The Pharisee and Me: A Challenge of Grace
The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14) is a constant source of both comfort and challenge in my walk with God. Jesus tells the story:
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 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. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
“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.’
“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 Comfort of Grace
This comforts me because I often feel like the tax collector. Tax collectors were traitors; sell-outs to the Roman Empire. They would collect money from their neighbors in Israel, often adding a little for themselves, and pass that money on to the occupying army. They are self-motivated, prioritizing self and safety over God and country.
While I’ve never been a traitor at that level, in dozens of smaller ways I put my own agenda over God’s and of the people around me. I don’t love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I don’t love my neighbor as myself.
Most days, my prayers lack the self-assuredness of the Pharisee. As David says in Psalm 51: "my sin is always before me" (v. 3). I approach God with humility, grateful for His grace.
Imagine the tax collector sneering at the Pharisee, thinking, "God loves me more!" No! He came broken and desperate, not seeking religious one-upmanship.
The Transformation of Grace
In today’s church world, the pendulum swung away from self-righteous, holier-than-thou pastors and pious preaching. Many people value a person who can be transparent and honest while preaching and praying. There are times, deep down, I quietly thank God that I’m not like those other pastors. The ones who water down theology. The ones who hide behind fake accents and flowery words.
As one mentor put it, I can be a pharisee about the Pharisees. Legalistically judging legalistic people.
As much as I need God’s grace to accept me, I need it to transform me. The grace that doesn’t look down its nose at me can become the grace that keeps me from looking down my nose at others.
As we receive God's grace, may it transform us. As Jesus taught, let us pray, "Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us" (Matthew 6:12).
With You;
Pastor Tim
