Luke 18:9-14 - The One Who Humbles Himself

Introduction

J. C. Ryle has written…

Luke: Crossway Classic Commentaries The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (18:9–14)

We are all naturally self-righteous; it is the family disease of all the children of Adam. We secretly flatter ourselves that we are not so bad as some and that we have something to recommend us to God. The cure for self-righteousness is self-knowledge. Once the Spirit has opened the eyes of our understanding, we will never again talk about our own goodness. We will put our hand to our mouths and cry with the leper, “Unclean! Unclean!” (Leviticus 13:45).

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You are not a good person.

Neither am I.

Jesus said that no one is good except God. And when we see our sinfulness in light of His holiness, we do cry out, “Unclean! Unclean!” Or “Woe is me! For I am a man of unclean lips!” Or “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!”

In the parable that Jesus shares with us this morning, He continues to teach us on prayer.

In the previous passage, we see that prayer is vital during these last days before the return of Christ so that we do not lose heart. And we know that we can trust God’s heart in prayer during these last days because He is perfectly good.

This is the why we should pray.

Our parable this morning tells us how we should pray.

In this story about a praying Pharisee and a praying publican (or tax collector), Jesus teaches us that we ought to pray with humility.

If we don’t, we don’t understand who we pray to.

We don’t understand who is praying.

And we shouldn’t expect to receive mercy from God.

[TS] There are several different facets of this parable that I want us to consider this morning, so let’s dive in…

Major Ideas

ASPECT #1: THE PROBLEM THAT PROVOKED THE PARABLE (Luke 18:9)

Luke 18:9 NASB95

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

The problem that provoked the parable was that there were some “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous.”

Some based their belief in their righteousness upon themselves. They believed their good works would justify them before God.

Looking in the parable that Jesus tells, we see this prideful Pharisee praying, fasting, and giving. He believed his praying, fasting, and giving would lead God to declare him righteous.

The Pharisees were apparently very tempted to exalt themselves through praying, fasting, and giving. Not only does Jesus mention these three things here, but also in his sermon on the mount.

In Matthew 6 Jesus warned His disciples about giving to be honored by men (Matt. 6:2).

He warned them about praying to be seen by men (Mt. 6:5).

He warned them about fasting so as to be noticed by men (Matt. 6:16).

With each warning Jesus took aim at the Pharisee’s who practiced these things for the praise of men; so that they would be declared righteous in comparison to other men.

The problem is that no one except God can declare us righteous or justified.

We all might say to one another, “You are right with God! You are justified in His sight!”

But that doesn’t matter if God’s says we’re not.

And because others say it to us, we might say to ourselves, “I am right with God! I’m righteous in His sight! I’m justified before Him!”

But even if we say it to ourselves, it’s still not true if God doesn’t say it too.

Of course, we don’t want to fall prey to the ‘fantasy of self-justification’ as one writer put it, so we should ask how it is that we are to be made righteous if not through our own effort? If we can’t trust in ourselves for righteousness, then who can we trust in?

We know the answer is Jesus.

All our best efforts are tainted by sin. All our good works are as filthy rags before God (Isa. 64:6). Therefore we have no righteousness of our own before God.

We need the righteousness of Jesus to cover us. We need His righteousness to be counted as our righteousness.

No work of Jesus was ever tainted by sin to any degree. As very God of very God who dwelt among us in the flesh, He was perfect and did all things perfectly.

God the Father said of Him and to Him, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased,” (Mt. 3:17; Mt. 17:5; 2 Pet. 1:17).

God the Father was pleased with His Son because His Son was perfectly obedient to His Father in all things. He only said what the Father wanted Him to say (Jn. 12:49). He only did what the Father wanted Him to do (Jn. 6:38).

And what did Jesus say?

What did He do?

In John 6:40 Jesus said…

John 6:40 ESV

40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Perfect Jesus—He who knew no sin—took our sins upon Himself and took them to the cross to pay their price in our place.

On the cross, Jesus died for us and all who look on Him and believe; all who look upon His sacrifice and confess their sinfulness and trust in His righteousness—they will be saved!

They will be raised up by the resurrected Jesus on the last day!

We cannot trust in ourselves for righteousness.

