1 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:06,800 To some who were confident in their own righteousness and looked 2 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:13,400 down on everyone else. Jesus told this parable. Two men went up 3 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:18,880 to the temple to pray. One a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 4 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:25,400 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, God, I thank you that 5 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:31,100 I am not like other people, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or 6 00:00:31,100 --> 00:00:36,900 even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth 7 00:00:36,900 --> 00:00:44,059 of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance. He 8 00:00:44,140 --> 00:00:49,100 would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 9 00:00:49,340 --> 00:00:55,670 God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I tell you that this man 10 00:00:56,230 --> 00:01:02,390 rather than the other went home justified before God. For all 11 00:01:02,390 --> 00:01:07,270 those who exalt themselves will be humbled, but those who humble 12 00:01:07,270 --> 00:01:13,990 themselves will be exalted. People were also bringing babies 13 00:01:13,990 --> 00:01:18,390 to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples 14 00:01:18,390 --> 00:01:22,550 saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to 15 00:01:22,550 --> 00:01:26,230 him and said, let the little children come to me and do not hinder 16 00:01:26,230 --> 00:01:31,710 them. For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly, 17 00:01:31,710 --> 00:01:36,350 I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like 18 00:01:36,350 --> 00:01:39,390 a little child will never enter it. 19 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:50,120 Well, as you know by now, Jesus told stories. He told stories 20 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:54,280 to help us understand how different the kingdom of God is from 21 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:55,840 the world in which we live. 22 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:57,160 And the world we know. 23 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:02,520 He tried to help us to not see the world through sin's distorted 24 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:09,200 perspective, but see it through the way he designed it, the 25 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:10,720 way he intended for. 26 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:14,480 Us to live and to relate and to flourish. 27 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:16,920 And so he told these stories, these. 28 00:02:16,920 --> 00:02:19,840 Parables, and they all started with the. 29 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:21,000 Kingdom of heaven is like. 30 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,160 Or the kingdom of God is like, interchangeable. 31 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:28,200 As you know, it's upside down from what the world values. And it's 32 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:30,480 not just a little different, it's totally different. We're going 33 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:35,320 to see today the difference between the self righteous and the 34 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:41,360 humble and how dramatically different it is. And as I've shared 35 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:45,040 with you through the semester and will in the spring again as we 36 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:50,960 continue in the parables, it's a daily process to day by day understand 37 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:55,520 and internalize and live in the kingdom of God. Because the kingdom 38 00:02:55,520 --> 00:03:00,560 of God is not for somewhere in the future in heaven. The kingdom 39 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:04,360 of God, he said, is now. And we can live in the kingdom. 40 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:10,220 Of God spirit right now, day by day, to see, to love and to follow 41 00:03:10,380 --> 00:03:12,300 every day just a little bit more. 42 00:03:13,100 --> 00:03:16,300 So today, what God sees when we. 43 00:03:16,300 --> 00:03:20,620 Pray, what does God see when we pray? 44 00:03:20,860 --> 00:03:22,700 He told the story of a parable. 45 00:03:23,100 --> 00:03:26,700 Of a tax collector and a pharisee. 46 00:03:27,660 --> 00:03:32,780 Now, Jesus was more critical of the self righteous than any other 47 00:03:32,860 --> 00:03:39,630 sin that he ever talked about. More often he attacks self righteous 48 00:03:39,870 --> 00:03:40,630 religious. 49 00:03:40,630 --> 00:03:45,310 Leaders than he attacks any other type of sin. 50 00:03:45,790 --> 00:03:50,790 And today is another example of that. In this parable, to understand 51 00:03:50,790 --> 00:03:54,670 the details of the story and understand the significance of it, 52 00:03:54,990 --> 00:03:58,310 we really have to understand the context of when they live. We 53 00:03:58,310 --> 00:04:02,030 have to understand some of the history about which he's referring 54 00:04:02,030 --> 00:04:06,030 to, and we have to understand some how the Jewish faith operates. 