You would open up your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke, Luke chapter 18, verses 9 through 14. Luke chapter 18, verses 9 through 14. I had one of my students ask me this morning, say, why are you preaching on the New Testament? You're an Old Testament professor. Well, I figured if Dr. Barclay, a New Testament professor, can work through the book of Genesis, we'll take a shot. at the book of Luke, Luke chapter 18, verses nine through 14. This can be found in your Pew Bible on page 877. This is God's holy and inerrant word. He, Jesus, also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous. and treated others with contempt. Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus, God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. and give tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying, God, be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. The one who humbles himself will be exalted. Please pray with me. Father, I pray that you would take this text and sear it upon our hearts. We wouldn't only hear it, we only see it in our Bibles, but we would apply it to our hearts, to our very lives. May Christ be glorified. by our study of this text. It's in Jesus' name that we pray, amen. One Sunday morning, Charles Spurgeon preached a particularly powerful sermon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. At the close of the service, he was in the back greeting the people as they left. A man came up to him and said, That was the greatest sermon I have ever heard. You are the greatest preacher on earth. Spurgeon looked at the man and said, thank you. That's what the devil told me 10 minutes ago. Spurgeon's point is spot on. How easily our pride enters into our labors for Christ, how easily we are drawn to the accolades of other people because of our walk with Christ, how easily we look to ourselves, our goodness, our righteous deeds, and how easily we look to others judgmentally. Let's be honest here. have a face-to-face. Christians are prone to self-righteousness. Christians are prone to condemnation of others. Christians are prone to wander in their own pride. The context of this parable is found in verse 9 of our text. I want to look at that for a moment. It says, Jesus also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt. There the text tells us that Jesus is speaking a parable to a certain group of people. To whom is he speaking? It's interesting to me that no name is given to the group. Not the Pharisees or the, Sadducees are the scribes of the Herodians. The general nature of the address makes me suspicious that perhaps Jesus is speaking to me and others like me. He told this parable to some who trusted in themselves. In fact, I'm truly hesitant to preach this text because by the end of it, I am truly convinced that Jesus is talking to me and to others like me in the church throughout the ages. Who are these people that he's speaking to? They are ones who are infected with their own self-worth. They are inflated with their own self-worth, their own righteousness, and their own goodness puffed up by who they are and what they have done. And the text is crystal clear when it says they trusted in themselves that they were righteous. They rely and depend on themselves and their labors to be righteous. They think they are justified and in good stead with God because of their own efforts and merits, that I'm right with God because, you know, I'm a pretty good person. Because of their self-righteousness, they are prideful, and they look down on others. They covet their own company, and others they hold into contempt. They are very judgmental. In fact, the text literally says, and they treated others with contempt. It literally says, and they treated the rest with contempt. That is, everyone else, all others. Now let's consider the parable beginning with verse 10. Jesus now tells a parable to show people like this their folly and that their self-righteousness is unacceptable to God and their self-righteousness does not make them right with God. It's not a true righteousness. The parable setting is found in verse 10. Two men went up into the temple to pray. One a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. Two men, they travel to the temple on Mount Zion, they travel to the temple in Jerusalem, go there to pray. One is a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. Now what's interesting, these two figures represent a cultural contrast in first century Judaism, an antithesis in first century Judaism. They're the opposite ends of the pole in first century Judaism. The Pharisee, he is one who is known for his knowledge of the Bible, in particular his knowledge of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. He could tell you the middle letter of the book of Leviticus. Leviticus chapter 11, verse 42. Perhaps Jesus is speaking to me. He's one who is scholarly and learned. And in that time he was considered uniquely pious. In fact, the term Pharisee probably