For our meditation tonight before the supper,
Scripture Reading
Luke chapter 18, our text is verses nine to 14, a text we have looked at before, one that I think bears often revisits. Luke chapter 18, verses nine to 14, I'll begin reading in verse nine. Also, he spoke this parable to some who trusted themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I possess. And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat 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 everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Amen. Well, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for your written word. We thank you for this wonderful parable and what it teaches us concerning the truth of self-righteousness or a condemnation of it, the corollary of despising others and a judgmental attitude. As well, we thank you for the fact that you are indeed merciful and that even publicans can find mercy and grace to be had in the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that His blood is precious and that it avails even to the foulest sinner.
So God, give us ears to hear and hearts to receive these things and guide us by the Holy Spirit. Forgive us now for all sin and all unrighteousness. And we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Introduction
Well, on Wednesday night, we looked at chapter 21 in our confession of faith, Christian liberty and liberty of conscience. And one of the things we noted is that the doctrine of justification by faith alone is sort of foundational to that principle. In other words, those justified freely by God's grace are to have that liberty secured for us by Jesus in the gospel of our salvation. But then we are protected from the machinations or the judgments of men.
It specifies there that God alone is Lord of the conscience, and therefore we are not to be subject to civil or ecclesiastical tyranny. Insofar as the civil government teaches us something contrary to the Word of God, or the ecclesiastical realm teaches us something other than the Word of God, then we need to resist that. And the foundation, as I said, is justification by faith alone in Jesus Christ. Well, that's not all necessarily taught here, but you certainly see a connection between self-righteousness, self-vindication, and despising others.
The things just seem to go hand in hand. This Pharisee is proud, he's arrogant, he's self-sufficient, and therefore he despises this publican, he despises this tax collector. As well, I think this sermon fits in well with what we heard this morning in our study in the Second London Confession, Brother Cam did a wonderful job there in chapter 11, theological or confessional treatment of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. So hopefully this will add to that or at least complement that for our edification as we come to the supper.
Well, as we look specifically at the passage,
The Reason for the Parable
I want to look first at the reason for the parable in verse 9. Secondly, the men in the parable in verses 10 to 13. And then finally, the point of the parable in verse 14 but notice first the reason for the parable there's a context and if you notice in chapter 18 at verse 1 then he spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart saying so he speaks that parable to endorse to command and to encourage constancy in prayer. And then dropping down to our text, we see that the context, probably one still somewhat connected to an attitude that is necessary in prayer vis-a-vis humility, but the particular occasion is that he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others.
And so there are two sins condemned by our Lord here. And as I said, they're typically inextricably connected. You usually don't have one without the other. And of course, the first sin is the sin of self-righteousness.
He trusted, or rather to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous. Not that they were the necessarily most holy people on the face of the earth, but before God, they were righteous. Before God, they were acceptable. Before God, they were in His favor.
They thought that by virtue of their status as Jews. They thought that by virtue of their status as circumcised. They thought that by virtue of their status as being religious leaders, perhaps. They thought that because of who they were, they were therefore accepted by God the Lord.
So
Self-Righteousness and Its Corollary
they trusted in themselves that they were righteous. They trusted in their pedigree. They trusted in their heritage. They trusted in their works.
They trusted in everything else other than our Lord Jesus Christ. You get a bit of a window to this in the book of Philippians. Philippians chapter three. The apostle there is condemning what he calls or what we call Judaizing.
And Judaizing was basically trying to make Gentile believers in Christ Jews. In other words, the Judaizers would come along and say, it's good that you believe that Jesus is Israel's Messiah. That's commendable. That's awesome.
That's great. But you also have to be circumcised. You also have to follow the Jewish calendar. You also have to take on the ceremonies of Moses.
So part of Paul's polemic in that particular section in Philippians 3, which by the way, Philippians isn't a polemic letter like Galatians, but rather in that particular section, he is polemic. He says, beware of dogs, beware of the mutilation, beware of those who are trying to add to the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. So Paul gets autobiographical there in Philippians chapter 3. In fact,
Paul's Autobiographical Contrast
why don't we turn to Philippians chapter 3? As I said, it's a good window into, or explanation of, what Jesus is condemning in the present passage. So notice in Philippians chapter 3, specifically at verse 1, For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation.
Dogs there are not canines. Dogs there are not your neighbor's pit bull. Dogs there are Judaizers. It was very commonplace for the Jews to look down upon the Gentiles, or the goi, as being dogs.