55 00:04:06,430 --> 00:04:10,270 This was before the Messiah. This is before the Holy Spirit came. 56 00:04:10,510 --> 00:04:14,190 So how did people relate to God in those days? And when you understand 57 00:04:14,270 --> 00:04:20,430 that, then this parable takes on even more meaning. And so the 58 00:04:20,430 --> 00:04:24,670 story starts like this. Two men went up to the temple to pray. 59 00:04:25,390 --> 00:04:28,300 One was a Pharisee and the other. 60 00:04:28,620 --> 00:04:31,340 Was a despised tax collector. 61 00:04:32,300 --> 00:04:37,820 Now the Temple in Jerusalem no longer stands. You see on television 62 00:04:37,820 --> 00:04:40,060 often Jewish people. 63 00:04:40,060 --> 00:04:42,460 Or other leaders going to the wailing wall. 64 00:04:42,460 --> 00:04:46,620 The wailing wall is a retaining wall of where the Temple 65 00:04:46,620 --> 00:04:50,780 used to be. The Temple was up on top of that where they've now 66 00:04:50,780 --> 00:04:51,500 built some other. 67 00:04:51,500 --> 00:04:55,230 Structures and dome of the rock, these kinds of things. 68 00:04:56,030 --> 00:05:01,950 But the Temple is all gone. In fact, Jesus said when he was living 69 00:05:01,950 --> 00:05:07,070 on earth, he said, within one generation, every stone will be removed 70 00:05:07,070 --> 00:05:12,710 from the Temple. Pretty dramatic statement, because the Temple 71 00:05:12,710 --> 00:05:16,550 was the center of everything. The Temple was the most holy place. 72 00:05:16,550 --> 00:05:19,750 The Temple was kind of something everybody assumed would 73 00:05:19,750 --> 00:05:25,380 be there forever. But it's true. About 40 years after the crucifixion, 74 00:05:25,780 --> 00:05:31,700 the Romans attacked Jerusalem and took down every single stone 75 00:05:31,780 --> 00:05:36,220 of the Temple and removed it. But the Temple was where the Ark 76 00:05:36,220 --> 00:05:41,060 of the Covenant was. The ten Commandments that Moses wrote on 77 00:05:41,060 --> 00:05:46,870 stone, and those were in the Temple held there in Jerusalem. But, 78 00:05:47,020 --> 00:05:50,420 but more important than that, it was a place where the presence 79 00:05:50,420 --> 00:05:56,060 of God was. This was not an ordinary church. This was a very 80 00:05:56,060 --> 00:05:56,980 special place where. 81 00:05:56,980 --> 00:05:59,060 The presence of God was, where glory. 82 00:05:59,060 --> 00:06:02,940 Resided, where prayers were heard, where sacrifices were made. 83 00:06:03,740 --> 00:06:07,660 And so the Temple was constructed really with four, excuse 84 00:06:07,660 --> 00:06:11,580 me, five different layers to it. The first was on the outside 85 00:06:11,580 --> 00:06:15,380 was the court of Gentiles, because the Jewish people were the 86 00:06:15,380 --> 00:06:15,940 chosen people. 87 00:06:15,940 --> 00:06:18,620 They're the ones who were. It was their faith. 88 00:06:18,700 --> 00:06:23,340 And they would go inside more fully. But the Gentiles could be 89 00:06:23,340 --> 00:06:25,700 on the outside. It was really kind of outside of. 90 00:06:25,700 --> 00:06:27,660 The actual gate of the Temple. 91 00:06:27,900 --> 00:06:30,300 But that was one place you could be. Then you could go into 92 00:06:30,300 --> 00:06:33,900 the next court, and that was called the court of women. Now men 93 00:06:33,900 --> 00:06:37,020 and women could both be in that court, but women could not go 94 00:06:37,020 --> 00:06:40,910 Past that, into the inner courts. The next was the court of 95 00:06:40,910 --> 00:06:44,870 Israel. That's where Jewish men went and where priests went, 96 00:06:45,190 --> 00:06:49,830 because that was an elevated place for them. And then there was 97 00:06:49,830 --> 00:06:54,430 the holy place, even closer into the center of the temple, where 98 00:06:54,430 --> 00:06:58,870 sacrifices were made and people would bring animals and follow 99 00:06:58,950 --> 00:07:04,750 sacrificial process there in that center. And then the center 100 00:07:04,750 --> 00:07:10,440 of the temple was called the holy of holies. It was the place 101 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:16,280 where God dwelled on earth. It was separated from everything else. 102 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:20,200 In fact, there was a huge curtain, thick curtain, don't think 103 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:23,560 of a normal curtain, I mean, a huge, thick, thick, thick curtain 104 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:28,520 that surrounded it. And once a year, only one time a year, the chief 105 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:33,080 priest, after he purified himself, following the ritual that 106 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:33,280 were. 107 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:37,000 Prescribed in the Torah, the Old Testament,. 108 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:42,400 The first five books, he would go into the holy of holies one time. 109 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:47,680 A year into the presence of God, because it was a pure place. 110 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:52,120 So that's where the temple was that they went to. And now in this 111 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:55,120 holy of holies, just so you understand the significance of it, 112 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:59,310 as I said, there was this veil, they called it a curse curtain, 113 00:07:59,870 --> 00:08:05,630 separated God from the sinful world. And when Jesus was crucified 114 00:08:07,390 --> 00:08:12,350 while he was on the cross, after he said, father, I commend 115 00:08:12,350 --> 00:08:16,230 to you my spirit. And he said, it is finished. And he died on the 116 00:08:16,230 --> 00:08:25,200 cross. That huge veil in the temple that was so thick you couldn't 117 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:25,640 imagine. 