We can only be saved by trusting in Jesus and Him alone.

[ILLUS] This is Paul’s message in Philippians 3:4-9. He was a Jew, a Pharisee even, who had reason to put confidence in the flesh—i.e., he had reason to trust in himself—in his lineage, in his supposed obedience—but once He came to Christ, he put no confidence in himself. He say in Philippians 3:4-9…

Philippians 3:4–9 NASB95

4 although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. 7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

Also notice that the second part of this problem that prompted this parable: they “treated others with contempt.”

The sinful self-exalting pride of this Pharisee didn’t just lead him to trust in himself for righteousness but it also led him to treat others with contempt. In this Pharisee’s mind, if someone didn’t pray like him, give like him, and fast like him, then they were not righteous like him. They were beneath him.

He feels this so deeply that he doesn’t think twice about saying it to God in prayer: “I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector,” (Luke 18:11).

He prays this within earshot of the tax collector.

He pummels this publican in his prayer.

You can’t get much more contemptuous.

This is what happens when we trust in ourselves that we are righteous. It morphs into contempt for others. The righteousness that is ours by trusting in Jesus is, however, different.

Trusting in Jesus—truly trusting in Jesus—doesn’t morph into contempt for others.

Trusting in Jesus gives us compassion for others.

Trusting in self gives us contempt for others.

If we trust in Jesus for righteousness, we have to admit that we are sinners. We have to look to Him for salvation and keep looking to Him for salvation. As we trust in Jesus, we are continually reminded of our need for Him. And that continual dependence on Jesus keeps us compassionate toward others. Pride results from thinking that we start with Jesus and then do the rest ourselves.

This dependence on Jesus isn’t like learning to ride a bike where we get a push and then pedal ourselves with pride.

No, we constantly need Jesus running alongside us.

[ILLUS] When Lydia was first learning to ride her bike she would say, “Don’t let go.” That’s the attitude with which we should always be looking to Jesus: “Don’t let go, Jesus.”

If that’s the attitude of our looking to Jesus, then we will be far less likely to look down on others.

Instead, we will desire that Jesus show His compassion to them as He has shown it to us.

We will look at them and see that they too need Jesus to run alongside them.

[TS] This was the problem that provoked the parable—they trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and view others with contempt—but notice less specifically who the parable was addressed to…

ASPECT #2: THE PARABLE PROCLAIMED TO SOME PEOPLE (Luke 18:9)

Luke 18:9 NASB95

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

We need to ask who was included in this ‘some’?

The Pharisees come to mind, and surely there were some among the Pharisees who did trust in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.

But what about Jesus’ disciples?

Could not there have been some of them who at that time were also trusting in themselves that they were righteous?

Could not they have been tempted to treat others with contempt as well?

Jesus warned His disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees—that evil, self-exalting pride that can work its way into and throughout a person’s life.

His disciples had arguments about who among them was greatest, which was also an argument about which of them was not that great.

They tried to prevent children from coming to Jesus because they thought they were not important enough.

They tried to stop someone from casting out demons in Jesus’ name because that someone was not following them.

But Jesus said the greatest among us would be servant of all (Matt. 23:11).

He said that the children should not be prevented from coming to Him because the kingdom of heaven belonged to little ones like these (Matt. 19:14).

He said that someone shouldn’t be prevented from working in Jesus’ name just because he doesn’t follow ‘us’ (Mk. 9:39). The most important thing is that they follow Him!

So, yes, the Pharisees and Sadducees were included in that some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt, but we must beware—this is real temptation for the disciples of Jesus too.

I am part of the some that this parable is proclaimed to.

Are you?

[TS] …

ASPECT #3: THE PEOPLE POINTED TO IN THIS PARABLE (Luke 18:10)

Luke 18:10 NASB95

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

As students of the New Testament, we tend to look at the Pharisee and the tax collector differently than the first hearers of this parable would have.

We’ve read Matthew 23 were Jesus calls the Pharisees whitewashed tombs (Matt. 23:27), blind guides (Matt. 23:16), hypocrites (Matt. 23:15), and sons of hell (Matt. 23:15).