So in a turn of play, or turn of words, or turn of phrase, the apostle says it's the Judaizers who are the dogs that you ought to be on the lookout for. So beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, and then beware of the mutilation. He calls them that because of their emphasis upon and their insistence that Gentile believers get circumcised. This is something looming in the background of the New Testament documents.
You see it in full display in Acts chapter 15 at the Jerusalem Council. The Jews of that generation couldn't quite process the realization that Gentiles are coming to Israel's God through Israel's Messiah. And so when they insist upon circumcision, the apostle refers to them as mutilation. And then notice in verse three, for we are the circumcision.
What's he telling us there? It's not an external right that God is looking for. It's the internal heart condition, circumcision by God's grace of the heart, regeneration, the new birth, the reality that one now looks to Jesus Christ in faith. So we are the circumcision who worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Now here's where he gets autobiographical. Though I also might have confidence in the flesh. He at one time trusted in himself that he was righteous. And this is the reason why.
Notice in verse four, he goes on to say, if anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I am more so. Circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, concerning the law, a Pharisee. Concerning zeal, persecuting the church. Concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
So on paper, Paul looked like that righteous man. On paper, Paul looked like a man that was accepted by God. On paper, everything was jot and tittle down the line for the apostle. But as he is refuting this idea of Judaizing, he then launches into this declaration of justification by faith alone.
Verse seven, but what things were gained to me. All that stuff he's just piled up in terms of his religious resume. I have counted loss for Christ, yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him. not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." I think that provides for us a good lens by which to interpret these persons in Luke 18 verse 9. Also, he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous.
As far as they were concerned, everything was okay. But as I mentioned earlier, note the corollary that oftentimes accompanies that self-righteousness. It says, and despised others. Now Jesus' point in the parable toward the end is that statement he uses on other occasions.
He uses it in Matthew 23. He uses it in Luke 14, 11. We see it in Mary's prayer in Luke 1, 51 and 52. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
So he is portraying for us this man who is filled with pride. He is portraying for us this man who's filled with pride that leads him to trust in his own righteousness, that leads him then to despise others because they don't quite measure up. They don't meet the grade. They are just subferior.
They're not as good as he is. And so that's the particular context, and the sin, or rather the meaning of despising, to show by one's attitude or manner of treatment that an entity has no merit or worth or disdain that person. You get that in the parable. These two men are praying there.
The Pharisee is congratulating himself, and all the while he is despising the publican who can't even look up into heaven, but he beats his breast and says, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. So that's the reason, the broader context, probably the idea of humility in prayer, coupled with constancy in prayer in Luke 18, 1 to 8. But then
The Men in the Parable
that brings us to the men in the parable. We've already got it. Pharisee, the hero. No, not to us.
Let me just make sure I make that qualification. When I say Pharisee, if I was doing a word association with you, and don't worry, we're not going to do that. But if I did, you probably wouldn't think hero. You would think wretch.
You would think legalist. You would think self-righteous. You would think a despiser of others. You already know the story.
You already know the overarching flow of the New Testament and its indictment of the Pharisees. But in terms of the original context, in terms of the original audience, in terms not only of those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, but any others that happened to be within earshot of our Lord. As far as the rank and file of Israel in the first century, they looked at these men as being heroic. They looked at these men as the leadership.
They looked at these men as the ones that set the pattern or example for others to follow. So the Pharisee in the story is the hero. The publican is the hated one. Now, when we get to publican, it's simply tax collectors.
Now, remember in the New Testament documents, in the Gospels of our Lord Jesus, we learn that tax collectors collaborated with Gentiles. They handled currency with pagan inscriptions and iconography. They took money from fellow Jews. They were often greedy and corrupt.
They are linked with sinners. They are linked with heathen. They are linked with Gentiles, harlots, extortioners, unjust, and adulterers. That's what this parable sets forth.
So again, original audience. We know he's not the hero in the story. Jesus is the hero in the story, but As far as it's concerning us, we think of that man as the good one. He went home justified.
But again, original context. They'd hear Pharisee, they would think hero. They would hear publican, they would think hated one. Nobody likes a tax collector.
There's nothing different in the first century from the 21st century. If CRA knocks on your front door, do you welcome him in, make him a cup of coffee or tea? No, you keep him on your porch no matter how cold it is and maybe shimmy him out so he's not under the overhang so that he can get snowed on or rained on. We don't like tax collectors, do we?
