ME THE SINNER
Luke 18:9-14
Scripture Reading: Psalm 51:1-19
INTRODUCTION:
1. Pharisees were proud people whose name means "separated ones"
a. They were no ordinary people, they were special (in their own minds)
b. Accused of building a wall of traditions around the law
c. According to Matthew 15:3 they transgress the commandments of the law for the sake of their traditions
2. They would wash their hands two times
a. Once was to clean them, pouring water over their hands and washing, rubbing one hand with the other until it was clean, holding their hands up so the water ran down to the elbow
b. Then washing again to remove the water defiled in the first washing by the dirt on the hands this time holding the hands down so that the water ran off the fingertips
c. Any other combination was unacceptable and the hands were not considered clean
3. The Publican was the opposite of the Pharisee
a. He was a contracted agent of a conquering government
b. Similar to if Germany had won WWII and one of us took a job as a Nazi operative collecting taxes for Hitler
c. They were considered liars, cheats, and thieves
d. No one who was not a Publican liked Publicans
4. So here is the scene
a. The Publican is on his knees, not nearing the altar
b. No one notices the Publican because no one cares about him
c. The Pharisee shows up at just the right time to worship
d. He flows up to the temple with his robes dancing in the wind
e. All eyes are fixed on him as he makes his grand entrance
5. Then two prayers are uttered that change the whole structure
TRANSITION: Look at the prayers with me
I. The Pharisee’s prayer
A. Notice what he does
1. He takes his customary position
a. He stands large and tall for all to see
b. His aim was for everyone to see him
c. And so that he could see everyone
2. Then look at the next statement
a. "The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself…"
b. He was praying to himself, not to God
c. He was speaking of himself, not of others.
B. He prayed about imperfect goodness.
1. His entire prayer was about things he had not done or he had given up.
2. He was not a swindler, unjust, adulterer, or even like this tax collector
3. He fasts twice a week and pays tithes of all he gets.
a. He has given up so much, he is just so wonderful
b. He has done nothing wrong
4. A famous Rabbi named Hillel summed up the law in this way, "Do not to thy neighbor what is disagreeable to thee."
a. This is the anti-golden rule
b. In Matthew 7:12 Jesus does not teach that we only refrain from doing things to people that we do not want done to us
c. But that we do for people as we would like for them to do for us
d. In other words, do not just keep from harm, but help to make better
5. The parable of the talents illustrates this
a. Those that used what they had were rewarded for increasing by use
b. The one who had only one talent did not do anything wrong, he just did not do anything
c. By not doing anything he was cast out into outer darkness
d. Guy Woods illustrated it this way
i. A dummy in a store window does not steal, kill, slander, or backbite
ii. Should we not do more than a dummy in a store window as children of the most high God?
iii. Should we identify ourselves with a list of things we have not done and think that the absence of malice makes the heart of the brave?
iii. Now I do not want to do any harm to anyone
iv. But if not doing harm is all that I have to say for myself then I have missed it.
v. Absence of negative activity does not make presence of godly living
C. The Pharisee’s prayer was full of pride and self-reassurance
1. Remember that Jesus says that he prayed to himself, not to God
2. His first words are that he is thankful for not being like other men
a. How would that make you feel as one listening?
b. Thank you God for not making me like these other pitiful excuses for people that you have surrounded me with
c. How loathsome a statement can be made?
d. Yet he makes it
3. He truly believed it
a. It is like he is saying, "Look at me God. See the wonderful person I am here.
b. He does speak out of gratitude
c. But gratitude for what he has done, not what God has done
d. His main concern was with what "I" have done and what "I" have not done
4. He fasted twice a week
a. Pharisees generally fasted on Monday and Thursday when it is supposed Moses ascended and descended Mt. Sinai
b. The Day of Atonement was the only prescribed fast of the year, all others were by choice of the individual
c. He boasts of his great accomplishments in his life of fasting
d. Matthew 6:16-18, "When you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you."
e. This prayer to himself was not to glorify God
f. He was boasting of his fasting to be see by himself and all who were standing there listening to the powerful words or a great and wonderfully clean Pharisee
5. He gave a tithe of everything
a. Tithing was about 1/10 of what was earned.
b. These strict Pharisees would take tithing to the extreme
c. They would even split the mint and spices up by weight so that they could give the proper tithe of them also.
d. "Woe to you scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites! For you tithe mint dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law; justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have kept without neglecting the others."
e. He brags about the things that Jesus said they would brag about.
f. The Pharisees were concerned about getting the little things right.
g. But in so doing they missed the very point of the godly life
h. Glorifying God and helping others see him
D. This Pharisee needed to learn from Peter
1. I Peter 5:5, ""For God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
2. He stands there in the middle of the crowd praying about how wonderful he is and how little he needs from God because he is perfect and deserves heaven
3. His eyes are roaming looking for his victim
4. "This Publican" he says, "I thank you that I am not like this tax collector"
TRANSITION: What did the Publican have to say?
II. The Publican’s prayer
A. He could not bring himself to look up.
1. He may not have been in the temple for a while
a. He goes off to a private corner all alone
b. "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand in the synagogues and street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your inner room, close the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Gather who sees what is done in secret will reward you." (Matthew 6:5-6)
c. He was in the corner, on his knees, eyes to the ground not daring to look up praying in secret so that the Father would hear the words he spoke.
d. His prayer was secret and earnest.
2. He desired to communicate his needs to God and longed for those needs to be heard and met by the Father who sees and rewards
B. He beats on his breast
1. He feels the hurt of sin in his life and knows the pain that it has cause.
2. Psalm 51:17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."
3. Paul speaks of this in II Corinthians 7:10, "For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces repentance without regret, leading to salvation…"
4. The Publican shows this godly sorrow out of a broken, contrite heart that feels the separation and hurt that being a frail and fallible human causes.
5. Our sin must bring us to the point of true godly sorrow and repentance as demonstrated by the Publican.
6. Notice his words in verse 13, "God be merciful to me a sinner!"
a. He does not list a number of personal accomplishments
b. He does not sing his own accolades
c. He simply asks for God’s mercy on his sinful state
d. Something that each of us needs to pray for is God’s mercy on our lives because of the folly that we commit.
TRANSITION: These people are at opposite ends of the spiritual spectrum as are their prayers
III. The results of their prayer
A. The Pharisee was not justified.
1. He had not prayed to God
2. He had prayed to himself
a. He addressed his own ego
b. He did not see the need for God in his life, he had it covered
c. So he let God know what a great job he was doing without him
d. And he was not justified in doing so
B. The Publican was justified
1. He went in with only two preconceived notions
a. He was a sinner
b. He needed God’s help in overcoming his sinful state
2. He was not there to toot a horn or sing praise
a. He was there to get forgiveness
b. He was justified; he was forgiven
C. What notions do you take to prayer with you?
1. Do not tell God how wonderful you are, he knows you
2. Tell him how much you need him
3. Then you too can be justified
CONCLUSION
1. Our prayer life often mirrors the life we live
2. If we want forgiveness, we must be on our knees asking for it
a. Beating out breasts
b. Sorry for the sin
c. Yearning for God’s forgiveness
3. If we cannot humble ourselves in our life and our approach to God, we will be unjustified as well
