RESIST THE PHARISEE’S FAITH, BUT

HAVE THE TAX COLLECTOR’S FAITH

Prayer: Almighty and merciful God, protect us from the false delusion that our worthiness in Your sight is something that our obedience and works contribute to; but give us the faith that truly makes us acceptable to You – faith in our Savior, Jesus, and the blood that He shed for us. Amen.

St. Luke 18:9-14 (v. 14). “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.”

Lord, this is Your Word and these are Your Words. Sanctify us by the truth. Your Word is truth. Amen.

Dear fellow redeemed in Christ:

The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector is memorable. It’s a “favorite” parable. It isn’t hard to understand either. The portrayal of the Pharisee here is the one that sticks with people; they associate “Pharisee” with thinking you’re better than others. That comes from this parable.

Jesus divides them into two categories. He says, “This man went down to his house justified rather than” – instead of – “the other.” The tax collector is justified – righteous in God’s sight – and the Pharisee isn’t.

“Justified” refers to what a judge does – to declare someone “just,” that is, righteous or innocent; or to declare him “unjust,” that is, unrighteous, guilty. Jesus pictures them standing before God as Judge. He’s saying if the Pharisee died at that moment, the gates of heaven would not open to let him in. And if the tax collector died, the gates of heaven were open to him.

Jesus’ point is that the difference between the two men isn’t in what they did. The difference is in what they believed. Jesus actually told this story because of wrong faith. It says: “He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others.”

So Jesus tells a story to illustrate the need to have the right faith. Being justified by faith alone doesn’t mean we’re against good works; the point is that we don’t rely on works to be worthy before God; we rely on His grace in Christ. That’s the faith you need. So the first thing to learn today is to:

1. Resist the Pharisee’s faith.

The people Jesus told this story to imagined that they were “justified” – righteous – but why? Because of something “in themselves.” They relied on themselves, what they had done, for their good standing before God. This is the faith that results not in salvation but condemnation.

Jesus tells this story to real people standing in front of Him, really going to a very real hell, if nothing changes. He’s speaking of them, thinking of them, not wanting them to go to hell. But not just them. As we hear this, He is speaking to us. We find ourselves trusting at least to some degree “in ourselves” to be righteous and able to stand before God on our own merits.

So Jesus looks pointedly at you and at me and says, knowingly: “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.’ ”

This Pharisee show what’s on his mind, what he counts on, what he thinks counts before God. He wasn’t an unlikable person. If you knew him, you’d use him as a good example for how people should behave.

He says he is not like the “extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or this tax collector.” In other words, he didn’t cheat anyone; he wasn’t mean or cruel to anyone; he wasn’t immoral, but everyone could see he didn’t have a foul mouth, or delight in or excuse “the lust of the eyes.” He also said, “I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.” He’s referring to the laws, which required less. He did twice as much as he had to. He was generous.

The problem isn’t the things the Pharisee did – but it’s what he counted on before God. He put his trust in these things, his so-called “good works.” That’s what his “faith” was in: himself. The problem is not the good works we do. It’s that we tend to put our trust in them. It’s necessary to do good works; God commands it. But it isn’t necessary for salvation. When it comes to how we’re saved, we must keep good works out, exclude them entirely.

Like the Pharisee, we think too much of what we do.

On one hand, at times we too think we are basically OK “in ourselves.” If this weren’t true, wouldn’t you feel the need to repent more often and more urgently? In this, we are products of the world we live in. It’s a world that says you should never feel bad, you should never feel guilty, I’m OK, you’re OK. This affects us too. We’re too unaware that God is judging us.

But we also think too much of what we do when we are burdened with guilt. You show that you count too much on what you do, when you’re drowning in guilt over sins, and you think: “How can God forgive me? I can’t forgive myself. I can’t face it.” It’s also common to think that you only have God’s blessing, or you’re a good Christian, only if you do everything right. In that case your faith in God’s love is conditioned on your obedience.

We also do this with each other. Either you demand too much of some-one – think of whom you can’t forgive – or when you’ve wronged someone you can’t bear to approach that person to apologize. It’s because we think too highly of ourselves and make everything depend on what we do.

We need the perspective of God’s judgment-throne. If you rely on what you do, or doubt your salvation because of sins – if you don’t completely exclude your good works from the question – Jesus must say of us what He said of the Pharisee about being “not justified,” not able to go into heaven.