They're not our friends. All they represent are takers of our money. So they're not the kinds of people that you would invite over for a nice cup of tea. So the two men in the parable.
Similarities Between the Two Men
Secondly, there are similarities. Notice that both of these men went to the temple to pray, which I think indicates that going to the temple to pray is no sure indicator of saving grace in the heart. Just because you do the right things doesn't necessarily mean you have the right heart. So in terms of these men, the Pharisee was as far from God as a man could possibly be.
Even though he trusted in himself that he was righteous, even though he prayed in great flowery prose about what a great fellow he was, he was nevertheless a stranger to the grace of God Most High. So never get the idea that, well, I go to church, I tithe, I show up once in a while, I carry my Bible, I engage in these sorts of things. Those are evidences true of a lively faith, but they're not necessarily the case. there is the case where all that glitters is not gold. And with this Pharisee, that is one of the things.
So they both went to the temple, they both prayed, neither of which are sure indicators of saving grace in the heart of a man.
Differences Between the Two Men
Now let's look thirdly at their differences.
The Pharisee: Manner and Prayer
Note first the Pharisee in verses 11 and 12, and his manner and his prayer. his manner and his prayer. Notice in verse 11, it's interesting the way Jesus phrases this. Verse 11, the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, right? I know that we pray by ourselves and obviously in the presence of ourselves, but our hope is that that prayer transcends ourselves and finds its way to God Most High.
Perhaps the Lord Jesus is telling us that whatever this man is doing, he's not praying to God Almighty. Whatever this man thinks he's doing by way of religious observance, whatever pietism he is exercising, it's hollow, it's a sham, it's fake, it's not the real deal. He prayed thus with himself. This was his audience, this was his sort of pep rally, this was his sort of a time to shine as a great specimen of religious observance.
And then notice his prayer. First of all, he thanks God for what he was not. I'm not necessarily against that in all instances. It's good to thank God that you're not Joseph Stalin.
It's good to thank God that you're not Paul Pott. It's good to thank God that you're not something a whole lot worse than you could be practically. But that's not the spirit of his prayer. Remember, this is a man who trusted in himself.
This is a man who thought that his righteousness was secure. This was a man who banked on his acceptance with God via his own works and via his own doings. So notice what he says specifically in verse 11. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.
Real champ there, isn't he? Great love and charity for somebody that's a miserable sinner right next to you. You don't even try to hide that? You don't even try to not look like you're despising others?
You don't even try to mask your self-righteousness and your judgmentalism? No, he doesn't. As far as he's concerned, he's a wonderful human being because of all the things that he doesn't do. He's got an external righteousness that's blameless as far as others are concerned.
It's certainly blameless as far as he himself is concerned. Notice, not like other men, I'm not an extortioner, I'm not unjust, I'm not an adulterer, and I'm certainly not like this tax collector. Brethren, if this is the posture, the attitude, or the disposition that we imbibe in prayer, we need our hearts checked. We need to come back to Luke 18, 9-14, and ask that very real and pertinent question, am I trusting in myself that I'm righteous, or am I trusting in an alien righteousness, even the Lord Jesus Christ?
That language of Philippians 3, verse 9. being found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that righteousness that is imputed to me and received by faith alone. That's the only righteousness that garners acceptance with God Almighty. And then notice, he doesn't stop for praising himself for what he was not, but then he goes on to boast in what he was. So not only am I not this kind of a wretch, but I'm actually this kind of a positive specimen of a human being.
Notice in verse 12, I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I possess. Does he expect God to congratulate him on high? Does he expect God to start clapping his spirit hands and affirming him because of his greatness and because of his loyalty and because of his covenantal faithfulness?
Is that what this man is looking for? Is he looking to be extolled by God? This man is a wretch, and this man is not alone. Turn back to the Gospel of Matthew.
Matthew chapter 7. A similar disposition, but a different context. Matthew chapter 7, a passage that I think is oftentimes turned right up on its head. Notice in Matthew 7 at verse 21, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my father in heaven.
Now, brethren, I'm not going to spend a lot of time here, but the will of the Father in heaven is first and foremost to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. John 6, 40. This is the will of my Father, that you believe in Him whom He sent. So notice, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven.
The fact that they're saying, Lord, Lord, means it's some semblance of a Christian context. It's not dealing with Muslims. It's not dealing with Hindus. It's not dealing with atheists.
