Praying in the Not Yet—Humility

Opening Comments:

Please journey in your copy of God’s word to Luke 18:1-14. Pg.824 in our church provided Bibles. Last week we focused on vs.1-8, this week on 9-14 in a sermon I’ve titled “Praying in the Not Yet—Humility”

This is God’s preserved word, lets read it together.

Luke 18:1–14 ESV

1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 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. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 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!’ 14 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.”

Introduction:

Our text today sits inside (at least thematically) the teaching of Jesus that began in 17:20-37 and then carried to 18:1-8 last week. In Luke 17 Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God is both “already” present in His person and in His reign through His people by the Spirit and “not yet” revealed in its full glory.

That “already/not yet” creates tension: we’re citizens of a kingdom that is here in part, but not yet visible in power and ultimate scope.

So we asked,

“How do we live in the between?”

“How do we pray when justice feels delayed?”

Last week, Jesus taught us to pray with persistence (18:1-8). The widow kept coming; the unjust judge finally moved, but only for his convenience. Jesus’ point was contrast:

God is nothing like that unjust Judge. Our Father is righteous and attentive; therefore, don’t lose heart.

Today, Jesus addresses a second danger in the “not yet.” If discouragement tempts us to stop praying, pride tempts us to pray wrongly; to approach God filled with ourselves.

The first parable said “Don’t quit praying.” This parable says “Don’t come proud when you pray.”

The first targeted weariness; this one targets superiority.

If we keep praying without humility, we turn prayer into performance; if we cherish humility without perseverance, we stop praying at all.

These both belong together. Like two rails on the same track guiding our prayers toward God.

Luke once again, just like he did in (v.1) tell us the aim of the parable:

Display but don’t read

Luke 18:9 ESV

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:

This parable was spoken to people with a two-edged problem:

Self righteous: “God will accept me because of me.”

Self sufficient: “I don’t really need mercy; I’ve got this.”

Jesus places this issue in the Temple. The place of prayer and sacrifice. He isn’t talking about bad people out there; he’s talking about worshipers in here. Two-men walk into the same sacred space, pray to the same God, and go home with very different outcomes.

In this parable, we see one central truth: Prayer that reaches God, flows from a heart humbled before him, not a heart impressed with itself.

As we follow, the story will use three “C.’s” like points on a compass to guide our way.

The Contrast of Two Worshipers. (v.10)

The Content of Two Prayers. (v.11-13)

The Confirmation from Heaven. (v.14)

Let’s begin working through the text, by asking it what it teaches us about prayer and our hearts in the “not yet.”

1.) The Contrast of Two Worshipers. (v.10)

Luke 18:10 ESV

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

A.) Why the Temple?

The words “going up” are both about geography and theology.

From a geographical perspective, Jerusalem, sits high; pilgrims literally ascended.

Psalms of Ascent

From a theological perspective, the Temple signified God’s presence and the place of atonement. Sin separates; sacrifice reconciles.

By placing both men, here, Jesus is asking, “Who can truly approach a holy God, and how?”

In the Temple, appearances die and hearts are weighed before the Lord.

B.) Who were the Pharisees?

To our ears, “Pharisee” is synonymous with “hypocrite.” But this wasn’t the case for Jesus first audience. The Pharisees were the respected religious conservatives of the day: serious about scripture, scrupulous about purity, generous in tithing, consistent in fasting, and incredibly influential in the synagogues.

If your family needed a moral example, you pointed to a Pharisee. If anyone had “God’s ear,” surely it was them.

In today’s terms, think of a person who leads Bible studies, is doctrinally careful, and oversees the giving program.

C.) Who were the Tax Collectors?

Tax collectors were men who purchased the right to collect from Rome. They often overcharged the people in order to line their own pockets. They were viewed as unclean (handling Gentile money) and unjust (profiting from neighbors), they were social traders and spiritual outcasts.

In every popular “sin list,” tax collectors, always land near the bottom.

Sinners and tax collectors

So Jesus frames a shock pairing: the man everyone admired and the man everyone avoided and put them in the holiest place on earth.

The Pharisee brings moral polish; the tax collector brings moral poverty.

D.) What’s the contrast asking?

In a place defined by sacrifice for sin, which posture does God receive?

