Confident

Let's pray.

Gracious God, as we come to your word now,

we ask that we might be challenged again

as we walk this road with Jesus to Jerusalem.

Father, we pray that you might clear up misconceptions

that we have of what it means to be your disciple.

And Lord, if we are looking to anything else but Jesus

for our justification, then Lord,

help us to clearly see that this morning,

that we might trust in him and him alone.

And we ask it for your sake. Amen.

I heard the story of a young lad who mounted a campaign

just before Christmas in order to secure a brand new bike

at Christmastime.

And he badgered his parents to the point where one day

his mother said to him, confusing Jesus with Santa,

well, why don't you go and write a letter to Jesus

and tell him that you deserve this bike?

And so the young lad trudged off upstairs,

started to write the letter, dear Jesus,

I've been good all year.

And he thought to himself, no, that's not really true.

He screwed up the piece of paper and threw it away

and started again, dear Jesus,

I've been good for the last six months.

And he thought, well, that's not really true either.

I mean, at the very least, this guy's a realist.

He started again, dear Jesus, I've been good all week.

Frustrated, he just screwed the paper up and threw it away.

He knew that wasn't true.

So in his frustration, he walked downstairs,

walked to the mantelpiece where the nativity scene was,

picked up Mary, walked back upstairs,

plonked it on his desk.

Dear Jesus, if you ever want to see your mother again,

he had a few things worked out about Jesus.

He knew that Mary was Jesus' mother.

That's a good start.

But in terms of how to relate to God,

it was kind of more like a terrorist.

He was trying to force God's hand.

And that's the story we have here.

The Pharisee and the tax collector

helps us in our confusion about how to relate to God.

Although we read a large chunk there of the narrative,

it's all kind of interconnected.

But I just want to hone in, particularly in the Pharisee and the tax collector.

We see the Pharisee and the tax collector being spelled out for us

in the story of the young children

and then following on with the rich young ruler.

They are, if you like, the Pharisee and the tax collectors

in this story as well.

And so let's just hone in on these two stark characters,

comic characters.

The issue that Jesus wants to address here is very clear for us.

In verse 9, it says,

To some who were confident of their own righteousness

and looked down on everybody else,

Jesus told this parable.

To some who were confident of their own righteousness

and looked down on everyone else,

Jesus told this parable.

But it's not just looking down on other people.

He's not just saying,

Hey, it's just not a kind thing to do.

Look down on other people.

He spills out quite clearly

that the core issue here

is a core issue of our standing before God.

Verse 14,

I tell you that this man,

rather than the other,

went home justified before God.

That's the core issue.

The core issue is,

Do I trust in myself

or do I trust in Jesus

in order to be right with God?

That's the issue Jesus wants to address here.

How to be right with God.

This story is all about people

who are self-confident, self-righteous,

and somehow think that that makes them okay with God.

Jesus,

and this is the clutcher for us,

Jesus was particularly talking

to people who make some sort of attempt at religion.

You could just imagine Jesus

eyeballing the Pharisees at this point

and his disciples at this point

because it was specifically those guys

who he was addressing.

You could say that Jesus

is talking to people like us

gathered here right now.

And his message for us is very clear.

God is not pleased by self-confidence

or self-righteousness.

He is only pleased with people

who come to him

for their righteousness.

So let's have a look at it.

We know from verse 10

that there are two men

who go up to the temple to pray,

but in verse 14,

it says that only one of them

goes home okay with God.

Only one of them

goes home as a friend of God.

It's kind of like,

if you ever watch the movie

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,

there is this post-war situation,

and if two people get into a bit of biff,

they would go into the Thunderdome

and sort it out,

and when they go into the Thunderdome

and sort it out,

it was like to the death,

that is,

this chant would go up,

two men enter,

one man leaves,

two men enter,

one man leaves.

And you kind of get that feeling

as these two men go into the temple,

you know that as Jesus' story goes,

only one of these guys

is going to come out

having any form of meaningful relationship

with God.

We are told that one of them

is a tax collector,

the other is a Pharisee,

and again,

I know I've said this before,

we need to come back to it,

we are in danger

of mucking it up right from the start

because we are familiar

with the Bible,

and we automatically,

as Christian people,

go boo his to the Pharisees

because we know that Jesus,

you know,

kicked the Pharisees

in the guts all the time.

