Count Leo Tolstoy was a man who unashamedly called himself ‘Christian’. He once penned these words into his diary:
‘I have not yet met a single man who was morally as good as I. ...
I do not remember an instance in my life when I was not attracted to what is good
And was not ready to sacrifice anything to it’.
Time and time again Tolstoy proved this statement a lie. He was a constant womanizer and he often neglected his family. Tolstoy’s diary goes on to say that he felt in his soul, ‘immeasurable grandeur’ and he was baffled by the failure of other men to recognize his qualities: ‘Why does nobody love me? I am not a fool, not deformed, not a bad man, not an ignoramus. It is incomprehensible’.
Alex Haley wrote the famous book called ‘Roots’. He had a picture in his office showing a turtle sitting on top of a fence. He put the picture there to remind him of a lesson about humility that he learned long ago. ‘If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he had some help’, says Haley. ‘Any time I start thinking, “Wow, isn’t this marvellous what I’ve done”! I look at that picture and remember how this turtle—me—got up onto that post’.
Tonight we are looking the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector—a tale of two men. It’s a well known parable but one that’s easily misunderstood through a neglect of context. There’s a saying, ‘a text without a context is con’. So rather than con ourselves, let’s look at where this parable in Luke 18:9–14 fits into Luke’s flow of thought.
And to do that we need to go back to the previous chapter and verse 20. And when we do, we see that the issue is the coming of the kingdom of God. When will it come? How will it come? What sought of people should we be until it does come? What sought of faith will save me from the judgment to come?
As Jesus talks about the coming of the kingdom of God, he gives us fantastic insight into the nature of the Christian life. For the whole of the Christian life sits between two great events. Two events that forever change the course of human history. Two events that we cannot avoid. Two events that profoundly effect us.
The first event is the coming of the Lord Jesus into this world.
John says that ‘the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth’ (Jn 1:14). The Lord Jesus came into the world as the suffering servant who laid down his life as a ransom for many. As the Son of God he exercised his authority in this world. He healed sickness, calmed storms, fed thousands on the side of a hill. And then he died as an atonement for sin. Then he rose from the grave as the first of many who will rise from the dead. Now he sits at his Father’s right hand as the ruler of the world.
The second great event we cannot avoid is the return of the Lord Jesus. He will come as the Son of Man who will bring justice to the nations. The Apostle Paul says that God ‘has set a day when he will judge the world by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead’ (Acts 17:31). All of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. And those whose names are not written in the book of life will be consigned to eternal punishment. But those who have a saving faith will see the new heavens and the new earth.
Jesus says that these are the two great events which shape our lives. The first coming of the Lord Jesus and the second coming of the Lord Jesus.
The Pharisees slip up because they don’t get the first coming of the Lord Jesus. Have a look at Luke 17:20, ‘Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, “Here it is”, or “There it is”, because the kingdom of God is within you”’.
The Pharisees want to know about the second coming but they haven’t got their head around the first coming. The Messiah is talking with them and they still don’t get it. It’s shear and utter blindness. So Jesus says to the Pharisees in verse 20, ‘The kingdom of God is within you’, or more helpfully, ‘the kingdom of God is among you’ (footnote).
If these Pharisees cannot recognise the first coming of the kingdom when it is right under their noses, there is no point Jesus telling them anything about his second coming. I hope that you’ve understand the first coming of Jesus. I hope that you’ve made Jesus your Lord and Saviour. I hope that you are following Jesus for he alone has the words of life. I hope you know Jesus as your anchor in this life and your only hope for world to come.
To those who understand his first coming, Jesus elaborates his second coming in verses 22 to 37. We haven’t time to consider all the detail. I want you to know, though, that the second coming of the Son of Man will be sudden and unmistakable. It will be as sudden as the great flood in the time of Noah. It will be as unmistakable as lightening across the sky. At the time of Jesus’ coming—verse 34, ‘two people will be in bed; one will be taken and the other left’. The coming of the Son of Man will be sudden and unmistakable.
The day when the Son of Man returns is the day of judgment. In the days of Noah and in the days of Lot, the faithless were swept away. Those who thought they could save themselves perished. And those who clung to the promises of God were saved.