derives from a term that means set apart. They're the set-apart ones. They're the holy ones. They're the righteous ones in our culture. And the fundamental tenet of Pharisaism in first century Judea is, quote, the unlearned cannot be pious. The unlearned cannot be pious. The other person. going to the temple to pray as the tax collector. He's a Jew, just like the Pharisees' Jew. He's a Jew who imposed and administered the royal tax of Rome upon his own people. He worked for the Roman government. He's what we would call a collaborator, one who is in cahoots with the enemy. Of course, he is greatly despised by the Jews in Palestine under Roman tyranny. Now, not all Jews because there's a sect called the Herodians who loved the Roman government, but the one group that loathed and hated the tax collectors were the Pharisees. Of course, you look at this situation and in the society of the day, who is better thought of? Who is considered more pious? Who is more righteous? Who is the one who has God's ear? They're coming to pray. Which of them has God's ear? Jesus now turns to deal with the Pharisee's prayer. The Pharisee travels to the temple. He comes into the outer courtyard there to pray. And what is his prayer, verses 11 and 12? The Pharisee standing by himself prayed, thus, God, I thank you that I'm not like other men, extortioners, unjust adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get. The text begins, the ESV translation begins by saying the Pharisee was standing by himself. The idea is that he is standing conspicuously, a place where he was sure to be seen and honored by everyone who sees him because of his righteousness, because he's praying. He wants everybody's eyes upon him. He stands aloof. He wants the accolades of men. Oh, look at that pious Pharisee there praying. That appears to be an appropriate understanding of this passage. However, the text can be read in another way. It can read this way. The Pharisee stood and was praying about himself. Pharisee stood, praying about himself. The idea here is that he is entirely intent upon himself. He's self-absorbed even in prayer. He's self-centered in prayer. He is selfish in prayer. What is his favorite subject? Me. He looks down on others. He looks up to himself. He looks up to his own righteousness. And then there he talks about himself to God. Look what he says. God, I thank you that I, I, I, I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get. I is the center of sin. He talks to God about himself. He lectures God about himself. First, he tells God about the sins he doesn't do. He doesn't extort money. He's not an adulterer. He's not a tax collector like this guy down at the end of the pew. See how good and righteous I am, especially in comparison to that tax collector down there at the end of the pew. God, look at me. See, he stands aloof and alone because he not only wants men to look at him, but he wants God to look at him. He wants the accolades of God upon him. Then he speaks positively of his own acts. Says, hey, I fast twice a week and I pay tithes. I give offerings to the church twice a week. Now, according to Jewish Talmudic law of the time, the most pious Pharisee, the one more righteous than the rest, the Pharisee of Pharisees was the one who fasted twice a week. This is the penultimate Pharisee, this man. Now this Pharisee, this Pharisee of Pharisees, he's so thankful. There's thanksgiving in his prayer. But he's so thankful that he's not like other men. He then uses the present circumstances that he's in. He uses the present for an illustration by saying, I'm so thankful I'm not like this tax collector over here, the guy who's praying in the temple alongside of him. Man down the end of the pew, I'm so thankful I'm not like him. Now this attitude is common. It's reflected in an early morning prayer of Judaism at the time. Pharisees in the Talmud had this prayer. Blessed art thou, Lord our God, King of the world, that thou hast not made me a Gentile or a servant or a woman. After a sermon I gave a number of years ago, I was standing at the door greeting people. A man came out and he said to me with a straight face, my wife really needed to hear that this morning. Later his wife came to the door and I purposely Asked her what struck her about the sermon and she replied, how much my husband would prosper from hearing that sermon. Indeed. Here we see this Pharisee. A man with reigning pride, a man with malice in his heart. Has no humility, no charity, no love and no compassion toward others. and yet he believes he's righteous because he fasts. He's right with God because he does the rituals of Judaism. He's right with God because he goes to church every Sunday. He's right with God that he goes to Sunday school every Sunday. Then Jesus tells us the prayer of the tax collector, verse 13. