EASTER SUNDAY “He is Risen Indeed”
Luke 18:9-14
SCC 4/24/11
INTRODUCTION
When we think of Easter we
should think of grace. The grace of God is manifested in the gospel. Grace is
God’s blessing through Christ to people who deserve His curse. Jesus took our
curse and gave us His blessing. God’s entire blessing comes to us in the NT
through Christ that is by His grace. Living with the grace of God in our daily
living means grasping that every day we deserve God’s curse (Gal 3:10). The
essence of the grace of God is seen on Easter when the sinfulness of our sin
was given to Christ and when we believe are given His
perfect righteousness. Jesus did not become a sinner for us but bore our own sin
Himself. God charges our sin to Christ and he pays the debt for us and applies
the payment to our ledger sheet. So how should we then live? What attitude best
reflects this gospel the essence of Easter’s death and resurrection?
THE SETTING 9
The target of this parable is
the self-righteous. A parable is a real life story designed with a lesson in
mind. But who are they? They are ones with misdirected self-confidence. They
are convinced that based on their own merits, when compared to others they are
acceptable to God. The comparison is with the less merited. This person is
described in three ways. (1) Certain ones who trust in themselves. This person
is pretty confident in him/herself. They are convinced and persuaded that they
measure up to the standard. (2) They are confident that they are righteous.
They have they missed the mark expected and fulfill the necessary
qualifications. (3) From this position they condescending view others with
contempt. They despise others they view as not measuring up to the standard as
worthless or of no value. This is not a casual attitude.
THE PLAYERS 10
The players in the parable are
introduced as well as the occasion that highlights their attitudes being
evaluated. Two men go up to the Temple. You are always going up to the Temple
from wherever you are in the land. Specifically they are using this occasion to
pray. The Temple in Jesus own words was known as the house of prayer (Lk 19:46;Isa 56:7). One is a
Pharisee. The other is a Tax collector. The players represent polar opposites
in the religious culture of the day. One represents the most pious and the
other the most hated. Both of them are engaged in prayer.
THE PRAYERS 11-13
The Pharisees Proud Prayer
11-12
We have the approach of the
Pharisee. Five times in his prayer he is the focus in the prayer. The
self-righteous person is the subject of this parable—certain ones who
trusted in selves and help others in contempt. So the Pharisee does not
represent all Pharisees but anyone who has this self-righteous attitude. He
stood by himself displaying a confident attitude that he belonged here. That he
could make any demands as a personal right. And he began to pray to himself.
Let’s analyze the components of his prayer:
1. I thank you God.
This is not an unusual start to prayer and customary to begin with a note of
thanksgiving.
2. That I am not like other
people. Here is comparison for personal benefit. The prayer takes a turn
for the worse as he is using it as an occasion for self-admiration.
3. Swindlers, unjust, adulterers.
Confident in his own merit before God he compares himself to a variety of
unrighteous violators of the commandments—a thief, unrighteous (general
category of sinners), and adulterers (the immoral). So he has all bases
covered. Notice that it is only public sins mentioned.
4. Or even like this
one—this tax collector. Here is contempt on display. Quick to judge
confident in his own qualifications by achievement, proud and self confident,
his judgmental evaluation is based on outward vocation. Jesus wants us to know
that everything is wrong with this. This guy is full of himself—even as he
prays in the Temple to God. Isn’t it interesting that in the most spiritual
practices we can be the most unspiritual? So far he prays, “I thank you God
that I am such a great guy!”
5. I fast twice a week.
Here is the reason the Pharisee views himself in a better position in
comparison to others. He singles out the practice of fasting twice a week! He
has been going above and beyond the Law which only required fasting on the Day
of Atonement. But he has done better than that. God must keep notice and just
in case I will remind him of it.
6. I pay tithes of all I
get. Again, God should to be impressed with him. He singles out another
practice for consideration. He gives a tenth of everything he earns including
food, herbs, and money. Nothing is missed and he diligently measures it all out
to ensure it is tithed. So on this basis he asserts
his superiority over all others and especially this tax collector who happens
to be praying near the Temple at the same time. He has gone above and beyond
the requirements of the Law and God should be impressed with that—especially if
God agrees with his comparables!
