Trinity 11 – 2026

[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

“But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” ^(ESV)

~Prayer~

1. Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness

My beauty are, my glorious dress;

’Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,

With joy shall I lift up my head.

 2. Bold shall I stand in that great day,

For who ought to my charge shall lay?

Fully absolved through these I am

From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.

ELH 432

Going Home Justified

In Christ Jesus, whose sacrifice on the cross turned God’s anger away from us so that we could be pleasing in his sight, dear fellow redeemed!

Jesus preached to all sorts of people. He preached to the old and the young, the rich and poor, Samaritans and soldiers, Jews and Gentiles. One of the groups that he addresses more than thirty times in the Gospels are the Pharisees. At times Jesus was speaking to them indirectly. The Pharisees would wonder if Jesus was talking about them. When Jesus preached the parable about the wicked vinedressers who killed the landowner’s messengers and son, the Pharisees perceived that Jesus was talking about them (Matthew 21:45). In our lesson today, Jesus is very direct—two men went to the temple, one a Pharisee and one a tax-collector. Jesus doesn’t preach about the Pharisees; he preaches to the Pharisees.

We are familiar enough with this parable that most understand that we do not want to be the Pharisee, but the tax-collector. But what does that mean? The Pharisees were religious conservatives—does that mean we shouldn’t be religious conservatives? The Pharisees attended church regularly and were diligent in learning the scriptures—does that mean our attendance should be sparse and that we should let our Bibles get dusty? Since tax-collectors often took advantage of others, does that mean we should too? Or since they were social outcasts, should that be our goal as well? No, not at all. So, what then, is the point of comparison? What makes one man go home justified and the other not?

St. Luke’s introduction to Jesus’ parable gives us insight. He says, “[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.” Every one of us wants to be righteous. To be righteous is a good thing. It means you are without guilt or sin. We should want to be righteous. The problem with those Jesus was addressing was that they trusted in themselves for their righteousness.

The Pharisee Jesus depicts in our parable was a cut above the rest. He goes above and beyond what was written in the law. He fasted twice a week and gave tithes of all that he possessed. He lived a pious life. These things are in and of themselves good. Yet, when we take pride even in good things, they become hideous. Luther said, “A pretty girl who becomes proud of her beauty and looks down on others besmirches her beauty by her pride.” Beauty is a blessing, kindness to your neighbor is loving, living a chaste life is God-pleasing, but these good things are ruined by pride. Any good thing we have or do is a gift from God. God cannot endure our pride because it fails to acknowledge him as the giver of all things. Pride takes credit for what God has done and works in us.

Yet, what may stick out to us even more is how the pride of the Pharisee causes him to look down on others. Our text states, “The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.” It’s interesting that those who trust in their righteousness naturally look down at others with contempt.

When the Pharisee comes to the temple, he sees it as a courtroom, which in many ways it is. We stand before the throne of God. Except, he views himself as the judge and jury. He finds himself to be righteous. He sees the fruit of faith in his life as evidence for his righteousness. To bolster his position, he brings other people in as evidence to exonerate himself. And he has to! If you want to stand before God on your merits, it is necessary for you to put others down because you view them as your competitors. You think that by putting others down, you will raise yourself up by comparison.

Our Lord Jesus gives us this parable because he wants us to be genuine Christians who know the righteousness needed to stand before God. He urges us to bid hypocrisy farewell. He shows us how foolish it is to think that by putting others down, we will raise ourselves up. But this is very hard for us to grasp.

We are shocked that the Pharisee thanks God he is not like other sinners and for pointing out the tax-collector in front of him. We are quick to say, “God, I thank you that I am not like that Pharisee!” As we read this parable, it’s easy for us to become Pharisees ourselves. How often do we boost our pride by comparing our decisions, words, and works to others? We might admit that we aren’t perfect, but we pat ourselves on the back that we aren’t like that other guy! How easy it is for us to share failures and mistakes others make and how difficult it is to praise them.  

