Luke 18:9-14
Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
The Bad
- Pharisee
- “to separate.” They were “the separatists, who withdrew from all evil associations and who sought to give complete obedience to every precept of the oral and written law”
- Judged others
- I mentality
- He will be humbled
- Tax Collector
- They were cheaters,
- hated by the Jews because they were betrayers of and defectors from their own people
The Good
- Both went to the temple to pray
- The Pharisee
- the largest and most influential sect in the first century.
- Fasted
- Gave
- Lived a good life
- The Tax Collector
- Cried for Mercy
- Justified by God
- He will be exalted
The Application
- Where does your confidence come from!
- Self
- God
You can download the PowerPoint presentation: Good and Bad
