Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional (Posted each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) as we continue in our Luke, Exploring Who Jesus is series.
Luke 18:10-14 reminds us that our justification before God is never earned through our own good deeds or performance. In fact, it’s the humbled who are exalted!
You can listen to this devotional below (It’s also available on Spotify on the Community Church Putney podcast)
‘“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee 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. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 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.”’ (Luke 18:10-14)
Our performance in prayer neither saves nor condemns us.
Jesus often used parables to teach. These are vivid and simple stories that make a simple point. Just prior to this, as we saw last week, He used The Parable of the Persistent Widow in order to teach about the need to keep praying even though life is often hard. Here, in today’s reading, He’s using a parable to teach about being humble enough to admit our sin and receive the gift of salvation. I think that it’s no coincidence that this parable about praying with humility and seeking forgiveness is paired with one about praying with boldness and persistence. Together, these two balanced parables teach us an essential truth: our righteousness and standing before God are not based on our persistence in prayer or any of our efforts. No matter how faithful we are in prayer, our righteousness is entirely by grace, not by works.
If the first parable about persistence left us feeling like failures—or perhaps made us feel proud of our efforts—the second parable reminds us that God forgives our shortcomings— and we all have them! Regardless of how well we perform, we all stand in desperate need of God’s mercy.
A parable designed to level us.
This parable reminds us of the danger of becoming smug and self-righteous. It’s easy for any of us to feel superior to others, comparing ourselves and judging our own righteousness as greater. When we see attributes like those mentioned—‘robbers, evildoers, adulterers…’—it’s not hard to understand why someone might feel morally superior.
The key to understanding parables is to grasp the main idea. This one is not suggesting that these sins are acceptable or that Jesus is tolerant of sin. Far from it—Jesus makes it clear that sin is serious, and He will judge all sin. However, the parable points out that even if we avoid certain obvious or ‘serious’ sins, we are all still sinners in need of forgiveness. No matter how respectable we may appear on the outside, we are equally dependent on God’s mercy - this parable levels all of us!
The humble will be exalted
Jesus declares, “All those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” This echoes a similar statement He made in Luke 14:11, where He also challenged pride and self-righteousness: “All those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
The ‘Sinner’ in our parable cries out, ‘“God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”’ This is better translated, ‘make atonement’ or ‘make propitiation for me’. This points directly to Jesus’ atoning sacrifice.
Have I humbled myself enough to place my faith entirely in Jesus for my justification? I cannot rely on my avoidance of certain sins or on my morality to save me. Salvation is not earned, and I cannot save myself. All of us are powerless and in desperate need of God’s mercy. As Paul writes:
‘You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Romans 8:6-8)
Today, let’s be humbled anew so that we may be lifted up in a fresh way. May our sin and helplessness draw us to the uplifting power of Christ’s love.
Let’s pray together:
“Lord Jesus, forgive me when I’ve not rejoiced and rested in your cross as I should. I thank you for humbling me and reminding me of my sin. I thank you for ‘exalting’ me to the place of righteousness and adoption in Christ. Amen.”
Community Group Notes
1. Notices
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News.
2. Icebreaker
How has God been speaking to you from His Word this week, and how has this helped you?
3. Worship together
Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.
4. Study and pray together
Note: Please make sure to allocate balanced time for the discussion, SIV, and prayer sections during your time together.
On Sunday, our message from Luke 18:9–17, titled Enter Like a Child, focused on two key passages: The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, and The Little Children and Jesus. We learned that entering the Kingdom of God requires us to entirely reject any hope of saving ourselves through our own efforts. Instead, we are called to humbly— like a child— receive the gift of salvation that Jesus offers.
Please read Luke 18:9-17 and discuss:
Did God speak to you about anything from Sunday’s message that would encourage others?
How do you think this section, with its emphasis on humility and grace, complements the previous section, The Parable of the Persistent Widow?
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, and the section The Little Children and Jesus, both convey the same core message. What is the main idea, and how should it shape our lives?
What does this section teach about how every member of the church, and parents in particular, should encourage and support children and young people?
SIV (Serve, Invest, and Invite)
SIV - How should this section correct our attitude and expectations in regard to those whom God can bring to salvation?
SIV - Do we have any stories of how we have ‘Served, Invested, and Invited’ recently?
SIV - Spend some time together talking and praying about who and how you are seeking to bring your community to Jesus; alternatively, pray for the ‘people of peace’ that you regularly meet with.
Let’s pray together:
Let’s pray for one another based on our study, and bring before God any other needs or requests for prayer.
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