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven but beat his breast saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. Prayer of the tax collector. It's the antithesis to the prayer of the Pharisee. It's contrastive to the prayer of the Pharisee. First, it says he stands far off. Understand that. He does not put himself in a place where men can marvel at his piety, can marvel at his righteous works. It appears he has this fear of God, this reverence for God that causes him to hesitate to draw near to God. He doesn't even lift his eyes to heaven. He's too ashamed to look to God. Sins are a heavy burden to bear. Heavy sorrow in his heart. So the tax collector, he beats his own chest. It's a sign in the first century of mourning and lamentation. He's mourning over his sins here as a broken, penitent sinner who is throwing himself upon the mercy of God. And his prayer, reflects his contrition. It's short and sweet, and to the point, he says, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. In the Greek, an Old Testament professor, and the Greek says, there's actually a definite article on the front of the word sinner. And so it literally reads this, God be merciful to me, the sinner. This is what grammarians call the definite article par excellence. This man is like Paul who called himself the chief of sinners, the sinner. Charles Spurgeon, his nickname throughout the press and everybody was the prince of preachers. He called himself the king of sinners. The Pharisee saw himself as the righteous man, par excellence. The tax collector sees himself as the sinful man, par excellence. And the contrast between the two men and the contrast of their prayers is so striking The Pharisee, he doesn't utter a petition. There's no supplication. He does not ask God for anything. He doesn't ask God for mercy. He doesn't ask him for grace. He lectures God. He stands on his own merits, on his own tithes and his fasting. He depends solely on his own labors and self-righteousness. Well, look at the tax collector. He denies his own merit, and he rightly recognizes that his only hope is in the mercy and grace of God that would come to him. And so he utters a petition. He gives a cry appealing to the mercy of God. He comes as a naked man asking for dress. He comes as a beggar seeking alms. He comes as a pauper, an orphan. Throws himself upon the mercy of the sovereign judge. He understands the words of Toplety that we're going to sing a little bit later. Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling. Naked, come to thee for dress. Helpless, look to thee for grace. Foul I to the fountain fly. Wash me, Savior, or I die. What is the result found in verse 14? Jesus says, I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. One who humbles himself will be exalted. So here's the results or consequence of the contrast. The tax collector left the temple justified, justified before God, but the Pharisee did not. And the reason is simple. Man is only justified with God, only made right with God and accepted by God through God's grace and mercy. This is not something that can be earned. The Pharisee is righteous in his own eyes, but not in the eyes of God. The tax collector is truly righteous because he is humble, a broken sinner, penitent before his God, and this only comes by the grace and mercy of God through the work of Jesus Christ. This man is not saved by his own works. One is only saved by the work of Christ. Jesus tells us elsewhere in Matthew chapter five, verse 20, for I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. But where does one gain such righteousness? How is it that we are made right with God? Again, simply from the grace and mercy of God through the work of Jesus Christ. I was recently reading about a Scottish minister on his deathbed. A fellow minister came to see him in order to comfort him. The visiting minister asked, well, my brother, what are you doing? Doing, answered the dying servant of God. Doing? I will tell you. I am gathering together all my prayers and sermons All my good deeds and bad deeds, I'm going to throw them all overboard together and swim to glory on the plank of free grace. This preacher understood. He understood rightly that justification and salvation is not about us and what we do. There's no room for our works, for we are nothing but condemnation. John Newton once commented that the only thing we give to our salvation is the sin that needs to be atoned for. There's no room for human pride, for self-promotion, for self-boasting, for hubris. You have reigning pride. Understand, it's not about us. It's about the cross of Jesus Christ. Therefore, let us not boast in our own works. Let us boast in the cross of Christ and the mercy and grace that comes to us through his labors. May we all cry together. God be merciful to me, sinner. Amen and amen. Please pray with me. Most Heavenly Father, I pray that you would drive that nail home into our hearts. Indeed, we are saved not by who we are, not by our pedigree, not by what we do, only by the mercy and grace that comes through the work of Jesus Christ. May he, O Lord, be glorified. And it's in his name that we pray.