He's dealing with persons who feel the familiarity at the throne of judgment to address the Lord Christ as Lord, Lord. We might think, well that's a good thing, yeah, but let's continue on. Verse 22, Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name? Where is their hope?
Where is their foundation? Where is the basis upon which they hope to be accepted into the presence of God Most High? It's not on the Lord Lord. It's not on doing the will of the Father, which is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's on what they did, what they accomplished, what works they performed. That's the specifics. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name? Notice that in verse 23, Jesus does not say, nope, you never did that.
You're liars, you're deceivers, and for that, off to the pit with you. That's not what goes on here. They had, as far as we can tell, done these things. Judas was one of the apostles.
Judas went out on a preaching tour. Judas came back with the others and said, well, you know, we saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning. We saw demons cast out. We saw persons come into the kingdom.
So just again, because you can do certain things doesn't necessarily mean there is saving grace in your heart. Notice in verse 23, and then I will declare to them, I never knew you. It's not like I knew you at one time and then I stopped knowing you. No, I never knew you.
Why? Or the disposition, depart from me you who practice lawlessness. They were sinners in need of faith in Jesus Christ. They were sinners in need of His blood and His righteousness.
They did not have that. They had no foundation. They had no basis. They had no reason for acceptance other than their own works.
And that's what's being condemned here as well in Luke chapter 18. Again, if you were the original context and you heard this man glowing in his report about himself on what he wasn't and what he had done, you'd say, yeah, he's fit, appropriate, and ready to go. He's obviously accepted by God. He's obviously got that righteousness necessary to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Notice, I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I possess. It is here that his self-righteousness becomes apparent. His tone is boastful.
His tone is self-congratulatory. His tone is indicative of the fact that he banked his standing with God on what he wasn't and what he did. There is a fundamental problem with that reality. Our status, our standing with God is based on what Christ did, what Christ didn't do, how Christ obeyed the law in terms of his active obedience, how Christ went to the cross for us in terms of his passive obedience.
He is more engaged in a period or a time of self-admiration than he is of worshiping and adoring and glorifying God Most High. Calvin says, we must not swell with confidence as if we had satisfied God. And next, we must not look down with disdainful contempt upon our brethren. So these two things are linked together.
He trusted himself and he's righteous, and then he despises others.
The Publican: Manner and Prayer
And that brings us to the publican. Same thing, his manner and his prayer. Note the manner in verse 13. The tax collector standing afar off would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven.
He stands far off and he doesn't raise his eyes to heaven because he's got nothing to admire in himself. There is nothing in him that deserves congratulations. There is nothing in him that warrants acceptance with God. In this, he's correct.
In this, he's absolutely spot on. Well, in all of what he does, he is. But with reference to the contrast, the one proud, praying thus with himself, thank you that I'm not this, Thank you that I do this. God, just go ahead and congratulate me now.
All of my fellows here, give me one of these and tell me what a great guy I am. The Pharisee, or rather the publican is humble. The publican is broken. The publican has the contrite heart that we read of there in the prophet Isaiah in chapter 66.
The prophet Isaiah in chapter 57 speaks of the Lord Most High as being the high and the lofty one, the one who inhabits eternity, but the one who looks upon the humble and the contrite in heart. And so this man is in a stark difference from the Pharisee. Notice he acknowledges, in terms of his prayer now, notice that he acknowledges what the Pharisee doesn't. He acknowledges that he's a sinner.
And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but he beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner." Now, in the New King James here, it translates it, a sinner. It's more proper to translate it as the sinner. As far as he's concerned, he's the only one before God right now. He's not suggesting he's the sole individual that occupies the face of the earth.
But when it comes to prayer, unlike the Pharisee, who's praying thus with himself, trying to evoke congratulations from God and an audience, the publican is just the opposite. It's him and God. And he knows he can't fake it. He knows he can't pull a fast one.
He knows he can't deceive. He knows that he can't enter in and plead his case. He knows he can't say, well, I haven't been this. Well, you actually are a publicist.
I have done this. Nope, you're a publican. You take money from other people. You traffic with the Gentiles.
You engage in those things that are lawless and wretched and rebellious. He knows all that. He's got nothing. He can't even look up into heaven.
All he can do is beat his breast and say, God be merciful to me, the sinner. Ryle says, the publican did not speak for his neighbors, but himself. Vagueness and generality are the great defects of most men's religion. Not so with the publican.
