The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Yeah, so over the last few weeks, we've studied many of Jesus' parables, and we know what

to expect from them.

But today's parable is actually a bit different.

Because you see, in all the parables we've looked at so far, we've seen stories with

various characters and other things that stand as symbols.

We've seen farmers, shepherds, servants, sons, sheep, coins, fields, the list goes on.

And all of these had their meanings that could be understood by the people.

Time and again, we've heard this phrase, earthly stories with heavenly meanings.

And we've seen how they were often understood, even if the hearers didn't like what they were

hearing.

At the end of the parable of the talents, we read that they knew he had spoken this

parable against them.

But this time, it's a bit different.

Because he doesn't couch it in symbols.

Yes, there's a certain drama to how the story's told, but the characters are direct representatives

of the people that are sitting there in front of him.

Over the last few weeks, we've met these characters many times, sitting there in the crowd.

But this time, they themselves are in the story.

This time, he's blunt and says it as it is.

He doesn't mince his words at all.

Our story tonight has two characters in it.

And I want us to look at who they were, what they thought of themselves, how they approached

God, how they left.

And then finally, I want to look at what happened next.

And so, let's meet our characters.

A Pharisee and a tax collector.

And immediately, we've hit a big problem with understanding this passage.

If we've been around church for any time at all, we know these characters all too well.

We know that Pharisees are villains.

And we know that tax collectors come good in the end.

We know that Jesus had harsh words for the Pharisees and dined with the tax collectors.

But these are Christian New Testament stereotypes.

We need to forget about all that if we're to understand the scandal of this passage.

This parable hits home because it overturns totally what was expected in first century Judea.

Because these two figures would be well known within society.

The first, the Pharisee.

He's a respected religious leader.

He's an honored member of the community.

The Pharisees are a religious group who are renowned for their teachings on the law of Moses.

And their interpretation of it and application of it to the minutia of everyday life.

And they were particularly concerned about ritual purity.

About doing everything possible to avoid anything that might make them unclean.

Such as the other character.

A tax collector.

He's a hated and despised traitor.

He's one of their own people.

But he's collaborating with the occupying Roman forces.

He was probably very rich.

Because they were notorious for embezzlement.

Taking from their own people to give to the authorities.

And taking their own cup to line their pockets along the way.

It would be very clear to Jesus' original audience.

Who was the goody?

And who was the baddy in this story?

One was respected.

The other hated.

One gave to the poor.

The other stole and exploited.

One was considered to be a good man.

The other a sinner.

So, if that's what society thought about them.

What did they think of themselves?

Well, the Pharisee.

He's proud of himself.

And all that he's achieved.

He's confident of his status in society.

He thinks that his good deeds.

His adherence to every last letter of the law.

Makes him a good man.

And he's careful to avoid anything that might make him unclean.

Presumably he's aware that he's not perfect.

But he considers that his failings are insignificant.

They're totally outweighed by the good things that he does.

And because he's so confident in his own status,

he looks down on the others that he thinks haven't achieved that level.

He's the very definition of the phrase, holier than thou.

We read in the first verse of our passage that Jesus is speaking to some who were confident of their own righteousness.

And looked down on everyone else.

This is exactly who this Pharisee is.

So, what about the tax collector?

What did he think of himself?

Well, he knows that everything they say about him is true.

And more.

He's painfully aware of how far wrong he has gone.

He's reminded about it every day.

By the looks people give him.

By the muttering behind his back.

But even without these things,

he knows.

We don't know how he got to this position.

Presumably he had his reasons.

Maybe he'd been in a desperate situation and just needed

anything that would pay.

Maybe it was just meant to be a temporary thing until something more respectable came along.

Or maybe he went into it with eyes wide open.

He just wanted money and power and was willing to do whatever he needed to get it.

Either way, he's got himself into a position that he can see no way out of.

He's comfortable, yeah.

He's wealthy.

But he's hated.

But he's hated.

He hates himself.

And so, having looked at how both of these characters thought of themselves,

how did they come to the temple?

How did they approach the worship of God?

How they act is completely different.

Because what they thought of themselves had a profound influence on how they came to worship God.

How that does it?

How did they come to?

First of all, we see the Pharisee.

Confident.

Proud.

Boldly strolling into the temple.

Standing apart from the crowds so that he could be seen.

He's putting on a display.

