Thursday, February 1, 2007
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Part 23 of 44
TEXT: "Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in 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' " (Luke 18:9-14).
IDEA: Humility is not modesty, and conceit is not pride.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand what humility is.
Read again the story Jesus told about the Pharisee and the tax man found in Luke 18:9-14. Think especially about the prayer of the Pharisee.
Do you think that what the Pharisee prayed about himself was generally true?
Was he an extortioner?
Was he unjust?
Was he an adulterer?
Did he fast twice a week?
Did he give a tithe of all he possessed?
If it is generally true, then what’s wrong with the Pharisee’s prayer?
If we were giving him a bit of spiritual counsel, wouldn’t we advise him to be more modest?
I. We may think that the Pharisee’s problem is conceit.
Don’t you find conceit to be obnoxious in other people? Why?
Sometimes it’s at our expense.
By implication, the conceited person may be putting us down. It’s bad manners.
In our culture, we don’t like people to brag openly.
II. Is the problem of the Pharisee that he is too conceited and needed to learn modesty?
How big a sin is conceit?
It’s often bad manners.
It often comes from people who feel small and therefore talk big -- a defense mechanism.
It’s a poor way of handling life.
Is the Pharisee’s sin conceit? Would he be a better man if he learned to be more modest?
III. The problem with the Pharisee is not conceit. The problem with the Pharisee is pride. He didn’t have to be modest. His problem was humility.
Where does this scene take place?
In the temple. The Pharisee thought that the distinctions that matter to the community also matter to God, and that was his fatal mistake.
