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.”
Read Luke 18:9-14 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
If you have ever been used as an illustration in someone’s sermon/presentation, or if you feel as though someone based their sermon on something you did or something you said, you are not alone.
Prior to studying this entry’s passage, I had not ever noticed verse 9, which sets up this entire teaching: “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable”.
I wonder if those in the audience did something that prompted Jesus to conclude this, or if this was simply another time when the Holy Spirit shared people’s thoughts with Jesus. We may never know, but we do know that this verse clearly sets up the theme and foundation for Jesus’ upcoming parable.
Jesus parable has two characters: one who represented a person who was overly confident in his righteousness, and one who was humble and who acknowledged his need for forgiveness.
The opening verse clearly draws a parallel between the confident people in the crowd and the confident man praying in the temple within the parable. Without saying it directly, Jesus pulls back the curtain on how God views our actions and what He thinks of our attitude.
When I read this verse, the idea of “confidence” challenges me. I don’t think confidence in itself is the problem. After all, we can be confident in many positive things.
What I think is the root problem is these people’s attitude: they believe they have arrived and have achieved a “God-like” righteousness, and they look down on all those who haven’t made it here.
These two ideas stand in contrast with each other because God doesn’t “look down” – He steps down. The confident people in the crowd may have been really close to “God-like” standard, but without the love necessary in their lives to step down to help those in need, they failed.
However, God’s goal for us is not to live to the standard. History has made it very clear that this is impossible for a sinful race. Instead, God sent Jesus to live that life for us, but that brings with it a second challenge – we must accept God’s gift by acknowledging that we need Jesus’ life to replace ours.
The second man who prayed – the one who humbled himself and asked God for forgiveness and help – received the approval He asked for.
This leads to Jesus’ big idea in verse 14: “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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