Vision Series 2017
Series: RADICAL GRACE
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 11th November 2017
Passage: Luke 18:9-17
00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 The Russian Leo Tolstoy was a great novelist, apparently.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:10 I've never read him, but apparently he's one of the most famous novelists in the world.
00:00:10 --> 00:00:11 I know who he is.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:19 Historians would say that he's potentially the greatest novelist of all time.
00:00:19 --> 00:00:23 I don't know because I don't read novels as a general rule.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:27 I read biographies of novelists instead.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:33 But with things like war and peace, which I do know about, to his credit, that's pretty impressive.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:39 He wrote something about Anna, somebody at some point as well, if you're familiar with him at all.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:46 But he's Russian, and we call him Leo Tolstoy because we can't pronounce his Russian name, for those who are English.
00:00:46 --> 00:00:51 But it would seem that he believed the press about himself also.
00:00:51 --> 00:00:54 He thought that he was pretty special.
00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 There were certain things I did read about him.
00:00:57 --> 00:01:00 For instance, this prayer that he wrote in his diary.
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 Help, Father, come and dwell within me.
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 You are already dwell within me.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:08 You are already me.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:13 A historian, Paul Johnson, wrote,
00:01:13 --> 00:01:19 There are times when Tolstoy seemed to think of himself as God's brother.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:21 Indeed, his elder brother.
00:01:23 --> 00:01:26 Tolstoy once wrote in one of his diaries,
00:01:26 --> 00:01:31 Read a work on the literary characterization of genius today,
00:01:31 --> 00:01:36 And this awoke in me the conviction that I am a remarkable man.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:41 Both as regards capacity and eagerness to work,
00:01:41 --> 00:01:47 I have not met a single man who was more morally as good as I.
00:01:47 --> 00:01:52 Obviously need to get out a little bit more, I think.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:58 He wrote that he felt in his own soul an immeasurable grandeur.
00:01:59 --> 00:02:03 He regarded himself as above the rest of humanity
00:02:03 --> 00:02:11 as part of a historic apostolic succession of moral superiors
00:02:11 --> 00:02:15 like Moses and Abraham and Jesus.
00:02:15 --> 00:02:18 And down the line you get to Tolstoy.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:26 It could be said, borrowing from today's,
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 the opening words of today's text,
00:02:29 --> 00:02:33 that Leo Tolstoy was confident of his own righteousness
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 and looked down on everyone else.
00:02:39 --> 00:02:43 The irony of his words is that he got this version
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 of a superior, moral superiority,
00:02:46 --> 00:02:50 because of his love of Jesus' teaching
00:02:50 --> 00:02:53 in the Sermon on the Mount and his parables.
00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 I'm not sure if he read Luke 18.
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 Confident of his own righteousness
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 and looked down on everyone else.
00:03:07 --> 00:03:12 Last week, we started this journey to Jerusalem with Jesus.
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 We saw there, quite clearly,
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 that Jesus demands commitment
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 from those who would follow him.
00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 We saw that Jesus' journey to Jerusalem
00:03:23 --> 00:03:27 is our journey as he sets his face to Jerusalem
00:03:27 --> 00:03:28 to go there and die.
00:03:28 --> 00:03:32 We must set our face to die to ourselves with him.
00:03:33 --> 00:03:36 Luke 9, 23, 24
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 could not be any clearer
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 for the disciple of Jesus.
00:03:42 --> 00:03:44 If anyone would come after me,
00:03:44 --> 00:03:45 he must deny himself,
00:03:45 --> 00:03:46 take up his cross daily,
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 and follow me.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:50 Whoever wants to save his life will lose it,
00:03:50 --> 00:03:52 but whoever loses his life for me
00:03:52 --> 00:03:53 will save it.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:57 Daily, taking up your cross.
00:03:57 --> 00:04:01 Daily, taking on the position of a dead man walking.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 Dead to self, alive to Christ.
00:04:05 --> 00:04:10 So when Jesus set his face to walk the Calvary Road,
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 he was not merely taking our place,
00:04:15 --> 00:04:17 where we are just the spectators in it,
00:04:17 --> 00:04:18 watching him do it.
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 He was also setting our pattern.
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 He was both our substitute and our pace setter.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:30 And so the question for us is why?
00:04:30 --> 00:04:36 Why would I want to get on this road with Jesus
00:04:36 --> 00:04:40 when his call upon my life is so massive?
00:04:41 --> 00:04:42 The radical call,
00:04:42 --> 00:04:43 the radical claim of Jesus
00:04:43 --> 00:04:47 is extremely costly.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 The highest possible price,
00:04:52 --> 00:04:53 the surrendering of our lives.
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 Why would you want to do that?
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 Now, last week I touched on the answer to that question.
00:05:02 --> 00:05:06 And tonight I want to drive down into it.
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 I want to use this text that's in front of us
00:05:09 --> 00:05:15 in Luke 18 as my launching pad, if you like.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:16 I want to dig deeper
00:05:16 --> 00:05:20 because what we're seeing in this text here
00:05:20 --> 00:05:24 underlies everything about radical.
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 and everything that's going to flow from this
00:05:27 --> 00:05:28 about radical,
00:05:28 --> 00:05:29 what it means to be a radical disciple.
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 So we've had the call last week
00:05:34 --> 00:05:38 and now the radical foundation for that call.
