"God, Be Merciful to Me a Sinner" (Luke 18:13-14 and Psalm 51:16-17)

The tax collector prayed, "God, be merciful to me a sinner" and went home justified, or declared righteous (Luke 18:13). How do we explain this when he didn't offer any sacrifices? He offered what God wanted: "the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart" (Psalm 51:16-17). Table of contentsThree Things to Observe about the Tax CollectorWhy Did the Tax Collector Beat His Breast?The Most Significant Difference Between the Pharisee and Tax CollectorGod's Grace to the Humble (or Those Who Pray, "God, Be Merciful to Me a Sinner")Justification Is Receiving Forgiveness and RighteousnessIf We Were Only ForgivenWhy Was Jesus Baptized?“God, Be Merciful to Me, a Sinner!” Embodies the Beatitudes“God, Be Merciful to Me, a Sinner!” Requests PropitiationPropitiation Is Turning Away WrathPropitiation with AchanPropitiation with the GibeonitesPropitiation with the PhilistinesPropitiation in the New Testament“God, Be Merciful to Me, a Sinner!” Receives JustificationWhere are the Sacrifices?God Didn’t Want Physical Sacrifices as Much as Spiritual OnesThree Reasons God Wouldn't Want Animal Sacrifices...After Commanding Them"God, Be Merciful to Me a Sinner" Is the Sacrifice God WantsHow Did This Parable Sound to Pharisees? What About to Tax Collectors?Footnotes https://youtu.be/BCLWCeepQhc The tax collector prayed, "God, be merciful to me a sinner" and went home justified, or declared righteous (Luke 18:13 and Psalm 51:16-17). Last post discussed the Pharisee in the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector. Now we will discuss the tax collector. Eight times in the synoptic Gospels it says "tax collectors and sinners," instead of murderers and sinners, or adulterers and sinners. Why is it written this way, as though being a tax collector is the worst sin imaginable? Because to the Jew, it pretty much was! The Romans severely taxed the Jews, and the tax collectors who collected the taxes for Rome were Jews. The Jews hated the Romans and the Jewish tax collectors who worked for them were traitors to their own people. Tax collectors were wealthy and it was a wealth made off the backs of their already oppressed Jewish brethren. Tax collectors had to collect a certain amount and anything they collected over that amount they were able to keep for themselves. They had Rome’s support, which prevented Jews from resisting them. Tax collectors were notoriously dishonest. When they came to be baptized by John they said, “Teacher, what shall we do?” [John] said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” (Luke 3:12-13). John said to stop stealing because that was their major sin. Three Things to Observe about the Tax Collector Luke 18:13 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!’ There is so much to learn about the tax collector just from this verse. I don’t want to miss anything so we will break it up one part at a time. First, it says he was standing far off. Let me ask you a trick question that reveals the tax collector’s brokenness: Did he want to approach God? You want to say he did because "[he] went up to the temple to pray" (Luke 18:10), but you also want to say no, because he was standing far off. You can see the struggle: he wanted to have a relationship with God, but he also felt too sinful to approach God. Second, it doesn’t say the tax collector DID NOT lift up his eyes to heaven. It says he WOULD NOT even lift up his eyes to heaven. He was so aware of his sin that he felt unworthy to even look up to heaven where God dwells. Third, he hit himself. More than likely he did this because he was angry about his sin, and he knows he is the source of it. He wasn’t blaming anyone or anything other than himself. He hit his heart, because that's where sin comes from: Matthew 15:18 What comes out of the mouth proceeds FROM THE HEART, and this defiles a person.