The Blindness of Pride - 13 October 2019

“The Blindness of Pride”

Luke 18:9-17

13 October 2019 (SBC, Sligo IE)

INTRODUCTION:

We all have blind spots, things in our behaviour or character of which we may be unaware but that other people can see clearly. Some of these are harmless little idiosyncrasies that don’t really matter, like the way we eat corn-on-the-cob, or the way we dress, or whether we say controversy or controversy. But other areas of blindness can be very destructive and hurtful. Take, for example, a person who gets angry easily, and flies off the handle and says mean things. He may not see this as a fault or a sin but rather blames it on having a “strong personality.” But that is a blind spot, for it is indeed a sin! Or how about a person who is always sharing “prayer requests” about other people, giving out all the gory details in the name of “We should really be praying for Sister So-‘n-so. Have you heard what she did?” The person thinks they are doing God’s work but in reality, they are just gossiping, spreading rumours and hurting others in the process. That is a sin!

TRANSITION:

Pride is another such sin. People are often unaware that they are operating out of a sense of pride. But those around them can often see it quite readily. In our text for today Jesus told a parable especially for the benefit of people in His audience who were guilty of the sin of pride. He did not do it to harm them but to help them see themselves the way God and other people see them. Jesus said that two men went up to the Temple to pray – a Pharisee and a tax-collector. You could not possibly get two more different examples. In the eyes of the Jews the Pharisee was at the top of the Jewish religious ladder, while the publican was on the very lowest rung. The irony of the story is that in God’s eyes the Pharisee was actually more of a sinner than “the sinner” in the story. Turn to Luke 18:9.

MAIN BODY:

Verse 9: And [Jesus] also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves, [believed] that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 

·         Luke says that Jesus aimed this parable specifically at certain people who were characterized by pride, and it sounds like they were right there listening to Him [i.e. “He told this to some people who…”]. He does not pinpoint exactly who He was talking about, but it does not require a great deal of imagination to conclude that this description fits very well with the Scribes and Pharisees who followed Him around like hungry hound dogs, hoping He would say something they could use to accuse Him. Jesus said that these people were guilty of three particularly obnoxious sins.

o   First, they “trusted in themselves.” – The Bible clearly teaches in Proverbs 3:5 that we are to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” And in Proverbs 28:26 we are instructed, “Those who trust in themselves are fools.”

o   Second, Jesus said they “believed that they were righteous.” – The implication is that they were either fooling themselves or else trying to fool others. 1 John 1:8 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” And just a couple of chapters back in Luke in 16:15 we heard Jesus say, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

o   The third sin Jesus mentioned is that they “viewed others with contempt” [lit. to consider or treat as nothing]. – In modern English the word “contempt” can mean hatred but that is not the case here. Rather, it means to look down upon, to consider of little or no value, to demean. It is the fruit of pride in oneself. If I believe that I am superior to you in every area of life, then I will look down upon you with disdain and condescension.

Verse 10: “Two men went up into the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector.”

·         So, here Jesus begins to tell His story. There are just three main characters, plus the role of the crowd. “Two men went up into the Temple to pray…” They “went up” because the Temple was located at the highest elevation in Jerusalem. You had to go up from everywhere to get to it.

·         There were three public prayer-times scheduled every day when the devout would go to the Temple for prayer (at 9 AM, at midday noon, and at 3 PM). The first and last coincided with the morning and evening sacrifices. People could also go to the Temple at any time for private prayer. This is evidently the case here in the parable.

·         Pharisees were highly regarded in Israel. They were seen by the Jews as good, moral people of unquestioned integrity. They were devout and made every effort to obey all of God’s laws, even going so far as to create their own set of religious rules to never run the risk of breaking one of God’s rules. Not surprisingly, their besetting sins were pride and arrogance. But let’s tell it like it is: It’s hard to be humble when you are so darned wonderful in every way! This Pharisee must have felt right at home in these surroundings engaged in this activity. After all, he did it every day, maybe two or three times a day.

·         On the other hand, the tax-collector felt like a fish out of water. He and his ilk were the most hated people in Jewish society. They were considered traitors, quislings, turncoats, collaborators. They took money from their own people in service to the Romans, their avowed enemies, and they lined their own pockets in the doing of it. So, this tax-collector was an unlikely candidate to be found praying in the Temple. 