00:05:39 --> 00:05:40 And the core issue with this
00:05:40 --> 00:05:41 is how to get right with God.
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 It's spelled out in verse 14.
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 I tell you, it says,
00:05:46 --> 00:05:47 I tell you that this man,
00:05:48 --> 00:05:49 rather than the other,
00:05:49 --> 00:05:51 went home justified before God.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:53 That's the core issue.
00:05:54 --> 00:05:56 How to get right.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 And so to help us understand that issue clearly,
00:06:02 --> 00:06:05 to understand what it means to be declared right before God,
00:06:05 --> 00:06:06 what it means to be justified,
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 Jesus tells this story about two extraordinary men.
00:06:11 --> 00:06:16 And these men are drawn by Jesus so starkly.
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 They're set against each other
00:06:18 --> 00:06:19 so that we can see the issue.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:24 They're characterized so clearly as black and white.
00:06:25 --> 00:06:26 We know from verse 10
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 that these two men go up to the temple to pray.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 But as it says in verse 14,
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 only one of them goes home okay with God.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:35 Only one of them is a friend of God's
00:06:35 --> 00:06:36 at the end of the experience.
00:06:36 --> 00:06:37 One of them, we are told,
00:06:37 --> 00:06:38 is a tax collector.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 The other one is a Pharisee.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 Now, we need to sort of pause for a moment.
00:06:45 --> 00:06:50 And it's really crucial for us not to get this all mucked up right from the start.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 Because if you're familiar with the Bible at all,
00:06:53 --> 00:06:54 and you've read through the Gospels,
00:06:54 --> 00:06:56 you will know that Jesus constantly goes,
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 clash, clash, clash to every Pharisee.
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 Jesus and Pharisees didn't get on.
00:07:01 --> 00:07:01 Jesus said,
00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 the harshest words from the mouth of Jesus
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 was directed to the Pharisees and the scribes
00:07:07 --> 00:07:08 and the teachers of the law.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:09 A group of three people,
00:07:10 --> 00:07:10 Pharisees,
00:07:10 --> 00:07:12 just copped it from Jesus.
00:07:12 --> 00:07:13 Woe to you.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:14 Curse to you, Pharisees.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:16 And so,
00:07:17 --> 00:07:21 we just automatically think that the Pharisee is the bad guy.
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 But not in first century Palestine
00:07:24 --> 00:07:25 for the followers of Jesus
00:07:25 --> 00:07:28 who heard these words from Jesus' mouth for the very first time.
00:07:29 --> 00:07:30 Peter, James, John, and the rest of the boys.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 The Pharisee was deeply respected in first century Palestine.
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 They were a pillar of the community.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:38 Trustworthy.
00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 Very generous to the poor and needy.
00:07:42 --> 00:07:43 And we can see in the text here,
00:07:43 --> 00:07:44 he says,
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 I'm a good guy and I give a tenth of everything.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:47 Very, very generous.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:52 They were not men who made their money out of religion.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 They were regular church attendees
00:07:55 --> 00:07:58 who were deeply, deeply serious
00:07:58 --> 00:07:59 about their commitment to God
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 and obedience to God.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:03 On the other hand,
00:08:03 --> 00:08:04 you've got the tax collectors.
00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 And they are lowlifes.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:10 They are very greedy.
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 No one would socialite with them.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:20 Tax collectors were considered absolute filth
00:08:20 --> 00:08:23 because they were traitors.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 They were Jewish people
00:08:26 --> 00:08:30 who teamed up with the occupying Romans,
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 joined forces with the occupying Romans
00:08:32 --> 00:08:34 against their own people.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 They had sold out their families,
00:08:37 --> 00:08:38 their friends,
00:08:38 --> 00:08:39 their nation,
00:08:39 --> 00:08:39 their religion,
00:08:40 --> 00:08:41 their God for the sake of money.
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 And so the Romans came in,
00:08:45 --> 00:08:45 they occupied,
00:08:46 --> 00:08:46 and they said,
00:08:46 --> 00:08:49 we're going to charge a 20% tax
00:08:49 --> 00:08:52 on everyone in this area.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:56 And to collect the taxes,
00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 they recruited these people
00:08:58 --> 00:08:59 who were Jewish people,
00:08:59 --> 00:09:00 put their hands up,
00:09:01 --> 00:09:01 and said,
00:09:01 --> 00:09:01 yeah,
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 I'll collect taxes from my own people.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 And the Romans gave them permission
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 to put their cut on top of that.
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 Whatever you want,
00:09:12 --> 00:09:13 whatever it is that you,
00:09:13 --> 00:09:13 you know,
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 you want to buy yourself a fancy camel,
00:09:16 --> 00:09:16 you know,
00:09:16 --> 00:09:17 put an extra tax,
00:09:17 --> 00:09:18 you know,
00:09:18 --> 00:09:19 you want to buy yourself a bigger house,
00:09:20 --> 00:09:21 put whatever tax.
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 So a tax collector could add
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 whatever they wanted on top of that.
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 And when they went in
00:09:27 --> 00:09:28 to collect the taxes,
00:09:28 --> 00:09:30 they had the Roman soldiers
00:09:30 --> 00:09:31 with their spears,
00:09:31 --> 00:09:32 protecting them
00:09:32 --> 00:09:33 and ensuring that the people
00:09:33 --> 00:09:34 handed over the money.
