Luke 18:11 English Standard Version (ESV) The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed^[a] thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

Footnote ^[a] Or standing, prayed to himself

Let us try and put this in simple terms. The Pharisee represents a scholar who has studied the law and knows the law inside and out. He believes that he obeys the law and that his belief in his obedience of the law sets him apart from everyone else. He believes his actions have given him a right standing before God.

At the end of this tale Jesus announces that the tax collector that acknowledges his sin condition and begs for mercy will go home justified, not the Pharisee.

What did the Pharisee do wrong?

This is a lesson that all of us need to understand and to explain to those who question our choosing to place our faith in Jesus Christ.

The law was given to show us that we are sinners.

If we cannot see ourselves for what we are, we will never repent. The knowledge of condition is the first step toward salvation. The second step is accepting that nothing we have done so far has changed that condition. The third and most vital step is a sincere desire for change.

Only Christ has said to His followers “I am the Way the Truth and the Life.” Only Jesus has said “No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

That is offensive to the religions that deny Christ. Some religions that embrace Christ do not make it simple to follow Christ. They make it complicated in order to retain control over the masses for their own selfish reasons.

All those other religions want to make us Pharisees of their own making. They want us to believe that we can do enough to be accepted by their god.

It is a lie.

Ezra 4:4-6 English Standard Version

⁴ Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build ⁵ and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

⁶ And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

This is not a political commentary.

Seeing those who frustrate us in those things we attempt to do is merely awareness. It is our emotional response in not seeing our own will being done.

Action in the face of frustration does not serve God’s will. It is a sign that we have lost trust in God’s plan.

At the root of our frustration is fear of our accusers. If we truly fear God as He asks, then we must trust that when the time is right God’s will is going to appear among the faithful.

All we can do in this emotional state of frustration is to keep doing what we know God has called us to do. Serve Him, serve His people. Love him, love each other.

Carry out the last commandment we absolutely know came from God and continue in obedience of faith until we receive new orders.

No one became a leader in God’s will that believed in himself rather than trusting God. We have the history of that in the prophets that shows us that truth.

If we are to be called to act in accordance with God’s will, it will not come from the emotions of frustration. It will come from the reverence we have for His Word which speaks to us from a place deeper than emotions.

We just need to trust Him.