WHO IS THE ONE GOD EXALTS?
Luke 18:1-43
Key Verse: 18:14b
“…but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
In Luke 18:14, Jesus said, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” These verses are self-explanatory: A proud man will be humbled, while a humble man will be exalted. 1 Peter 5:5b expresses the same thought: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” These verses clearly express that God never blesses a proud person. Who are “the proud”? A proud person basically thinks highly of himself. A proud person is very easily offended when he perceives that he is not properly honored and respected by others. A proud person is unable to consider someone else’s opinion or ideas, for they think that their thoughts and ideas are always better. The life of the proud is miserable. Proud people also suffer a lot and make little personal progress because they do not learn from others and God. They also suffer from loneliness, for no one really wants to be friends with proud people. In brief, proud people think and act and live as though they are the center of the universe. That’s all we’ll say about proud people, for it makes us so tired just to mention or think about them. On the other hand, the Bible says that God “gives grace to the humble.” In Luke 18, we will see the kinds of humble people whom God exalts. What does exalt mean? It means to raise in honor or to praise. Humble people are pleasing to God. May God exalt each of you as your learn and practice humbleness.
First, the one exalted by God always prays and does not loose heart (1-8). Prayer acknowledges our need and it expresses our dependency on God. Proud people can’t really pray, because they subconsciously think that they can solve their problems with their own strong will. Read verse 1. “And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.” To “always pray and not loose heart” requires a consistent attitude of humility and submission to God. In verses 2-5, Jesus tells the story of a very proud judge and a desperate widow who repeatedly comes to the judge with a plea, “Give me justice against my adversary” (3). Perhaps this widow was scammed or treated unfairly. In Jesus day, women and especially widows were largely ignored. The proud judge repeatedly ignores her plea for justice. But the widow never gives up. She stalks him while he is at work, at home, shopping, eating at a restaurant and while he is in the synagogue. She sends him spam emails with the subject line: "Give me justice!" Soon the judge began to have nightmares about this little old widow. Finally the judge “said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming’” (4b,5). The proud judge gave in to the plea of the desperate widow for no other reason other than the fact that he was worn out by her persistence. Here we learn humble people are like the widow who persistently prayed and depended on God. We must have faith to believe that God will surely answer our crying out prayers.
Read verses 6-8. “6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” The point Jesus wanted to make is that God will not turn a deaf ear to His elect but will provide justice at the proper time. This requires persistence in prayer like the widow. There is a beautiful story of St. Monica who persistently prayed for her son Augustine. Her son was like a party animal. Finally after 10 long years, he gave his life to Christ. He became a most influential Christian writer and defender of the faith. Jesus asserts that God surely answers the prayers of his people. But there is a problem. When Jesus returns again, will he find praying people? (8b). Will he find us praying for college students, for our nation, for His will to be done? It is easy to lose heart and stop praying when we only see our personal situations and the injustice in the world. We want to give up and lose faith. Soon our prayers degenerates to human demands such as “God, give me more money, success and hair!” May God bless you with persistent prayer with faith. May God bless West Loop Church prayer to make 1,000 friends. May God exalt you and bless you by answering all your humble prayers.
Second, the one exalted by God knows from his gut that he is a sinner who desperately needs God’s mercy (9-14). In verses 9-14, Jesus contrasts two kinds of sinners: the “good” Pharisee and the “bad” tax collector (10). Only one was justified, or please God. In verse 9, Jesus clearly explains the problem of all good people, including good Christians. According to Jesus, there are three characteristics of people who think that they are good: 1) they trust in themselves; 2) they think they are righteous; 3) they treat others with contempt. Often they do these three things without any conscious awareness whatsoever that they are doing so. So, when Jesus loved the Pharisees enough to gently try to help them see their self-righteousness and their self-justification, they were so angry that they decided to kill him. The greatest tragedy of “good” people, like the Pharisees, is that they are the ones who killed Jesus, and who persecute Jesus’ people through out Christian history over the last 2,000 years. On the other hand, many "bad" people like Matthew the tax collector and Paul of Tarsus were changed and became gospel writers, evangelistic and Bible teachers.
