Jesus told the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Who were his audience? They were the Pharisees. They trusted in themselves. They also thought that they were righteous before God by their works. And they treated others with contempt—thinking that they were better than other people.
As a baptized believer in Christ, we do not trust in ourselves, but we trust in Christ. We do not look inward for righteousness, but we look to Christ. He is our righteousness. Likewise, we do not look down on others as though we are better than they are. Rather, we love them, serve them, and pray for them.
The Pharisee and the tax collector appear to be radically different. The Pharisee appears to be a religious man. He was disciplined and outwardly moral. The tax collector, on the other hand, was openly sinful and was despised by society.
Yet, Jesus tells us that the greatest difference between these two men could not be seen with the human eye. And here is the greatest difference … the Pharisee went home condemned, while the tax collector went home justified. This difference was not ultimately about their outward behavior, but about where they placed their trust. The Pharisee trusted in himself, whereas the tax collector trusted in God’s mercy. The Pharisee confessed no sin, whereas the tax collector confessed his sin. The Pharisee trusted in his own righteousness, whereas the tax collector trusted in the God’s righteousness. These are differences that only God can tell.
We cannot hide anything from God. He knows all things. He knows when there is repentance and faith in the forgiveness of sins or not.
The Pharisee seems to have much to commend him for. He avoided adultery and theft. He fasted twice a week, He gave a tenth of everything he possessed. His religious devotion was impressive. These outward works were not inherently wrong. We are indeed called to self-control, to be generous, to be faithful in worship, and to do good works. The problem was that the Pharisee trusted in his works as evidence of his righteousness before God. He was boasting before God in what he had done.
This is precisely what Ephesians 2, our Epistle reading for today, condemns. Verses 8-9 reads, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ and not by our works “so that no one may boast.” If salvation were by our works, then we would have something to boast about. But since our salvation is by God’s grace through faith in Christ, there is nothing to boast about. God receives all the glory. Christ alone is our righteousness.
Faith receives what Christ has accomplished for us. Faith trusts in Christ and His righteousness. Then good works flow from faith. First, there is faith in Christ, then there are good works toward the neighbor. Good works are the fruit of faith; the fruit of our salvation. Good works are good. God loves them, but they do not save us, and we should never boast in them. The problem is not doing good works. The problem is when we use our works as evidence that we deserve God’s favor, as if God owes us something. The problem is when we boast in what we do.
We are to honor our parents and other authorities. We are not to get angry, but we are to respect life and help other people. We are to avoid adultery and fornication, and we are to live a sexually pure and decent life. We are not to steal, but we are to respect the possessions of others and help our neighbor to improve and protect his property. We are not to gossip but we are to speak well of others and put the best construction on everything. We are not to covet, but we are to be content with what God has given us.
And yet, because of our sinful nature, our good works are never perfectly good. Everything we do is still tainted by sin. When we recognize that we are sinners by nature and that even our best works are imperfect, then our pride breaks down. And that is a good thing.
The Pharisee has many problems. He brags about how often he fasts and how much money he gives to the temple. He also treats the tax collector and others with contempt. He thinks that he is better than everyone else.
The Pharisee has many problems, but here is his greatest problem: He trusts in himself, rather than in the mercy of God. He is the object of his own faith. He is the center of his religion. Our Holy Gospel says that he prayed with himself rather than to God. Although he mentions God, the real subject of his prayer is himself. His faith is centered in what he does.
The tax collector, on the other hand, stands far away. He will not lift his eyes toward heaven. He beats his breast and prays, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” He does not compare himself with other tax collectors. He does not try to excuse his sin. He simply confesses before God that he is a sinner. And he believes that God is merciful. Therefore, he asks God for mercy.
The tax collector’s prayer is also our prayer, “God, be merciful to me, a poor miserable sinner.” We believe that God is merciful in Christ. Therefore, we ask Him for mercy and He gives it to us. In Christ, we are forgiven.
There is something significant about where the tax collector prays. He prays in the temple. The temple was the place where animal sacrifices were offered for sin and where sin was forgiven. The tax collector comes before God acknowledging his sin and asking God to make atonement for him on account of the animal sacrifice.
Those animal sacrifices ultimately point to Jesus. The blood of the animals could not finally take away sin. That is why they had to be offered over and over again. Those sacrifices anticipated the once-for-all sacrifice of the Son of God. On the cross, Jesus offered His own body and blood as the sacrifice for sinners. On the cross, He bore the wrath of God in your place. He made full payment for your sin.
On Good Friday Jesus died for your sins, but on Easter, He rose for your justification. On Good Friday Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. Three days later, He rose from the dead.
When Jesus died on the cross, your sins were charged to Him. Yet in His resurrection His righteousness is credited to you. St Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake God made [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
On Easter Sunday, God declared that the sacrifice for sin on Good Friday was sufficient and that death had been defeated. In Christ, God reconciled you to Himself, not counting your trespasses against you.
The Good News is that your sins are forgiven because of what Christ accomplished by His death and resurrection. The Good News is that God is gracious and merciful toward you because of Christ’s atoning sacrifice upon the cross. Eph 1:7 puts it this way, “In [Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
How do you receive the salvation that Christ has provided? You receive it through faith, that is, by trusting in what God has done for you in Christ.
This morning, the blessings of the cross and resurrection come to you by means of the Lord’s Supper. At this altar, we are all equal. We are all sinners receiving the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of our sin. There is no room for boasting or contempt at this table because every one of us are equal. We all receive God’s grace and mercy in Christ.
This Gospel, proclaimed in Word and delivered in the Sacrament, transforms us. It changes us for the better. We now joyfully and willingly love and serve one another. Ephesians 2:10, our Epistle lesson for today, teaches us that we were created in Christ Jesus “for good works.” We are not saved by good works. We are saved because of Jesus, and this salvation frees us to joyfully do good works.
Out of thankfulness for all that God in Christ has done for us we willingly love and serve our neighbors. We pray for one another. We visit the sick and the dying. We give food and clothing to the needy. We support God’s kingdom here in this place.
We do not brag about what we have done. Rather, we love and serve with humility. We do not compare ourselves with one another. We don’t look down on other people. We forgive others as we have been forgiven by God. We love others as we have been loved by God. We serve as Christ has served us.
The Pharisee trusted in himself and went home condemned. The tax collector trust in God’s mercy and went home justified.
You will eventually leave church this morning and go home. You will go home knowing that your sins are forgiven and that God loves you. Then you will faithfully live out your lives with joy.
But on your last day, having been justified through faith in Christ, you will go home to heaven—a place of everlasting joy. Thanks be to God. Amen.