118 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:32,560 It tore open and the spirit of God came into the world in a new 119 00:08:32,560 --> 00:08:32,840 way. 120 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:38,640 That's how significant this place was. So when Jesus said the 121 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:42,680 Pharisee and the tax collector were going to the temple to pray, 122 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:43,880 this wasn't like us. 123 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:45,240 Going to church to pray. 124 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:50,120 This was a very special place to come as close as you could to. 125 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:54,420 The prayer presence of God. That's why they went to the temple 126 00:08:54,420 --> 00:08:55,020 to pray. 127 00:08:55,580 --> 00:08:58,740 Now, in those days there were set times for prayer. They would 128 00:08:58,740 --> 00:09:01,180 pray at 9 o' clock in the morning and they would pray. 129 00:09:01,180 --> 00:09:02,780 At 3 o' clock in the afternoon. 130 00:09:02,940 --> 00:09:06,140 And these were communal prayers. So a lot of people came 131 00:09:06,379 --> 00:09:08,260 at those times, weren't the only times they. 132 00:09:08,260 --> 00:09:10,820 Prayed, but those were the primary times they prayed. 133 00:09:10,820 --> 00:09:14,700 And a lot of people would come and they'd stand in the courts, in 134 00:09:14,700 --> 00:09:18,180 the temple, or they'd get on their knees and. And they would lift 135 00:09:18,180 --> 00:09:19,020 their hands up. 136 00:09:19,340 --> 00:09:23,340 Or they would stand up. One of the two was what was customary. 137 00:09:23,340 --> 00:09:25,220 And they would all pray out loud. 138 00:09:25,220 --> 00:09:28,860 At the same time. That was how they shared in prayer. 139 00:09:29,340 --> 00:09:34,060 Well, the Pharisee came and he was a religious leader. Now the Pharisee 140 00:09:34,300 --> 00:09:38,580 as a religious leader, Pharisee means separated one. So 141 00:09:38,580 --> 00:09:43,660 he was separated as one more holy than other people in that. 142 00:09:45,540 --> 00:09:47,300 In their culture and in their faith,. 143 00:09:47,540 --> 00:09:51,860 Because he was to be devoted to purity and obedience to God's 144 00:09:51,860 --> 00:09:56,100 law. The Pharisees followed very carefully the first five books 145 00:09:56,180 --> 00:09:58,100 of the Old Testament, the. 146 00:09:58,100 --> 00:10:01,140 Law of Moses, the Torah, as they call it. 147 00:10:01,860 --> 00:10:06,420 And it was God's way in those books of giving very prescriptive 148 00:10:06,740 --> 00:10:11,340 direction on how to separate yourself from the world and be connected 149 00:10:11,340 --> 00:10:16,140 to God and impurity. And he gave them helps and guides on how 150 00:10:16,140 --> 00:10:20,420 to navigate through a sinful world, emphasizing ritual, purity, 151 00:10:21,060 --> 00:10:27,740 tithing, fasting, prayer and sacredness of the Sabbath. So that 152 00:10:27,740 --> 00:10:29,660 was what the Pharisees were. 153 00:10:29,660 --> 00:10:33,780 Focused on, or what they were supposed to be focused on. 154 00:10:33,940 --> 00:10:38,060 There were about 6 to 10,000 Pharisees. So there was a lot of 155 00:10:38,060 --> 00:10:41,270 them, but they weren't, you know, a huge number. But they were 156 00:10:41,270 --> 00:10:46,590 respected by the people as holy men. They probably wore some 157 00:10:46,590 --> 00:10:50,190 kind of robe that identified them and a sash that would stand 158 00:10:50,190 --> 00:10:53,710 out. And people knew that this was somebody special. They'd probably 159 00:10:53,710 --> 00:10:55,109 give way to them because. 160 00:10:55,109 --> 00:10:57,950 These were important people in their religious tradition. 161 00:10:58,350 --> 00:11:02,070 They were really feared by a lot of people because they were the 162 00:11:02,070 --> 00:11:05,910 moral authority. And they were the ones who decided what was moral 163 00:11:05,910 --> 00:11:07,115 and what was not moral. 164 00:11:07,115 --> 00:11:07,240 And. 165 00:11:07,390 --> 00:11:13,110 And they were judgmental about people who didn't follow the law 166 00:11:13,110 --> 00:11:16,750 of Moses as they did. But they were also disliked by the Romans. 167 00:11:16,830 --> 00:11:20,870 The Romans couldn't stand the Pharisees because the Pharisees were 168 00:11:20,870 --> 00:11:27,070 about the Jewish people and the nationalism of Judea. And they 169 00:11:27,070 --> 00:11:30,550 were resisting the assimilation that the Romans wanted 170 00:11:30,550 --> 00:11:34,860 when they conquered the Judea to assimilate them into the Roman 171 00:11:34,860 --> 00:11:36,980 Empire. And so there was a lot of. 172 00:11:36,980 --> 00:11:38,620 Tension around the Pharisees. 173 00:11:39,180 --> 00:11:42,820 So that's who we have going to this temple to pray. The Pharisee 174 00:11:42,820 --> 00:11:47,740 went to the temple. He should go there. That's what a Pharisee 175 00:11:47,740 --> 00:11:55,980 should do. But he went there to be heard and seen and to get the 176 00:11:55,980 --> 00:11:56,620 admiration. 