We know the Pharisees

are the bad guys,

they're the ones

that Jesus consistently hammers,

and so we need to try

and hear this story

as it would have been

for first century Palestine,

in there,

for Jesus' friends,

for Peter, James and John

and the rest of the boys,

they would have known

that the tax collector

was the scum,

they knew that,

the tax collector

was the guy

who wore the black hat,

he was the guy

who rode around

on the mean looking camel,

he was the one

that no one really liked

very much,

he was the low life

of first century Palestine,

he was filth,

he was traitor,

they sold out God

for money,

they were not welcomed

in a place of worship,

he was scum,

the Pharisee,

on the other hand,

was deeply,

deeply respected,

it's hard to imagine

how deeply respected

a Pharisee was

in first century Palestine,

they were the guys

who wore the white hats,

right,

they wore the respectable camels,

you know,

the nice ones

with the smile

and the speed limited camels,

they were the kind of,

they were the kind of

the Camry drivers

of first century Palestine,

they were not men

who made their living

out of religion,

they were regular

church attendees

who were deeply,

deeply serious

and set the pace

for everyone else,

in Jesus' day

the people would go

boo his scumbag

tax collector

but the Pharisee

definitely not,

the Pharisee

is the guy

who is dead

earnest about God,

a valued member

of society

and a very valued

member

of the community

of God's people,

well that's the

two extraordinary men,

now let's look

at their two

extraordinary prayers

because their prayers

reveal what their heart

is like,

let's look at

the Pharisee's prayers,

now I occasionally,

I'll let you in

a bit of my psyche here,

occasionally enjoy

the read of the

personal ads of a paper,

you know,

I don't know if you've

ever done that before

but I can't ever

imagine what it

would mean for someone

to actually

advertise

their finer points

and ask for someone

to love them

kind of thing,

I find that kind of

odd

and it must be

kind of frustrating

for them

example,

I read this one,

30 year old,

6 foot tall,

brown hair,

green eyes,

6 lady,

21 to 28 year old

for friendship

and or relationship

and it's like,

haven't you got

anything else to offer?

He's 30 year old,

6 foot tall,

brown hair,

green eyes,

well that just

pretty much opens it up,

that's him putting

his good foot forward,

that's him advertising

his higher points,

now I've got to

understand here

that I've never read

a personal ad

where someone

highlights

their negative points,

you know,

I like to sleep in,

I don't have a job,

looking for a house

for my greyhounds,

you know,

that's,

you know,

like I've never

ever seen that,

looking for someone

to cook and clean

for me,

is there anyone

out there

who's willing

to take on this gig?

I've never seen that,

that is because

our natural human

tendency is to put

our best foot forward,

we always put

our best foot forward,

we promote ourselves

and it's no different

when it comes

to our relationship

with God,

our nature is to

outline the wonderful

things that we are

or that we do

and we don't mention

the things that we do

too wrong,

too often,

unless we are

absolutely confronted

with it and have to,

we even go to the

point of justifying

our wrongdoing

by giving them

different kind of names

which kind of lessen

the sin of it,

so I don't evade tax,

I just minimise tax,

I don't lie,

I just,

you know,

occasional white lie,

I don't gossip,

I share prayer points,

I don't ridicule people

because I was just

kind of joking

and I'm not committing

adultery,

I'm having an affair

or a midlife crisis,

I didn't steal

the stamps from work,

I borrowed the stamps

from work

and by the time

that we've justified

our position,

we're kind of like,

actually,

I'm not that bad

after all,

but God knows

our hearts

and so the Pharisee

prays like this

in verse 11,

God,

I thank you

that I'm not like

other men,

robbers,

evildoers,

adulterers,

or even like that

tax collector

over there,

I fast twice a week

and give a tenth

of all that I get.

Now,

it is so easy

to send this guy up

because I think

that's exactly

what Jesus is doing

here.

Hey God,

I am

just ever

so terribly

marvelous,

God.

But,

you know,

the awful thing

about it,

the way he does it,

is he spiritualizes it.

Thank you,

God.

Thank you,

God,

that you've made

a difference

in my life.

Thank you,

God,

that you've changed me.

Thank you,

God,

that I'm not like

other people.

Thank you,

God,

that I'm not like

that scumbag

tax collector

sitting over there.

He spiritualizes it,

thanks God

for it

because he

even recognizes

that God

has made a change

in his life.

He then goes on,

explains how he's

different from other people.

He fasts twice a week,

he says.

That is,

he goes without food

twice a week.

Normal Jewish practice

by this time

was that you did it

once or twice a year

and occasionally

as you felt like it.

And this guy

does it twice a week.

He is

really serious

about his relationship

with God.

But not just that.

It says here

he gives a tenth

of all that I get.

