Luke 18:9-14
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
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.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
I struggle with comparison; I can't help but try to figure out where I stand with everything. I look at salaries, education, church membership, and attendance. I look at vote totals, almost everything I can think of, and compare it to something similar. I know that about myself, and I am working on it. I am just being transparent about my personality quirk; sometimes, it comes in handy; I get nominated to be the treasurer or auditor of many organizations because of this instinct. I get called in to consult with organizations because they want to know what other organizations are doing in similar situations.
I am not the only one who thinks about comparison; I am just willing to say it out loud. We buy clothes, cars, and houses and then compare them. Oh, girl, where did you get that outfit from? How much did it cost? Was it on sale? What kind of extra features came in that new truck you just bought? What neighborhood do you live in again? Don't let there be some fellas around an open flame with some meat that needs to be cooked; we all compare people, places, and things. Comparison is not a bad thing all the time; sometimes, you need to compare things to teach people as well. That is why Jesus spoke in parables a lot, the kingdom of God is like a seed the man scatters on the ground but doesn't know if it grows or not, or the kingdom of God is like the mustard seed and if you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can move mountains.
Jesus is talking to Pharisees, religious leaders. This passage is part of a larger conversation about prayer. Jesus just finished telling the Pharisees about the parable of the persistent widow.
The thing about Jesus's parables is that the good guy is not who the people listening to the parable think it is. Jesus was talking to Pharisees, so they would expect the Pharisees to be the story's hero. The Pharisee in the parable is pompous when he says "other people," which literally "the rest of humanity" in Greek. The Pharisees thought he was the best in the world because he regularly attended church and tithed.
The tax collector has a bad reputation. Tax collectors in the Bible were not like IRS agents are today; they were independent business owners; who would collect taxes and give money to the Roman government. Because they were independent, they could collect more money than they had to give to the government and keep the rest. So, some collect enough taxes to get rich off the backs of the poor people in the area, and the people began to hate all the tax collectors, good or bad.
Pray consistently
Both people go to church and know they need to pray. You can't get away from this concept in Christianity, and prayer should be a regular task in your life. Not just blessing food or praying corporately at church, we should be praying before we make major decisions, we should be praying before we make minor decisions we should be praying at all times. The Bible says to pray without ceasing. I hear people complain about taking prayer out of school or other places as if that caused the decline of institutions. I submit to you that if prayer is in you, it should not matter if you get to make a big show out of it in public. They can take prayer out of the building but can't take it out of me.
Pray with determination
The tax collector went to the temple expecting his prayer to be answered, begging for it to be answered. His determination was so strong it bordered on desperation. If he didn't think God would answer his prayer, why even ask? The man asks because he expects an answer; God is not a man that he should lie nor the son of man that he should seek cause to repent. This man, this tax collector, came to the church looking for grace and mercy and expects to receive it.
Someone might think that the tax collector is not worthy; only God's assessment of righteousness matters.
Pray authentically
One of the reasons I believe Christianity gets a bad reputation in the world today is because Christians aren’t authentic. We act like we have it all together when we are truly broken on the inside.
This man said Lord have mercy on me,
The prayer may not be in public but in private
The subject and verb may not agree
They may not ask you to pray this prayer at a presidential inauguration.
Need heaven to move on my behalf
Lord, Have Mercy on Me
-Employers
-Employees
-Unemployed
You aren't big and bad by yourself; no matter where you are in life, you need the Lord's mercy.
Psalm 51:3 David said my sin is ever before me."
Humble. Self-emptying. Obedient. These are the qualities of Jesus Christ and his faithful followers, qualities that led to Christ's exaltation. Remember, said Jesus, "all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted" (Luke 18:14). The path to God's future includes serving others sacrificially, as we follow a Lord who "came not to be served but to serve" (Matthew 20:28).
The tax collector didn't care what anyone else thought
The tax collector was justified because he put his faith entirely in God, asking God to be merciful to him. He took an honest look at his past, regretted many of his actions, and asked God to forgive him.
Let your memory be your motivation
Let your past power your future
Isaiah 40:4-5
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Isaiah 40:28-31
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Late in the midnight hour, God is going to turn it around, it's going to work in your favor!
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