177 00:11:56,620 --> 00:12:00,420 Of his peers, not to get closer to God. 178 00:12:00,980 --> 00:12:05,700 In fact, he goes in and begins to pray and lists his achievements 179 00:12:06,900 --> 00:12:12,020 and lists the sins of others and says, I'm glad I'm not like them. 180 00:12:13,060 --> 00:12:16,500 You see, for the Pharisee, his prayer,. 181 00:12:16,820 --> 00:12:20,420 The temple, was a stage, and that's all it was. 182 00:12:20,900 --> 00:12:25,700 He wanted everybody around him to hear him, to see him and to know. 183 00:12:25,780 --> 00:12:33,180 How wonderful he was as a religious leader. But then we have 184 00:12:33,180 --> 00:12:34,260 the tax collector. 185 00:12:34,580 --> 00:12:38,100 Totally different environment, totally different set of. 186 00:12:38,100 --> 00:12:40,100 Circumstances than a tax collector. 187 00:12:40,260 --> 00:12:45,700 You see, when the Romans occupied Judea. They had to get taxes 188 00:12:45,700 --> 00:12:46,060 from the. 189 00:12:46,060 --> 00:12:50,540 People to pay for the Roman government and the Roman legions 190 00:12:50,540 --> 00:12:52,020 and all the costs of that. 191 00:12:52,570 --> 00:12:57,010 And so they created a system called tax farming. And in tax farming, 192 00:12:57,010 --> 00:13:00,250 what they would essentially do is assign a territory and they would 193 00:13:00,250 --> 00:13:04,770 say, out of these blocks or this little community or this village, 194 00:13:04,770 --> 00:13:10,250 whatever it may be, we need those people to pay, let's say, $100,000 195 00:13:10,250 --> 00:13:14,890 in today's dollars, okay? So we need them to pay $100,000 so a 196 00:13:14,890 --> 00:13:21,370 tax collector could come and buy the right to. To collect those 197 00:13:21,370 --> 00:13:26,170 taxes in that region. So he would pay the Roman people, Roman 198 00:13:26,170 --> 00:13:30,530 government, $100,000, and then he would go out and everything he 199 00:13:30,530 --> 00:13:31,050 could get. 200 00:13:31,050 --> 00:13:37,690 Over $100,000 was his profit. So he'd try and collect 130, $140,000,. 201 00:13:37,850 --> 00:13:45,020 And that was his profit from it. And so when the Pharisee says 202 00:13:45,020 --> 00:13:49,660 this despised tax collector, yeah, he was despised. People hated 203 00:13:49,660 --> 00:13:53,780 him for a lot of reasons. First of all, he's taken money from 204 00:13:53,780 --> 00:13:55,460 them, and he's taking more money from. 205 00:13:55,460 --> 00:13:58,100 Them than Rome required them to pay. 206 00:13:58,580 --> 00:14:03,860 But they were also traitors because these were Jewish men working 207 00:14:03,860 --> 00:14:08,460 for Rome and the Roman culture during that time. If you think our 208 00:14:08,460 --> 00:14:11,940 culture's bad today, it's nothing compared to what Rome was. 209 00:14:12,380 --> 00:14:16,020 It was wicked, it was horrible. It was debauched in every 210 00:14:16,020 --> 00:14:17,420 single way you can imagine. 211 00:14:20,300 --> 00:14:27,140 There was no presence of God in the Roman Empire. And so for a 212 00:14:27,140 --> 00:14:29,660 Jewish man to. 213 00:14:29,740 --> 00:14:32,860 Take money from Jewish people to give. 214 00:14:32,860 --> 00:14:38,260 To this horrible government, that is a betrayal of God's chosen 215 00:14:38,260 --> 00:14:38,540 people. 216 00:14:39,540 --> 00:14:44,020 But they were also corrupt. Think of a tax collector as kind 217 00:14:44,020 --> 00:14:51,500 of like a mafia person who strong arms, everybody, and they're 218 00:14:51,500 --> 00:14:54,500 corrupt in order to get what they want. They make a lot of money, 219 00:14:54,740 --> 00:14:58,460 but there's no quality of life. If you ever studied what goes 220 00:14:58,460 --> 00:15:01,700 on in the Mafia world, it's amazing to me, they have all this 221 00:15:01,700 --> 00:15:02,060 money, but. 222 00:15:02,060 --> 00:15:04,990 There's absolutely no quality of life to what they do. 223 00:15:05,790 --> 00:15:10,710 So there was corruption to it. He was considered unclean because 224 00:15:10,710 --> 00:15:16,270 a Jew would not handle gentile money. To touch Gentile money would 225 00:15:16,270 --> 00:15:20,630 have made you unclean. And so for a Jew to handle that money and 226 00:15:20,630 --> 00:15:24,270 to interact with pagan officials, he was unclean. And because 227 00:15:24,270 --> 00:15:28,190 of that, he was cut off. He was cut off from religious life. 228 00:15:28,190 --> 00:15:31,860 He was cut off from community respect. He was cut off from all 229 00:15:31,860 --> 00:15:34,100 moral credibility. 230 00:15:34,980 --> 00:15:41,020 People wanted nothing to do with a tax collector. Despised tax 231 00:15:41,020 --> 00:15:46,819 collector. Pretty accurate description. So the tax collector 232 00:15:47,300 --> 00:15:51,780 also went to the temple, and the tax collector went to the temple 233 00:15:52,100 --> 00:15:53,620 seeking Forgiveness. 234 00:15:54,580 --> 00:16:00,860 Scripture says he stood far off. The Jew probably stood in the 235 00:16:00,860 --> 00:16:04,780 outside of the court, probably not even went to the women's court, 236 00:16:04,780 --> 00:16:05,420 probably stood out. 237 00:16:05,420 --> 00:16:06,340 In the Gentile court. 