The
Eleventh Sunday after Trinity.
The
Collect.
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O
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GOD, who declarest thy
almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity; Mercifully grant unto us such
a measure of thy grace, that we, running the way of thy commandments, may
obtain thy gracious promises, and be made partakers of thy heavenly treasure;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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B
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rethern, I declare unto you the gospel
which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you,
unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that
which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the
scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures: and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the
twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom
the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After
that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was
seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles,
that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of
God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed
upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not
I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they,
so we preach, and so ye believed.” (1 Corinthians xv. 1)
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J
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esus spake this parable unto
certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised
others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the
other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank
thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even
as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I
possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his
eyes unto heaven, but smote upon 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 every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted. (St. Luke xviii. 9)
Once more, the Prayer of Collect calls us to a dependence upon mercy and grace
rather than a reliance on the work of our own hands. For it is by grace that we
are saved and not of our works. The Epistle of the Day complements both the
Prayer of Collect and the Gospel reading in its revelation of grace as being
the sole agent of labor in the ministry of Paul, and of all who call upon the
Name of the Lord.
I have preached and written often on the Gospel passage from Luke 18 - of the
Pharisee and the publican. But with each visit to this account of Christ, my
heart is stirred in new and mysterious ways in seeing its beauty and truth.
This parable was spoken in the closing days of our Lord’s earthly ministry. The
lesson Jesus teaches is one that is hard for man to grasp when viewed through
the eyes of the flesh. If we can grasp the point of this parable, it must be
through the eyes of the Spirit and of the humble heart. The purpose of the
account is presented in its opening line: “And he spake this parable
unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised
others.” Do any here trust that they are righteous? If so, we are
not unlike the hypocritical Pharisee about whom Christ speaks. Before we can
ever be saved, we must first recognize that we are hopelessly lost and unable
to save ourselves – it is upon the Mercy Seat of God that we must cast our
appeal for deliverance. If we believe that the Scriptures are true – and we
MUST – there is none righteous. “There is none righteous, no, not one:
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are
all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none
that doeth good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10-12) While it is true that
none may enter heaven under the condemnation of sin, it is also true that God
has provided a means whereby we may be accounted righteous – that is through
the redeeming and atoning blood of Jesus Christ! The PRIDEFUL will be the most
difficult to understand that they can never earn their salvation by doing good
works since even GOOD WORKS are sin to the unsaved.
All who do not know Christ are truly walking dead, or, as Boris Karloff would
claim - ZOMBIES! Have you ever been dead and required resuscitation? Have
you been dead and brought back to the land of the living? If you know Christ as
your Lord and Savior, surely, you were once dead and are now made alive. Read
these verses from Ephesians 2: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead
in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that
now worketh in the children of disobedience.” (Eph 2:1-2) and “But
God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are
saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:4-6) So now, the question I asked
earlier takes on a deeper and more significant meaning, doesn’t it? Have you,
friend, been dead and made alive? Pride makes it very hard to admit that we
were, indeed, dead in time past. A dead person can do nothing to help
themselves for they are DEAD. Only the revitalizing and life-giving Spirit of
God can make a DEAD person live! So we can do nothing to save ourselves – it is
a work of Grace through Faith!
So we come to the example of two men who have come to the Temple for the same
reason – to pray. “10 Two men went up
into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.”
These two men represent the whole of the professing church today. One of these
men is a fancy-dresser and a hypocrite. The other is a sin-laden and humble
publican. They both have come to the RIGHT place for the RIGHT purpose; but
there is a difference that separates the two through which you could drive
Napoleon’s army. To all appearance, the Pharisee is a devout and righteous
fellow, but there is a darkness about him that lies unrevealed to the observer
– it is a heart that is ‘full of itself’ and not of Christ! Each man prays, but
the prayers are vastly different. Let us read on:
“11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus
with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.” Though it is not
stated specifically, the impression is that the Pharisee stood with proud
posture. His words reveal truly his self-pride. “And
when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to
pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they
may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”
(Matt 6:5) Notice how the Pharisee prays: “prayed
thus with himself.” His prayer never got any higher than the pit
of the heart from which it sprang. He prayed just as many professed Christians
pray today – to be heard of men, not to be heard of God. And WHAT did the
Pharisee pray? “God, I thank thee.”
This is well and good. I believe if some of our prayers ended at the
salutation, they might be more Godly. But WHAT did the Pharisee thank God for?