I give a tenth

of it all.

He

tithes

his herb garden.

He gives

some of his peas

away.

This guy

is

thoroughly

religious.

He's

keeping the

command of God

to the letter

of the law.

And so he says,

God,

I must be okay.

But the problem

is,

is his evaluation

of himself

is based on

the wrong standard.

He compares

himself with other

people on the

surface

and he doesn't

look deep,

deep in his

heart.

He looks at

the tax

collector and

goes,

I must be okay

because I'm

clearly not as

bad as that

guy.

And that

is our

normal

human

tendency.

We do

it by

default.

When it

comes to

morality,

we look

down the

line.

When it

comes to

riches,

we look

up the

line because

there's

always

someone

richer

than me.

That means

I don't

have to be

so generous

because

someone else

should be.

But I

look down

the line

when it

comes to

morality

because

there's

always

someone

worse

than me.

And that

makes me

feel good.

I

know a

guy who

is serving

two

consecutive

life

sentences

in

Long Bay

Jail.

He killed

a mother

and her

baby.

And he

was in

the same

wing of

Long Bay

Jail as

the

Milpera

Bicycle

Massacre

guys.

You know,

the guys

had the

shootout

in Milpera

years ago.

One day

those

bikey

guys grabbed

this guy,

they beat

him up and

poured

boiling water

all over

him for

daring to

murder a

baby.

How dare

you do

that,

you scumbag.

Now,

these are

the guys

who gun

down a

seven-year-old

girl.

If she

was seven,

it's kind

of different.

When it

comes to

morality,

we look

down the

line and

even when

you're

sitting,

languishing

in a

prison cell

in Long

Bay Jail,

there is

always

someone

worse

than

you.

It is

our

default

position.

Even

people who

should know

better,

consequence of

their sin,

they live it

for the rest

of their

life around

them,

still look

down the

line.

And I

think Jesus

says very

clearly that

that is our

normal human

tendency and

how much

easy it is

for us,

the religious

people,

to do

it.

The tax

collector is

in total

contrast to

the Pharisee.

He beats

himself on

the chest

and he

says,

God have

mercy on

me,

a sinner.

Who does

he compare

himself with?

Well,

nobody as

far as we

can tell

from the

text.

A better

reading of

this statement

is,

God have

mercy on

me,

the sinner.

He's not

trying to

find comfort

in the fact

that he's

part of a

large group

in the

same boat.

He doesn't

say,

sure,

I've made

a few

mistakes,

I've made

even some

really big

mistakes,

I acknowledge

my mistakes,

but I'm no

different than

anyone else,

I'm only human

after all.

He says,

God,

I am the

sinner.

I am the

model sinner,

I am the

essential sinner.

He doesn't

care how he

compares with

other people,

he doesn't

even look

to the

Pharisee,

he just

knows he's

not okay

with God

and he

cries out

in despair.

And Jesus

says that

that scumbag

goes home

justified

by God

while the

other is

rejected.

The scumbag

tax collector

goes home

with God

as his

friend.

The way

that we

are always

to approach

God is

God have

mercy on

me,

the sinner.

The

fulfillment

of religious

duties

doesn't put

us in

God's good

books.

There is

no other

way to be

right with

the God

of this

universe

than to

ask him

for mercy

through

Jesus.

And we

need to

all do

that.

Don't

expect to

get into

God's good

books by

the terrorist

method and

to make

demands of

God.

Don't

expect to

get there

by the

resume

method and

give him

a big

list of

all my

finer points

and hopefully

they will

outbalance

my bad

points and

God will

be okay.

God is

not impressed

by the

resume

method,

even the

resume

method of

religious

people.

And that's

when Jesus

eyeballs us.

No,

no,

forget that.

That's when

Jesus eyeballs

me.

Because in

reality,

I am more

religious than

the average

Aussie bloke.

I read the

Bible, I

pray, I

go to

church, hang

out at

church.

In fact, I

live at

church.

I've got a

theological

degree and

something else

called a

diploma in

ministry, not

that anyone

knows what

that is.

I work

full-time in

ministry.

I travel

around the

country and

speak to

church leaders

and train

church leaders.

I read

deep

theological

books.

I run

youth

ministry

programs.

And I

even get

to wear a

dress.

I look

religious.

I'm

probably more

religious than

anyone here.

Are you

impressed?

God's not.

God's not.

Don't fall

into the trap

of thinking

that we

impress God

by what

we do.

Anyone who

says that

there is

something

religious

activity,

some form

of religious

activity that

you must

do is

wrong.