238 00:16:06,740 --> 00:16:08,060 He didn't get close to where the. 239 00:16:08,060 --> 00:16:10,500 Sacrifices were made for sins. 240 00:16:10,980 --> 00:16:15,580 He was drawn to God's mercy, as close as he felt safe to get to 241 00:16:15,580 --> 00:16:20,620 it. But he couldn't get very far. But he came to confess. And 242 00:16:20,620 --> 00:16:27,430 so while for the Pharisee, the temple was a stage, for the tax. 243 00:16:27,430 --> 00:16:32,870 Collector, the temple was a sanctuary. And that's the prayer 244 00:16:32,870 --> 00:16:35,870 we have when two men went to the temple to pray. 245 00:16:36,430 --> 00:16:41,030 So when Jesus told the story of a tax collector as a spiritual 246 00:16:41,030 --> 00:16:46,790 hero, this was scandalous. The people couldn't believe he would 247 00:16:46,790 --> 00:16:51,960 tell this story. A tax collector is a spiritual hero. That 248 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:55,160 doesn't make any sense. Listeners would have been shocked. 249 00:16:55,960 --> 00:17:02,440 In their world, there was no more despised figure. But Jesus redeems 250 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:09,320 tax collectors. Jesus redeems sinners. Jesus redeems the people 251 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:10,400 that everybody else. 252 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:11,320 Has given up on. 253 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:14,410 Jesus redeems those who. 254 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:20,440 Who are called despised because of their sin. You know the 255 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:22,920 story of Zacchaeus saying. 256 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:25,680 It probably in Sunday school, about the little man climbed up to 257 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:28,360 the sycamore tree to see Jesus, and Jesus came by because 258 00:17:28,360 --> 00:17:30,479 he wanted to see him. He said, come on, I'm going to your house. 259 00:17:30,479 --> 00:17:31,680 We're going to have a long talk. 260 00:17:33,120 --> 00:17:35,360 Zacchaeus was a tax collector. 261 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:44,000 Levi, who Jesus called to be a disciple, was a tax collector. What 262 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:47,920 he changed his name to when Jesus, he followed Jesus. 263 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:55,200 Matthew wrote the first book of the New Testament. Tax collector 264 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:56,400 became a disciple. 265 00:17:57,040 --> 00:18:00,800 So we have this parable. These two men, as different as can be, 266 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:06,640 tax collector who represents in the story true repentance and 267 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:11,560 humility and awareness of sin and faith in God's mercy,. 268 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:18,760 Contrasted with the Pharisee, who's self righteous, who's judgmental, 269 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:25,160 who's legalistic, and Jesus makes a judgment about these two 270 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:25,480 men. 271 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:30,400 The Pharisee went where he could be heard and seen. He won the 272 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:33,440 admiration of peers. He wanted to list out his achievements before 273 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:37,230 God and. And the temple to him was a stage. And the tax collector 274 00:18:37,230 --> 00:18:41,190 came seeking forgiveness, stood far off because he wasn't worthy. 275 00:18:41,190 --> 00:18:42,350 He came to confess. 276 00:18:42,350 --> 00:18:44,030 And the temple was a sanctuary. 277 00:18:45,150 --> 00:18:47,550 Now, when you get in the stories in more detail, then you 278 00:18:47,550 --> 00:18:48,110 begin to. 279 00:18:48,110 --> 00:18:50,830 Even see more of the significance of this. 280 00:18:51,150 --> 00:18:55,910 Said the Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer. I 281 00:18:55,910 --> 00:19:00,480 thank you, God, that I'm not like other people. Cheaters, sinners, 282 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:03,320 adulterers. I'm certainly not like that. 283 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:05,640 Tax collector. So he must have seen him. 284 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:08,600 I fast twice a week and I. 285 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:11,640 Give you a tenth of my income. 286 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:17,640 You see, the Pharisee does everything right outwardly. He goes 287 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:22,400 to church, he prays, he fasts, he tithes, he shows up at all the 288 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:24,680 special Bible studies. 289 00:19:27,810 --> 00:19:32,850 But his prayer reveals his heart. His prayer is, God, I thank 290 00:19:32,850 --> 00:19:39,410 youk that I'm not like other people. He's not praying to God in 291 00:19:39,410 --> 00:19:39,730 that. 292 00:19:40,610 --> 00:19:45,490 He's holding up a mirror, a spiritual mirror, admiring himself. 293 00:19:47,410 --> 00:19:53,970 That's it. He stood by himself, the scripture says, as he 294 00:19:53,970 --> 00:19:56,930 was superior to others. He didn't want to be close to others. 295 00:19:57,010 --> 00:19:59,370 He probably wanted to be separated, maybe up a little bit 296 00:19:59,370 --> 00:20:02,610 on a step where he made sure everybody could see him. He stood 297 00:20:02,610 --> 00:20:05,970 by himself because he was not like them. 298 00:20:08,130 --> 00:20:11,770 And Jesus was so critical of the. 299 00:20:11,770 --> 00:20:18,500 Self righteous because they can't even see it. They are so sure 300 00:20:18,500 --> 00:20:20,060 they're right about everything,. 