The answer will reveal whether we actually believe in grace—or grace plus a little boost from us.

Application:

If Jesus told this for those who “trusted in themselves,” we should assume there’s a little Pharisee in all of us—especially in a Bible-preaching, truth-loving church like ours (and we should be!). The subtle danger is that, over time, we stop coming to God like beggars in need of grace and start coming like employees expecting a paycheck.

But the Temple wasn’t built for people to prove their worth; it was built for people to receive mercy. Every time we come before God, He reminds us that we’re not there to earn His favor — we’re there because we already have His invitation.

We approach God not to earn his favor but because we already have His favor in Christ.

2.) The Content of Two Prayers. (v.11-13)

A.) The Pharisee’s Prayer (v.11-12)

Luke 18:11–12 ESV

11 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. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

There are some things that really stand out in this prayer that we need to hone in on:

1.) The Position:

“Standing by himself” – we need to understand he was not doing this for quiet, but for separation. He keeps a distance from everyone else not because he feels unworthy, but because he feels untainted. His posture says what his prayer says, “I’m not like them.”

2.) His Words:

He “thanks” God, but His “I’s” give him away.

I am not like the other men…

I fast twice a week.

I give tithes of all I get.

He inventories sins he doesn’t commit, and the disciplines that he keeps. He exceeds requirements. On paper, he is exemplary. In reality all he’s doing is congratulating himself, and wrapping it and religious language.

It’s more performance than prayer.

He’s measuring his righteousness horizontally against “other men” instead of vertically before a holy God.

And that’s always dangerous, because when we measure ourselves by others, we’ll always find someone worse to make us feel better.

Comparison becomes our comfort, and pride becomes our prayer partner. It blinds us to our own need and breeds contempt for everyone else.

But when we measure ourselves by God’s holiness, the only honest conclusion is that we need mercy.

The Pharisee, doesn’t ask for mercy because he doesn’t think he needs it.

His prayer to God is as if he’s admiring himself in a mirror framed with his personal piety.

He is:

self-righteous-Trusting his goodness to make him acceptable to God.

Self-sufficient- believing He doesn’t need grace because his goodness.

B.) The Tax Collectors Prayer (v.13)

Luke 18:13 ESV

13 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!’

1.) The Position:

He is also standing “far off”. But, unlike the Pharisee, he isn’t avoiding people; he’s overwhelmed by God. He won’t lift his eyes; but instead strikes his chest-a rare, guttural level sign of grief.

2.) His words:

Luke 18:13 ESV

…‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

Be merciful- isn’t the typical verb that means “have pity”; instead its the sacrificial term “be propitiated.”

“God, make atonement for me.”

He brings no résumé, only repentance. He’s not comparing himself to the Pharisee; he’s standing in the light of God’s holiness, and it breaks him.

Friends, our prayers reveal us. If we secretly believe God owes us, then our prayers will list who we are, and what we do. But if we know we need mercy, our prayers will be short on self and long on God; honest, holy, dependent.

God delights to meet us there in those kinds of prayers.

I read a humorous story this week of a Sunday school teacher who read this parable to her class and asked little Johnny to close in prayer. Johnny prayed, “Lord, thank you that we are not like that Pharisee.”

I think he missed the point.

Oddly enough, even our humility can turn into pride once we start comparing it to others.

Application: All of us need to build the reflex of the tax collector into our day. Short, honest “mercy prayers” whenever pride arises in our hearts: In the car, before a meeting, after a success, or when you spot someone you tend to judge. Teach your heart to run low and fast to your knees.

3.) The Confirmation from Heaven. (v.14)

Luke 18:14 ESV

14 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.”

A.) The Divine Reversal

Jesus parable, in v.1-8 contrasted God with a corrupt judge by asking “how much more will the righteous father act for His people?”

Here he contrasts two worshipers in the same sacred place, and flips the crowds expectation.

To them, the Pharisee was the good guy; the tax collector was the crook. But heavens confirmation falls the other way: the repentant man goes home justified; the respectable man does not.

In God’s kingdom the way up is down – humble hearts receive grace; proud hearts are sent away empty.

B.) What does Justified mean?