00:09:36 --> 00:09:37 Tax collector would hand over his dollars
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 to the Romans
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 and keep the rest for himself.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:44 So this guy,
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 as far as their friends,
00:09:46 --> 00:09:47 their nations,
00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 the other Jewish people,
00:09:49 --> 00:09:50 these are scum.
00:09:51 --> 00:09:52 They were not welcome
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 in any place of worship.
00:09:55 --> 00:09:56 Tax collectors historically
00:09:56 --> 00:09:57 were known
00:09:57 --> 00:09:58 when they didn't have
00:09:58 --> 00:09:59 the Roman soldiers around them,
00:09:59 --> 00:10:00 were very vulnerable
00:10:00 --> 00:10:01 and they were known
00:10:01 --> 00:10:02 to be stabbed to death
00:10:02 --> 00:10:03 in broad daylight
00:10:03 --> 00:10:04 in marketplaces
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 and people would not come
00:10:06 --> 00:10:08 to their aid at all.
00:10:09 --> 00:10:10 You would spit on them
00:10:10 --> 00:10:10 and kick them
00:10:10 --> 00:10:11 while they're dying.
00:10:12 --> 00:10:12 Step over them
00:10:12 --> 00:10:13 to buy you apples
00:10:13 --> 00:10:14 or whatever it is that you buy.
00:10:14 --> 00:10:19 And they hated the tax collectors.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:22 And so here we have,
00:10:22 --> 00:10:23 these are the two men,
00:10:23 --> 00:10:24 the pillar of the community
00:10:24 --> 00:10:25 and the absolute scum
00:10:25 --> 00:10:29 going up to the temple to pray.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:31 Most likely,
00:10:31 --> 00:10:32 it's one of the two daily
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 worship services
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 that took place in the temple.
00:10:35 --> 00:10:36 One was at dawn,
00:10:36 --> 00:10:37 one was around
00:10:37 --> 00:10:38 three in the afternoon.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:42 They were both services
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 of atonement offerings.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:47 And each service would begin
00:10:47 --> 00:10:49 in the inner sanctuary,
00:10:50 --> 00:10:50 sorry,
00:10:50 --> 00:10:51 outside the inner sanctuary
00:10:51 --> 00:10:53 at the great high altar
00:10:53 --> 00:10:54 where the sacrifice
00:10:54 --> 00:10:55 of a lamb
00:10:55 --> 00:10:56 for the sins of Israel
00:10:56 --> 00:10:57 was made.
00:10:58 --> 00:10:59 The service would include
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 the sound of a silver trumpet
00:11:01 --> 00:11:02 and the clanging of cymbals
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 and the reading of a psalm.
00:11:03 --> 00:11:05 And the officiating priest
00:11:05 --> 00:11:07 would then enter
00:11:07 --> 00:11:08 the outer part of the sanctuary
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 where he would offer incense
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 and he would trim the lamps.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:12 And at that point,
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 he would take the blood
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 of the sacrifice,
00:11:17 --> 00:11:18 disappear into the building
00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 to offer the sacrifice
00:11:20 --> 00:11:21 of atonement.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 And when the priest
00:11:23 --> 00:11:24 disappeared in the building
00:11:24 --> 00:11:25 by himself
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 in the inner sanctuary,
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 it was time then
00:11:29 --> 00:11:30 for those who gathered
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 into the outer courts
00:11:31 --> 00:11:34 to offer private prayers
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 to God
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 while the offering
00:11:37 --> 00:11:37 of atonement
00:11:37 --> 00:11:38 was being made.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:40 And here,
00:11:40 --> 00:11:42 we read the private prayers
00:11:42 --> 00:11:43 of our two characters.
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 Forget who these two men
00:11:46 --> 00:11:47 are on the outside
00:11:47 --> 00:11:48 and what the perceptions
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 of society are of them.
00:11:51 --> 00:11:52 Their prayers reveal
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 their hearts
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 and the heart
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 is what God sees.
00:11:59 --> 00:12:00 Pharisee prays like this.
00:12:01 --> 00:12:02 Father,
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 God,
00:12:04 --> 00:12:04 I thank you
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 that I'm not like other men.
00:12:06 --> 00:12:07 Robbers,
00:12:07 --> 00:12:08 evildoers,
00:12:08 --> 00:12:08 adulterers,
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 or even that scumbag
00:12:10 --> 00:12:10 tax collector
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 sitting over there.
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 How dare he?
00:12:14 --> 00:12:16 I fast twice a week,
00:12:16 --> 00:12:17 I give a tenth
00:12:17 --> 00:12:17 of all that I get.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 It's like he's praying
00:12:22 --> 00:12:24 and just hugging himself
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 and man,
00:12:25 --> 00:12:26 I'm a great guy.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:31 He praises himself.
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32 He adores himself.
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 He starts with,
00:12:34 --> 00:12:34 God,
00:12:34 --> 00:12:35 I thank you,
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 but instead of thanking God
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 for what God has given him,
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 he's thanking God
00:12:39 --> 00:12:42 for what he has given God.
00:12:42 --> 00:12:43 He's thankful for that.
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 And he does it so spiritually.
00:12:47 --> 00:12:48 He spiritualizes
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 his self-righteousness.
00:12:49 --> 00:12:49 He says,
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 God,
00:12:50 --> 00:12:50 thank you.