301 00:20:23,820 --> 00:20:26,460 They don't realize how completely wrong they are. 302 00:20:28,460 --> 00:20:32,260 And then as in now the Pharisees. 303 00:20:32,260 --> 00:20:36,500 Stuck together and now the self righteous stick together. 304 00:20:36,500 --> 00:20:41,100 They surround themselves by other self righteous people, so they 305 00:20:41,100 --> 00:20:46,780 follow on exit on Facebook and whatever else other self righteous 306 00:20:46,780 --> 00:20:49,220 people, so they feel even more self. 307 00:20:49,220 --> 00:20:54,740 Righteous in their being right about everything and everybody else 308 00:20:54,820 --> 00:21:00,900 is wrong. Pharisees did everything right outwardly, but inwardly 309 00:21:01,540 --> 00:21:03,140 there was no spirit of God. 310 00:21:04,340 --> 00:21:07,740 Jesus didn't condemn the Pharisees because they loved the 311 00:21:07,740 --> 00:21:10,060 Scripture. He loved that they loved the Scripture. But that was 312 00:21:10,060 --> 00:21:13,380 the problem. They knew the Scripture inside and out. He condemned 313 00:21:13,380 --> 00:21:16,820 them because they missed the heart of the script scripture. His 314 00:21:16,820 --> 00:21:21,340 faith was about admiration and performance. His spiritual pride 315 00:21:21,340 --> 00:21:23,300 is what drove him. 316 00:21:24,100 --> 00:21:26,340 Or self righteousness, you can call it either one. 317 00:21:26,980 --> 00:21:32,900 He was legalistic. He elevated man made traditions above God's. 318 00:21:32,900 --> 00:21:37,380 Heart and spirit and he was judgmental as could be. 319 00:21:38,340 --> 00:21:41,420 They controlled the religious system, kind of who's in, who's out. 320 00:21:41,420 --> 00:21:45,230 What sin is bad, what sin is worse. They counted with the deciders, 321 00:21:45,230 --> 00:21:45,670 all that. 322 00:21:45,670 --> 00:21:50,430 Deciding who was worthy. And that's where they got their satisfaction, 323 00:21:51,630 --> 00:21:57,350 but couldn't find relationship with God. Well then we have the tax 324 00:21:57,350 --> 00:21:58,750 collector, it says. 325 00:21:58,750 --> 00:22:03,590 But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift 326 00:22:03,590 --> 00:22:07,070 his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead he beat on his chest 327 00:22:07,070 --> 00:22:10,750 in sorrow saying, O God, be merciful to. 328 00:22:10,750 --> 00:22:14,240 Me, for I am a sinner. 329 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:21,720 He stands at a distance. He knows he doesn't deserve God. And 330 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:25,680 there are sinners who are afraid to even come close to God 331 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:29,760 because they know in comparison to God's purity, they 332 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:31,360 don't deserve to be there. 333 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:37,280 And that's who this guy was. I don't know what he, I mean, tax collector. 334 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:41,120 We saw the characteristics of that plus everything that led into 335 00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:41,360 it. 336 00:22:41,360 --> 00:22:42,680 We don't know the depths of all. 337 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:45,720 His sins or what his heart was, but he knew at that point he 338 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:50,360 was broken. We know that self righteous people didn't care about 339 00:22:50,360 --> 00:22:50,720 him. 340 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:53,760 Glad I'm not like that tax collector. 341 00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:57,920 He felt condemned by everybody around him. 342 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:02,240 Scripture says he wouldn't even look up. Now in those days, 343 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:06,570 the tradition to pray was you either stand or, or you look up. 344 00:23:06,570 --> 00:23:09,610 Well, if you stood, you looked up too. But you either stand or you 345 00:23:09,610 --> 00:23:09,810 hold. 346 00:23:09,810 --> 00:23:11,330 Your hands up and you look up. 347 00:23:11,410 --> 00:23:12,450 That's how people pray. 348 00:23:12,450 --> 00:23:14,730 They didn't pray like we do now, where you bow your head and 349 00:23:14,730 --> 00:23:16,690 close your eyes and that kind of thing. 350 00:23:16,690 --> 00:23:20,530 The physical posture reflected their spiritual posture. 351 00:23:23,250 --> 00:23:27,690 But in the Roman culture, submission meant you kept your eyes 352 00:23:27,690 --> 00:23:28,050 down. 353 00:23:28,610 --> 00:23:31,860 If a Roman leader came down the street, you, you would never 354 00:23:31,860 --> 00:23:33,980 look up at them. You would put your eyes down and. 355 00:23:33,980 --> 00:23:38,820 Not look up because you were in submission to them. And so we 356 00:23:38,820 --> 00:23:42,380 have this image of this tax collector who couldn't even look. 357 00:23:42,380 --> 00:23:45,980 Up because he was so broken and submitted to God. And then it 358 00:23:45,980 --> 00:23:49,860 says he beat on his chest in sorrow. He was broken with pain. 359 00:23:50,340 --> 00:23:55,340 He was self aware. He knew he's shamed, he knew he sinned. He 360 00:23:55,340 --> 00:23:57,780 didn't need the Pharisee to point out his sin. 361 00:24:01,290 --> 00:24:04,810 Boy, there's a lot of that that goes on, isn't there? We have 362 00:24:04,810 --> 00:24:08,170 Pharisees all around us every day who want to point out everybody 363 00:24:08,170 --> 00:24:14,209 else's sin. But you know, I don't think sinners need that. I 364 00:24:14,209 --> 00:24:19,010 think they know. I think they know and they just somehow want to 365 00:24:19,010 --> 00:24:23,210 come closer to God. And so we prayed. 