Read verses 10-13. “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” The gist of this parable is that the Pharisee thought he was so darn good and so much better than others, while the tax collector knew from the very depth of his inner self how wretchedly sinful and depraved he was. Because the Pharisee thought so highly of himself, his prayer was like a nauseating exaggerated resume: “I did this and I did that. So you must hire me, because I’m God’s gift to your company.” On the other hand, when the tax collector came before God, he lost all his strength so that he could hardly utter any words because he knew the depth of depravity of his sinful soul. Finally, when God gave him some strength, he barely uttered with a trembling voice, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (13b). He couldn’t say a single positive thing about himself, quite unlike the Pharisee who was blowing his own trumpet as loudly as possible. Jesus’ point of this parable is in verse 14. Let us read verse 14 “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” By default, we are like the Pharisees. We tend to compare ourselves with others and we think we are not that bad. We think we are better than other employees because we don’t steal office supplies or play video games during work. Even Christians compare with other Christian and think they are better because they pray more or have a bigger ministry. But when we compare ourselves to beautiful Jesus, we cannot but turn our eyes away. We are so shameful and fall short when we compare our love, compassion, obedience and faith to our Lord Jesus.
So, let me ask you a very simple question: Do you think that you are good or bad? If you think that you are quite good and compare yourself to others then, according to Jesus, you are nothing but a proud self-righteous Pharisee. But if you look at Jesus and deeply and truly think that you are bad and rotten, then you are justified before God and on your way to the kingdom of God. May God exalt us when we truly know ourselves as sinner in need of God's great mercy.
Third, the one exalted by God is trusting like a little child (15-17). As Jesus walked along, many mothers brought their infants to Jesus. The disciples thought that Jesus should spend his precious time with needy adults rather than with crying babies who can’t even understand anything Jesus taught. They thought it was not macho to hold babies who were crying and smelly. But Jesus used this instance to share a most profound truth. Let us read verse 16,17, "But Jesus called them to him saying, 'Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.' "(16b,17). According to Jesus, the only way that anyone can “receive the kingdom of God” and “enter it” is “like a child.” What does it mean to receive and enter the kingdom of God like a child? Of the many lovely attributes of children, such as their innocence and purity, not holding grudges and not taking themselves so seriously, perhaps the loveliest attribute of children is their childlike humility and trust. Thank God that all of our West Loop kids are so happy and bright and joyful, because they are sure that their mommy and their daddy loves them dearly and preciously. Even when they act up and throw a nasty temper tantrum, they are still very confident and very sure that their mommy and daddy loves them. In contrast, adults become smart and complicated. They easily doubt themselves, others and God. Even Jesus’ own disciples doubted Jesus’ resurrection when they saw Jesus’ resurrection body with their very own eyes (Mt 28:17). This is why Jesus said in John 14:1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me (Jesus).” The NIV says, “Trust in God; trust also in me.” We need simple faith and humility like that of a child to believe in God and trust in God and in his Son Jesus. When we believe and trust God like a child, God will exalt us and bless us and reward us with the kingdom of God. But if we don’t believe and trust God like a child, we will only live with all kinds of countless worries, and vague anxieties and irrational fears.
Fourth, the one exalted by God treasures heaven, not his earthly treasures (18-30). In this story Jesus meets a rich ruler, perhaps someone like Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, who came to this country with very little money and could not speak English. He has all the symbols of success that the world admires: wealth and power and fame. This rich ruler asked Jesus a very good question, a question that could be regarded as the most important question that anyone could ever ask. He asked Jesus, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (18). Even though he had everything, he was still unsatisfied. He had no assurance of eternal life. How did Jesus answer him? Firstly, Jesus corrected his wrong view of God and man. The rich ruler’s idea was that Jesus is a “good teacher,” and by implication he himself was a good person. He did not know that he is a sinful man before the holy God, just like the self-righteous Pharisees. Jesus wanted him to look at God the source of ultimate good. So said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone” (19). No man is good, because all men are sinful (Ro 3:23). Secondly, Jesus wanted to help him know himself in the light of God's commandments. So, Jesus said to him, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother’” (20).
