UTTER ... ARROGANCE? (THE PHARISEE AND THE TAX COLLECTOR, LK. 18:9-14)

Speaker: Pastor Tristan Sherwin

'In a way, the Tax Collector’s prayer is the only honest prayer in the room.

Not because he is morally superior to the Pharisee. That would miss the point entirely. If we turn this story into “bad Pharisee, good tax collector,” we have simply repeated the Pharisee’s mistake with different characters.

But it’s honest because he simply acknowledges the truth of his situation before God: He has nothing to give, and everything to receive.

He is lifeless, but God is life.

I like what the preacher and chef, Robert Farrar Capon’s said about this parable. He pointed out that the lesson of this parable is not the virtue of humility. It’s about recognising that we are lifeless and putting your faith in the God who raises the dead.''

Tristan shares his full sermon notes on his own blog. You can read this full message here: UTTER ... ARROGANCE? (THE PHARISEE AND THE TAX COLLECTOR, LK. 18:9-14)