Whose sin do you prefer to see?
This week's verses are on Luke 18:9-14:
People pray for different reasons. These verses are another of Jesus' razor-sharp illustrations on how evident our character can be in the most unlikely circumstances. Two men enter the prayer Octagon, but only one man leaves justified, and it's not the guy you would have bet on.
The Pharisees, as you are probably sick of hearing by now, were the religious elite of their day. They were the television preachers, the politicians, the influencers, the sort of guys you'd want to marry your daughter off to if you wanted to make a good match. People turned to them for cues on how to act, and how to really make a good walk of their religious life.
The tax collectors, on the other hand, were despicable traitors. They collaborated with the Roman army that was occupying Palestine and would overcharge for the taxes they were tasked with collecting, so that they could profit from it. So not only were they corrupt, dishonest embezzlers, they were enemies of everything good. Nobody liked the tax collectors. They were the prison camp Kapos, selling out their own people for an extra crust of bread.
You'd look at these two guys and you'd think there was no contest. And you'd be right, except you'd be wrong about which one enjoyed a victory. They were both there to pray, but they were there to pray for different reasons.
The Pharisee was there to hide from himself. He was sure he was righteous, and he wanted everyone to acknowledge it, even God. With the amount of time and energy he'd invested in his religious observance, he deserved a medal from the almighty himself! When he prays to God, he's delivering a letter of recommendation for himself, extolling his outstanding valor in the face of enemy action, recommending himself for the highest honor in the land. But he's not talking about himself. He's talking about the guy he wants everyone to think he is.
Yet, as much as the Pharisee is full of self-admiration, he is also full of hate. He hates people who sin. He hates people who aren't like him. He hates people who miss the mark, even by accident. He expects God to join forces with him and agree with him. "That's right, Mr Pharisee. You and me versus the world!" But God is not a God of hate.
The Pharisee is like the wizard in the Wizard of Oz, saying "pay no mind to the man behind the curtain" to the one Being who has found him out. He has built the image up so big that he can't face the tiny man who is hiding behind it. It's impossibly big, and impossibly great. It's impossible and fake. Before God, his magic is exposed, and he can either admit that he's nothing or continue the unbelievable lie. He chooses the lie.
The tax collector, on the other hand, knows exactly how small he is. He doesn't expect God to give him a medal or join forces with him at all. Quite the opposite! He agonizes and writhes at what he's done and only asks God to have mercy on him for his sins, sins for which both he and God know he's guilty. He stands at a distance from God's holiness, afraid to even look. He knows how great God is. The chasm is too great to cross.
As wretched as the tax collector is, he's willing to face the truth of his sin. He doesn't paper over it or hide from admitting it. He doesn't try to justify it by saying that he tithes on the money he steals, or that other tax collectors are worse. He knows the crime, he knows his guilt, he knows the sentence, and he begs the judge for mercy. This deceitful man is now brutally honest before the face of God. He chooses the truth.
As impossible as it seems, God chooses the tax collector! If we can't face our sin and bring it before God, what help is there for us? We're like the Pharisee, high on our own fumes, hoping nobody will notice before it's too late that we're nothing like the legend we're promoting. We thank God that we're not like the Pharisees who go to that other church, (it's always another church) who aren't sincere in their worship like we are. We thank God that we agree with social media and what the TV says. We're good people, right? And yet God chooses the humble man who knows what he is. The man who has done everything wrong and knows it.
This would have been infuriating to the self-righteous, arrogant people Jesus told this parable to. If you ever want to rile up an arrogant person, say something good about someone they look down on. "What??? No!! They're stupid and evil and the devil incarnate and there's not even a shred of good in them and anyone who thinks so is stupid too!!" Just a little bait and you can tease the hate monster out of the hole it's been hiding in, just like Jesus did with his parable.
In looking at these two men, who have come to God for very different reasons, we can see they have one thing in common: They've come to God to talk about sin. The difference is whose sin they're interested in addressing.
The Pharisee is a crusader. He's out to rid the world of sin, starting with the guy next to him and ending as far away from himself as possible. He's always pointing out sin, like it's his job. Everyone's sin from his family to the president himself. Anyone's sin but his own.
The tax collector, on the other hand, doesn't need to hunt for sin in others. He knows where it is. He is full of it. He is dying of sin, and just wants to be rid of it. It's hard to point fingers when you're beating your own breast right?
When you go to encounter God, whose sin are you out to find? When you read the Bible, or hear a sermon, or are face to face in prayer, whose sin comes to mind? Are you overcome and terrified, like the tax collector, because of the truth of what is in your heart? Or are you delighted like the Pharisee, because God seems to be condemning all of the same people you condemn too, and will soon be around to give you the medal you deserve for your efforts?
Only one of them walks out a justified man. You can tell which one you are based on whose sin you prefer to see.
