This message preaches Luke 18:9–14, the parable Jesus told to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt. Two men go up to the temple to pray: a Pharisee, confident in his fasting and his tithing, and a tax collector who will not so much as lift his eyes to heaven.
“God, be merciful to me, the sinner.” Jesus says it is that man who went down to his house justified rather than the other, and closes with the principle that runs through the whole of His ministry: everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. The question of who goes to heaven is answered not by performance but by mercy received.
