October 26, 2025 Sermon

Sermon title:  “The Pharisee and the Publican”

Scripture:  Luke 18:9-14

(Other lectionary suggestions include Joel 2:23-32, Psalm 65, and II Timothy 4:6-8 and 16-18.)

Luke 18:9-14

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

9He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ 13But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

          If you have been here for any length of time, you’ll recall that I have said before on more than one occasion, “Jesus really didn’t like pride,” and if today’s Scripture reading says anything, it says pride is BAD! The title of the sermon, “The Pharisee and the Publica”, is an older form that comes from the King James version of the Bible. The Pharisees, as you probably know, were a religious sect, a group that tried to keep themselves free from the contamination of the world. The term “Pharisee” or “Pharisees” means “separated ones,” those who tried purposely to keep themselves SEPARATE from the rest of society. The problem was, as I understand things, is that the Pharisees were so concerned about not letting themselves get contaminated by ordinary folks is that they forgot to be compassionate. And if Jesus was anything, he was compassionate. For Jesus, anybody who claimed to be religious but forgot to be compassionate was the biggest form of hypocrite. That’s at least one reason that Jesus and the Pharisees didn’t get along.

          The tax collector in today’s Scripture reading, sometimes called a “Publican,” because he was a PUBLIC SERVANT, saw right away that he was a sinner, and he didn’t try to hide that fact from God. In fact, he said, “God be merciful to me a sinner,” and some translations say “me THE sinner.”

          We are told that the tax collector went home “vindicated.” These words have been called some of the most pleasant in the whole Gospel:  to be “vindicated” by God. And how did that happen? Because he threw himself on God’s mercy, not once trying to paint himself as a “good guy.”. Unlike the Pharisee, not once did he try to tell God how good he was. He had the insight to see that he needed God’s mercy. How should we pray? Jesus gave us an example in the Lord’s Prayer:  “Give us this day our daily bread, and FORGIVE US OUR SINS, as we forgive those who sin against us.”

          There is a minister named R. C. Sproul, and he died in 2017. He also wrote a lot of sermons, and I discovered this one regarding the Pharisee and the Publican. He said this:  “You will go home sometime today, I presume. Will you be going home justified? If you are sitting in this building today and you are not justified, do not leave here until you tell the Lord God omnipotent that you are a sinner and cannot stand apart from His mercy and grace. If you throw yourself and your soul on Him and his mercy, clinging to Christ, you will go home justified.” The Pharisee went home that day and continued to tithe and fast, but, says Dr. Sproul, he remained an unjustified person. Sproul concludes his remarks by saying we all need Jesus. And he hopes our last prayer would be something like, “Jesus is my only hope. I put my trust in him. Everything else is sinking sand.” R. C. Sproul is a little more Fundamentalist than I like. But I do like his emphasis on the grace of God, and we need to be like that Publican or tax collector. He said, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” What do you think? Amen.

Pastor Skip