Everything he says is about himself.

his prayer consists of telling God

and anyone that was listening

how good he was

and in particular how much better he is

than that scum over in the corner

but he carefully wraps it in the pretense

of giving thanks to God

but as well as showing how much he thought of himself

his attitude here shows how little he thought of God

yes he knew that God was good

but he had brought God's goodness down to his own level

he actually believed that it was possible

that he might be impressive to God

he'd made God so small

that it seemed reasonable to try and impress him

rather than just to bow down

and worship

in contrast to this

we see the tax collector

he approaches the temple hesitantly

he's humble

hiding away in a corner

looking down at his feet

he knows that he's an outcast from society

but more than that

he knows he is not worthy

to come into the presence of God

and his prayer

is simple

God

have mercy on me

a sinner

he confesses his sin

and he pleads

for mercy

he doesn't compare himself

with others

he doesn't offer any mitigating

excuses

he doesn't bring up any of the good things

that probably he had done

anything that might make him look better

interestingly he doesn't actually

confess specific sins

he knows that it's not just

he is a good person who has done some wrong things

but that his nature

and identity

is a sinner

and he knows that he can do nothing

to change this

probably over the years he's tried

and failed

but he realises that his only hope

is to fling himself

on the mercy

of God

but if he

has a low view

of himself

he has a very high view

of God

because he knows

that God's goodness

is transcendent

he knows that he is not someone

to be trifled with

his reaction is the same as that

of anyone who realises

who they are

and who God is

we see this right back in Genesis

when Adam says

I heard you in the garden

and I was afraid

because I was naked

so I hid

or Isaiah

when he has his vision of the Lord

and cries out

woe to me

I am ruined

for I am a man of unclean lips

I live among a people of unclean lips

and my eyes have seen the King

the Lord Almighty

or Peter

in the boat

when he cries out

go away from me Lord

I am a sinful man

these are the natural reactions

of people who have recognised

the goodness

and holiness

and majesty of God

and in contrast with that

how depraved

and broken

that they

really are

and so

he approaches God

in humility

asking for mercy

and so

having approached in different ways

how do our characters leave?

