The Scandal of God's Grace

May 10, 2026

Luke 18:9-14

“The Scandal of God’s Grace”

We’re going to begin with the Dunning-Kruger effect. What, pray tell, is the Dunning-Kruger effect?

The place to start is with today’s passage:

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up 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, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Verse nine sets things up. As we see, some of the targets in Jesus’ audience put their trust in how good they are. They have an esteemed sense of self. To put it another way, they carry a self-assurance about what fine people they are.

Hence, the Dunning-Kruger effect.

Essentially, when people overestimate their abilities, they are expressing an in-bred bias. They are so full of themselves, they fail to recognize their own incompetence. We’ve all known people like that.

For example, in one recent study, American schoolchildren were ranked 25th in math and 21st in science out of the top 30 developed countries. Yet they were ranked 1st in confidence they outperformed everyone else. We did a great job building their self-esteem, though.

In another example, a recent study showed that around 90% of people who drive rate themselves as “above-average” drivers. Even to a guy who barely passed math class, this sounds mathematically impossible. Welcome to the world of Dunning-Kruger.

Nearly 2,000 years before researchers Dunning and Kruger are born, Jesus identifies the flaw in human nature. He’s telling some in the crowd of listeners they’re not as good as they think they are.

First place to start is with the audience. It is a mixed bag. The crowd represented a diverse cross-section of people. It is, as one commentator puts it, a “comprehensive audience.” It covers believers, non-believers and everybody in-between.

The first guy thinks he has it made. Jesus builds this parable off of an encounter he had back in chapter ten:

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

The guy in today’s parable thinks he’s got it all figured out. I love how Jesus puts it…he trusted himself for salvation. What better deal could a person get? I will set the standard for salvation and then determine that I have met it. What could go wrong?

We were watching an episode of a drama series last month. One of the characters, an adult woman, was telling a friend about how she dealt with a pregnancy a few years earlier. Her career was getting started. It was not a good time to have a baby. So, without telling her then boyfriend, she had an abortion. I’m thinking that if you were at a point in your life when you didn’t think you could handle a baby, then perhaps you should not have engaged in the activity that could result in pregnancy. I mean, you are a professional, college educated adult. It was shown as an emotional decision that had to be made. Her friend encouraged her to forgive herself. That’s our pagan culture. No matter what you do, however horrendous, you are only accountable to yourself. Forgive yourself. Absolution provided. Did I say pagan culture? Yes, yes I did. I don’t think we’re a Christian nation or a Christian culture. I think we are a pagan culture with Christians living in it, trying to positively impact it one conversion at a time.

Jesus nails it in the opening verse. The first man seeks to justify himself.

As we saw back in Luke 10, people want to know how to live in God’s presence eternally. Inquiring minds want to know. How do you get into the kingdom? How are you made right with God? How are you reconciled with God? These are big, big questions. And they are not new questions. Even before Luke 10…even before today’s parable…people asked these questions.

Job 9:1-2 asks these very questions:

Then Job answered and said:

“Truly I know that it is so:

But how can a man be in the right before God?”

We’re all sinful. We all fall short of the glory of God. If we’re human, we’re sinful. We can never convince ourselves otherwise. So how can we be right with God?

That’s the compelling question. Jesus begins his answer with the spiritual arrogance of the first man. Notice what the arrogant man does. He says, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector…” He asks nothing from God…not even forgiveness…because he thinks he needs nothing. Mercy and grace? C’mon, man. He’s like a “No Kings” protest. If you don’t agree with me, then you’re wrong, evil, and wicked. I am the paragon of truth, virtue, and justice. Our guy has already filled out the exam and given himself an “A+.”

What a great and wonderful man he is. He’ll tell you so, himself. But he is actually right about one thing. And it is huge:

EITHER YOU CAN MAKE YOURSELF RIGHT BEFORE GOD OR YOU CAN’T.

Are you with me on that? How do you get to God? You get to God by being good, morally good, religiously good, ceremonially pure, and ethically upright. All those things, done in a most excellent way, make you acceptable to God. And the thing is, in our pagan culture, there are lots of people who believe that or want to believe that. Many of your friends and neighbors believe that they’re too good to go to hell. That means they think they’re good enough for God to welcome them into heaven. Even without Jesus. Amazing.

The first guy in our story runs down a litany of his goodness. He thinks

that’s the standard by which he will get into heaven. But Jesus says

otherwise. Here’s what Jesus says in Matthew 5:43-48:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

How is that going to happen? How can that happen? How can anyone be as good as God?

Jesus then pivots to the next guy in the story. Here’s where we learn we can’t be perfect. And we don’t have to be perfect.

First of all, the tax collector is the worst of the worst. He’s a bad dude. He

works for the Romans. He uses Roman muscle to make a handsome profit.

He has neither clean hands nor a clean heart. He is far, far away from God.

While the first guy drones on and on with a recitation of his virtues, the tax collector does not bore God with a recital of his vices. He knows God knows. Nothing is hidden from God. He simply confesses his unworthiness to God. I think Jesus has him echoing Psalm 25:11-22:

For your name's sake, O Lord,

pardon my guilt, for it is great.

Who is the man who fears the Lord?

Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.

His soul shall abide in well-being,

and his offspring shall inherit the land.

The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,

and he makes known to them his covenant.

My eyes are ever toward the Lord,

for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

Turn to me and be gracious to me,

for I am lonely and afflicted.

The troubles of my heart are enlarged;

bring me out of my distresses.

Consider my affliction and my trouble,

and forgive all my sins.

Consider how many are my foes,

and with what violent hatred they hate me.

Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!

Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

May integrity and uprightness preserve me,

for I wait for you.

Redeem Israel, O God,

out of all his troubles.

The tax collector knows what he is and what he isn’t. He is not a good guy. He cannot find any relief or improvement in his life on his own. How can he ever repay all those whom he wronged and defrauded? How can he make anything about his life right? Jesus is going to later tell us, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

Which leads us to the big reveal. It is a huge punch line. In fact, Paul runs

with it in Romans 3:23-24:

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

When we look at our lives…when we consider the history of our actions and attitudes, we know reality puts us smack dab standing with the tax collector. Who can we fool? Certainly not God. And I know my life, so I kinda have a hunch about yours. We’re all in the same boat. Standing with the tax collector. Like him, we’d dare not even lift our eyes to heaven. It is a position of unworthiness.

So, what’s the big reveal? What makes us worthy? What atones for our sin? As the beautiful hymn puts it:

What can wash away my sin?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

What can make me whole again?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Like the tax collector, we confess our sin. We embrace the truth that Jesus died for our forgiveness.

What does the first guy do? He finds security in comparing himself to others. He pumps himself up while highlighting the defects of others. Remember what I like to say. We condemn in others things we excuse in ourselves. As if that isn’t bad enough, he also tries to get God to condemn the tax collector. “God, I thank you that I am not like this tax collector.” He’s convinced himself God will agree with him.

But what does Jesus say? The punch line to the parable is this:

AN OUTCAST SINNER WHO PLEADS FOR MERCY IS MORE UPRIGHT THAN A RELIGIOUS INSIDER.

And to that, the repentant sinners of Covenant Church say:

SOLI DEO GLORIA…

To the Glory of God Alone