THE PROPITIATION FOR THE SINNER

Luke 18:13-14

Morning Meditation 12/2/14

Verses 13-14 say, “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

I want to examine this passage not so much as a contrast between the Pharisee and the publican but from the standpoint of the publican’s request. If someone were to ask me for a model prayer for the sinner to pray in order to be saved, it would be the one the publican prayed. But there are many, no doubt, who have prayed this prayer and were not saved. Salvation is not just praying words. It has to be meant in the heart. Let’s examine this man’s prayer.

First of all, notice THE REMORSE THAT HE DEMONSTRATED. We are told that the publican stood “afar off.” These words translate “makrothen” which means, “a far distance, or a remote place.” John Gill comments on this: “it may be in the court of the Gentiles, when the Pharisee was in the court of the Israelites; at least he was afar off from him: and indeed, those who came to humble themselves before the Lord, and confess their sins, were obliged to stand at the distance of four cubits one from another, that one might not hear the prayers and confessions of the other: and it might be, that this poor man might stand at a greater distance than was required, that he might not displease the Pharisee, who, he knew, would resent it, should he stand near him; or rather this was done, to testify the sense he had of his state and condition, and of his unworthiness; as that he was afar off from God, and unworthy to draw nigh unto him, and deserved to be kept at a distance from him for ever. So it is said of the Israelites, that they trembled at Mount Sinai, and ‘stood afar off to show their humility.’” So two things stand out. He stood afar off for reasons of privacy of confession and to avoid offending the Pharisee. I like both ideas. There should be privacy of confession. You do not have to broadcast your past to the world to get God’s forgiveness. Then the idea of not offending the Pharisee is in complete harmony with the overall attitude of this man. True repentance will not want to offend the other no matter how big a hypocrite the other might be.

Not only did this man stand “afar off,” he also “would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven.” Jesus made this point in the parable. This has to do with posture. The suggestion is that the Pharisee did lift up his eyes to heaven. I have seen pictures of men praying with uplifted heads. I do not think the Bible gives us a commandment on the posture of prayer. But we do have many illustrations of men praying in the Scripture. Exo. 34:8: “And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.” 2 Chron. 20:18: “And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.” The Pharisee lifted up his eyes because he THOUGHT he was worthy. The publican would not lift up his head because he was humiliated over his sins and unworthiness. Jesus is the only man who ever lived who could pray and look God in the face as He prayed: John 17:1 in our Lord’s prayer it says, “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:”

There is something else about this man. Not only did he stand afar off and would not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, Jesus said that he “. . . smote upon his breast . . .” The word “smote” translates “tupto” meaning, “to strike, to beat or to smite.” It is used of mourners who smite their breast to express deep sorrow. It is an imperfect active indicative verb. The imperfect tense shows continuous action in the past. This means that Jesus was saying that this man just KEPT ON beating on his breast as he prayed. There is no self justification in this request for mercy. He humbles himself and confesses and asks for mercy.

Then let us notice THE REQUEST THAT HE MADE. His prayer was, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” The words “be merciful” translates “hilaskomai” and means “to conciliate to one's self.” It is the word translated “mercy seat” in Hebrews 9:5. It is an aorist passive imperative verb. The passive voice is where the subject is acted upon. The publican is the Subject. God is being asked by the publican to do this for him in a once for all act. The imperative mood expresses urgency. In this request the publican is acknowledging his own inability to save himself and appealing to God’s mercy and power to do it. The publican is saying. “Lord, I have an emergency!” The words “be merciful” (hilaskomai) identify acceptance with the ritual of the High Priest going into the Holy of Holies once a year on the day of atonement. He entered within the veil with the blood of the sacrificial lamb and met God in His Shekinah glory as He manifested Himself between the cherubim and over the MERCY SEAT. The only way the High Priest survived was for God to accept the blood of the sacrificial lamb. The publican knew that he could never stand in the presence of God as he was, so he asked God to MAKE A WAY to save him. God did make a way. 1 John 2:2 says, “And he is the propitiation (hilasmos, same root word for mercy seat) for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” Jesus is the One in whom God’s rests His case against the sinner. He is the MERCY SEAT and if we are going to meet with God and get His forgiveness we must come to the MERCY SEAT.

Something else about this request. There is a definite article before the word “sinner” in the Greek text (Textus Receptus from which our KJV is translated). This means he prayed, “God be merciful to me THE sinner.” A. T. Robertson says, “The sinner, not a sinner. It is curious how modern scholars ignore this Greek article. THE MAIN POINT IN THE CONTRAST LIES IN THIS ARTICLE (Caps mine for emphasis). The Pharisee thought of others as sinners. The publican thinks of himself alone as the sinner, not of others at all.” We do not obtain salvation by confessing the sins of the whole world. We must face God with our own sins without self defense. We must see ourselves not as victims of Adam’s sin but willful sinners who are responsible to God. No man is saved who does not see himself in this fashion.

Then we see, THE ASSURANCE HE RECEIVED. Jesus said, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified . . . ” The words, “went down” translates, “katabaino” and means “to go down, to descend.” Anyone who went to the temple to worship had to go down. The temple was located on the top of Mount Moriah. But this speaks of more than just a descent geographically. It is a good lesson to teach us, that after we meet with God in salvation, we go back to the place where we were before to mix with the people with whom we shared life. However, we go back a different person, i.e., justified. Jesus said, “.. . . he went down to his house justified.” The word “justified” translates, “dikaioo” and means “to declare, to pronounce one to be just or righteous.” It is a perfect passive participle. The perfect tense means completed action in the past with that completed action having present results. The passive voice means that the publican was the recipient of the act of justification not the cause. The perfect tense means when he went down to his house he had in the past been justified with the result he came through the door justified! He was not a seeker. He was a saint. And Jesus is the One who said it. This is where we get our assurance. It is from the Lord. Parents and preachers can tell us we are saved. But until Jesus says it (in His Word) there is no Scriptural basis for assurance.

One more thing. The publican had the assurance he was saved in the temple when he prayed before he left the Temple. It is not pie in the sky by and by. It is salvation right here and now. This idea that you will FINALLY BE SAVED is not taught in Scripture. We are either saved now or lost now. If we wait until then, it will be too late. The publican had assurance in this life about where he would spend eternity and that assurance was based on what Jesus said. And that salvation had a time and place (perfect tense, completed action). Amen. Someone hold my mules!

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White