He then addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. 10 “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ 13 But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus tells this parable to people “convinced of their own righteousness” who looked down on others (Lk. 18:9). He addresses it because self-trust joined to contempt blocks mercy: those who think they need nothing cannot receive what God longs to give, and their attitude discourages the very sinners God is seeking. Such religion misrepresents the Father’s heart and turns prayer into self-praise. By placing a respected Pharisee beside a despised tax collector, Jesus exposes the danger and shows that the way home is humility before God. Two men go up to the temple to pray; only one leaves right with God.
Historically, the Pharisees were a lay reform group formed in mid-2nd century BC, earnest about the Law, tithing, and ritual purity—good aims (Mt. 23:23). Jesus’ critique is not of those practices but of what can cling to them: performing piety while neglecting justice and the love of God, seeking honor, and measuring others harshly (Lk. 11:39-44; Mt. 23). He warns that worship on the lips without the heart breeds pride and blocks mercy (Is. 29:13; Mk. 7:6-9).
Two men go up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee stands apart and “spoke this prayer to himself.” He thanks God, but his words circle around his own record. He contrasts himself with “the rest of humanity,” naming sins he avoids and practices he performs—fasting twice a week and tithing on all income (vv. 11-12). These are good disciplines, but here they become a mirror of self. The prayer asks for nothing because it thinks it lacks nothing.
The tax collector stands at a distance. He does not raise his eyes to heaven. He beats his breast and says, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (v. 13). He tells the truth about himself before God. He brings no comparison and no defense. He throws himself on mercy, like the psalmist who pleads, “Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness” (Ps. 51:3).
Jesus gives the verdict: the tax collector “went home justified,” while the Pharisee did not (v. 14). God sets right the one who admits his need. Exalting oneself closes the heart; humility opens it to grace. This is the pattern of Scripture: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Jas. 4:6; cf. 1 Pt. 5:5). The high and lofty One… “dwells…with the contrite and lowly of spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, to revive the heart of the crushed.” (Is. 57:15)). The Tax Collector alone leaves right with God.
The parable also teaches how to pray. Prayer is not a report of achievements but a turning of the heart to God. Practices like fasting and tithing belong inside a life that seeks mercy and shows mercy. Jesus has already taught, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Lk. 6:36). The quiet confession, “be merciful to me, a sinner,” becomes a path to peace because it invites God to act where we cannot.
A brief patristic window helps here. St. Augustine (354–430) calls humility the foundation on which love is built; God fills what is empty, not what is swollen with pride. St. John Chrysostom (c. 349–407) observes that the tax collector’s few words, joined to contrition, outweighed the Pharisee’s many words, joined to self-praise. Their witness echoes Jesus’ own conclusion: “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (v. 14).
Lord Jesus, give me a truthful heart. Teach me to pray with humility, to confess my sins plainly, and to rely on your mercy. Let my life show the fruit of a contrite spirit and a grateful love. Amen.
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Sources and References:
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011), Lk. 18:9-14; Ps. 51:3; Jas. 4:6; 1 Pt. 5:5; Is. 57:15; Lk. 6:36.
- A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, ed. Bernard Orchard et al. (London: Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1953).
- The Navarre Bible: St. Luke’s Gospel, Faculty of the University of Navarre (Dublin: Four Courts / Scepter, 2008).
- The Paulist Biblical Commentary, ed. José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al. (New York: Paulist Press, 2018).
- Raymond E. Brown et al., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990).
- St. Augustine (354–430), Sermons and Enarrationes in Psalmos.
- St. John Chrysostom (c. 349–407), Homilies on Prayer and on the Gospel.
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