But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.But the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God, be thou merciful to me a sinner.
4 sermons cite this verse
… Four times we have the word translated propitiation. Once, as I mentioned in Hebrews 9.5, mercy seat, and then as a verb in Luke 18.13, you know the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector, the tax collector who beats his breast and says, be merciful to me, a sinner, is actually this same word. You could translate it that he looks up into heaven and he says, be propitious to me. Be propitious to me. That's okay. It's my right hand. I got another one. Look upon me with mercy because I am a sinner. It's not that mercy seat is a wrong idea. It's not that we don't believe in expiation. We do. But the ESV rightly, I'm arguing, translates this as propitiation, just as the King James did. So, it's not inventing something new because propitiation encompasses both of those ideas, what took place at the mercy seat in the Old Testament and the removal of sin, which effect is to restore a right relationship with God by turning away His wrath. Sin expiated becomes wrath propitiated. The Word carries this idea that a sacrifice has been made which enables God to be propitious toward His people. His wrath has been satisfied so that God looks upon us with favor, pro-us. You do not have to wonder if God is for you or against you. He is in Christ Jesus always, only, and forever for you. …
… evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give a tenth of all I get, but the tax collector stood at a distance, and he went out on his porch, and he started praying. He didn't feel like he was doing it right, right, but it came from a deep place of gratitude. He felt like he didn't do it right or enough, like he left something out, because the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven. He's not proud of his life, but he beat his breast and said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. So, Jesus… Which one did it right? I tell you, this man rather than the other. The one who went like this, not the one who went like this. The one who prayed without pointing went home justified before God. For all who exalt themselves will be humble, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. It's not how holy you are. …
… I give a tenth of my income. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven but was beating his breast and saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner. I tell you, Jesus told them, that this man, this tax collector, went down to his home justified rather than the other. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves shall be exalted. Friends, this is the word of God for you, the people of God. Thanks be to God. Okay, so this week I've been wrestling with this text. And I've drawn help from somewhat of an unlikely source. You may know his name, Charles Darwin. And now if you know Charles Darwin, you might remember him from your high school biology class, Natural Selection. The voyage of the HMS Beagle on the way to the Galapagos Island. Yes, that Charles Darwin. But there's something else that maybe you didn't know about Darwin. That he was obsessed with the human face. …
… he's bringing God his resume He's like, I fast twice a week. God, you should listen to me. I pay tithes on my whole income. You should listen to me. I'm not greedy. I'm not adulterous. I don't do all those things. These are all of the reasons why you should listen to me. Remember, those are all good things to do. The things he's doing are all good things. They're very, in fact, he's pretty impressive. I mean, twice a week, struggle for one. Tithes on everything. That means 10% of all of his income he gives to the Lord. It's pretty impressive. Those are not wrong things to do, but they are the wrong way to approach God. This is so important for all of us, especially if we have resume faith. Here's one of the reasons why it's wrong. One of the reasons it's wrong is if I come before God and say, God, here are all the reasons. All these things I'm doing, these are all the reasons why you should love me. …