Introduction / Pharisee's Prayer

Driving home: The religious question that any man or woman can ever ask is this question, how can a sinful man be right with God?

This analogy emphasizes that listeners should approach this vital passage with the same desperation and need as a dying man approaches water or food, highlighting the life-or-death importance of the sermon's subject.

I think you follow that line of reasoning. Hence, as we come to this passage, we should come to it, not with a mere curiosity as to what I may have to say upon it, for that isn't worth a hill of beans. We should not come to it merely with a desire to build up our stock of biblical knowledge. Rather, we should come to this question as a man dying of thirst comes to a fountain of water, as a man dying of hunger comes to a well-spread meal.

4:54 - 5:26 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The sermon outlines its structure and then delves into the historical occasion of the parable, noting that Jesus spoke it to those who trusted in themselves that they were…

Used as an example of how understanding the historical context (Jesus receiving sinners) is crucial to interpreting parables correctly, preventing 'hidden occult meaning' interpretations.

You remember the well-known parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son in the 15th chapter of Luke's Gospel? Well, those parables were provoked by a specific historical situation, and it's delineated in Luke 15, verses 1 and 2, in which we read that the Pharisees saw Jesus receiving publicans and sinners, and they got all uptight about this, and Jesus then said, I'm going to teach you something about the mission which I've come to accomplish. And the main thrust, then, of those three parables is not to find some hidden occult meaning in the change that is left by the man who t...

7:30 - 8:12 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The sermon outlines its structure and then delves into the historical occasion of the parable, noting that Jesus spoke it to those who trusted in themselves that they were…

This story illustrates how Jesus, like Nathan, uses an indirect example (the Pharisee) to stir the conscience of His followers, allowing them to recognize their own sin before direct indictment.

Much like Nathan's parable when he came to indict David for the sin of taking Bathsheba and of murdering Uriah. Remember, he gave the parable about the rich man who had many sheep, and this poor man who had but one ewe, and how the rich man came and took the poor man's ewe, and David was stirred within him, and he said, Why, that's a terrible thing. Take the man and kill him. And then Nathan said, Thou art the man.

9:59 - 10:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Look at yourself mirrored in the Word with judgment day honesty, even if it is painful.

Martin uses the analogy of men rationalizing their appearance in a mirror (hairline, waistline) to warn against rationalizing what the Scriptures reveal about one's spiritual condition, urging 'judgment day honesty.'

to a detailed study of the prayer of the Pharisee. And if you're a Pharisee tonight, it's going to be painful to see yourself. But oh, may I urge you, may I urge you to look at yourself mirrored in the Word with judgment day honesty. It's an amazing thing when a man begins to put a little punch on him, his hairline begins to go back a little bit. It's amazing how

20:43 - 21:08 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine the language of your heart when you pray, especially when hearing others make frank confessions of sin.

This personal anecdote illustrates the Pharisaical heart's inability to acknowledge deep sinfulness, showing how a self-righteous person recoils from terms like 'guilty, helpless, hell-deserving sinner' and thus cannot accept a divine Savior.

that is most clearly revealed in the presence of the prayer of a publican. Oh, thank thee, I'm not like the publican. Let me illustrate this from my own experience. Some years ago when we lived in Pennsylvania, we had the unhappy.

37:16 - 37:31 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second ingredient of the Pharisee's prayer is his self-congratulation on his works, specifically fasting twice a week and tithing all he possessed, going beyond the law's…

This metaphor describes the Pharisee's reliance on his works ('fast twice in the week, give tithes') as 'patches' to cover any deficiencies in his self-righteous 'hull,' believing he can float into God's presence through his own efforts.

in case there are a few little holes in the hull of my own righteousness, I'll patch them up with what I do. Now, my hull's in pretty good shape, and I think I'll float. And I'll go floating right on into your presence. I'm not afraid when the great billows of judgment begin to rise. I think I'll float right in there. But just in case I've got a few little

41:44 - 42:03 Read in full sermon