00:12:52 --> 00:12:52 God,
00:12:52 --> 00:12:53 I thank you
00:12:53 --> 00:12:54 that I'm okay.
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57 And then he goes on
00:12:57 --> 00:12:57 and explains
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 how different he is
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 from other people.
00:13:00 --> 00:13:00 And the problem
00:13:00 --> 00:13:01 with this Pharisee
00:13:01 --> 00:13:03 is that his evaluation
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04 of himself
00:13:04 --> 00:13:07 is based on the wrong standard.
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 He's using the wrong measure.
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 He compares himself
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 with other people.
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 I'm okay, God,
00:13:12 --> 00:13:12 because there's always
00:13:12 --> 00:13:13 someone worse than me,
00:13:13 --> 00:13:15 especially that
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 scumbag
00:13:16 --> 00:13:16 tax collector
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 over there.
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 That's what we do
00:13:20 --> 00:13:22 with morality.
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 We always,
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 ironically,
00:13:24 --> 00:13:24 when it comes to wealth,
00:13:25 --> 00:13:25 we don't think
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 we're wealthy
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 because we can always
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 find people richer than us.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:28 When it comes to morality,
00:13:29 --> 00:13:30 we always look down the line
00:13:30 --> 00:13:31 and find people
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 who are morally worse than us,
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 which makes us feel
00:13:33 --> 00:13:33 more comfortable
00:13:33 --> 00:13:34 about ourselves.
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 We always
00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 default
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42 towards
00:13:42 --> 00:13:43 an inflated
00:13:43 --> 00:13:43 view
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 of self.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:48 We're like
00:13:48 --> 00:13:51 filthy coal miners,
00:13:51 --> 00:13:51 you know,
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 five kilometers
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 below the earth's surface
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 in all the darkness
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 and coal dust
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 and dirt
00:13:57 --> 00:13:58 and mud
00:13:58 --> 00:13:58 and stuff,
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 comparing ourselves
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 with each other,
00:14:01 --> 00:14:02 imagining who's
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 the most cleanest
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 in this environment.
00:14:05 --> 00:14:06 Who cares?
00:14:07 --> 00:14:08 You're all filthy.
00:14:10 --> 00:14:12 We compare ourselves
00:14:12 --> 00:14:12 with whoever
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 makes us comfortable
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 regardless of our own filth,
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 regardless of our own sin
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 and corruption.
00:14:17 --> 00:14:20 And in this case,
00:14:20 --> 00:14:21 the Pharisee
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 is feeling great
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 because,
00:14:23 --> 00:14:23 well,
00:14:23 --> 00:14:24 there's the tax collector
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 just over there.
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28 You see,
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 a religious person
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 is easy
00:14:31 --> 00:14:32 on themselves
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 and they're hard
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 on everyone else.
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 That's a religious person.
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 Easy on themselves
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 and hard
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 on everyone else.
00:14:41 --> 00:14:44 God's assessment,
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 the true tape measure,
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 the true line
00:14:46 --> 00:14:48 of the human condition
00:14:48 --> 00:14:49 is quite different
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 and his diagnosis
00:14:50 --> 00:14:51 is what Sam read out to us
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 in Ephesians 2.
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 Let me read it to you.
00:14:54 --> 00:14:54 As for you,
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 you were dead
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 in your transgressions
00:14:56 --> 00:14:56 and sins
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 in which you used to live
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 when you followed
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 the ways of this world
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 and of the ruler
00:15:00 --> 00:15:01 of the kingdom of the air,
00:15:01 --> 00:15:02 the spirit who is now
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 at work in those
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 who are disobedient.
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 All of us also lived
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 among them at one time,
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 gratifying the cravings
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 of our sinful nature
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 and following its desires
00:15:12 --> 00:15:13 and thoughts
00:15:13 --> 00:15:13 and like the rest,
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 we were by nature
00:15:15 --> 00:15:16 objects of wrath.
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 And you see the diagnosis
00:15:19 --> 00:15:21 in Romans 3.
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 There is no one righteous,
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 not even one.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 There is no one
00:15:26 --> 00:15:26 who understands,
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 no one who seeks God.
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 All have turned away.
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 They have together
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 become worthless.
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 There is no one
00:15:32 --> 00:15:32 who does good,
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 not even one.
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 No one righteous,
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 no one who seeks God.
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 Worthless,
00:15:40 --> 00:15:40 dead,
00:15:40 --> 00:15:43 that is the natural
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 human condition
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 left to our own devices.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:46 We are dead
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 in our sins.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:48 And so the core
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 of human nature
00:15:49 --> 00:15:52 is not basically good
00:15:52 --> 00:15:52 and we just need
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 to mine the goodness
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 out of it somehow
00:15:54 --> 00:15:56 and let people flourish.
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 It is in fact
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59 fundamentally bad.
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 We are spiritually bankrupt.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 We are spiritually dead,
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 born dead to God
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 because we are born sinners.
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 And so therefore,
00:16:09 --> 00:16:10 spiritual life
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 is impossible
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 for something for us
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 to conjure up in ourselves
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 because corpses
00:16:16 --> 00:16:19 cannot help themselves.
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 That doesn't mean
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 that we are as bad
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 as we all can possibly be
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 because God is gracious enough
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 not to totally remove
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 His sovereign and gracious hand
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 from our lives
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 and leave us
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 to our own devices.
