Luke 18:9–14 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
This is part of the Gospel lesson read in our worship service yesterday. In his sermon, our pastor asked us “What is wrong with the prayer of the Pharisee? Aren’t we supposed to try to live the kind of life he was describing?”
“The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’”
When I reflected on that question, for some reason a mixed up, altered version of a praise song popped up in my head:
How great is my Life! Look at me,
How great is my life! You all can see,
How great, how great is my life.
We all have a tendency to think that way at times. However, that is a long way from the actual worship song, written by Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves and Ed Cash, which puts the emphasis where it belongs.
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God,and all will see
How great, how great is our God.
The tax collector had the proper attitude. He didn’t try to deny his own failings, shortcomings and sinfulness. He knew who he was and knew that God knew who He was as well. But He also knew and believed God’s promises, that He is a loving, merciful, gracious and forgiving God. So he cried out, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Throughout the Old Testament, God’s people took to heart those promises. They trusted that God would forgive them and would keep His promise to send a Savior. That promise was fulfilled when Jesus was born. He did what we needed, He fulfilled God’s Law in our place, He earned our forgiveness, He paid our penalty and He gives us the certainty that we will not get the punishment we deserve, but will instead get the salvation we do not deserve. This is God’s grace.
How Great is our God indeed!
