More Justified

Luke 18:13-14

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. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

The tax collector was more justified than the Pharisee. See, the Pharisee thanked God he was not like other men in Luke 18:11-12. Let us talk about what more justified means. This man's occupation did not make him unjust, a sinner, or unrighteous. The tax collector did his job to pick up what others owed and hand it to his master. Have you ever been in a situation where somebody was judging you; had they really known the whole situation they would not have been able to say a word. Good God almighty, somebody is preaching today. See, if the tax collector knew what went on in the Pharisees's house, the Pharisee would not have dared to say over him those words. Have you gotten to the place in Christ where the perception of others does not matter anymore? This man's job of collecting taxes for his master was not sinful. Extortion of the people was. For this reason, the tax collector was the more justified of the two. See, the tax collector knew something the Pharisee did not; everyone has issues. Everyone has their own stuff which is why he said, "God be merciful to me a sinner."

We discussed what mercy means just a little while ago. Mercy is given to those who deserve it. This is why the ark of the Covenant is sometimes referred to as the mercy seat of Christ as in Exodus 25:22. Christ was sinless as Isaiah 53:4-6 presents; he had not done anything wrong yet was condemned for the sin of the world because of his mercy. Look at what the Pharisee has done. He spoke good things for himself aloud in the presence of others as Matthew 6:2 states. Good God Almighty, if you only knew what was in his house. This is why the spiritual instructions for some people say, spank gently according to Philippians 4:5. Some people are busy leading others to Christ in the middle of their stuff. If only you knew that their own nursing staff had someone else's baby because they did not want to bear the master one of their own. This is why the directions say spank the Pharisee gently. There is some stuff you do not know about. When God is finished with him, he will be more of a blessing to you than when he was nothing but your accuser. We see another spiritual principle at work here. Faithfulness to the Master always gives you greater responsibility. Who knew that God would make that tax man a collector of spiritual debts. The same God who elevates the tax collector to a higher spiritual role is the same one who is able to humble the Pharisee into a right relationship with himself as in 1 Peter 5:6-7.