WHO WAS ACCEPTED AND JUSTIFIED BY GOD?

Luke 18:9-17 / Keywords 18:14

 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

18:9 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.”

The Little Children and Jesus

15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

1. Jesus told a parable to those who trust in their own righteousness and look down on others. In his prayer the Pharisee thanked God for not being like tax collectors and listed his moral credentials. He was proud of his devotion and religious practices. His prayer reveals his proud and self-righteous attitude. He thought that he had a better standing before God. However, before the holy God, his righteousness was like a filthy rag; he had something to boast about before people, but not before God. God did not justify him. No one can be accepted by God based on their own merits.

 

2. The tax collector would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” He recognized his unrighteousness and turned to God for mercy alone. Jesus said that it was the tax collector who went home justified before God. God forgives and exalts anyone who comes to him like this; he does not despise a broken and contrite heart (Ps 51:17). No one is righteous before God. However, when we come to God with a humble and repentant heart and welcome Jesus like a little child, we receive God’s mercy and can enter the kingdom of God.

 

Prayer Father, I come to you resting in Christ alone for my salvation, trusting that Jesus paid the penalty of my sins and was raised for my justification. Have mercy on me, a sinner.

One Word “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”