But who do you think wants you to look on others with contempt? Who do you think tempts you to see your sacrifices and good deeds in your life as something you should get credit for? The devil. Pride is one of the most pernicious attacks of the devil, because he turns good morals and godly living into evil deeds by making us trust in them. He tempts us to trust in ourselves while thinking we are being good Christians. So, Jesus warns, “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled.”

When Jesus said the Pharisee did not go home justified, it would have shocked his hearers. The Pharisees were admired and respected by all. Yet, who he contrasted with the Pharisee would have been even more surprising—a tax-collector! There was a reason the Pharisee listed the tax-collector among all the other sinners. The Jews despised tax-collectors because they worked for the Roman government. They often extorted money from the people by charging them more in taxes than they really owed. The tax collectors knew that the law-abiding Jews living under the brutal Roman government would do all that they could to avoid conflict with their government. And they took advantage of it.

So here comes one among this loathsome group into the temple. But instead of standing where he can be seen, he stands far off. His posture is reflective of a man who knows his sin. He knows his unworthiness. It stops him from even raising his eyes toward heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”

The tax collector like the Pharisee approaches the temple like a court room, but the difference was that he saw himself as the guilty party who threw himself at the mercy of the Judge. When he came before God, he only saw his own sin. He didn’t make excuses or comparisons, just a confession and a plea for mercy. And Jesus says, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.”

This is amazing! How can this be? How could this terrible sinner who was despised by the common Jew go home justified? It’s because he didn’t trust in his sacrifices, but the sacrifice of another.

The tax collector’s prayer is one of the best prayers in the whole Bible. He prays, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” When he came before God, he didn’t see anyone else. He only saw himself. Even if we have been able to overcome sins that tempted in the past, it doesn’t mean we are without sin because we are born in sin. By nature, we are guilty, let alone our daily weaknesses and sins. This is the confession of a penitent sinner. It’s to acknowledge that we are sinners deserving of death and hell.

The reason we must acknowledge our sins for what they are, is so that we realize that there is no way we can make up for them on our own. Our only hope is God’s mercy. This is exactly what the tax collector does. He says, “God, be merciful to me.” Now, the word he uses is very specific. While it is often translated as mercy in English, it really is the word for propitiation. The man literally said, “God, be propitiated to me, the sinner.” The word propitiate means to “set aside anger.” It is the word that pointed to the mercy seat where the High Priest would shed the animals’ blood in the Temple.

In the Old Testament, God had the Israelites offer animal sacrifices. Now this seems very strange to us, but God did this to teach his people that the penalty for our sins is death. The blood of the Old Testament sacrifices could not atone for sins, but it did point to the blood that would—it pointed to the blood that would be shed by the innocent and holy Lamb of God. This better blood would take away the sins of the world. This is why the Temple was so important!

The Pharisee went to the Temple to offer his own sacrifices and ignored the sacrifice offered at the Temple. The tax-collector knew he couldn’t save himself and so he put his one and only hope in the sacrifice that God promised would pay for his sins. He was putting his trust in the promised sacrifice of Jesus for the sins of all, which is why he went home justified!

If you came here this morning to show your worthiness to God or to use it as an occasion to show why you are so much better than others, then you have missed the point of church. You will not go home justified. But… if you acknowledge your sins and believe that Christ alone is your salvation, then your sins are forgiven and you will go home justified. No matter the sins that haunt you, the guilt you feel, or the shame you bear—if Jesus is your hope, there is no way you can’t be saved. Jesus said so himself, “It is finished!” St. Paul declares, “For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation [mercy seat] by His blood, through faith” (Romans 3:23–25). To go down to your house justified means that you are at peace with God. St. Paul writes in Romans 5, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

God promises to save those who put their hope in Christ who did all things well—who spoke well of others, in whom there was no pride, and who loved his neighbor so that he paid full satisfaction for the sins of the world with his death on the cross. We can confidently confess our sins along with the tax collector, King David, and the apostle Paul, “Chief of sinners though I be, Jesus shed his blood for me,” knowing with confidence, that for Jesus’ sake, we can go home justified before God. .” “The one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Amen.