Justified — God’s legal declaration that a sinner is “right with Him”. Not because the sinner became inherently righteous, but because God counts him righteous.

It’s a courtroom word. A judge renders a verdict of “Not guilty” but only because someone has taken your punishment for you.

The tax collector didn’t leave the Temple morally superior; he left forgiven, reconciled, and received by God.

That’s what justification means. God declares a sinner righteous, not because of anything in them, but because of what Christ accomplished through His death and resurrection.

It’s when God looks at us through the finished work of Christ and treats us just as if we’d never sinned — and just as if we had always obeyed.

It’s the exact opposite of pride. Justification says, “Not me-Christ.” Pride says, “look at me.”

Justification receives; pride insists.

Justification compares us to Christ; pride compares us to “other men.”

You cannot cling to your spiritual résumé and the cross at the same time. One must drop.

Application: For most christians, the danger isn’t that we’ll become tax collectors — it’s that we’ll act like Pharisees who are convinced we’re not.

You can sense that attitude creeping in when your confidence shifts from Christ’s righteousness to your own record; when you quietly keep score of what you do and who you’re not; when contempt comes easier than compassion; when your prayers contain more “I” than “God.”

So this morning, look within and ask the Lord to show you where you might be standing “by yourself.”

Where do you feel superior?

Which man in the parable do you most identify with?

Who have you silently looked down on?

Heaven’s approval doesn’t rest on the exalted — it rests on the humble. God’s confirmation falls on those who bow low.

Conclusion:

Luke 18:14 ESV

…For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

This is the architecture of redemption.

Philippians tells us, the king of glory himself took the lowest place— he humbled himself to death on the cross— and therefore God highly exalted him.

The cross stands as the great reversal: the high one brought low, so that the Lowly could be brought near.

And if that’s how God chose to bring us salvation, then that’s how we are called to live before Him.

The path our Savior walked is the pattern for every one of His followers. The way up is still down. The only posture that fits in the shadow of the cross is humility.

So how do we pray and live in the “not yet”? Let me give you four takeaways from this parable—four ways to keep our hearts low before the Lord:

Pray with humility, not performance- God isn’t impressed with long prayers or moral résumés. He listens for hearts that know their need. True prayer doesn’t come to perform; it comes to depend.

Pray with repentance, not comparison- Comparison blinds us to grace and breeds contempt. Repentance opens our eyes to mercy. The measure isn’t “other men”; it’s Jesus—and that keeps confession of sin fresh and compassion for others alive.

Pray with dependence, not entitlement- Every breath, every answered prayer, every act of grace is undeserved. We don’t pray as customers with receipts; we pray as children who trust the Father’s heart.

Pray with faith in the gospel- The tax collector begged for atonement he couldn’t yet see. We pray through the atonement we now know—Jesus Christ, crucified and risen. We don’t come to God on our merit but on His mercy.

So church, as we live and pray in the “not yet,” let’s stay low before God and high on grace. Let’s keep our eyes on the One who humbled Himself for us, so that one day He might lift us up to be with Him in glory.

Invitation:

Direct people to stand with heads bowed and hearts open before the Lord.

In just a moment, I am going to pray, and the piano is going to play. We call this a time of invitation and meditation. A time pray and reflect upon the message we’ve just heard.

To the Christian- If pride has started to stiffen your prayers, or cynicism to silence them, it’s time to bow low again. Ask the Lord to re-soften your heart. Trade the résumé for repentance. Ask for mercy, fresh, and real. If you need to linger and pray with someone, we have a man standing at the back of the room who would love to do that with you. Let the Lord rest your posture before him.

To those not yet in Christ- The judge of all the Earth will do right. That includes righteous judgment on sin. The good news is this: the judge has provided a savior. At the cross, justice and mercy met. Turn to Christ in repentance and faith. Lay down your pride, let go of comparison, and come empty-handed to the one who justifies the ungodly. If you need help with that, the man at the back of the room would love to take his Bible and show you more of what it means to become a Christian.

Prayer:

Father, you are holy, righteous, and merciful. Forgive us for trusting in ourselves and looking down on others. Teach us to come low and not look down. Fix our eyes, not on ourselves but on the cross where atonement for sin was made.

In Jesus name, Amen.