I am a sinner. Gill says this is his prayer, a short but a very full one, and greatly different from that of the Pharisee, in which is a confession that he was a sinner, a sinner in Adam, who had derived a sinful nature from him, being conceived and born in sin, and a sinner by practice, having committed many actual transgressions, attended with aggravating circumstances, a guilty and filthy sinner, a notorious one, deserving of the wrath of God and the lowest hell. He speaks of himself as if he was the only sinner in the world, at least as if there was none like him." You just hear the opponents of Christianity read John Gill and say, well, that's a pretty harsh indictment of that poor fellow. That poor fellow would absolutely 100% endorse that indictment.
And he would tell John Gill, you've only scratched the surface. You don't know how filthy and notorious and how wicked and how evil I am. See, there's this fundamental principle in our religion. If you don't see sin for what it is, you'll never see the Savior for who He is.
If you don't understand the preach, or the breach, or the problem, or the chasm, you'll never appreciate the bridge and the remedy. If you have low views of sin, you're going to have low views of the Savior. And interestingly, low views of the law also add to low views of sin and the Savior. Again, an inextricable link between the three.
So he acknowledges what the Pharisee does not. He is a sinner. He acknowledges, secondly, what the Pharisee does not. He stands in need of mercy.
He's not praying, God be merciful to me, set me on a better course, help me to be a better guy, to be a better me, to be a more faithful publican. No, I just need mercy. I just need grace. I just need forgiveness.
I just need that because I'm such a wretch, because I'm such the sinner. As well, he acknowledges what the Pharisee does not, that God is merciful. The fact that he prays, God be merciful to me, the sinner, indicates more of a familiarity with the Old Testament than the Pharisee had. Remember the prophet Micah celebrates the glory of God Most High who pardons iniquity.
Remember David counts the man blessed whose sin is not imputed to him in Psalm 32. David rejoices in the forgiveness of God in Psalm 51. David evokes the forgiveness of God in 2 Samuel 11 and 12. I have sinned against the Lord.
Why does he say that? because he knows there's mercy with God. The Pharisee comes into the front door, parading his own righteousness and his own accomplishments. The publican, rather, can't even look up into heaven. He beats his breast and says, God, be merciful to me, the sinner.
He reflects more of a knowledge of theology proper in terms of the perfections of God than does the Pharisee. He casts himself upon mercy. And that is the last point by which we see the difference. He acknowledges that there is mercy for him in Christ.
When he says, God be merciful to me, literally, it's God be propitious to me. You've probably heard the definition of propitiation. You see it in the book of Romans chapter three. You see it in Hebrews as well.
The idea of propitiation, 1 John also. Propitiation presupposes God's wrath. God is angry with the wicked every day, Psalm 711. God hates the wicked.
Psalm 5 verse 5. Well, when you start to figure out that you're the wicked, when you start to figure out that you're the sinner, when you start to figure out that you've missed the mark, well, then that comes into sharp relief. Well, then that must mean he hates me. Yes, that's precisely what it means.
But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. The Pharisee had no concept. The Pharisee in his proud self-righteousness never saw his need for mercy. The publican, however, who had no self-righteousness, who had nothing to congratulate, who had nothing to admire, has nothing other than mercy to cast himself upon.
Again, a reason why we preach against sin. Not so that we can make everybody feel bad. That's not the primary emphasis in preaching against sin. Well, you know, I spent 20 minutes preaching against sin and I really felt bad.
Well, you know what? That's sometimes the necessary remedy to feeling good. And the good is the remedy that comes as a result of God's sovereign mercy and grace and kindness and pardon through our Lord Jesus Christ. The differences between these two men could not be more stark.
This idea of propitiation, to cause to be favorably inclined or disposed, propitiate or conciliate. So wrath is targeted against the unbeliever. Propitiation speaks of the aversion of that wrath. Actually, it's not just the aversion or sending it away, but as we learn in Romans chapter 3, Christ was the propitiation.
In other words, he satisfied divine justice in his work on the cross. That's why we eat this bread and we drink this cup. He took the wrath of God in himself that was owing to us. He satisfied that.
He took the punishment. He received it in our place. This is what the prophet says in Isaiah 53. It pleased the Lord to bruise him.
It pleased the Lord to crush him. Why? Because the Lord is vindictive as a father and engages in cosmic child abuse? No, because that's the means by which He saves His people from their sins.
It was orchestrated by God. It was typified in the Old Testament. That ram caught in the thicket prefigured Christ on the cross. We see this all throughout the Bible.
