Luke: 18:9-14
Bible passage: Luke 18:9-14
Key verse: "But 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!’" v13
Jesus wants to respond to the spiritual arrogance and self-confidence He sees around Him. To make this point He chooses two different people who go to the temple to pray.
The first is a pharisee. The pharisees were very focused on living holy lives and going the extra mile to be people God would be pleased with. They even tithed (gave one tenth to the temple) the herbs in their garden - which seems extreme by modern standards. The upside is they were very aware of how they tried to honour God in every part of their lives. The downside for them and, if we are honest for us as well, is that they were arrogant and self-righteous. That attitude is expressed in the pharisee's prayer.
The second to go to the temple was a tax collector. These were businesspeople who did a deal with the Romans to collect taxes on behalf of Rome. They were known to be both collaborators with a foreign power and unscrupulous in their collection of taxes. This man in the temple was in no doubt where he stood before God. “God, have mercy on me, a sinner”.
This is our challenge today, that we seek to reflect the values of God in every part of our lives, yet when we come before God our prayer should be - “God, have mercy on me, a sinner”.
Please share this daily- reading.
Many warm thanks to Karl Faase.
( Agreed: Digital Anvil.)
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