366 00:24:24,180 --> 00:24:26,740 He prayed, o God, be merciful on. 367 00:24:26,740 --> 00:24:29,380 Me, for I am a sinner. 368 00:24:29,460 --> 00:24:35,180 He didn't make any excuses. He could have had excuses. He might 369 00:24:35,180 --> 00:24:38,100 have said, God, be merciful on me because I'm a sinner. Because, 370 00:24:38,100 --> 00:24:40,900 you know, I didn't want to do this, but I really needed the money. 371 00:24:40,900 --> 00:24:44,380 I got a sick child and I got to take care of that child. I had 372 00:24:44,380 --> 00:24:48,460 to be a tax collector and be corrupt to do this. Or he could have 373 00:24:48,460 --> 00:24:52,900 said, I, I'm a Jew and I see the hypocrites of the Pharisees and 374 00:24:52,900 --> 00:24:55,180 the hypocrites of everybody else. I'm giving up on the church 375 00:24:55,340 --> 00:24:59,220 and so that's why I did it. Or he could have been pulled into it 376 00:24:59,220 --> 00:25:00,820 by friends and friends said, man,. 377 00:25:00,820 --> 00:25:02,780 You can make a lot of money doing this, you really ought to do 378 00:25:02,780 --> 00:25:02,900 it. 379 00:25:02,900 --> 00:25:04,380 And he just kind of slipped into. 380 00:25:04,380 --> 00:25:11,500 A life of sin and corruption. He didn't make any excuses at all. 381 00:25:12,380 --> 00:25:18,210 He just said, be merciful to me because I am a sinner. 382 00:25:18,210 --> 00:25:20,690 He was throwing himself on God's mercy. 383 00:25:22,610 --> 00:25:29,530 He brought nothing to the table other than his need. You know, 384 00:25:29,530 --> 00:25:38,690 pride resists grace and humility receives grace. God isn't 385 00:25:38,690 --> 00:25:40,370 looking for people who have it all together. 386 00:25:41,580 --> 00:25:43,860 He's looking for people honest enough to. 387 00:25:43,860 --> 00:25:51,220 Say, I need mercy, I'm a sinner. So let's look at what Jesus 388 00:25:51,220 --> 00:25:54,700 said about these two men. Story goes on. 389 00:25:55,100 --> 00:26:00,020 I tell you this, I tell you this. Sinner, not the Pharisee, returned 390 00:26:00,020 --> 00:26:05,500 home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be. 391 00:26:05,500 --> 00:26:11,750 Humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted. 392 00:26:12,790 --> 00:26:18,710 The Pharisee's goodness, good acts couldn't save him. Self righteousness 393 00:26:18,710 --> 00:26:21,910 closed the door on grace to the Pharisee. 394 00:26:22,870 --> 00:26:27,430 And the tax collector brought nothing good to the table to earn 395 00:26:27,430 --> 00:26:33,520 salvation. But humility opened the door to grace for him. 396 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:38,640 The Pharisee was all about comparison and self trust. 397 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:44,240 And the tax collector was all about humility and dependence. 398 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:51,880 One had the illusion of control of their spiritual life and 399 00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:52,440 the other was. 400 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:58,240 About complete trust in God for their future and their spiritual 401 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:09,630 life. True spirituality begins with brokenness. No excuses, no justifications, 402 00:27:10,510 --> 00:27:16,590 no conditions. God measures hearts. He doesn't read resumes. 403 00:27:18,270 --> 00:27:21,150 You see, the Pharisees religion was external. 404 00:27:21,790 --> 00:27:27,860 But the tax collector's repentance was internal and became 405 00:27:27,940 --> 00:27:36,540 eternal. The Kingdom of God. Repentance is more powerful than 406 00:27:36,540 --> 00:27:37,300 reputation. 407 00:27:38,660 --> 00:27:41,860 The gospel humiliates the proud and it. 408 00:27:41,860 --> 00:27:48,660 Lifts up the humble over and over. The parable series we've talked 409 00:27:48,660 --> 00:27:52,090 about this semester talks about all of them. 410 00:27:52,090 --> 00:27:55,250 Lead in to understand this kingdom of God upside down from what 411 00:27:55,250 --> 00:27:56,090 the world's like. 412 00:27:59,290 --> 00:28:03,530 And this Pharisee and tax collector, if you want to put it, 413 00:28:03,930 --> 00:28:06,610 look at it in understanding the kingdom of God. 414 00:28:06,610 --> 00:28:07,530 And how we're to live. 415 00:28:07,530 --> 00:28:10,930 Let me give you three takeaways. Especially if you are 416 00:28:10,930 --> 00:28:12,090 a Pharisee. 417 00:28:12,890 --> 00:28:14,410 If you are self righteous. 418 00:28:15,050 --> 00:28:15,310 If. 419 00:28:15,380 --> 00:28:16,580 If you think you've got it all. 420 00:28:16,580 --> 00:28:20,980 Together, if you are judgmental of other people. Look 421 00:28:20,980 --> 00:28:27,900 carefully at what the Kingdom of God teaches Pharisees. The first 422 00:28:27,900 --> 00:28:31,940 is stop performing and start depending. 423 00:28:33,620 --> 00:28:35,060 Grace isn't a reward. 424 00:28:36,660 --> 00:28:37,940 Grace is a rescue. 425 00:28:39,140 --> 00:28:41,870 The way up to God in the. 426 00:28:41,870 --> 00:28:45,510 Kingdom of God is down on your knees in humility. 