The maxim of Hebrews 9.22, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. And so this man, this publican, understands himself to be the sinner. As a result of him being the sinner, he understands that he's under God's wrath. So what's his hope?
It's not what I am not and what I do, but his hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. He would say, I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but I wholly lean on Jesus' name. Or to borrow from another hymn writer, he'd say, foul I to the fountain fly, wash me, Savior, or I die. Or he'd say, nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.
There's no hope without Christ. And that's what the publican has here. He may not know Trinitarian theology to the degree of Nicaea. He may not know all of the jots and tittles about blood atonement through the Lamb of God.
But this much he does know, God is a just God, but God as well is a merciful God. And he is going to throw himself upon the mercy of that God and hope for the best. And then that brings us to the point of the parable.
The Point of the Parable
Note the conclusion in the first part of the verse with reference to the publican. With reference to the publican, I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other." Now, justified here means to justify, to declare it righteous. It's a perfect tense which looks at the completed state. It's the state of having been declared to be right.
It's also called a theological passive. That means he didn't justify himself. It wasn't his what he wasn't, and it wasn't his what he did, but it was rather the righteousness of another. And so when it's said of Jesus, I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, that's what's in view.
Justification: Forensic and by Imputation
He now has acceptance with God. That's legal and forensic. It's not automatically transformed here. Transformation comes, moral character development comes in sanctification.
Jesus is talking about the doctrine of justification. He is regarded as not having sin, not because he didn't sin, but because of the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. This man knew experientially what the divines at Westminster would pan in their shorter catechism. What is justification?
Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to him, received by faith." So again, this man didn't know Westminster shorted Catechism 33 because it hadn't been written, but he certainly knew it in his own heart. The fact that he went to his house justified. He found acceptance with God, not based on his works, not based on what he wasn't, but based on the works and what he wasn't ofness of the other, the Lord Jesus Christ. And then I would suggest, before we leave the publican, he would have surprised those people.
Remember, if the Pharisee was the hero in the story, and the publican was the hated one, for Jesus to say what Jesus says in 14a, you probably would have seen a lot of jaw dropping. Huh? What? Hmm?
That would not fly in the original context. They would not say, oh, I knew that's where the story was going. I knew it, and I was rooting for him. This would have scandalized them, just like the cross scandalizes the Jews.
It's foolishness to the Greeks. Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 1. Why? Because Jews want signs.
Greeks want wisdom. But we preach Christ and Him crucified. It's a stumbling block or a scandal or a scandaling block to the Jews. It is something that is offensive to self-righteous Pharisees who think that based on what they are not and based on what they do, they have acceptance with God.
It's always offensive to self-righteousness when it's confronted with the fact that it's not that righteous. Have you ever had to rebuke anybody or reprove anybody in their sin? How does that usually go? Yeah, you're right.
God be merciful to me, the sinner. Usually, we get defensive and I'm not saying, I know this. I wish I didn't, but experientially, I know this. Honey, what do you mean?
I'm great. I don't do this and I always do that. I'm not as bad as the other guys in church. I don't think I ever say that because I don't think that.
I think I am badder than the other guys in church. Not badder, but badder. There's that defensive reflex. There's that offense that comes, that scandal when you're told that you're not great, you're not righteous.
That's one of the difficulties in preaching the gospel to sinners. I want to tell you about Jesus. You come to him and you'll have heaven and eternal life. Great, sign me up.
Well, we first have to talk about this problem that you have. What problem? I'm good. I'm great.
No, you're filthy. Again, how does that usually go? Thank you. I'm so glad for your assessment of my spiritual being before the Most High.
It's usually not how sinners respond. Sinners don't like that. That's why the gospel is an offense. That's why the gospel does divide.
That's why the gospel sends people screaming away, because they want what they want, but they want it on their terms. Lord, Lord, did we not? What happens in that sort of an arrangement? There's self-congratulations.
But the gospel is designed to strip out the self-congratulations. What does Paul say in Romans 4? Does Abraham have cause to boast not before God? He was justified by faith, not by his words, not something to be congratulated for.
So when we move to the Pharisee, we know that he was not justified as Jesus tells us. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. He goes back to his house condemned. We saw, we learned this morning, the opposite of justification is condemnation.
That's why Paul says in Romans chapter 8, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Justification is the forgiveness of sins and the imputation of righteousness and thus no condemnation. Condemnation is when we don't have that justification. Condemnation is our just liability to the wrath and fury and judgment of God.
