Trinity 11 2026

Text: “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” (Luke 18:14).

Jesus tells us exactly why He told the parable recorded in Luke 18. He tells it “to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.” He illustrates their hearts beautifully through the prayer of a Pharisee, who thanked God for the good in his life, but then went wrong by praying: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men.”

There is something important that we need to recognize about that prayer. The Pharisee is not wrong about most of what he says. In fact, there is quite a bit in his prayer that is good. He thanks God for good things. And you should, too.

You and I pray, “Father, I thank You that You have taught me to honor marriage and to live a chaste life in what I say and do. Thank You for preserving my marriage and guarding me from sexual immorality.” Good. Give thanks to God for that. But then we keep going: “I thank You that I am not like those adulterers.” And something has gone wrong.

You pray, “Father, I thank You for everything You have given me. Thank You that I am able to give generously to Your Church and to help my neighbor when he is in need.” Good. Thank God for that. Generosity is His gift. But then you keep going: “I thank You that I am not like those greedy people who keep everything for themselves.” And something has gone very wrong.

You pray, “Father, I thank You that You have brought me here again this morning. Thank You that I can come into Your house week after week to hear Your Word and receive Your gifts.” Good. Never stop thanking God for that. But then you keep going: “I thank You that I am not like those people who never bother to come to church, who always seem to have something more important to do.” And something has gone very, very wrong.

Suddenly, Jesus is telling this parable against you.

Each of those prayers began with a good gift from God. Chastity is good. Generosity is good. Worship is good. Thank God for every one of them.

But somewhere along the way, you stopped looking at God’s gifts and started looking at your neighbor. His adultery made your chastity look even better. His greed made your generosity look even better. His absence from worship made your faithfulness look better. You are not focused on the Giver of all good gifts; you are looking at your neighbor.

People can be really annoying, can’t they? They don’t like the same things you like; they don’t think the way you think; they don’t do things the way you would do them. They can be incredibly annoying. But they can also be useful, at times. Especially when they allow you to say, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men.”

Jesus says that He told this parable to those who “trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.” There it is. You look upon your neighbor and treat him with contempt. You look at his sin and use it to reassure yourself about your righteousness.

So stop looking across the Temple at the tax collector. Stop looking across the aisle, across the neighborhood, across the family. Look at yourself.

Now there is only one prayer left to pray.

“God, be merciful to me, the sinner.”

Good.

That is exactly where God begins with you.

There is One who could honestly say to the Father, “God, I thank you that I have lived a chaste and decent life at every moment of every day; I thank you that I have always been generous, trusting you perfectly and completely for my daily bread.” And He could add, with all honesty, “I thank you for the ability to gather regularly among your people, that I have never missed an opportunity to take part. I thank you that I have been able to fulfill every last letter of Your Word, even when it cost me everything.”

He is able to say that in complete honesty. And yet, He has not looked at you with contempt. He has “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:7–11).

He is able to say all of that perfectly honestly, but He has looked at you and had mercy upon you. In the end, Jesus says of that tax collector, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified.” God did not merely overlook the tax collector’s sin. He atoned for it.

And He has atoned for yours.

Christ looked upon you in your sin and had compassion on you. He did not stand at a distance. He did not look upon you with contempt. He came down to you. He took your place. Christ is the propitiation for your sins. The judgment your sin deserved has fallen upon Him instead. The price has been paid. God’s wrath against your sin has been satisfied by the blood of Christ. He is the propitiation for your sins.

I tell you, Jesus’ death on the cross is the propitiation for your sinful lust. Every impure thought, every lustful glance—the judgment your sin deserved fell upon Him instead. He has paid for it in full.

I tell you, your greed has been atoned for. Every time you have clung to what God gave you, every time you have seen your neighbor’s need and kept what you had for yourself—Christ took that greed to His cross and paid for it in full.

I tell you, your neglect of God’s Word has been atoned for. Every time you have treated His Word as something you could take or leave, every time you heard His Word but refused to listen because you did not like what He said—Christ bore that sin, too. He paid for it in full.

And I tell you, even that ugly contempt that looks across the aisle, across the neighborhood, across the family and says, “God, I thank You that I am not like him,” was carried by Jesus to His cross. Every time you have tried to use another person’s sin to reassure yourself about your own righteousness, Christ looked upon you—not with contempt, but with compassion. He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross, for you.

Christ has heard your prayer for mercy. His answer is His cross. His answer is His blood. His answer is His Word to you today: I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Repent and believe.

I tell you: when you leave this place today, you go from here fully justified before God—not because you have finally done enough, not because you are better than the sinner sitting beside you, but because Jesus Christ is the propitiation for your sins.

And now, go and do those good things. St. Paul says, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” You do not do them so that you can go home justified. You do them because, in Christ, you already are.

So live a chaste and decent life in what you say and do. Guard your eyes and your thoughts. And thank God for preserving you in chastity.

Be generous. Give generously to Christ’s Church and to your neighbor in need. And thank God for everything He has given you.

And yes, come to God’s house. Hunger and thirst for His Word. Hear it. Learn it. Treasure it. And thank God that He continues to gather you into His house to forgive your sins and strengthen your faith.

Most of all, when you see someone caught in sin and error, do not look upon him with contempt. You do not need his sin to make you righteous. Christ has already taken care of that.

Instead, look upon him as Christ looked upon you. Christ saw you in your sin and had compassion. So have compassion. Love him. Serve him. Speak God’s truth to him, not so that you can stand above him, but because you want him to know the same mercy you have received.

And thank God for every good thing He works in you. Just never confuse those good things with the reason you go home justified.

That reason is Christ.

“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified.”

And so do you.