Thieves, Rogues, Adulterers
Sunday, October 28th, 2007
Twenty-second after Pentecost
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton VA
Luke 18:9-14
Theme: Humbling ourselves before God
Let’s do something a little out of the ordinary this morning. Let’s stand up for the Pharisees for just a few minutes. Not THIS SPECIFIC guy, he’s pretty much already been shown to be a less than honorable member of the sect, but for the majority of the men who belonged to it.
As a rule, if you spent any time in Sunday school or Bible Studies in the course of your life, you have a set understanding of the Pharisees – as well as the Sadducees, but that’s another SLIGHTLY different topic. In short, they were a self-righteous, hypocritical, power-hungry, two-faced group of men who turned Jesus over to the Romans to be killed. They were constantly trying to trap Jesus with trick questions and they didn’t ‘get’ the Gospel because they were expecting a politico-military messiah instead of the REAL messiah.
Pharisees are not at the top of our list of people we can trust and admire.
So, does anyone here know a real-live, honest-to-goodness, robe-wearing, tassel twirling, prayer-shawl dressing, Pharisee who fits the bill from what we’ve learned in Sunday school?
If anyone knows a Jewish Rabbi, that’s about as close as we can get to the Pharisaic sect. They are no longer in existence AS SUCH, but their legacy does live on in the modern-day office of Rabbi within the Hebrew faith.
Let’s get another perspective, from someone who DID know them in their day.
The Jewish historian Josephus says of the Pharisees that they were known for their excellence in the interpretation of scripture, their modest lifestyle, strong faith, and prayerful practice. They refused to swear allegiance to Caesar; they believed in the immortality of the soul and divine judgment after death, and they were widely respected. In short, they were models of serious religious folk, with a habituated faith that permeated every aspect of their lives. That means they lived out their faith day in and day out.
That makes me a little bit nervous. That description would be one that …I wouldn’t mind hearing about myself.
So why was Jesus so down on them? What was it about their ‘habituated faith’ that rubbed Jesus wrong?
We can begin with their name. Pharisee means ‘separated one’ – and it was this separation – from both the general population – the gentiles, as WELL as other Jews – that went against the core of Jesus’ gospel.
As we are studying on Wednesday nights in Matthew – in The Sermon on the Mount Jesus speaks about being salt – how it is supposed to flavor the food … it has to maintain it’s saltiness – that is primary – but it also has to be IN the food, not kept separate from it. We cannot have an impact on the world unless we are right there next to people as we struggle together with what life throws us.
Yesterday I attended the funeral of a 19 year old young man in our community whose parents and brother were struggling mightily to try and come to terms with the fact that their son and brother was taken from them at much too early an age. The service was held at Warsaw Baptist, and while the grief was palpable, it was also VERY clear that the family was NOT alone. The sanctuary was completely full. People were standing against the back wall, as well as in the balcony. Unfortunately, many of us have experienced similar services – when a family suffers an untimely loss, the community of which they are a part rallies around them and supports them. It is just that community that we are called to and to which the Pharisees were averse. Their zeal for purity was commendable, but it was expressed in a way that defeated the purpose OF that same purity. They missed the whole point of righteousness, and made it an end in itself.
That is why this man, THIS Pharisee, is held up by Jesus as an example of what NOT to be when you approach God. Jesus was talking to his disciples, not a group of Pharisees. They would have, for the most part, held Pharisees in the same esteem as Josephus.
And they would have thought of the tax collector in the same way as the rest of the population – that is, as someone to be UNfavorably compared to a maggot.
We’ve heard the explanations before. Tax Collectors, or, to be more precise, Toll-collectors, worked as agents of the CHIEF Tax Collector, under contract with the Roman Authorities to collect indirect taxes, such as tolls, tariffs, and customs. They would pre-pay the Roman Administrators the taxes, and then recover THEIR costs plus “additional fees” through any means necessary, up to and including extortion.
Notice, Jesus doesn’t contradict either man’s self-assessment. For that matter, the tax collector doesn’t try to contradict the Pharisee’s assessment of HIM. He freely ADMITS he’s a terrible sinner.
What creates the ‘huh??!!’ moment in this parable is Jesus’ conclusions – his condemnation of the Pharisee and praise for the other man. What we need to pay attention to is what their purpose is in praying – in coming before God.
The Pharisee is not so much interested in what God might think of him, he seems to be more stuck on what HE thinks of HIMSELF. Have you ever heard a prayer like that? Where the person praying is praying more to be heard … more to make a point … than they are truly speaking to and listening for God’s response? The Pharisee is more concerned with his own accomplishments than in drawing closer to God … and here’s the rub: his accomplishments WERE worthy of recognition and admiration – he fasted, yes, he tithed, yes. But he forgot the WHY of his disciplines.