And we’ve read where a tax collector named, Matthew, became one of Jesus disciples (Luke 6:27-29) and where another chief tax collector named, Zaccheus, is saved by Jesus (Luke 19:1-10).

So because we have read these stories, we tend to look at the Pharisees negatively and the tax collectors positively. But the people who first heard this parable would have thought of the Pharisees positively and the tax collectors negatively.

In fact, because the people thought so highly of the Pharisees, Jesus used them to stress the exceedingly high standard of righteousness necessary to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He said in Matthew 5:20...

Matthew 5:20 NASB95

20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Now, to be clear, Jesus said that His disciples must be more righteous than the Pharisees; they had to have a righteousness that went deeper than the surface; a righteousness that penetrated all the way to the heart, which could only result from a heart than had been transformed by God’s grace in Jesus Christ.

Jesus wasn’t saying that His disciples needed to be as righteous as the Pharisees, but if that had been what He was saying, people in Jesus’ day would have still been blown away because the Pharisees were the most righteous people they knew!

But if Jesus had said, “You must have a righteousness that exceeds that of the tax collectors in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven,” everyone would have rejoiced because they would have thought that wouldn’t be very difficult. The tax collectors were among the most wicked people they knew!

This is why it would have been surprising to those first hearers that it was the Pharisee that was so wickedly prideful and the tax collector who was so humbly contrite.

Now, just as Matthew had to leave his tax collecting to follow Jesus, this tax collector has to repent of his thievery, extortion, and all his sins if he is to be justified in God’s sight. And we see him do that in v. 13.

But the Pharisee’s pride and the tax collector’s humility should remind us to not put too much stock in outward appearances.

The Pharisee looked righteous, but he was not.

The tax collector looked unrighteous, but he left the temple justified before God.

We never know the sin that lurks beneath the surface of someone that appears righteous.

And we never know when someone who looks sinful is being led to repentance.

In all cases, we should encourage people toward Jesus who humbles the proud and raises the humble.

But, of course, we shouldn’t just think about others; we should also examine ourselves.

Are we like this Pharisee who only looks the part of righteousness?

Or are we like this tax collector—a sinner indeed—but a sinner who is repenting and being continually led to repentance?

If we are merely playing the part for the praise of men, then we will be humbled.

If we are humbling ourselves before Jesus in repentance, we will be raised up by Him on the last day.

ASPECT #4: THE PRIDE OF THE PHARISEE IN THIS PARABLE (Luke 18:11-12)

Luke 18:11–12 NASB95

11 “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’

We’ve already talked about most of this but I do want to add one more observation about the pharisee’s pride. Notice the phrase in v. 11 “praying this to himself.”

Perhaps this phrase only means that the Pharisee is by himself as he prays. That’s what most other translations communicate. But the NASB’s ‘to himself’ describes well who this Pharisee actually prays to.

Although he mentions God at the start, he does not pray to God but to himself. And based on the content of his prayer, he loved to hear himself pray to himself about himself.

This is pride disguised as prayer.

This is self-exaltation disguised as communication with God.

Let us be careful that when we are praying to God, that we aren’t really praying to ourselves.

[TS] Let’s move on to the humility of the tax collector or the penitence of the publican in this parable…

ASPECT #5: THE PENITENCE OF THE PUBLICAN IN THIS PARABLE (Luke 18:13)

Luke 18:13 NASB95

13 “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’

Notice the tax collector’s proximity.

He was “standing some distance away.”

Standing was the normal posture for prayer. We may want to point out that the Pharisee didn’t bow before God in prayer but neither did this humble tax collector. The issue isn’t the posture but the proximity.

In his sinful pride, the Pharisee believed that he could draw close to God in prayer based on his own merit.

But in his humility this tax collector stood some distance away. He knew that he was a sinner and he knew that sin put distance between him and holy God.

Sin actually puts an eternal distance between us and God unless we are brought close to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

As believers in Jesus, we can draw near to God but not pridefully as this Pharisee does.

We draw near to God by grace. And understanding that we draw near by grace should always lead us to draw near with humility.

Hebrews 4:14-16 talks about Jesus as our High Priest—the one who has sacrificed Himself to atone for our sins—it says…

Hebrews 4:14–16 NASB95

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

It’s because of what Jesus has done that we can draw close to God in confident prayer to find the help we need.

