The Publican and the Tax Collector Homily
Notes
Transcript
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
I think that perhaps this parable has lost the sting in its tail through over-familiarity. It’s kind of like spicy food. When I was a kid, I carefully counted the drops of Tabasco sauce I added to mom’s beef and vegetable stew. Between two and four drops did the trick.
Now that I’m used to spicy food, I think Tabasco is still good, but is more vinegar than red pepper.
It’s the same here. We see the Pharisee. We automatically know he’s the bad guy. Telling someone they’re Pharisee is just a fancy way of saying they’re a self-righteous hypocrite.
I’m going to modernize our Pharisee here to help us see this better from the perspective of Jesus’s audience. This isn’t a cultural Christian here, or someone who just watches online church. This guy’s a Baptist, but not just an ordinary Baptist. He’s Reformed. He’s Baptist, but even more solid in his doctrine. He’s the guy who goes to church every Sunday. He’s got the catechism memorized, and leads his family in evening devotions every night, and fasts regularly, and never misses going to Pillar Church of Jerusalem on Sunday, because the other churches around are too loose in their doctrine and practice.
If we weren’t trained to see it as hypocrisy, we could very well read his prayer as thanking the Lord for the fruit of salvation in his life. “Thank you, Lord, that through my new nature I am living a life that is pleasing to you. I see the people living in sin around me and I thank you that I am not living in the sin and misery they are.”
It’s tough to know if we’re trusting in ourselves. But there’s one sure-fire symptom of self-righteousness in this parable. Look at the end of verse 9. Jesus is speaking to those who treat others with contempt. Look at what the Pharisee is doing. He’s contemptuous toward those he thinks are living in sin.
That’s the symptom of pride, and self-righteousness. Contempt toward others.
What’s the solution? Pray the prayer of the tax collector, and we’re good, right? Not so fast. Here’s where, for most of us, the sting is really to be found. It’s just as easy to say “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” while looking on the Pharisee with contempt for his self-righteousness.
My father likes to say that confidence is that feeling you get right before you realize how desperate the situation really is. If contempt towards others is a symptom of self-righteousness, of pride, then Jesus shows us the answer in verse 14. When we throw ourselves on our faces before the Throne of Grace, when we humble ourselves—the Lord will do the exalting in His good time. And those who have truly humbled themselves before the Lord and understand just how desperate their situation would be without Christ cannot have a consistent heart posture of contempt towards others.