We All Need Atonement

“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.’” (Luke 18:13)

Jesus said: “Two men went up to the temple to pray — one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men – extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise 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” (vv. 10-14).

The difference between these two men is that the Pharisee was guilty of sins of the spirit, and the tax collector was guilty of the sins of the flesh. Pride shut the door of heaven to the Pharisee, and humility opened the door of heaven to the tax collector. The Pharisee said he was innocent but went home guilty. The tax collector acknowledged he was guilty and went home innocent.

Notice, he doesn’t use the usual word for mercy. The word used here dates back to the Hebrew word kippur, which means “atonement,” as in Yom Kippur, which means “the Day of Atonement.” The word atonement means “to cover.” What the tax collector said was, “God, I’m admitting what you already know is true about me. I am a sinful man with a sinful heart. God, will you cover me?” That’s all God needed to hear from him to save him – and that’s all God needs to hear from you too.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, please cover — give atonement — for all my sins. In Jesus’s name, Amen.