The Prayer of a Humble Tax Collector
13
Here is a stark contrast to
the Pharisee. The tax collector also stands to pray. But his approach is far
different than the self-righteous Pharisee. Here he is standing some distance
away. Possibly just within the confines of the outer court of the Temple. But
the point is that he understands his limitations. He is not in a confident
position with any sense of self-righteousness. He remains at a distance. So
intimidated he does not even life up his eyes to heaven as he prays. His
posture is one of unworthiness as he takes a passive approach in preparation
for prayer. But in one final act of contrition before he prays, he is beating
his chest. This seems to be an act of grief or contrition over the condition,
which brings him to prayer at the Temple before God. There is a note of
unworthiness here. The beating of the breast could be an
indication that he regarded his breast of heart as the seat of sin in
his life and so the act of beating it in grief and sorrow. We can already
observe that he does not have any of the cocky perspective e just saw in the
Pharisee. His composure is humble and contrite. He then begins his prayer.
Let’s analyze the components of his prayer to God.
1. God be merciful to me.
Here is a penitent plea for mercy. The word for ‘merciful’ is the same word for
propitiate. He wants God to be satisfied with Him by forgiving Him. He is not
coming with any merit whatsoever. God is the focus not himself. Mercy and not
merit is the basis of the prayer.
2. The sinner. He is
actually declaring that from his perspective when compared with others he is
the worst of sinners. He claims to be a self-confessed sinner. In reference to
himself he makes no comparisons to others. He is only concerned for his own
improved spiritual health based on God’s mercy—non-merited non-punishment. This
is the exact opposite of the Pharisee and Jesus wants to drive this point home
to us. Which prayer does God receive? Which person does God her? Which attitude
commends God’s favor?
JESUS COMMENT AND LESSON 14
‘I tell you’ means Jesus is
going to make an endorsement. He is going to come down on the side of the one
or the other. Someone is going to win and the other loses.
1. Jesus endorses the tax
collectors attitude. He explains that the tax collector went back down from
the temple to his house after he prayed. Though the subject of the parable is
the self-righteous, the focus of the parable is on the attitude of the humble.
The tax collector went home justified and the Pharisee did not. He is in a
state of having been declared to be in the right. God is the one declaring this
about him. He is not declaring it for himself as the Pharisee had done so. God
as the subject of the Tax gatherers prayer had turned him into the object of
Gods favor. So he received God’s mercy. He went down from the Temple in a state
of acceptance. Notice the position in the Temple meant nothing as it obviously
had to the Pharisee. It is the position of the heart that is supreme with God.
He was vindicated before God.
2. The theological principle
is God honors humility. We do have the right to approach God boldly but in
humility. Only then can mercy and forgiveness follow. This principle is fleshed
out in two ways. (1) Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. Remember the
Pharisee. Exalting oneself means self-admiration, comparison for personal
benefit, merit-based judgments, judgmental evaluations, competitive
achievement, and merit-based favor of God. You can exalt yourself using these
methods but God Himself will see to it that you are humbled or made low before
Him. There is no justification for this attitude. (2) Everyone who humbles
himself will be exalted or lifted up. Here we see God’s openness toward
self-declared sinners. Humility before God is what is acceptable to God. This means
that we live within the realm of God’s mercy and grace every day. That what we
deserve from God is not mercy but we can receive it with an attitude of
humility and not expectation or assumption. It means we recognize we do not
deserve it! That it is only the grace of God that I can
expect His favor in my life.
LESSONS:
1. One is not to compare self
to anyone in hopes of justifying self before God.
2. The basic approach God
accepts is trusting in his mercy not assuming the rite to blessing because of ones activity.
3. Because of gratitude to God
for his work of mercy one serve God.
4. The humble do not engage in
comparison.
5. The humble are aware that
their standing before God is only by mercy not merit.
6. The humble know they are
nothing before God.
7. Begin your day ‘God be
merciful to me a sinner—not for salvation but general attitude of life. Our
default position is performance but we do not seek to obey commands to earn
acceptance before God we obey out of gratitude to Him.
On Easter, the lifestyle of
humility is the best way to live Easter everyday of the year!