Luke 18:9-14
The Parable
“Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men - extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.” And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat 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 everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’”
Lesson
If we exalt ourselves above other men, we have missed the point. If we think other men are not as righteous as us, we miss the point. If we think we are righteous, and look upon the sins of the rest of the world, and think ourselves above them, we have missed the point. Of Moses it is written, “Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth,” Numbers 12:3. And God exalts very highly, much higher than any of us.
In Numbers 12:1-16, Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses; the Lord heard it, and called the three of them to the tabernacle of meeting. There the Lord humbled Aaron and Miriam, but He spoke up for and exalted Moses, holding him as an example of faithfulness. As Peter says,“Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for
‘God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.’”
1 Peter 5:5
Let us then be very humble.