Verses 11-12: “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’”

·         Look carefully at that first phrase: “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself…” He stood in the gallery of the temple reserved for private prayer, but he clearly wanted to be both seen and heard. The Greek word used here for “stood” is the aorist past participle of the Greek verb histemi, which is the same word used three times (3X) in Ephesians 6:13-14 and it means not just to stand but to “take your stand.” I believe the Pharisee carefully chose his position, struck a pose, and then lifted his voice so that everyone around him could hear his prayer. And notice that he addressed his prayer to God, but he was really praying to himself. The wording here makes this clear: “…and was praying this to himself.” He was using this occasion as a public platform to pat himself on the back about being such a good and righteous man. So, this is really a soliloquy, a recital of his own virtues. Although he addresses God and thanks Him, it is obvious that the man’s gratitude was for his own goodness, not for God’s mercies to him. 

·         What was the content of his so-called prayer? “I thank Thee that I am not a sinner.” Then he rattled off a list of the most egregious sins he could think of, sins he would never even consider committing. As the apex of iniquity, he points to “this tax-collector.” After reciting his list of sins that he hasn’t committed, he switches to the positive side to illustrate his virtue and righteousness by telling the wonderful things that he does regularly. He “fasts twice in the week.” Jews were only required by law to fast one time a year and that was on the Day of Atonement. The Pharisees, however, added other fasts – twice a week between Passover and Pentecost, and between Tabernacles and the dedication of the Temple. But this guy did way more than even the Pharisee minimum. He fasted twice a week! History tells us that the really pious Pharisees fasted on Monday and Thursday, which ironically were the traditional market days when many people would come into the city to buy and sell. Those who fasted would whiten their faces, muss up their hair, and wear dishevelled clothes so that everyone could witness their piety and suffering. This guy in Jesus’ parable was just such a phoney-baloney.

·         But that’s not all! He proudly pointed out to God and to everybody that he also went beyond the Law’s requirement in his tithing and tithed not just from his produce, or even from his herbs like other Pharisees, but also from his income. What a guy!

Verse 13: “But the tax-collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to Heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’”

·         So now we see the second man in the parable, a sinful, miserable, despicable tax-collector. What a contrast! He was so broken, so remorseful that he wouldn’t even stand close to the Pharisee. He probably felt intimidated by such a paragon of holiness and virtue. That was sarcasm, by the way. He was so ashamed and conscious of his sinfulness that he couldn’t even lift his eyes in the direction of Heaven. It was customary for the Jewish worshipers to lift up their closed eyes to God and to extend their hands toward heaven, but this man did neither. Instead of raising his hands he used them to beat on his chest, a sign of sorrow and grief and sadness.

·         And look at his simple prayer: “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!”  He cries out for God’s mercy. He begs for God’s forgiveness, knowing full well that he deserves the opposite. He makes no excuses but simply throws himself on God’s tender mercy. His prayer reminds me of the words of the old hymn, “Just as I Am.” It goes, “Just as I am without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, and that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come! I come!”

·         Something else…the tax-collector prays, “God be merciful to me, THE sinner!” using the definite article. Some of our translations miss this fact entirely. In his mind he was the worst of the worst, which is interesting because the Pharisee clearly prided himself in being the best of the best. But the publican knew what he was like inside.

Verse 14: [Jesus said,] “I tell you, this man [i.e. the publican] went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” 

·         I told you a while ago that there are four roles in this little drama: the Pharisee, the tax-collector, the crowd who was standing around to witness all this, plus one more. Who would that be? The fourth character in this parable is God. He saw it all. He heard every word. And Jesus declares that in God’s sight only one of these men went home forgiven and justified and cleansed of all unrighteousness, and you can be sure that it wasn’t the self-righteous Pharisee. No, it was the sinner that confessed his sins and threw himself on God’s mercy, believing in God’s promise to cleanse and forgive and to wash away his iniquity.

·         God is still in the business of saving sinners and His promise still stands: “Whosoever calleth on the name of the Lord shall be saved!” Praise God!    