And so the Pharisee goes home under condemnation. As well, he was rejected and he received the wrath of God, not because of what he wasn't or not because of what he did, but because he was indeed a sinner. That's the final point. It's all about absolute obedience to the law of God or the absolute obedience of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone.
In fact, Fisher says that. He says, so that if you desire to be justified before God, you must either bring to Him. Now listen, there's only one of two ways. Mormonism?
Wrong. Jehovah's Witness? Wrong. Hinduism?
Wrong. Islam? Wrong. Roman Catholic doctrine of justification?
Wrong. You bigots! You prejudice! You haters!
Brethren, in light of John 14, 6, we disavow our Lord when we don't adopt that attitude of exclusivity relative to acceptance with God. We're not supposed to do it as arrogant people. We're not supposed to do it in a vindictive manner. We're not supposed to be the sorts of judgmental people that we're reading about in this particular passage.
But to try and tell a sinner or to tell a sinner that there's a couple of different ways to make it to heaven, no. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." It is just that simple. So back to Fisher.
It's either you obey perpetually, perfectly, exactly, entirely the law of God, or you look to the one who did that. So that if you desire to be justified before God, you must either bring to him a perfect righteousness of your own and holy renounce Christ or else you must bring the perfect righteousness of Christ and wholly renounce your own. Christ Jesus will either be a whole Savior or no Savior. He will either save you alone or not save you at all.
You say, well, Fisher, that seems to be a bit overboard. Turn to the book of Galatians, a passage that we did look at this morning in our study in the Confession. Galatians chapter 2. The apostle waxes eloquent concerning the doctrine of justification by faith alone.
You'll see that very specifically in verse 16, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law. For by the works of the law, no flesh shall be justified. Could he make it any plainer?
Could he condemn the approach that seems to want to mingle works and faith? No, Paul is as clear as Paul can be. Notice his statement in verse 20. He says, I have been crucified with Christ.
It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. I think we take that out of its context and put it into the category of sanctification. I think Paul's still dealing with justification here.
It's a true thing in terms of sanctification. Christ lives in me. The Spirit indwells me. I seek by God's grace to be more and more conformed to his image.
Paul is dealing with justification. And what is the very foundation of that justification? It is verse 20. I have been crucified with Christ.
This is the language of Romans 6, 1-4. Before Paul gets to sanctification in 5 and following, he begins with justification, pictured by the baptistry. You died. You were buried.
You've been raised again. That's the foundation of your acceptance with God. That's what he's celebrating in verse 20. I have been crucified with Christ.
There is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. In the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Now, if you thought Fisher was overboard, listen to Paul in Galatians 2.21, So this attempt to mingle faith plus works means neither. It's either all of you in terms of actual obedience, 100% to God's revealed law, or it's all of Christ in terms of 100% obedience to all of God's law.
That's what Paul says. That's what the emphasis is in justification by faith alone. And dare I say, it's a great emphasis, brethren. Do you hear what's being emphasized?
It's not you plus. It's the plus. It's not rather Christ plus. It's Christ alone.
Justification is by faith alone. That means it's not up to us. Now, again, sanctification, necessary category, follows consequentially on justification, the Spirit's work in us. based on Christ's work for us in justification. So when it comes to this reality, justification by faith alone is the only ground of comfort.
It's the only ground of stability. It's the only ground of peace. Again, a passage that Cam pointed us to, Romans 5.1. After discoursing on the nature of justification by faith, he starts 5.1 by saying, therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God.
If you're justified by faith plus your works, that peace is gonna go like this, contingent upon your own works. You've had a bad day, no peace for you. You've had a good day, peace for you. But if you've had a good day and you derive peace from that, guess who gets the credit?
You and your good day. The glory of the gospel is that Christ came to save us from our sins. He'll either be a whole Savior or no Savior. Machen comments on Galatians 2.21.
He says this verse is the key verse of the epistle to the Galatians. Now, Machen died, I think it was January 31st, whatever the year was, 30s, 40s, something like that, in a motel room in Bismarck, North Dakota. I can't possibly think of anything more miserable than that, but that's just how it went. And he sent a telegram, I think it was to Ned Stonehouse, one of his biographers.
You know what the telegram said? So thankful for the active obedience of Jesus Christ. No hope without it. Those are some fine last words, brethren.
