Luke 18:14, New International Version

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Have you read and do you pay attention to the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in the four gospels? Have you meditated on it and dug deep into the meaning to know the heart of Jesus and His truth? O believer, don’t you know that Jesus is talking to us? He is speaking a message to help us search our heart and kneel in humility. Are we like those who stood by saying, “Jesus, I am not like those who sin against You. I go to church on Sunday, I read my Bible, I pray, and I tithe.” Just like “The Pharisee who stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’” (Luke 18:11-12, NIV) Let’s hear what the apostle Paul had to say about this, “If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.” (1 John 1:10, NLT)

There is no one righteous, and not even a single person is good except Jesus who never sinned. He is the only One who can be the offering for our sins. (Romans 3:10-12, 2 Corinthians 5:21)

Church is not a place for good people to enjoy fellowship, but a place for those who seek truth, those who desire to live in the light after living in the darkness, and those who desire to find the love of Christ. “On hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’” (Mark 2:17, NIV)

The darkness will not be extinguished if the light does not shine. (John 1:5) “For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6, NLT)

There is no one like Jesus, the Lamb who closed the gap for the unrighteous to become righteous. Yet He said, “Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” (Philippians 2:6-7, NIV) Do we follow Jesus in the same way? Would we be willing to go and visit Zacchaeus the Tax Collector (the one who is lost) and bring the good news to him? “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:9, NIV)

Jesus sees the sinner and He cares for them. He knows the unhealthy and He has a plan for them to be healed. He left the ninety-nine to find the one who was lost. (Luke 15:4-7) “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable...” (Luke 18:9, NIV) We should seek to recognize our sinful flesh as well as God’s holiness. We should seek to humble ourselves and love others without exalting ourselves before God.