He's

wrong.

The best

case scenario

is I think

potentially the

first believer.

If he wasn't

the first

believer, he's

certainly the

first guy to

follow Jesus

into heaven.

you know

the bloke?

He's stuck

up there on

the cross

beside Jesus.

He's on the

cross beside

Jesus and he

says to Jesus,

remember me

when you come

into your

kingdom.

That is, he

recognized who

Jesus was.

It was a

statement of

faith and

trust in

Jesus, the

guy who was

dying beside

him on the

cross.

He recognized

that Jesus

must be a

king because

he's going

into his

kingdom and

his kingdom

is going to

come when

he dies.

And so

what did

Jesus say to

this guy?

Yeah, mate,

not a problem.

If you can

manage to get

yourself down

off the cross

and get off

the church,

then guarantee

you can be

part of the

kingdom.

No, that

wasn't it.

Or did he

say, hey

disciples, bring

up the hoses,

we need to

baptize this

guy.

No, that

wasn't it.

Today you

will be with

me in

paradise.

Today you

will be with

me in

paradise.

God

is

because he

put his

faith in

Jesus.

Christianity

isn't about

self-righteousness,

it is about

God-given

righteousness and

that man had

it right there

and then on

the cross.

Without any

activity, on

the cross,

God-given

righteousness.

But there is a

message here for

us, not just for

those who need to

put their trust in

Jesus, but that

for those of us

who have put our

trust in Jesus,

it is so easy

for us to start

with faith in

Jesus.

We look at

where we are,

where we're at,

what God has

done for us, and

it seems like a

pretty simple

choice to put our

trust in Jesus.

But it's easy to

move from that

faith in Jesus and

back into religion

and start having

confidence because of

what I do.

it's often a

subtle shift, but

it's so easy to

do it.

The longer and

longer you've been

a Christian, the

more that God has

worked in you and

changed you and

you've been in

church and you go

to youth group and

you go to read the

Bible and pray and

you're involved in

all these Christian

activities and you

hang around with

Christian people and

you kind of get

changed.

changed.

And you can start

looking down on

others.

Even just within

the church, you

can start looking

down on others.

It's so easy for

your shift to

happen from faith

back into who you

are and what you've

done for Jesus.

You start to think

maybe I'm not that

bad after all.

God must be

impressed with me.

And so you start

putting your trust

in religion.

And so the

question for us is,

are we totally

looking away from

ourselves?

When you see

yourself standing

before the King

Jesus, the Holy

Judge, what are

you going to look

to?

What are you

going to trust

in?

Let me say that

it would be

absolutely shocking

for us to

have read that

Bible passage and

not be terrified

by those four

words in the

middle of verse

14.

Terrified by

those four words

in the middle of

verse 14.

I tell you,

this man,

that is the

tax collector,

went down to

his house

justified.

And here are

the four words,

rather than

the other.

Rather than

the other.

The Pharisee,

the righteous

one, the one

thanking God

for his

righteousness,

righteousness,

was not

justified.

He was

condemned.

People who

trust in the

righteousness that

God has worked

in them for

the basis of

their acceptance

and acquittal

and justification

before God

do not go

down to their

house justified.

people who

really believe

that the

righteousness

that God

helps them

do in this

life is a

sufficient basis

for their

justification,

Jesus says,

will not

be justified

before God.

So,

Paul's,

this is very

serious.

Very

serious.

we are not

justified by

the righteousness

that Christ

works in

us,

but by the

righteousness

that Christ

is for

us.

Let me say

that again.

We are not

justified by

the righteousness

that Christ

works in

us,

but the

righteousness

that Christ

is for

us.

Me having

a reverent

in front

of my

name,

a theological

degree at

the end

of my

name,

and all

the works

that I

do in

between day

after day

after day

for God's

glory mean

deadly squat

for my

justification.

And if you

don't know what

deadly squat is,

it means

nothing.

And so I

plead with you

today on behalf

of Jesus that

for your

justification,

you do not

look to,

that you

do not

trust in

what God

has worked

out in

you.

Instead,

look to

and trust

in Christ

alone and

all that

God is

for you

in him.

2 Corinthians

5,

God made

him to be

seen who

knew no

sin,

so that in

him we

might become

the righteousness

of God.

And so hear

the words of

Jesus again,

everyone who

exalts

himself will

be humbled

and he

who humbles

himself will

be exalted.

Everyone who

ensuring

himself will

be humbled

and he

who humbles

himself will

be exalted.

Thank you.