The tax collector ALLOWED himself to be lumped together with thieves, rogues and adulterers by the Pharisee not because he was having a low self-esteem day, but because he recognized, either through his own self examination or by the words of some poor overtaxed soul who may have unloaded on him earlier in the day after having been relieved of his earnings for the week in the name of the Roman Proconsul, that he was, indeed no better than a common criminal – both in the eyes of his countrymen and more importantly in the eyes of God.
So what does this mean for us here at Jerusalem Baptist Church at Emmerton on October 28th, 2007?
Let me revisit a question I asked earlier: does anyone here know a real-live, honest-to-goodness, robe-wearing, tassel twirling, prayer-shawl dressing, Pharisee who fits the bill from what we’ve learned in Sunday school?
Let’s rephrase the question: have we ever found ourselves congratulating ourselves for something we’ve done that was good, and helpful, and commendable, something that others saw us do and which we KNOW will make us ‘look good’? And have we ever felt that self-congratulation turn into a sense of self-righteousness when we are confronted by someone or a situation between people that makes the gap between us seem very, very wide?
Last week, while visiting someone in the hospital, there was a necessary wait through which we had to sit. The room was shared, and the person in the other bed switched the television station to one of those ‘family in crisis’ shows – you know, the ones where a family is brought onstage to be the very public fodder for audience and an example of the theme of that particular program. They are the kinds of shows that appeal to our lowest common denominator, our fascination with watching people’s lives unravel before our very eyes. And in the process, we begin to feel like OUR lives, OUR choices, OUR messes, are so much LESS than theirs that we MUST have it more together than THEY do. I’ll admit, there IS a certain fascination with discovering the depth of human depravity, the total lack of empathy that can be achieved when someone is completely focused on themselves, and the surprisingly small space there is between the studio audience and their reaction and what I imagine the spectators at the Roman Coliseum would turn into during a gladiator fight.
We really are not that far apart from each other.
And that is what it comes down to.
None of us, for better or worse, have done ANYTHIING to deserve God’s grace more than any one else.
“…all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
We can never forget that it’s not about what we’ve done, but it’s about what HE’S done in the person of Jesus Christ, that allows us to approach God at all.
Let’s pray.
Sunday, October 28th, 2007
Twenty-second after Pentecost
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton VA
Luke 18:9-14
Theme: Humbling ourselves before God
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.”
Let’s do something a little out of the ordinary this morning. Let’s stand up for the Pharisees for just a few minutes. Not THIS SPECIFIC guy, he’s pretty much already been shown to be a less than honorable member of the sect, but for the majority of the men who belonged to it.
As a rule, if you spent any time in Sunday school or Bible Studies in the course of your life, you have a set understanding of the Pharisees – as well as the Sadducees, but that’s another SLIGHTLY different topic. In short, they were a self-righteous, hypocritical, power-hungry, two-faced group of men who turned Jesus over to the Romans to be killed. They were constantly trying to trap Jesus with trick questions and they didn’t ‘get’ the Gospel because they were expecting a politico-military messiah instead of the REAL messiah.
Pharisees are not at the top of our list of people we can trust and admire.
So, does anyone here know a real-live, honest-to-goodness, robe-wearing, tassel twirling, prayer-shawl dressing, Pharisee who fits the bill from what we’ve learned in Sunday school?
If anyone knows a Jewish Rabbi, that’s about as close as we can get to the Pharisaic sect. They are no longer in existence AS SUCH, but their legacy does live on in the modern-day office of Rabbi within the Hebrew faith.
Let’s get another perspective, from someone who DID know them in their day.
The Jewish historian Josephus says of the Pharisees that they were known for their excellence in the interpretation of scripture, their modest lifestyle, strong faith, and prayerful practice. They refused to swear allegiance to Caesar; they believed in the immortality of the soul and divine judgment after death, and they were widely respected. In short, they were models of serious religious folk, with a habituated faith that permeated every aspect of their lives. That means they lived out their faith day in and day out.
That makes me a little bit nervous. That description would be one that …I wouldn’t mind hearing about myself.
So why was Jesus so down on them? What was it about their ‘habituated faith’ that rubbed Jesus wrong?
We can begin with their name. Pharisee means ‘separated one’ – and it was this separation – from both the general population – the gentiles, as WELL as other Jews – that went against the core of Jesus’ gospel.
As we are studying on Wednesday nights in Matthew – in The Sermon on the Mount Jesus speaks about being salt – how it is supposed to flavor the food … it has to maintain it’s saltiness – that is primary – but it also has to be IN the food, not kept separate from it. We cannot have an impact on the world unless we are right there next to people as we struggle together with what life throws us.
