Luke 18:9–17

⁹He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ¹⁰"Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' ¹³But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

Not often do we see in the Gospels a Pharisee and a publican together. There were Pharisees present at the dinner at Matthew, the publican's, house, but that is unusual. Here Jesus puts them together in a parable where both a Pharisee and a publican go to the temple to pray.

The Pharisee in this parable represents you and me. You see, the Pharisee was really trying to be like God, and that is what sin is all about. Remember the Garden of Eden? Adam and Eve wanted to be like God; that was the temptation. Their fall into sin was really self-exaltation, trying to lift themselves to a higher level.

That is what all of you want: you want to be more than what you really are. You want to be your own gods. You want to be free from God so you can be in control. So you can be independent, self-reliant, self-sufficient, autonomous, in charge. "I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul," goes the poem Invictus.

You are especially drawn by this culture and society where independence and self-sufficiency are given high value. With pride we say, "I am a self-made man." "I made it on my own." "I built my dynasty, my business, my fortune from the ground up."

That is what the Pharisee also said: "I fast, I tithe, I am righteous by my own efforts. I am a self-made man." What confuses us is that we give the Pharisees a bad rap. The fact is, he was a good person. He was not an extortioner. He was not unjust. He didn't commit adultery. In fact he was a holy, pious, righteous man. He was active in church and zealous about serving God. That's what the Pharisees did. He fasted and tithed more than required. He was not a sinner or bad person.

But, just like the Pharisee, you want to do things your own way. You want to have God on your own terms. You don't want a threatening god, or a god that is too big to handle. You want a god who will make you happy and comfortable. You want a god you can deal with, a god who is easy on you, a God who is nice to you. You want a god you can control. A god you can please.

But God is not like that. We can't handle him or control him. We can't please him. He isn't here just for our comfort and pleasure. What we keep bumping into is a God who is infinite, immutable, and uncontrollable. We come crashing into a God who is bigger than us, stronger than us, demanding of us, and beyond our understanding. We are left banging our head against an unmovable, inflexible wall; the almighty God. God really is our biggest problem: Our only refuge is to flee from him, to try to get him off our backs.

So, in order to get God off our backs, we become like the Pharisee: religious people, good people, active church members, zealous about obeying and serving him so that we too can say: "I am good enough by myself. I can do it on my own. I am able to be self-sufficient, and independent. I am righteous over and above others." "Aren't you proud of me, God?"

But where is boasting? "You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law" Romans 2:23. "boasting is excluded by faith," Romans 3:27. "If you are justified by works then you have something to boast about, but not before God." Romans 4:2. "Your boasting is not good." I Corinthians 5:6.

So we find ourselves running straight into our greatest nemesis: an all-powerful, immutable, eternal God who does what he wants without any regard for you or me. He does not consult you about what to do. You do not advise him. He doesn't turn to you for counsel or direction. We sinners have no option but to escape Him!

There is one thing that must be done; we must be crushed by that infinite God. We must be destroyed; put to death; slain. We must have our independence and self-reliance smashed to pieces. That rock, that boulder that is God, must come down on top of us and crush us. Our pride must be slain.

And that is exactly what God has done! God himself became a man, a human being. He became flesh of your flesh and bone of your bone so he could be your substitute. He became one of you and took your place the cross. He humbled himself, he bore the weight of God's wrath for you. He placed himself under the crushing rock of God. He entered into fiery hell for you in order to free you from God's overwhelming power and justice. He was humbled in order to exalt you. He was crushed in order to restore you. He was put to death in order that you might live. And he rose from the dead in order that you might rise on the Last Day.

Yes, that is the might and power of God; to remake you in His image. Yes, you, who were once created in God's image, he has restored to that image through the passion and death of his Son. Yes, you, were chosen to be his son or daughter; he has made you His in Baptism. Yes, you, for whom he has given his body and shed his blood, he feeds with that body and blood in Holy Communion. You he has chosen and called to be his child. You could not exalt yourself to the status of God, but by the body and blood of his Son he makes you to share in his divine nature in the Lord's Supper.

Yes, you must be crushed, humbled, brought down like the publican. You must have your spirit broken, your conscience seared. You must be beaten down, crushed until you beat your breasts and cry out: "Lord, have mercy on me a sinner." Until your conscience is afflicted, your pride broken, your self-reliance and independence broken, God cannot dwell in you. In order for God to dwell in you and make you share his divine nature, he must crush you with afflictions and trials.

Here we understand the meaning of our trials and sufferings. Here we begin to find a purpose in sicknesses and pain; why it seems like problems and difficulties pile up one on top of the other; why when it rains it pours as we say. It is at those times that the all-powerful and immutable God crashes down on top of us and smashes us to pieces.

Yes, all that affliction is a gift from God. For until we are broken and crushed we cannot be restored to the fullness of life. Until we die and are planted in the ground, we cannot be raised. Until we are afflicted by conscience and crushed by the law, we cannot be forgiven. Until we are humbled we cannot be exalted. So God's first word to us is a crushing word; a word of law; a word that kills our spirit and troubles our conscience. It is a gift. When God speaks to us this crushing word we know that the Spirit of God is at work. We know that God loves us and is taking action to bring us back to him.

And God's second word is a word of peace and comfort: "I have called and chosen you, my dear son or daughter, to be my own child." In the death of my Son I give you the right to become my sons and daughters. I created you in my image. I sewed together your parts and wove your fibers together. And I redeemed you with my blood and purchased you for my very own. You chose to run from me; but I have rescued you and brought you back. The publican was crushed by the weight of his sin, but I forgave him and lifted him up. So too, I uphold you when you fall and I raise you up when you are bowed down. I am near to you when you call on me. I fulfill your every desire. I hear your every cry and save you, and I preserve those who love me. (Psalm 145)

"You chose to be your own gods, but I have shared with you my divine nature. I have purchased you; forgiven you; paid for your sins; redeemed you from slavery to yourself. You are now mine!" says the Lord. "You are highly favored! You shall inherit my kingdom! You shall live forever!" Amen.