Pulpit Today

“Two men went to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee the other a Publican.”  The story is familiar.  Jesus, Master of Parables, knew how to make His point.  Everyone in Jerusalem knew this Pharisee.  His name glowed on the Temple registry; his benevolence was renowned; the crowds revered him.  Thus, with a resume filled with platitudes, this Grand Pharisee marched to the front of the Temple and presented it to God.  How would the omniscient Lord know the grandeur of this Pharisee without being apprised?  God must know that this Pharisee was a marvel among men.  And when God hears the narrative, it literally moves heaven.  Unfortunately, it moves heaven back!  The angels retreat and God turns away His head.  But in so doing, God sees another in the Temple; all the way at the back!  He’s broken, dispirited, and unable to appear with the swagger and eloquence of the Pharisee.  It is a Publican; a tax collector; a wolf that made his living by fleecing the innocent.  The common folks had euphemisms for him; he was a target of insults.  Yet when he prays, something changes in the atmosphere.  Heaven re-gathers and God listens.  Unable to lift his head, the Publican twists, and calls for mercy.  The man, empowered by the sword of Rome, who enriched himself by extortion, is now a beggar.  And without boast before God, he humbles himself and prays.  He offers no excuses.  He’s but a gush of soul crying out, “God be merciful to me a sinner.”  He admits the crowds are right—he is reprehensible!  And hearing that confession, God draws yet nearer!  That’s because the most persuasive man before God is a beggar—one regarding himself as empty and without honor.  The proud may accumulate worldly goods, but spiritual beggars plunder heaven of its most sacred treasure—mercy!   Mercy rushes to the humble and rescues the contrite.  When men are without boast before God mercy bends backward to unshackle the guilty and those deserving death!  The Bible says the Pharisee left the Temple dignified; but the Publican left the Temple justified!

Are you in need?  Burn your resume.  Abandon your trophies.  Become a beggar—a beggar of God’s mercy!  Jesus promised, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  Anything you need is available if you will cast aside your pride and appeal to God’s mercy.  God “delights in mercy,” (Micah 7:18).