How did he respond? He said, “All these I have kept from my youth” (21). But what did Jesus think? Read verse 22. “When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’” Jesus indirectly tried to help him realize he did not keep the first commandment, which says "You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3) His root problem was that he loved money more than God. It was his love for money that hindered him from receiving eternal life. Money became an idol in his life. Many people are like this ruler, they believe in Jesus in their own head. But in their hearts are full of idols such as sufficient money, a nice three bedroom house, a good life with a good wife, and a successful career in this world. To Jesus, the rich man’s problem was that he really did not want “eternal life” or “treasure in heaven.” What he really wanted was a good “heavenly” life in this world. In the same way Jesus challenges us to search our hearts. What is one thing that we lack? What earthly desires or treasures are hindering us from receiving eternal life?
When he heard Jesus’ words, “one thing you still lack,” verse 23 says, “he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.” He couldn’t receive eternal life, because he was too attached to his present life in the world. God couldn’t bless and exalt him because in the final analysis he did not want “eternal life” or “treasure in heaven.”
When Jesus saw the rich ruler’s sad response, Jesus lamented, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God” (25,26). This ruler seems to be very rich in the eyes of people, but in actuality he is a very poor and pitiful man, because Jesus says that it would be nearly impossible for him to enter the kingdom of God.
How did the people respond? Verse 26 says, “Those who heard it said, ‘Who then can be saved?’” They were convicted, because they likely secretly envied this rich ruler, while Jesus lamented his most unfortunate destiny of missing eternal life, because he had lots of money. Let us read verse 27 "But Jesus reassured them, saying, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” " Recently, one person almost died because of a weak heart. But God blessed him to have a successful surgery. He should have thanked God or thanked his wife and daughter for being at his side; but the first thing he asked his wife was “Did you get the refund check?” We can’t change ourselves to love the things of this world. It is only God's work through the Holy Spirit to change a person’s desire to value treasures in heaven than treasures of the earth.
Then Peter, the top disciple said, “See, we have left homes and followed you” (28). Jesus then gave Peter and each person who truly wants eternal life this great promise in verses 29,30. “29And he said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times more in this time (life), and in the age to come eternal life.’” To Jesus, the most blessed man is not a man with the most money and power and human honor like the rich ruler, but the man who loves Jesus and who lives for eternal life from his heart. As a result, he does not treasure the things of the world, such as money and his sense of his own honor, but he truly treasures Jesus more than anything else in the world.
Fifth, the one exalted by God loves the cross of Jesus (31-34). In verse 31-33, Jesus spoke of his execution and his resurrection on the 3rd day (9:22,44,45). And just as has happened before, the disciples “understood none of these things” (34). To the disciples the symbol of the cross was a form of cruel and unusual punishment. But to those with spiritual eyes, the cross is a sign of God's love and atonement for our sins. Only after Jesus resurrection would the disciples finally understand and embrace the cross of Jesus. Peter said in 1 Peter 2:24, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." May you be exalted by God as you understand the love of God through the cross.
Sixth, the one exalted by God always cries out for God’s mercy (35-43). This final event of Luke 18 teaches us that God always answers prayer that humbly cries out for his mercy. As Jesus drew near to Jericho a blind man cried out for mercy. He cried out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. He was like the persistent widow in his prayer. He didn't give up but he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’” Jesus is always most pleased when we cry out for his mercy, just as the tax collector did in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (9-14). Jesus said to him, ‘Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.’ Here we learn that our prayer must be singular and specific, like the blind man who said with humble yet confident faith, “Lord, let me recover my sight” (41). May you cry out for God's mercy.
In today's passage, we learn the one who humbles himself will be exalted. God exalts the one who always prays and does not lose heart. God exalts the one who knows he is a sinner in need of God's mercy. God exalts the one who is trusting like a little child. God exalts the one who treasures heaven not earthly treasure. God exalts the one who loves the cross of Jesus. In history, the one who is most exalted by God is our Lord Jesus Christ. We were too proud and too demanding to humble ourselves before God. Despite our mountain high pride, God humbled himself and sent his Son into the world. According to Philippians 2:7-8, Jesus "...made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Jesus faced death on a cross, only so that we may receive life from above. Jesus humbled himself completely, so that we may be forgiven and exalted. May God bless you to always see Jesus who "humbled himself," so that only by his mercy and grace we may be exalted.