well

the Pharisee

he left exactly the way he came

nothing has happened

nothing has changed

and to be honest

he's quite fine with that

because

he doesn't think he has any need to change

he came proud of his status

he left proud of his status

he came confident in his good works

and he left with that confidence unshaken

he came with a disdain for others

and left with the same prejudice

he came with a small view of God

and he left with that exact same view

he might as well have stayed at home

but things are totally different

for the tax collector

because we read in verse 14

that he went home justified

he left changed

he left a different man

because God heard his plea

for mercy

and forgave his sin

it isn't just God's goodness

and holiness

that is far beyond what we can imagine

but also his grace

to those who seek his mercy

the Pharisee

was the one who

tried to be careful

to avoid anything unclean

but it's the tax collector

who God declares to be clean

and he wasn't just clean

because God chose to turn a blind eye

to his sin

he didn't just brush it under the carpet

he dealt with it

Jesus' listeners at the time

they wouldn't have understood how

they knew that God could forgive sins

but they didn't yet know

how he could

but Jesus

at this point

is on his way to Jerusalem

in a few days

weeks at most

he will die for the sins

of the tax collectors

for your sins

for mine

and he'll rise again

to offer

new life

this doesn't mean

that there weren't still

consequences

that the tax collector

had to deal with

in chapter 19

we meet

Zacchaeus

a real life tax collector

who repented

and he had a lot of things

that he had to put right

starting by making restitution

to the people

that he had cheated

but before God

his sin

was dealt with

the guilty verdict

hanging over him

was gone

his status

and identity

had changed

and like we heard

about last week

there would be much

rejoicing

in heaven

over this sinner

repenting

but

I think

a really important

question

for us to

answer here

is what happened

next

what happened

to these characters

after they had

gone home

obviously

as they were just

characters in a story

they ceased to exist

as soon as the story

ended

but if they had

been real people

what might have

happened

I think

this is a really

important question

to look at

because

I'm aware

that the

vast majority

of people listening

quite probably

all of you

have already

come to God

in repentance

Christians

are already

Christians

and it's so easy

to let a story

like this

just wash over

us

we know it

so let's go back

to our two

characters

one last time

for the Pharisee

life went on

as before

as we said

nothing had

changed in his

life

and quite

possibly

nothing ever

would

but

in time

who knows

the book

of Acts

speaks of

believers

who belonged

to the Pharisees

indeed the apostle

Paul himself

was a Pharisee

there was still

time

for the Pharisee

to turn

and repent

so what about

the tax collector

could life

carry on

the same

for him

he was

now

justified

he was

righteous

before God

could he

just go back

to his old

life

if he was

forgiven

did it really

matter

what he did

now

well Paul

that Pharisee

turned apostle

had something

to say

on the matter

in Romans 6

he addresses

this exact

question

shall we

go on

sinning

and he

has a

bold answer

by no

means

other

translations

put it

of course

not

absolutely

not

or even

God

forbid

it's

completely

inappropriate

for him

just to

continue

living his

life

the way

he had

been

repentance

that doesn't

involve

change

it's not

repentance

at all

at best

it's just

remorse

and for us

who looking

back

understand

the price

that bought

our salvation

as we

remembered

in communion

this morning

how can we

take it

for granted

so much

that we

can say

thank you

for paying

the price

for my

sin

and

oh by the

way

here's

some more

for you

to deal

with

it would

be

completely

unreasonable

for him

to just

go back

to his

old life

so does

that mean

he went

on to

live a

perfect

life

that he

never

sinned

again

well

Paul again

has something

to say

about this

in just

the next

chapter

Romans 7

here he

describes

the struggle

of warring

desires

of warring

natures

he says

what I

want to

do

I do

not

do

and what

I hate

I do

Paul

confesses

that he

is still

totally

and utterly

needy

and dependent

he may

have had

one of

the most

dramatic

conversions

in history

he may

be one

of the

apostles

with the

biggest

influence

in spreading

the gospel

around the

world

but he

is still

incapable

of living

a good

life

by his

own

strength

time and

again

he finds

that he

does

the very

things

that he

hates

so has

nothing

changed

are we

left still

just trying

our best

and failing

no

the biggest

thing

that has

changed

is our

identity

sinner

is no

longer

our

identity

as we

sang

earlier

we are

now

a

redeemed

child

of God

who

sins

sometimes

it's a

subtle

but profound

difference

because it

completely

changes

who we

are

and it

changes

how we

should

think of

ourselves

and

therefore

it

changes

how we

approach

God

we

still

like the

tax collector

need to

confess our

sin to

God

both our

general

sinfulness

and the

specific

places where

we are

aware

that we

have

failed

need to

need to

confess our

weakness

and our

need

to acknowledge

that we

can't do

it on

our own

we need

to confess

to God

that there

are sins

that we

struggle

with

and that

we need

him to

give us

the strength

to resist

temptation

the strength

to put to

death

daily

the desires

of our

sinful

nature

and it

may be

that we

need to

confess

these

struggles

to our

brothers

or sisters

so they

might help

us in

that fight

but we

also need to

make sure

that we

don't get

caught up

by the

thinking of

the Pharisee

that doing

good things

and particularly

doing religious

things will

somehow

impress

God

we know

that our

salvation

is by

grace

alone

but do we

sometimes

feel that

maybe

going to

the prayer

meeting

reading the

Bible

listening to

some worship

music

in some

ways

might make

up for

some of

our other

failings

they don't

not

at all

oh yes

they're good

things

they're

things we

should

be doing

they're

things that

may help

us in

the fight

and in

building and

strengthening

our relationship

but just

as our

salvation

was by

grace

alone

so too

is our

ongoing

sanctification

but finally

we need to

rejoice in

our salvation

not just

grovel in

our sin

yes we

need to

be aware

of our

sin

but it

should not

drive us

to despair

but to

worship

I remember

the first

time I read

the fight

by John

White

almost 20

years ago

one line in

the first

chapter hit

me

he writes

you are not

given permission

to crawl

into God's

presence

but to

approach him

with your

head held

high

I don't

remember

exactly what

was going

on in my

life at the

time

but I still

remember the

joy that

this line

brought

because our

identity

is not

that of a

sinner

but of a

sinner saved

by grace

and that is

something

completely

different

and so

as we

come to

an end

how have

we come

to worship

God

tonight

what is

our view

of ourselves

what is

our view

of God

have we

come thinking

there is

something that

we can bring

God

that we can

somehow

impress him

or have

we come

knowing

that we

can bring

nothing

that we

are wholly

dependent

on his

grace

whether for

the first

time

or the

thousandth

time

have we

come

knowing

our

weakness

and failure

and rejoicing

in the

wonder

of our

salvation

just as

we finish

some

lines from

a song

may I

never

lose the

wonder

wonder

the wonder

of the

cross

may I

see it

like the

first time

standing

as a

sinner

lost

undone

by mercy

and left

speechless

watching

wide-eyed

at the

cost

may I

never

lose

the

wonder

the

wonder

of the

cross

grounds

minus

through

the

état

of the

sea

in the

Miller

Stealth

of the

verse

declined

as Dan

as

Tambor