The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Jesus told this parable to some people who were sure they were righteous and who looked down on others. The story shows the difference between exalting yourself and coming humbly before God.

In the parable, two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. They came to the same place, but what they said to God was very different.

The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself. He thanked God that he was not like other people, naming wrongdoers and even pointing to the tax collector. Then he spoke about his own fasting and tithing.

But the tax collector stood far away. He would not even lift his eyes to heaven. He beat his chest and asked God to be merciful to him, calling himself a sinner.

Jesus said the tax collector, not the Pharisee, went home justified before God. Then Jesus gave the lesson: everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted. When you pray, do you come to God praising yourself, or asking for mercy?