427 00:28:46,630 --> 00:28:52,510 Humility isn't a weakness. It's a spiritual strength that comes 428 00:28:52,510 --> 00:28:52,870 through. 429 00:28:53,430 --> 00:29:00,710 With grace and dependence. And we need to not be performing before 430 00:29:00,710 --> 00:29:05,710 God or performing before each other, but just depending on the 431 00:29:05,710 --> 00:29:11,360 Lord. Secondly, in the kingdom of God, trade comparison for compassion. 432 00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:15,760 How do you know when you've accepted God's grace? 433 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:21,400 How do you know it? You know it when you stop feeling superior 434 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:29,680 to other people. That's when you know it. And if it ever loses 435 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:34,190 sight of that, you need to get back to the place you started. 436 00:29:36,190 --> 00:29:39,790 Some people, their faith is built on pointing out everybody else's 437 00:29:39,790 --> 00:29:43,670 sins. You know, that's just an acceptable form of comparison. So 438 00:29:43,670 --> 00:29:46,350 we're going to talk about how bad this sin is and that sin is and 439 00:29:46,430 --> 00:29:49,430 this group and what they do and that, oh, that's horrible what 440 00:29:49,430 --> 00:29:54,110 they do. And we've got to do this and that. That's just Phariseeism. 441 00:29:54,190 --> 00:30:00,700 That's all it is. It's an acceptable form of comparison. When 442 00:30:00,700 --> 00:30:06,100 you really have the grace of Christ flowing through you, you have 443 00:30:06,180 --> 00:30:08,740 love and compassion for sinners. 444 00:30:08,740 --> 00:30:17,300 You don't criticize them all day long. Trade comparison for compassion. 445 00:30:18,340 --> 00:30:22,580 And then be yourself before God. No pretending. 446 00:30:23,700 --> 00:30:28,220 Be honest in your prayers. Stop pretending. He already knows 447 00:30:28,540 --> 00:30:34,580 who you're pretending for. He already knows. Be authentic in what 448 00:30:34,580 --> 00:30:40,780 you talk to him about. Authenticity is what builds relationships, 449 00:30:40,780 --> 00:30:44,140 isn't it? Can you imagine being in a relationship with somebody 450 00:30:44,540 --> 00:30:47,620 and you're playing a facade the whole time and you're not telling 451 00:30:47,620 --> 00:30:50,100 them all the parts about you, and you're not telling them how you 452 00:30:50,100 --> 00:30:52,930 really feel or where you really are? There's no relationship 453 00:30:52,930 --> 00:30:53,810 there. It's a show. 454 00:30:56,290 --> 00:31:04,290 Relationship with God has to be built in. Authenticity. And humility 455 00:31:04,690 --> 00:31:12,930 isn't a moment. Humility is a lifestyle. Humility always permeates 456 00:31:13,010 --> 00:31:18,210 what we do when we understand the power of God's grace to save 457 00:31:18,210 --> 00:31:23,090 each one of us a sinner. So I want to ask you a quick question. 458 00:31:24,610 --> 00:31:28,450 How long has it been since you were honest in your prayers? 459 00:31:30,050 --> 00:31:31,650 How long has it been since you. 460 00:31:31,650 --> 00:31:33,970 Were really honest in your prayers? 461 00:31:34,930 --> 00:31:36,690 There's an old hymn I love. 462 00:31:38,050 --> 00:31:41,930 I got it on my playlist too many times. It's written about when 463 00:31:41,930 --> 00:31:46,850 I was born, so maybe I grew up with her or whatever. But hymn is 464 00:31:46,850 --> 00:31:48,970 how long has it been? How long has it been? 465 00:31:49,130 --> 00:31:51,050 And there's some questions asked in that. 466 00:31:51,050 --> 00:31:54,970 Hymn that I just really love. 467 00:31:56,250 --> 00:32:00,170 How long has it been since you talked to the Lord and told him your 468 00:32:00,170 --> 00:32:06,690 heart's hidden secrets? How long? How long since you prayed? 469 00:32:06,690 --> 00:32:11,210 How long since you stayed on your knees till the light shone through? 470 00:32:15,970 --> 00:32:21,810 How long has it been since your mind felt at ease? How long 471 00:32:21,810 --> 00:32:23,250 since your heart knew no. 472 00:32:23,250 --> 00:32:31,530 Burden how long has it been since you woke with the dawn and 473 00:32:31,530 --> 00:32:38,900 felt the days worth the living and the song says can you call him 474 00:32:38,900 --> 00:32:44,500 your friend? How long has it been since you knew that he cared 475 00:32:44,500 --> 00:32:51,740 for you? If it's been too long Today, last chapel of the semester. 476 00:32:52,460 --> 00:32:58,500 It's a good time to start to do something about it. Well, the 477 00:32:58,500 --> 00:32:59,980 parable, the Pharisee and the. 478 00:32:59,980 --> 00:33:03,460 Tax collector, they both went to the temple to pray. God heard 479 00:33:03,460 --> 00:33:03,980 them both. 480 00:33:06,100 --> 00:33:08,900 And God saw their heart in both. 481 00:33:10,100 --> 00:33:12,420 In one he saw pride and self. 482 00:33:12,420 --> 00:33:17,940 Righteousness and superiority and in the other he saw brokenness, 483 00:33:18,420 --> 00:33:27,940 humility and dependency and Jesus said only one went home justified 484 00:33:28,900 --> 00:33:36,070 only one Pray together with me Our benediction no eye is seen, no 485 00:33:36,070 --> 00:33:40,630 ear is heard no mind is conceived what God has prepared for 486 00:33:40,630 --> 00:33:43,910 those who love him. Thanks for being in chapel this semester Been 487 00:33:43,910 --> 00:33:47,350 great. I'll miss you till spring and I'll see you then. God 488 00:33:47,350 --> 00:33:47,710 bless.