The two great milestones in history are the first coming of Jesus and the second coming of Jesus. And the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector relates to second the coming of Jesus and what he will find upon his return. But until he comes, we are to be like the persistent widow, constantly praying and never giving up. ‘However, when the Son of Man comes’ ,verse 8, ‘will he find faith on earth’? When the Son of Man comes, will he find you with a faith that saves?
The scene is the Olympic Games in Mexico, 1968. The marathon is the final event on the program. The stadium is packed and there is excitement as the first athlete, an Ethiopian runner enters the arena. The crowd erupts as he crosses the finish line. Way back in the field is another runner, John Stephen Akwhari of Tanzania. He has been passed by all the other runners. After 30 kilometres his head is throbbing, his muscles are aching and he falls to the ground. He has serious leg injuries and officials want him to retire, but he refuses. With his knee bandaged Akwhari picks himself up and hobbles the remaining 12 kilometres to the finish line.
An hour after the winner has finished, Akwhari enters the stadium. All but a few thousand of the crowd have gone home. Akwhari moves around the track at a painstakingly slow pace, until finally he collapses over the finish line. It is one of the most heroic efforts of Olympic history. Afterwards a reporter asks Akwhari why he had not dropped out. Akwhari says, ‘My country did not send me to start the race. They sent me to finish’.
How will you finish your Christian life? You may have started well, but will you cross the finishing line?
‘To some who were confident of their own righteousness (verse 9) and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get’.
Let’s pause and consider the Pharisee for a moment. Is it a case of three cheers for the Pharisee? One commentator, Haddon Robinson, profiles the Pharisee in a way that makes us more than a little uncomfortable.
‘In the eyes of good and decent men of that day the Pharisee was a religious and a moral success. He could stand in the temple and pray, “I thank you that I am not like other men—extortioners, evildoers, adulterers. I tithe all I take in. I fast twice each week”. And I’m sure the Pharisee was praying the sober truth. In business, he had not made his living by driving his neighbour to the wall. His word was his bond. When he made a promise, you could count on it. And in a day as sexually loose as our own, he had not sacrificed upon some wayside altar.
Measured by any conventional standard, ancient or modern, the Pharisee was a religious success. He says that he fasted twice each week. That was far more than the Old Testament had asked. In the ancient law, the people of God were asked to fast once each year—on the Day of Atonement. But in his devotion to his religion, this Pharisee would not be held to that. So, twice each week, on Monday and Thursday, he denied himself food.
The Pharisee also gave a tithe of all that he took in. He was probably saying he did more than tithe according to law. [I think] he is saying he tithed those things the law did not ask him to tithe. Perhaps each year he figured up his net worth and gave a tenth of that to God.
And so this Pharisee was in deep earnestness about his religion; you had to be serious about your religion to make yourself as uncomfortable as he made himself. God was as real to him as the shekels in his pocket, and he was willing to lower his standard of living a bit for him. And his religion had done him good: the people in the community respected and admired him as an outstanding citizen, a contributor to the community’.
Three cheers for the Pharisee. He rises to his feet and prays, ‘Thankyou God {pause} - for me’.
The scene then moves to the tax collector who looks a bit like the clown in this story. Can anyone really take him seriously? Verse 13, ‘But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner”’.
It was time for tax collector to confess his sin before God. And his sins were so great that all he could do was spontaneously bare his soul. All he could do was pray. But because he had neglected his spiritual life for quite some time, he didn’t even know how to pray. Words of praise, adoration and thanksgiving escape him. He fails his trails for license. The burden of sin presses him down. So he simply cries out, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner’. His hands thumping on his chest point to the source of his sin—a corrupt heart.
Look at the difference in posture between the Pharisee and the tax collector. Instead of defiantly standing, the tax collector wouldn’t even raise his eyes to heaven. Unlike the Pharisee, the tax collector didn’t appeal to his sense of self-worth, rather he put himself at God’s mercy. The tax collector stood at a distance and beat his breast in remorse. Then he throws himself before God, ‘have mercy on me, a sinner’.
For the righteous who were listening to this story the conclusion was obvious. The Pharisee was justified before God and the religious clown should go home and never show his face again. Now whose laughing? Jesus says, ‘I tell you that this man (the tax collector), went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted’.
