The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Jesus tells the parable to people who trust their own righteousness and look down on others. One man boasts in his fasting and tithing, while the other stands far off, begs for mercy, and goes home justified.

T⁹o some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable: ¹⁰“Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men — swindlers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’ ¹³But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”