00:16:31 --> 00:16:33 What it does mean though
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 is that sin
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 has totally marred
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 every aspect
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 of the human life.
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 Every aspect.
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 We've got nothing
00:16:42 --> 00:16:42 to offer God.
00:16:43 --> 00:16:43 We've got nothing
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 to contribute.
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 Not only do we not
00:16:46 --> 00:16:46 have any righteousness
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 in our account
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 but we've actually got
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 a massive debt
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 in our account.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 We are spiritually bankrupt.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 We are deserving
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 of God's wrath.
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 Far from being
00:16:57 --> 00:16:58 a good person,
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 every person sits
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 under the wrath of God.
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 And so we don't need God
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 to make up the difference
00:17:10 --> 00:17:12 between our deficiencies
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 and what He requires.
00:17:13 --> 00:17:17 we need God
00:17:17 --> 00:17:17 to provide
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 a remedy
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 for our guilt,
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 for our rebellion,
00:17:23 --> 00:17:23 for our sin,
00:17:24 --> 00:17:24 our pollution
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 and our offenses
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 against God.
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 What we need
00:17:27 --> 00:17:30 is radical mercy.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:30 We need
00:17:30 --> 00:17:32 radical grace
00:17:32 --> 00:17:34 to provide
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 a satisfaction
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 for God's justice
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 to cancel a debt
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 that we cannot pay.
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 And that
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 is what this
00:17:42 --> 00:17:42 low-life
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 tax collector
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 understands.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 Everything on the surface
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 and on the inside
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 tells him
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 that he has
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 no reason
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 to look to himself
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 for hope.
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 And his prayer
00:17:57 --> 00:17:57 is simple.
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 Have a look at it there.
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 He beats himself
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 on the chest
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 and he says,
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 God,
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 have mercy
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 on me,
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 a sinner.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 And see what Jesus
00:18:10 --> 00:18:10 says at the end of that
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 about this prayer,
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 verse 14?
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 I tell you that
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 this man,
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 rather than the other,
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 went home justified
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 before God.
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 Now the word
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 justified there
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 means to be
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 approved,
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 legally
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 declared,
00:18:28 --> 00:18:28 innocent
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 of all wrongdoing
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 and to receive
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 the approval
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 of God.
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 And this
00:18:34 --> 00:18:34 lone life,
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 it says,
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 is right with God
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 and the pillar
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 of the community,
00:18:38 --> 00:18:38 the paradigm
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 of virtue
00:18:39 --> 00:18:41 goes away
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 not right
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 with God.
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 And you see this
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 if you've read
00:18:47 --> 00:18:47 through Luke's gospel,
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 you'll see this
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 again and again
00:18:50 --> 00:18:50 in Luke's gospel.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:53 In Luke 7,
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 there's a Pharisee
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 and a sinful woman.
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 In Luke 15,
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 there's a father
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 with two sons.
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 One son
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 stays at home,
00:19:01 --> 00:19:01 always does
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 what he's told.
00:19:03 --> 00:19:03 And then there's
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 a younger brother
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 who rejects his dad,
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 says,
00:19:06 --> 00:19:06 I want nothing
00:19:06 --> 00:19:06 to do with you
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 but I want my
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 share of the hidden
00:19:08 --> 00:19:08 runs off,
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 spends the money
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 in wild living.
00:19:11 --> 00:19:11 And then here
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 in Luke 18,
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 we have a pillar
00:19:13 --> 00:19:13 of the community,
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 we have a traitor
00:19:14 --> 00:19:16 and in every case,
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 the good person,
00:19:18 --> 00:19:18 we have a good person
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 and a bad person,
00:19:20 --> 00:19:20 the bad person
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 is saved,
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 the good person
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 is lost
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 in every one
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 of those stories.
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 There are two ways,
00:19:32 --> 00:19:34 two ways
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 to be your own
00:19:35 --> 00:19:35 savior
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 and Lord.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 There's two ways
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 to reject God
00:19:39 --> 00:19:41 and be your own God.
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 One way
00:19:43 --> 00:19:43 is doing
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 what the tax collector
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 has been doing,
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48 living any way
00:19:48 --> 00:19:48 he wants,
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 thumbing his nose
00:19:51 --> 00:19:51 at God
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 and frankly,
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 using everyone else
00:19:55 --> 00:19:57 for his own end.
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 That's one way
00:19:58 --> 00:19:58 of doing it.
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 It's obvious
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 to most people.
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 The other way
00:20:03 --> 00:20:05 to reject God
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 and be your own God
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 is to be
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 very moral,
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 very righteous,
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 very dutiful
00:20:12 --> 00:20:16 and then saying,
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 well God,
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 look at me,
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 now you owe me God
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 and you people,
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 you now owe me too.
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 You owe me the respect
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 I deserve.
00:20:25 --> 00:20:27 And the mark
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 of someone
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 being their own savior,
00:20:30 --> 00:20:30 their own lord,
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 their own God,
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 despite all of how
00:20:33 --> 00:20:33 they might look
00:20:33 --> 00:20:35 on the outside,
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 is that they
00:20:37 --> 00:20:39 look down
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 on everyone else.
00:20:41 --> 00:20:46 You see,
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 religious people,
00:20:49 --> 00:20:49 Pharisees,
00:20:50 --> 00:20:50 the self-righteous,
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 the superior,
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 are easy on themselves
00:20:53 --> 00:20:56 but hard
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 on everyone else.