It’s not the Alan Jones’ of this world who are declared righteous, rather it is the Kings Cross prostitute. And I, a sinner, realise I have nothing to offer God except a bent knee as I seek mercy and forgiveness. When the Son of Man comes, will he find me on my knees and living by grace alone, or will he find me confident in my own righteousness?
There’s a moving tradition in the royal family of Vienna. The Hapsburgs were fabulously wealthy and built glorious castles. When one of them died, the funeral procession would go from the castle to the basement of a certain church.
The priest inside would hear a knock at the door: ‘Who is it’? ‘His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Austria’, and the priest would answer, ‘I do not know him’. There would be a pause and a second knock and the priest would ask, ‘Who is it’? The same answer would follow, ‘His Imperial Majesty, The Emperor of Austria’. Again the priest would answer, ‘I do not know him’. There would be a pause and finally a third knock: ‘Who is it’? ‘A poor sinner’, came the reply. And the priest would open the door and allow the procession in.
When the Son of Man returns, he will open the door to the poor sinner who throws himself at the mercy of God. The person who realises they can doing nothing to justify themselves before God. The person who relies upon grace and mercy. The person who has denied themself, picks up their cross and follows the Lord Jesus.
When I was in early primary school back in the 1800s, our teacher gave us a craft activity. The aim was to make a small ring-binded folder and take it home for mum and dad. I carefully glued the outside cover onto the cardboard—with great care. I was very meticulous with the way I applied the glue. I made sure the corner parts were folded over just right. The clip part had to work properly.
At the end of the day, I very proudly took my ring-binded folder home, and I gave it to my Dad. When Dad saw my gift, out of love he told me how special it was. He praised me for the wonderful effort and told me how good it looked. He said how well it had been made. Dad used that folder for many years, and I think its still to be found in the house today.
Some years after I made that folder, I pulled it out and had another look. My craft skills in early primary school weren’t very good after all. The handiwork was that of a typical child. The glue had missed in places and so the cover had peeled. The folding was not quite right. The cardboard wasn’t square. What I thought was a very good gift for my Father, was in reality quite poor, and not deserving of him.
We cannot justify ourselves before God. Our efforts a like a poorly made folder. We cannot be confident in our own righteousness.
Religious people—the likes of you and I—are particularly prone to be like the Pharisee. After all we come to church—most people do not. We give of ourselves sacrificially—others choose not too. We are concerned for the poor—most just want to win Lotto and spend the rest of their life. We are careful at tax time. We watch our language. We try at all times to live in a manner pleasing to God.
We are prime candidates for foolishness. The Teacher in Ecclesiastes examines the foolishness of life. And he points the finger at religious people.
Ecc 5:1, ‘Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. A dream comes when there are many cares, and many words mark the speech of a fool’.
The Pharisee offered the sacrifice of fools. He went into the Temple and wouldn’t shut up. ‘Thankyou, Lord, that I’m so great. Thankyou that I’m not like other men. I fast and I tithe. How wonderful I am, Lord’. The sacrifice of a fool. This true religion, the Teacher says in chapter 12, ‘Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man’. Then the Teacher lays it on the line, ‘For God will bring every deed into judgment including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil’ (Ecc 12:13–14).
We are prime candidates for foolishness. The Teacher and Jesus say to us, ‘remember that judgment is coming. Remember a time is coming when each one of us must give an account for the things done in this life’.
When the Son of Man comes, will he find you faithful on earth?
When we understand the holiness of God we see that the best we have to offer our Heavenly Father is like a poorly made folder. How foolish it is to exalt ourselves before him. Our God is a great big God—he is holy, he is pure, he is just—we do not deserve to stand before him. The tax collector simply humbled himself before God. There was no reluctance to confess sin, no attempting to hide the facts. He simply beat his breast in remorse, ‘God have mercy on me, a sinner’!
The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector is a parable which warns us—that unless we humbly follow the way of the cross, then our deluded self-righteousness will condemn us. We must rely upon Jesus for our salvation. It’s a parable which turns the world inside out and upside down because Jesus declares the tax collector justified before God.
When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?