Yesterday I attended the funeral of a 19 year old young man in our community whose parents and brother were struggling mightily to try and come to terms with the fact that their son and brother was taken from them at much too early an age. The service was held at Warsaw Baptist, and while the grief was palpable, it was also VERY clear that the family was NOT alone. The sanctuary was completely full. People were standing against the back wall, as well as in the balcony. Unfortunately, many of us have experienced similar services – when a family suffers an untimely loss, the community of which they are a part rallies around them and supports them. It is just that community that we are called to and to which the Pharisees were averse. Their zeal for purity was commendable, but it was expressed in a way that defeated the purpose OF that same purity. They missed the whole point of righteousness, and made it an end in itself.
That is why this man, THIS Pharisee, is held up by Jesus as an example of what NOT to be when you approach God. Jesus was talking to his disciples, not a group of Pharisees. They would have, for the most part, held Pharisees in the same esteem as Josephus.
And they would have thought of the tax collector in the same way as the rest of the population – that is, as someone to be UNfavorably compared to a maggot.
We’ve heard the explanations before. Tax Collectors, or, to be more precise, Toll-collectors, worked as agents of the CHIEF Tax Collector, under contract with the Roman Authorities to collect indirect taxes, such as tolls, tariffs, and customs. They would pre-pay the Roman Administrators the taxes, and then recover THEIR costs plus “additional fees” through any means necessary, up to and including extortion.
Notice, Jesus doesn’t contradict either man’s self-assessment. For that matter, the tax collector doesn’t try to contradict the Pharisee’s assessment of HIM. He freely ADMITS he’s a terrible sinner.
What creates the ‘huh??!!’ moment in this parable is Jesus’ conclusions – his condemnation of the Pharisee and praise for the other man. What we need to pay attention to is what their purpose is in praying – in coming before God.
The Pharisee is not so much interested in what God might think of him, he seems to be more stuck on what HE thinks of HIMSELF. Have you ever heard a prayer like that? Where the person praying is praying more to be heard … more to make a point … than they are truly speaking to and listening for God’s response? The Pharisee is more concerned with his own accomplishments than in drawing closer to God … and here’s the rub: his accomplishments WERE worthy of recognition and admiration – he fasted, yes, he tithed, yes. But he forgot the WHY of his disciplines.
The tax collector ALLOWED himself to be lumped together with thieves, rogues and adulterers by the Pharisee not because he was having a low self-esteem day, but because he recognized, either through his own self examination or by the words of some poor overtaxed soul who may have unloaded on him earlier in the day after having been relieved of his earnings for the week in the name of the Roman Proconsul, that he was, indeed no better than a common criminal – both in the eyes of his countrymen and more importantly in the eyes of God.
So what does this mean for us here at Jerusalem Baptist Church at Emmerton on October 28th, 2007?
Let me revisit a question I asked earlier: does anyone here know a real-live, honest-to-goodness, robe-wearing, tassel twirling, prayer-shawl dressing, Pharisee who fits the bill from what we’ve learned in Sunday school?
Let’s rephrase the question: have we ever found ourselves congratulating ourselves for something we’ve done that was good, and helpful, and commendable, something that others saw us do and which we KNOW will make us ‘look good’? And have we ever felt that self-congratulation turn into a sense of self-righteousness when we are confronted by someone or a situation between people that makes the gap between us seem very, very wide?
Last week, while visiting someone in the hospital, there was a necessary wait through which we had to sit. The room was shared, and the person in the other bed switched the television station to one of those ‘family in crisis’ shows – you know, the ones where a family is brought onstage to be the very public fodder for audience and an example of the theme of that particular program. They are the kinds of shows that appeal to our lowest common denominator, our fascination with watching people’s lives unravel before our very eyes. And in the process, we begin to feel like OUR lives, OUR choices, OUR messes, are so much LESS than theirs that we MUST have it more together than THEY do. I’ll admit, there IS a certain fascination with discovering the depth of human depravity, the total lack of empathy that can be achieved when someone is completely focused on themselves, and the surprisingly small space there is between the studio audience and their reaction and what I imagine the spectators at the Roman Coliseum would turn into during a gladiator fight.
We really are not that far apart from each other.
And that is what it comes down to.
None of us, for better or worse, have done ANYTHIING to deserve God’s grace more than any one else.
“…all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
We can never forget that it’s not about what we’ve done, but it’s about what HE’S done in the person of Jesus Christ, that allows us to approach God at all.
Let’s pray.
No comments:
Post a Comment