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 So why is it
00:21:01 --> 00:21:03 that this bad person
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 goes home right with God
00:21:04 --> 00:21:04 and the good person
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 gets lost
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07 as it is
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 with the rest of Luke?
00:21:09 --> 00:21:09 It's not because
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 one is good
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 and the other is bad.
00:21:12 --> 00:21:12 It's not because
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 God,
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 you know,
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 doesn't condemn,
00:21:16 --> 00:21:16 you know,
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 God doesn't condemn
00:21:17 --> 00:21:19 people for being good
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 and saves people
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 because they're bad.
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 It's not like,
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 you know,
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 it's not like
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 he specifically
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 just saves
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 all the bad people.
00:21:28 --> 00:21:28 It's because
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 the good person
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 doesn't know
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 they are in fact bad.
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 They don't know
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 that they are rotten
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 and in need
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 of a rescuer.
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 They ought to know it
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 because according
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 to Luke 18,
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 at least one
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 of the symptoms
00:21:42 --> 00:21:44 of our desperate
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 need of a rescuer
00:21:45 --> 00:21:49 is that we judge
00:21:49 --> 00:21:49 and condemn
00:21:49 --> 00:21:51 everyone else around us
00:21:51 --> 00:21:51 who do not meet
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 our standards.
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 We look down the nose
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 at other people.
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 That's the symptom
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 of someone
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 who needs a rescuer.
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 And here,
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 in this story,
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 as in the others
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 in Luke,
00:22:05 --> 00:22:07 the bad person
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 knows that they're bad.
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 And see the prayer
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 of this tax collector?
00:22:11 --> 00:22:11 God,
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 have mercy on me,
00:22:13 --> 00:22:13 the sinner.
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 That is in fact
00:22:15 --> 00:22:15 a better reading.
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 It's not a sinner
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 but the sinner.
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 He's not trying
00:22:20 --> 00:22:20 to find comfort
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 in the fact that,
00:22:21 --> 00:22:21 well,
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 you know,
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 we're all in the same boat.
00:22:26 --> 00:22:26 He doesn't say,
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 sure,
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 I've made my mistakes
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 but I'm no different
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 than anyone else.
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 I'm only human after all.
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 He says,
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 God,
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 I am the sinner.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 I am the model sinner.
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 I'm the essential sinner.
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 He doesn't care
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 how he compares
00:22:37 --> 00:22:37 with other people.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 He's not looking
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 at other people.
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 This guy knows
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 that he's not okay
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 with God
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 and he cries out
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 in despair
00:22:44 --> 00:22:46 and he pleads
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 for mercy.
00:22:48 --> 00:22:48 You see,
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 the religious person
00:22:49 --> 00:22:52 is easy on themselves
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 and hard on others.
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 The disciple
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 of the Lord Jesus
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 is hard on themselves
00:22:56 --> 00:22:58 and easy on others.
00:23:02 --> 00:23:02 Now,
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 it's interesting here
00:23:03 --> 00:23:03 in this text
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 that the word
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 mercy
00:23:05 --> 00:23:09 is an unusual word.
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 The common word
00:23:13 --> 00:23:13 for mercy
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 that's used
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 in most of the New Testament
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 is different
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 than the word
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 here.
00:23:20 --> 00:23:22 And what it's saying,
00:23:22 --> 00:23:22 and it's used
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 only in one other place
00:23:23 --> 00:23:25 apart from Luke 18
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 in the New Testament,
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 this tax collector
00:23:27 --> 00:23:29 isn't asking God
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 for sympathy.
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 He's not asking God
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 for compassion.
00:23:31 --> 00:23:33 He isn't asking God
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 to give him a break.
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 The word for mercy here,
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 as I said,
00:23:37 --> 00:23:39 is found in one other place
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 and it means
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 to appease
00:23:41 --> 00:23:43 or to
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 turn away
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 someone else's
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 anger,
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 to propitiate
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 someone else's
00:23:49 --> 00:23:49 anger.
00:23:50 --> 00:23:52 So the tax collector
00:23:52 --> 00:23:52 in this moment
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 is not saying,
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 oh Lord,
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 come on,
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 let me off the hook,
00:23:56 --> 00:23:56 let bygones be
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 guy gones,
00:23:57 --> 00:23:57 you know,
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 I'm not that bad
00:23:58 --> 00:23:58 after all.
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 He's crying out to God
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 in this moment
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 as he sits
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 in the temple courts
00:24:04 --> 00:24:06 and the sacrifice
00:24:06 --> 00:24:06 for atonement
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 is happening.
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 He's crying out,
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 Lord,
00:24:09 --> 00:24:11 atone for my sin.
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 I need your anger
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 to be turned away
00:24:16 --> 00:24:16 from me.
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 He understood
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 his true condition.
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 The wages of sin
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 is death
00:24:24 --> 00:24:26 according to Romans 3
00:24:26 --> 00:24:28 and he's asking God
00:24:28 --> 00:24:30 to pay that wage
00:24:30 --> 00:24:30 for him.
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 Pay it for me.
00:24:32 --> 00:24:36 He wants atonement.
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 You see,
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 because in this moment
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 the fog of his
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 self-righteousness
00:24:40 --> 00:24:42 and his self-justification
00:24:42 --> 00:24:44 has finally parted
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 and he now sees
00:24:45 --> 00:24:47 who he truly is.