Verse 15: And they [mothers and fathers] were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them.

·         In this verse we have an apparent change of setting and subject but in reality this is another lesson about pride and self-importance, however, in this case Jesus’ disciples are the ones in the “hot-seat.” We don’t know exactly where or when this happened but all we know is that people started bringing their babies and little children to Jesus, asking Him to lay His hands on them and pronounce a blessing over them. This reveals both their love for their children and their trust in Jesus, believing that He was good and gentle, and that His touch had real power to heal and bless.

·         But that disciples knew that Jesus was tired, that He had been burning the candle at both ends, and that He was headed for Jerusalem where He would be confronted by His enemies. They probably thought they were doing the right thing, that they were protecting Jesus. They thought that these parents and grandparents who were bringing their babies were just a nuisance, that Jesus had more important things to do. So, in their zeal they began rebuking the people and the children.

·         But don’t you see, in this attitude they are showing what they have in common with the Pharisee in the parable, in that they are setting themselves up as the final authority in what is and is not important and righteous behaviour. But this certainly didn’t go over well with the Master.

Verse 16: But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” 

·         Children normally and naturally came to the Lord. He did not want any adults keeping them away from Him – not apostles, not parents, not well-meaning idiots. Woe to anyone who keeps a child away from coming to Jesus. Jesus already made His feelings clear about this back in 17:2, “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble!” 

·         I’m now going to say something that may offend someone here. I’ve had people tell me that they don’t take their children to church or encourage them to believe in Jesus because they “want the child to grow up to chose for himself rather than be pushed into it.” But you see, that is exactly the role and responsibility of parents, to guide their children in the way they should go, to lead them to God. “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” You see, the little ones will follow you. They have complete trust in you. They will do anything you want them to do. So, God have mercy on you if you don’t bring them to God!

 

Verse 17: “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” 

·         What most characterizes a child? Humility, weakness, dependence on others, faith that they will be taken care of. These are the polar opposite of pride, and Jesus told His disciples that only those who exhibit these humble traits will make it into the Kingdom. That must have shaken them to the core.

CONCLUSION:

Pride is a terrible thing and it has some terrible consequences. First, pride will keep you from praying aright, just as it did with the Pharisee in the parable. It will destroy your prayer life. Secondly, pride will blind you to your need for God and to your lack of humility. Pride will also blind you to the worth and importance of the people around you. It will also blind you to the value of God’s grace and mercy. The Pharisee looked down on everyone, especially the publican, with disdain and supercilious, condescending self-righteousness, not realizing that he was just as much a sinner in need of forgiveness as was the tax-collector. Thirdly, pride will blind you to the fact that we’re not competing with other people. Even if you are a good human being and not guilty of ugly sins that some people have committed, if you are judging yourself by comparing yourself with other people you are using the wrong standard of measure. Compared to Christ you still don’t measure up because God says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” That includes the best people, people like that Pharisee, and people like you and me. We are all sinners!

The Bible calls us to have an attitude of humility before God and before men. The Scriptures are full of examples telling us that we need to humble ourselves so that the Lord doesn’t have to step in and humble us, because, believe me, that is not a pleasant experience. You don’t want to go there!

·         Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. (James 4:10)

·         Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time. (1 Peter 5:6)

·         Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. (Matthew 23:12)

·         The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, honour, and life. (Proverbs 22:4)

·         For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 14:11)

·         A man's pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honour. (Proverbs 29:23)

·         God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6)

·         The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, and before honour comes humility. (Proverbs 15:33)

So, I conclude with this appeal. Don’t be like the Pharisee. Don’t walk away from here thinking that you are OK because at least you haven’t killed anyone or committed adultery or stolen anything. Don’t think that lets you off the hook, because in God’s sight “there is none righteous, no not one.” We are all sinners and we all need the grace of God to come out of this thing alive. No one is “good enough.” No one will slide into Heaven on his own merits. The only way to get there is by God’s grace through faith in the shed blood of Jesus on the cross for you. If you have never done what the tax-collector did, admitting your sinfulness and throwing yourself on the mercy of God, then do it today while the Spirit of God is drawing you. Don’t put it off. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:2, “Behold now is the acceptable time, behold now is the day of salvation.”