Because, relying on works, even partially, in order to be in the right with God, is not the faith that saves you. It’s actually resisting Jesus as your Savior, despising God’s grace. Jesus would have to say that, but He doesn’t want to. He teaches this now to the Pharisee inside us so He won’t have to say it to you in the end, so you’ll repent of seeking confidence in self. We need to resist the Pharisee’s faith! Instead we want to:

2. Have the tax collector’s faith.

The fact is, saying this about being “not justified” is Jesus’ foreign or strange work. His proper work is that Jesus is the Judge who justifies –who declares guilty people innocent. It’s what He came to do. It’s what He loves to do! He still comes to do it, in baptism, in the words of absolution, and in the Lord’s Supper: He comes to judge guilty people innocent. He doesn’t ignore our guilt. He came to be the guilty person, to take your place in the guilty box, to take the punishment instead of you.

This is the true and right faith about justification. When Jesus died on the cross, all the guilty people in the world were declared innocent by God. Every single one. What did they do to bring it about? Nothing. Jesus did it all. His perfect life is set before God as the “new evidence” of the perfect innocence of each person, to count for everyone. The punishment you deserve is what Jesus took for Himself in His suffering, death and burial. When Jesus rose from the dead, it was the sign that God accepted this. The Bible says: “He was raised for our justification” (Ro 4:25). There’s that word again. When Jesus rose from death, God declared every guilty sinner, including you, innocent, justified – not by what you do, but for Jesus’ sake.

So Jesus is the Judge who already has justified – declared innocent – every sinner in the world. He brought it about in His own life, death, and resurrection. So why does Jesus say that of the two, only the tax collector went home justified after what happened in the temple that day?

Because although Jesus already justified every sinner, you only receive the benefit of it through faith: by repenting of your sins and believing the Gospel, that you are forgiven of all your sins for Jesus’ sake.

This is how the tax collector “went down to his house justified.” When he says, “God be merciful to me, a sinner,” literally he says: “God, be the atoning sacrifice for me.” That’s what Jesus was. His prayer was answered in Jesus. Also when he said, “to me, a sinner,” he really says “me, the sinner.” Not looking at other sinners and comparing, but like St. Paul saying he was the chief or worst of sinners and Jesus died for him. That’s the right way. That’s the right faith. To see nothing but your sins, then to see in Jesus nothing but the Savior who takes away all your sins.

You receive the blessing of what Jesus did, you become innocent before God, by faith. This is what the tax collector did. He believed the promise that God would forgive him. By faith alone, he “went down to his house justified” – judged innocent by God; the gate of heaven was open for him.

Learn to listen for this. This is the Gospel. Jesus is saying this to you, knowing you have a hard time holding onto this. He’s looking right at you, saying “this one” – and He is pointing at you – “goes home justified!”

How can that be, when you have so much sinful pride, when you are so good at counting on what you do, doubting your salvation because of your sins, and not very good at humbling yourself and depending only on what Christ has done for you? How is it possible for you to go home justified?

Well, the answer is that those questions are the voice of the Law, the voice of guilt and condemnation, speaking. No matter if you’ve heard that God forgives you, that accusing voice will keep coming back. The devil will make sure of it. Your Old Adam too doesn’t want to accept that it can’t add to your righteousness and achieve a good status before God yourself. So doubts creep in. That’s why you might sometimes say – even on the death bed – “I hope God forgives me. I hope I’ll be saved.” That uncertain yuck.

The hope God gives is always certain! What you need – the only solution – is to hear more Gospel. It’s the power of God for salvation. It’s also true. It silences the accusing voice. The Gospel is Jesus Himself saying He died for you, saying, “I forgive you all your sins.” It’s through what the pastor says and does – in the absolution after you confess your sins, in baptism, in the Lord’s Supper, in the sermon,– but it’s Jesus Himself speaking to you.

He speaks not a word of what you must do. Only what He’s done for you. His speaking brings it to you. His Word is powerful to impart this forgiveness to you, and His Word is powerful to create this faith in you. His speaking it to you produces the right faith. This is what He wants you to hear. This is what He wants you to count on. That Jesus says of you: “this one is going home justified!”Amen!