Luke 18:9-14
Chapter 18
9
Jesus shared another parable to some people who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on others:
10
“Two men went up to the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11
The Pharisee stood by himself and said: ‘
I thank you, God, that I am not like other people, grasping, crooked, adulterous, or even like this tax collector.
12
I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all my income to the temple.’
13
In the meantime, the tax collector, standing far away, would not even lift his eyes to heaven but beat his chest, saying:
‘O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’
14
I tell you, when this man returned to his house, he had been reconciled with God, but not the other. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be lifted up.”
Commentaries
Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.
This parable is addressed to “some who considered themselves righteous and despised others” (9), because they kept the law and felt entitled to demand a kind of ‘payment’ from God in their prayers. However, Jesus exposes the falsehood of this attitude and declares the tax collector justified, recognizing his complete dependence on God and his need for God’s love and mercy.