Jesus also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else. “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!’ I tell you that this man went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
People pray for different reasons. These verses are another of Jesus' razor-sharp illustrations on how evident our character can be in the most unlikely circumstances. Two men enter the prayer Octagon, but only one man leaves justified, and it's not the guy you would have bet on.
The Pharisees, as you are probably sick of hearing by now, were the religious elite of their day. They were the television preachers, the politicians, the influencers, the sort of guys you'd want to marry your daughter off to if you wanted to make a good match. People turned to them for cues on how to act, and how to really make a good walk of their religious life.
The tax collectors, on the other hand, were despicable traitors. They collaborated with the Roman army that was occupying Palestine and would overcharge for the taxes they were tasked with collecting, so that they could profit from it. So not only were they corrupt, dishonest embezzlers, they were enemies of everything good. Nobody liked the tax collectors. They were the prison camp Kapos, selling out their own people for an extra crust of bread.
You'd look at these two guys and you'd think there was no contest. And you'd be right, except you'd be wrong about which one enjoyed a victory. They were both there to pray, but they were there to pray for different reasons.
The Pharisee was there to hide from himself. He was sure he was righteous, and he wanted everyone to acknowledge it, even God. With the amount of time and energy he'd invested in his religious observance, he deserved a medal from the almighty himself! When he prays to God, he's delivering a letter of recommendation for himself, extolling his outstanding valor in the face of enemy action, recommending himself for the highest honor in the land. But he's not talking about himself. He's talking about the guy he wants everyone to think he is.
Yet, as much as the Pharisee is full of self-admiration, he is also full of hate. He hates people who sin. He hates people who aren't like him. He hates people who miss the mark, even by accident. He expects God to join forces with him and agree with him. "That's right, Mr Pharisee. You and me versus the world!" But God is not a God of hate.
The Pharisee is like the wizard in the Wizard of Oz, saying "pay no mind to the man behind the curtain" to the one Being who has found him out. He has built the image up so big that he can't face the tiny man who is hiding behind it. It's impossibly big, and impossibly great. It's impossible and fake. Before God, his magic is exposed, and he can either admit that he's nothing or continue the unbelievable lie. He chooses the lie.
The tax collector, on the other hand, knows exactly how small he is. He doesn't expect God to give him a medal or join forces with him at all. Quite the opposite! He agonizes and writhes at what he's done and only asks God to have mercy on him for his sins, sins for which both he and God know he's guilty. He stands at a distance from God's holiness, afraid to even look. He knows how great God is. The chasm is too great to cross.
As wretched as the tax collector is, he's willing to face the truth of his sin. He doesn't paper over it or hide from admitting it. He doesn't try to justify it by saying that he tithes on the money he steals, or that other tax collectors are worse. He knows the crime, he knows his guilt, he knows the sentence, and he begs the judge for mercy. This deceitful man is now brutally honest before the face of God. He chooses the truth.
As impossible as it seems, God chooses the tax collector! If we can't face our sin and bring it before God, what help is there for us? We're like the Pharisee, high on our own fumes, hoping nobody will notice before it's too late that we're nothing like the legend we're promoting. We thank God that we're not like the Pharisees who go to that other church, (it's always another church) who aren't sincere in their worship like we are. We thank God that we agree with social media and what the TV says. We're good people, right? And yet God chooses the humble man who knows what he is. The man who has done everything wrong and knows it.
This would have been infuriating to the self-righteous, arrogant people Jesus told this parable to. If you ever want to rile up an arrogant person, say something good about someone they look down on. "What??? No!! They're stupid and evil and the devil incarnate and there's not even a shred of good in them and anyone who thinks so is stupid too!!" Just a little bait and you can tease the hate monster out of the hole it's been hiding in, just like Jesus did with his parable.
In looking at these two men, who have come to God for very different reasons, we can see they have one thing in common: They've come to God to talk about sin. The difference is whose sin they're interested in addressing.
The Pharisee is a crusader. He's out to rid the world of sin, starting with the guy next to him and ending as far away from himself as possible. He's always pointing out sin, like it's his job. Everyone's sin from his family to the president himself. Anyone's sin but his own.
The tax collector, on the other hand, doesn't need to hunt for sin in others. He knows where it is. He is full of it. He is dying of sin, and just wants to be rid of it. It's hard to point fingers when you're beating your own breast right?
When you go to encounter God, whose sin are you out to find? When you read the Bible, or hear a sermon, or are face to face in prayer, whose sin comes to mind? Are you overcome and terrified, like the tax collector, because of the truth of what is in your heart? Or are you delighted like the Pharisee, because God seems to be condemning all of the same people you condemn too, and will soon be around to give you the medal you deserve for your efforts?
Only one of them walks out a justified man. You can tell which one you are based on whose sin you prefer to see.
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