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 He finally sees
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 that there is a God
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 who created him
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 and keeps him alive
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 every second.
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 He finally sees
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 that he should do
00:24:55 --> 00:24:57 absolutely everything
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 for this God.
00:24:58 --> 00:25:00 He sees that this God
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 should be loved
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 more than anything else
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 that no one
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 should be obeyed
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 more than this God.
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 He finally sees
00:25:06 --> 00:25:08 that he hasn't even
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 got close
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 to that standard.
00:25:12 --> 00:25:14 He finally sees
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 that if anyone
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 was as ungrateful
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 to him
00:25:17 --> 00:25:19 as he has been
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 to this God,
00:25:20 --> 00:25:22 he would cut them off
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 forever.
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 He sees that
00:25:28 --> 00:25:28 that's exactly
00:25:28 --> 00:25:30 what he deserves.
00:25:30 --> 00:25:32 that's what he deserves
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 from this God.
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 To be cut off
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 from the source
00:25:36 --> 00:25:36 of life
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 and hope
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 and peace
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 and so he cries out,
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 God,
00:25:40 --> 00:25:43 please pay that wage
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 for me.
00:25:44 --> 00:25:51 the other place
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 in the New Testament
00:25:52 --> 00:25:54 where the word
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 for this word
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 for mercy
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 is used
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 is in Hebrews
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 chapter 2
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 verse 17
00:25:59 --> 00:26:01 and it tells us
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 why
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 Jesus was
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 on this road
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 to Jerusalem.
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 Talking about
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 Jesus says
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 for this reason
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 he
00:26:10 --> 00:26:13 had to be
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 made like them
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 fully human
00:26:15 --> 00:26:17 in every way
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 in order that
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 he might become
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 a merciful
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 and faithful
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 high priest
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 in service to God
00:26:23 --> 00:26:25 and that he
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 might make
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 atonement,
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 he might make
00:26:28 --> 00:26:28 mercy
00:26:28 --> 00:26:30 for the sins
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 of the people.
00:26:32 --> 00:26:34 In other words,
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 God is
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 infinitely holy,
00:26:37 --> 00:26:39 he hates
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 evil and sin
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 but he came
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 to earth
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 in the person
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 of the Lord Jesus
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 and he lost
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 everything.
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 He lost
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 his glory,
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 he lost
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 his invulnerability,
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 he lost
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 all of his riches,
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 he lost his place
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 beside the Father,
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 he was tortured,
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 he was mocked,
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 he was ridiculed,
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 everything was
00:26:59 --> 00:26:59 stripped from him,
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 even his clothes
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 were stripped
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 from him.
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 He was killed,
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 abandoned by his
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 disciples
00:27:04 --> 00:27:06 and he was
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 doing it for you
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 and for me
00:27:08 --> 00:27:08 and for humanity
00:27:08 --> 00:27:10 and for this
00:27:10 --> 00:27:10 tax collector
00:27:10 --> 00:27:13 to make atonement
00:27:13 --> 00:27:13 for our sin.
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 He was paying
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 the wage
00:27:15 --> 00:27:18 of death
00:27:18 --> 00:27:20 for the sins
00:27:20 --> 00:27:20 of the world.
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 That is the
00:27:23 --> 00:27:23 radical grace
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 of God.
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 And we heard
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 from Ephesians 2
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 the natural state
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 before God
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 before is that
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 we are dead
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 in our transgressions
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 and sins
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 but in the very
00:27:34 --> 00:27:34 next verses
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 in Ephesians
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 we have the
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 hope of grace
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 but
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 you've got to
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 love the word
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 but
00:27:40 --> 00:27:42 but
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 because of
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 his great
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 mercy for us
00:27:44 --> 00:27:44 God who is
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 rich in mercy
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 made us alive
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 in Christ
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 even when we
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 were dead
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 in transgressions
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 it's by grace
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 you have been
00:27:51 --> 00:27:51 saved.
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 We were dead
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 in our transgressions
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 but God intervened
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 and gave us life.
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 We were dead
00:27:58 --> 00:27:58 in bondage
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 to sin
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 but God intervened
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 and released us.
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 We were objects
00:28:02 --> 00:28:02 of wrath
00:28:02 --> 00:28:04 but God intervened
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 and he poured
00:28:05 --> 00:28:05 out his anger
00:28:05 --> 00:28:07 upon himself.
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 God who is
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 rich in mercy
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 intervened.
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 Our condition
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 was hopeless
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 but God intervened
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 in grace.
00:28:16 --> 00:28:16 The grace
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 of God
00:28:17 --> 00:28:19 is his love
00:28:19 --> 00:28:21 freely
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 freely
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 given
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 shown towards
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 guilty sinners
00:28:25 --> 00:28:25 contrary
00:28:25 --> 00:28:27 to their merit
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 and in fact
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 in total defiance
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 of all their
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 demerit.
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 that has nothing
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 to do with us
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 it's got everything
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 to do
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 with the character
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 of this God
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 and the radical
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 grace and generosity
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 of God
00:28:38 --> 00:28:40 is the great exchange.
