faith is the foundation of those works
however, you CAN have those works without the faith, for whatever the reason may be
“He trusted only in outward appearance, as if the hidden and inward uncleanness of the heart would not be taken into account”
“Does it not strike you when the Lord says in the Gospel, “When the Son of man comes, do you think he will find faith on earth?” Knowing that some would arrogantly attribute this faith to themselves, he immediately said, “To some who seemed to themselves to be just and despised others, he spoke this parable.” -Augustine
we simply have things that we’re supposed to do for God
if we’re following God’s commandments to the best extent we can, that’s should be “normal” to a believer
it’s not like each and every good work build us up into some sort of mega-believer that is worthy of pride and looking down on others
it’s simply just WHAT WE’RE SUPPOED TO DO
“Moderate yourself, O Pharisee. Put a door and lock on your tongue. You speak to God who knows all things. Wait for the decree of the judge. No one who is skilled in wrestling ever crowns himself...”
“No one also receives the crown from himself but waits for the summons of the referee.… Lower your pride, because arrogance is accursed and hated by God. It is foreign to the mind that fears God. Christ even said, “Do not judge, and you shall not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.”
“No one who is in good health ridicules one who is sick for being laid up and bedridden. He is rather afraid, for perhaps he may become the victim of similar sufferings. A person in battle, because another has fallen, does not praise himself for having escaped from misfortune. The weakness of others is not a suitable subject for praise for those who are in health.”
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
an interesting note that we see at first is that he stands “afar off”
he didn’t even feel as if he could look upward to heaven
look at the stark difference between these two
one who boldly goes and prays and is thankful that he’s not like all these other peons around him
one who stands to himself, is so humble he won’t even look upward, and prays for repentance
he’s beaten down by his conscience, but at least he has one and is listening to it
he was coming to God with the right state of heart - with repentance and humility
He recognizes who he is in comparison to God
His heart is what’s truly in it
if his heart wasn’t truly in it, he wouldn’t be averting his eyes and smiting his chest
He asks for mercy, which is the story of the Bible, God providing mercy for the sinner
this man understands what God wants from him, and comes to him regarding that
but the pharisee did not understand
he went to the synagogue, he followed all these rules, he obeyed the sabbath, he came to pray
he did all these things, but he was missing the point
he trusted in his works, and he missed the forest for the trees
he got caught up in doing all these good works, and his perspective was warped
he was putting in SO much effort
he missed what God truly wanted from him
he had all the trappings of being Godly
others likely saw him as Godly
he even THOUGHT he was Godly
but it doesn’t matter what he thinks, it’s about what God thinks
we can all be wrong in our image of ourselves, it can be easy to start trusting in our works
that’s why humility is so important, it keeps our perspective right, it keeps us from getting puffed up and out of whack
“Humility lies in not refusing to acknowledge our sins, but condemning ourselves, and thus anticipating the judgment of God; and, with the view of being reconciled to God, in making an honest confession of guilt.”
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
we see the consequences of this situation - we see the judgement of God
we will all have to face this, and maybe face it soon
how will we be found? will the Son of Man find faith when He comes? or will He find puffery and trust in self and works
is our heart and soul all out of whack?
are we missing the forest for the trees? are we caught up in coming to church, doing good works, all these things, but still missing the point?
do we have the look and appearance, and even the works, but our heart is in left field somewhere far from God?
Jesus talked about people who honor Him with their lips but their heart is far from Him, He talked about those who say they’ve done great things in His name, but He never really knew them
are we one of those people? are we deceiving ourselves?
the point is to be humble before God, understand our sinful state, and come to Him for mercy and for healing
God is the great physician, and He wants to heal us and build us up
but if we don’t recognize our faults, how can God heal and build us up?
We see that ultimately, the prideful will be brought down and the humble exalted
essentially, all will be made right and whole at the judgement
will we be exalted or abased?
the last time we prayed, how did we come before Him? did we come before Him super confident in ourselves and our works?
or did we come to Him asking for mercy?