Those are some fine last words. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. So Machen understood something about the beauty and the excellency and the glory of the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ received by faith alone. That's not negating that he didn't rejoice in the blood atonement and the forgiveness of sins.
But he says this verse is the key verse of the epistle to the Galatians. It expresses the central thought of the epistle. The Judaizers attempted to supplement the saving work of Christ by the merit of their own obedience to the law. That, says Paul, is impossible.
Christ will do everything or nothing. Earn your salvation if your obedience to the law is perfect, or else trust wholly to Christ's completed work. You cannot do both. You cannot combine merit and grace if justification, even in the slightest measure, is through human merit.
Then Christ died in vain. That is what Paul says in Galatians 2.21. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes to the law, then Christ died in vain. Calvin says, if we do not renounce all other hopes and embrace Christ alone, we reject the grace of God.
Luther says, for whoever seeks righteousness apart from faith in Christ, whether it be through works or satisfactions or afflictions or the law of God, is nullifying the grace of God and despising the death of Christ, even though he may speak otherwise with his mouth. The proof is in the pudding. If you're trying to mingle your works with Christ's finished work, you've entered into the Galatian heresy. You've entered into that construct that Rome has set forth, where you remove the distinction between justification and sanctification and make it one big glob.
It's not only up to Christ, but it's up to you. And if you have a good day, you congratulate yourself. That's the way we treat the supper sometimes. I've had a good week.
It's been a pretty good two weeks. Read my Bible. I'm all caught up on McShane. That leap year day helped me.
There was no 29th this year, so perhaps you're a day ahead. Unless you took a day off. You should be a day ahead. I've checked all my boxes.
I'm right up on my Bible reading. I've had some good prayer. Okay, I'll take tonight. Brethren, this isn't a reward for good behavior.
This is a means of grace in which we remember the doing and the dying and the rising of the Savior. Don't be the Pharisee. Don't trust in yourself. Don't look to your accomplishments.
Don't look to your achievements. Don't look to what you're not. I was being somewhat cheeky earlier. Thank God that I'm not Joseph Stalin.
Again, there is a degree of truth to that. But when it comes to this idea of acceptance with God, it's by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. One more quote from John Murray that I think sets forth the distinction well. He says, justification by works always finds its ground in that which the person is and does.
Thank you, Lord, that I'm not like other men. Thank you, Lord, that I engage in all these wonderful things. Justification by works always finds its ground in that which the person is and does. It is always oriented to consider a consideration of virtue attaching to the person justified.
The specific quality of faith is trust and commitment to another. It is essentially extraspective. I love that word. Introspective is when we look in ourselves.
That's what the self-righteous does. Extrospective means we look out, we look up, we look to the redeemer of sinners. And in that respect is the diametric opposite of works. Faith is self-renouncing.
Works are self-congratulatory. Faith looks to what God does. Works have respect to what we are. It is this antithesis of principle that enables the apostle to base the complete exclusion of works upon the principle of faith." And that's his commentary on Romans 3, 27 to 31, a very wonderful passage of Holy Scripture that shows these things in great and vivid detail, where we learn that God is both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
In Romans chapter 4, God justifies the ungodly.
Application: The Ground of the Supper
So again, this is not a reward for good behavior. This is not a time for self-congratulations or self-admiration. This is a time to rejoice that when by grace you saw your sin, you beat your breast, and you said, God be merciful to me, the sinner, and you went home to your house justified. That's why we eat this bread.
That's why we drink this cup. That's why collectively, corporately, we proclaim the Lord's death till he comes, because that is the ground of our acceptance with God. It is faith in Jesus Christ. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father in heaven, we thank you for this parable, though brief, it does teach us so many things. And God, I pray that you would cause us to reflect upon these things, reflect upon the the manner and the prayer of the Pharisee and to guard our hearts against that kind of a mindset. Perhaps it even wells up in us now to judge him. Say, well, I'm not that guy.
Lord, I pray that we would be faithful, that we would be upright, that we would be holy, that we would be governed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord, help us never to bank our acceptance with you on those things, but to always see that it's Christ alone, it's his righteousness, it's his blood by which we stand. And in this we rejoice, we give glory and praise and honor to you, And we trust that in the proclamation of the gospel, sinners all over this earth can come to you through the Son, confessing Him as Lord and Savior. And we pray in Jesus' name.
Amen. Well, you can turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 26 as we move now to the Supper. Matthew's gospel chapter 26.