Beyond the Weekend: Parables
The stories Jesus told and what they mean for your life today.
Why did Jesus teach in stories? Because the deepest truths about God are often found in the ordinary moments of life.
In the parables, Jesus takes everyday things, a lost sheep, a dinner party, a farmer planting seeds and uses them to show us what God is really like and what it means to follow him.
This summer, we’re spending seven weeks in the parables from Luke’s gospel. Whether you’ve heard these stories a hundred times or this is your first time, you’re invited to come and hear them fresh.
June 27/28–August 8/9
The Sacrifice
Read: Luke 18:14 | Listen: Luke 18
I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Luke 18:14
Every morning and evening, priests offer sacrifices at the temple on behalf of God’s people. Many faithful Jews pause to pray during these times, allowing the daily sacrifices to remind them of their continual need for God’s mercy and forgiveness. Jesus tells a story about a Pharisee and a tax collector praying at the temple, likely at these set times of prayer. The tax collector’s prayer is rooted in the character of God. Knowing that God is merciful to receive the daily sacrifice, the tax collector asks for such mercy to cover him.
This glimpse of God’s character is a shadow of his ultimate expression of love: the offering of his Son on the cross. God saves us, not because of righteous things we have done, but because of his own mercy (Titus 3:4-5). In Jesus’s parable, the tax collector walks away justified, which means being declared right with God. The same can be true for us. Through faith in Christ and his merciful work on the cross, we can be forgiven of all our sins and granted new life. Such standing before God is not based on our merits, but on the mercy of God and the work of his Son.
TODAY: If you have never received Jesus by faith, today could be that day. Like the tax collector, ask God for mercy through faith in Jesus’s work on your behalf. If you’ve already received Christ, praise him for his work and mercy. As you do, sing along with Ada Bible Worship, “There Is a Savior.”