There’s no sinful pride in that drawing close.

We admit that we draw close because of the work of Jesus.

And when we draw close we admit that we are in need.

Notice the tax collector’s posture.

I’m not talking about his standing but his unwillingness to stand up straight. He was “unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven.”

Ashamed of his sin, the tax collector was unwilling to even look in God’s direction.

In contrast, we get the idea that the Pharisee was willing to look God in the eye as he bragged about his supposed greatness.

Maybe as we bow our heads and close our eyes in prayer, we can let that little act remind us of the humility we should have before God.

None of us deserve to even look in His direction for mercy but because He is gracious He humbly receives our pleas.

Notice the tax collector’s pummeling.

He stood “beating his breast.” This is added to his standing at a distance and his unwillingness to even lift his eyes to heaven.

This tax collector was totally contrite.

Beating his breast was a indication of lament.

He was broken hearted over His sin, so he beat on his broken heart.

We may not beat our chests but we should be broken hearted over our sin just the same.

And notice the tax collector’s prayer.

“God, be merciful to me, the sinner!”

This tax collector’s prayer is totally different from this Pharisee’s. The Pharisee brags but the tax collector begs and confesses.

He begs for mercy. Mercy is God not giving what’s deserved and giving what hasn’t been earned. The tax collector doesn’t deserve to have his sins forgiven but because God is merciful He forgives. The tax collector hasn’t earned a right-standing before God but because God is merciful He counts Him as righteous.

The tax collector confesses his sinfulness. He does this by referring to himself as the sinner (Luke 18:13). Most other trustworthy translations have ‘a sinner’ but the NASB has ‘the sinner’. That’s what the Greek says and I think that captures well the tone of this tax collector’s confession. He wasn’t saying to God, “Well, we’re all sinners;” no, he was saying that he was head of the class. He was the sinner.

The Apostle Paul referred to himself as the foremost or chief sinner (1 Tim. 1:15-16). That’s what this tax collector is confessing. Before God’s holiness, he sees himself as the worst sinner.

Perhaps you’re now thinking, “Well, I am a sinner but I’m certainly not the worst one I know,” but doesn’t that kind of thinking lead to, “God, I thank You that I am not like other people...” We must not compare ourselves to others. And when we do compare ourselves to God’s holiness, we all could qualify as the the sinner.

[TS] …

ASPECT #6: THE PARDON OF THE PUBLICAN IN THIS PARABLE (Luke 18:14)

Luke 18:14 NASB95

14 “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Psalm 51:17 says…

Psalm 51:17 NASB95

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

The prayer of this tax collector received Jesus’ stamp of approval. His humble praying was proof that he believed God and that God counted that belief to Him as righteousness.

What did he believe?

He believed in God, His holiness, and in his own sinfulness.

He believed that apart from God’s mercy, he would not be saved from God’s wrath and he would not know the freedom and joy of being forgiven and being in right relationship with God.

Simply put, he believed that apart from God he was hopeless. And God counted that belief to him as righteousness.

This tax collector may have been a fictional character that Jesus used to make a point in this parable, but if he was a real person, his sins too would soon be laid on Jesus as He paid their price on the cross.

He was justified before God, and he would forever be justified before God.

Romans 3:24 says that we receive justification or right standing with God as a gift by the grace of God through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.

There is no other way to be justified before God.

There is no other way to be right with Him.

We must believe on Jesus as God reveals Him.

The saints of old believed as they looked forward to His coming.

We saints today believe as we look back on His cross.

Anyone who has been justified in the past; anyone who is justified in the present; and anyone who will be justified in the future will only be justified in Jesus.

Are you right with God? Are you justified?

Have you believed on Jesus?

Will you humble yourself before Him?

[TS] …

Conclusion

Luke 18:14 NASB95

14 “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

This statement is one that Jesus gave to us in Matthew 23:12, in Luke 14:11, and here in Luke 18:14. It’s a statement that Jesus intends for us to learn.

We must be humble before Him if we would be exalted by Him.

Humility is to be a chief characteristic of His people.

And it must be a chief characteristic of our praying.