“. . . I am not as other men are,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.” Oh,
I see! “Thank God that we are so very good and pious!” It would seem that God
needs to forgive nothing in this Pharisee since he is so righteous, but wait!
There is none righteous but God! So, regardless of his personal faith,
something, in the eyes of the Pharisee, makes this publican, and all men, less
righteous than himself. What is it? It is a smug religious self-righteousness
that has prevailed in the prideful hearts of lost men from Cain until our own
day – especially, our own day! NO one is as good as pretty, innocent,
little-old ME! Just look at my clean washen hands and noble posture.
Unfortunately to his own soul, the Pharisee is not finished damning himself in
the eyes of God for he continues: “I fast
twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.” Though
this may be true, it is a false righteousness. He is boasting of that false
righteousness. Jesus has clearly counseled on the ways in which we must fast: “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a
sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men
to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou
fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to
fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in
secret, shall reward thee openly.” (Matt 6:16-18) The moment we
boast of our righteous acts, they become egregious sins! This Pharisee, like
many of his fellows and Christians today, was a flaming hypocrite! But to those
standing by, it is perhaps true that he was regarded as more righteous in the
eyes of the crowd. Do you pray to the crowd or to God? Do you live unto Him, or
unto THEM? How long do you labor for the fancy words to impress the listening
crowd?
Now comes the prayer of a man who knew he was unworthy of the mercies of God –
just as none of us are worthy! He came with a very pitiful opinion of himself,
but a mighty high opinion of God! He is a man hated by the people for his
perceived collusion with Rome as a tax collector. He is considered, along with
Zacchaeus, as the scum of the earth, before Christ! He does not dare come so
near the Temple as the ‘honorable’ Pharisee – “And
the publican, standing afar off.” So he stands back at a
respectful distance – not daring to set his foot upon the Holy ground that he
believes surrounds the Temple. May I suggest that all approach God from a “far
off” place for it is not our natures to be Holy? We return as the Prodigal Son
– from a far country into the loving arms of the Father. This publican has
missed the ‘self-esteem-building classes’ of our modern public schools. He
esteems himself as nothing, and he regards God as the All-in-All! How can any
sinner approach God in any other way? Would that the Pharisee could have
followed the example of the publican!
What was the outward attitude of the publican? Was it prideful and boastful?
Would any person, raised up in the pride of their persons, come to God as does
this publican? Observe his approach and plaintive cry: “. . . . would not lift up so much as his eyes unto
heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”
He makes no DEMAND of God as is so common in the modern charismatic services.
He was in deep mourning for his sins. He was not good enough to look God in the
eye. His sins had become an intolerable burden from which he desperately sought
relief. Our Lord had this poor man, and you and me, in mind when He said: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and
I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am
meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my
yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-30)
Please note the object of the publican’s prayer as opposed to the prideful
boast of the Pharisee: “God be merciful to me
a sinner .” He asks for NOTHING more than MERCY and Grace!
Because he was humble and sincere, he uttered the very words which were
entirely in the Holy Will of the Lord to grant. A sincere prayer of repentance
is ALWAYS heard by the Lord and answered. It is the only prayer an unforgiven
sinner can utter that is heard in Heaven. “If I regard iniquity in my
heart, the Lord will not hear me.” (Psalms 66:18) Have you ever been so
overburdened by your sin that this prayer was evoked from a heart full of pain?
What is the effect of the two different prayers? Does God regard persons and
their social status in hearing prayer? What of the poor bum on skid row who,
slowly dying in his filth and misery suddenly sees a Light in Heaven and makes
humble and desperate appeal thereto? Will God save the wretched sinner in his
filth, and reject the dignified and proud boaster? See what Jesus says of the
two: “14 I tell you, this man went down
to his house justified rather than the other.” So much for pomp
and circumstance! The prayer of the Pharisee was heard where it was sent “with himself” but not by God. The
publican, being a desperate sinner, had his prayer heard and answered. He was
forgiven and justified! “….the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man
looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
(1 Sam 16:7) “. . . every one that
exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
Once more, we see that PRIDE is the mother of all sins.
Though there are many stark truths to inform us in this text, there is one that
stands out foremost – the proper means of prayer! We may pray
beautiful and sophisticated words, yet the pride that motivated them sink them
to the depths of the sea. We may pray with utter simplicity out of a sincere
heart, and these simple and unpolished jewels of prayer may rise to the ‘third
heaven.’ Attitude is everything. If the sentiment is not in the heart, it will
not find a genuine expression through the lips.
Are you resurrected in Christ today?