00:28:41 --> 00:28:43 2 Corinthians 8
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 and 9
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 says
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 for you know
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 the grace
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 of our Lord
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 Jesus Christ
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 though he was
00:28:47 --> 00:28:47 rich
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 speaking about
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 internally rich
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 with the Father
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 perfect with the Father
00:28:51 --> 00:28:53 yet for our sakes
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 he became poor
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 he became human
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 for everlasting
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 from that point on
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 so that through
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 his poverty
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 we might join
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 into the everlasting
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 relationship
00:29:02 --> 00:29:02 of the Father
00:29:02 --> 00:29:04 that's 2 Corinthians
00:29:04 --> 00:29:04 8 and 9
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 2 Corinthians 5
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 21
00:29:06 --> 00:29:06 God made him
00:29:06 --> 00:29:08 who had no sin
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 sinless
00:29:09 --> 00:29:09 to be sin
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 for us
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 so that in him
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 we might become
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 sinless
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 the righteousness
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 of God
00:29:15 --> 00:29:17 God's radical
00:29:17 --> 00:29:17 grace is the
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 foundation
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 and the motivation
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 of his radical
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 call
00:29:20 --> 00:29:24 the radical call
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 to take up our
00:29:25 --> 00:29:25 cross and follow
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 him
00:29:26 --> 00:29:28 it's his grace
00:29:28 --> 00:29:31 radical grace
00:29:31 --> 00:29:33 self-righteousness
00:29:33 --> 00:29:33 leads to a life
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 of looking down
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 your nose
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 at everyone else
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 judging people
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 condemning people
00:29:37 --> 00:29:40 the religious person
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 is easy on themselves
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 and they're hard
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 on everyone else
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 but the grace
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 fueled
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 disciple
00:29:46 --> 00:29:46 of the Lord
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 Jesus
00:29:47 --> 00:29:49 is hard
00:29:49 --> 00:29:49 on themselves
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 and easy
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 on others
00:29:51 --> 00:29:53 on everyone else
00:29:53 --> 00:29:57 you see
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 God's
00:29:58 --> 00:30:00 radical grace
00:30:00 --> 00:30:00 to us
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 in the Lord
00:30:01 --> 00:30:01 Jesus
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 leads to a life
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 of radical grace
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 it leads to a life
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 of abundant
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 generosity
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 and graciousness
00:30:07 --> 00:30:09 towards other people
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 in fact I would say
00:30:10 --> 00:30:12 grace and generosity
00:30:12 --> 00:30:14 in every area of life
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 free abandonment
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 in every area of life
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 so that we take up
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 our cross
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 and we follow Christ
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 we've got nothing
00:30:20 --> 00:30:20 to lose
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 he's been given
00:30:21 --> 00:30:21 everything
00:30:21 --> 00:30:23 and we see
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 that happens
00:30:24 --> 00:30:26 for one tax collector
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 in the very next chapter
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 I don't want to kind of
00:30:28 --> 00:30:28 steal too much
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 of my message
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 which I'll probably
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 preach on in a few weeks
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 about this guy
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 very next chapter
00:30:33 --> 00:30:35 it's just as Jesus
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 gets right on the
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 very edge of Jerusalem
00:30:37 --> 00:30:39 and what we introduce
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 there is to a young
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 not a young bloke
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 a little bloke
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 who is described
00:30:43 --> 00:30:45 as the chief
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 tax collector
00:30:46 --> 00:30:48 he's the chief
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 scumbag
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 he's the chief
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 low life
00:30:51 --> 00:30:53 he is the lowest
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 I mean
00:30:53 --> 00:30:56 he's lower than a snake
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 sliding on the ground
00:30:57 --> 00:30:57 this guy
00:30:57 --> 00:30:59 there's no one worse
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 in society
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 than Zacchaeus
00:31:01 --> 00:31:04 self-centered
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 totally greedy
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 rejected by all
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 the recipient of
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 scorn and hatred
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 and vitriol
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 and then Jesus
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 comes along
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 and Jesus
00:31:12 --> 00:31:12 is the only person
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 who looks at him
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 he's the only person
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 who speaks to him
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 and Jesus picks him
00:31:16 --> 00:31:16 out
00:31:16 --> 00:31:18 loves him
00:31:18 --> 00:31:20 and so overwhelmed
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 by the grace of Jesus
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 to him
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 Zacchaeus just
00:31:23 --> 00:31:25 overflows
00:31:25 --> 00:31:27 in abundant
00:31:27 --> 00:31:27 generosity
00:31:27 --> 00:31:29 from that moment
00:31:29 --> 00:31:32 nothing
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 Zacchaeus holds
00:31:33 --> 00:31:35 nothing back
00:31:35 --> 00:31:41 that is a disciple
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 who's taken up his cross
00:31:42 --> 00:31:42 and following Christ
00:31:42 --> 00:31:46 we will never
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 take up our cross
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 we will never
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 obey that call
00:31:49 --> 00:31:51 we will never
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 take up our cross
00:31:52 --> 00:31:52 and follow Christ
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 as his radical
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 disciples
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 until we recognize
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 our appalling
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 natural condition
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 without Jesus
00:31:58 --> 00:32:00 and truly
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 rejoice
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 in the wonderful
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 news
00:32:03 --> 00:32:03 of his radical
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 grace
00:32:04 --> 00:32:06 we will
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 always
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 hold
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 something
00:32:09 --> 00:32:09 back
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 from him
00:32:10 --> 00:32:12 until we fully
00:32:12 --> 00:32:12 understand
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 and appreciate
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 that he has
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 never
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 held anything
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 back from us