☦ Orthodox Christianity: The tax collector prayed, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

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God, Have Mercy on Me, a Sinner

Luke 18, 9-14

Key verse 13

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

1. Read verses 9-10. To whom did Jesus tell this parable? Who are two men in the parable? Why did two men go up to the temple?

2. Read verses 11-13. How did the Pharisee pray? What does his prayer reveal about his attitude?

How and what did the tax collector pray? Verse 13. What does his prayer show about him?

Verse 14. Who was justified by God?
Whom does God exalt? How can we become truly humble before God?

'The Noetic Prayer' [Jesus Prayer] English subtitles

In the first parable(Luke 18:1-8), Jesus taught his disciples to pray persistently. In the second parable of today’s passage, he contrasts two different attitudes of prayer: self-righteousness and humility. Psalm 28:2 reads, “Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.” May the Lord help us to know who we are and learn how to ask God’s mercy humbly.

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

1-2, To whom did Jesus tell this parable?

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else,

These were people who thought they were already experts in prayer, faith, and just about everything.

But their confidence was in their own righteousness, not in God. It is not easy to bear with arrogant people.

The mistake they made was looking at things from man’s perspective instead of God’s.

Jesus had met people like this before in Luke 16:15, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”

Orthodox Sisters • 'The Jesus Prayer' [20 minutes]