The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
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Jesus shows us that our good deeds can't make us righteous before God (the proud pharisee). We must be humble, repent of our sins, and be declared righteous by God's mercy (the tax collector).
![Luke 18:9-10
[9] He also told this parable to some
who trusted in themselves that they
were righteous, and treated others
with contempt:
[10] “Two men went up into the
temple to pray, one a Pharisee and
the other a tax collector.](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
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The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
- 1. The Parable of the Pharisee & the Tax Collector Luke 18:9-14
- 2. Luke 18:9-10 [9] He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: [10] “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
- 3. Luke 18:11-12 [11] The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
- 4. Luke 18:13-14 [13] But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ [14] I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
- 5. Review God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). We must not look down on others (Philippians 2:3-4). We are justified by faith alone in Christ alone. Our works do not save us (Galatians 2:16).
- 6. Invitation Turn from your sins and turn to God. Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins (Acts 3:19). Receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Only He can wash your sins away, and only He can save you from the holy wrath of God (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
Editor's Notes
- Luke 18:9–14 The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. This parable contrasts a Pharisee boasting in his self-righteousness and a tax collector confessing his sins and seeking God’s mercy. The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in the Temple (Luke 18:9-14) is rich with spiritual truth. In fact, it contains the very essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As verse 9 tells us, Jesus spoke this parable to those who “trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others” (NKJV). Jesus spoke often of the issue of righteousness, pleading with His hearers to understand their utter inability to be righteous enough to attain the kingdom of heaven. This knowledge was essential if they were to understand His mission on earth, which was to save sinners—those who knew they could not save themselves.
- Luke 18:9 Again, as in v. 1, Luke interprets the parable before the parable itself is given. to some who trusted … that they were righteous. The audience addressed by the parable (probably Pharisees) had an unrealistic sense of self-worth (see note on Matt. 5:20). Falsely confident of their own righteousness, they treated others with contempt. Luke 18:10 Two men (cf. 15:11; 17:34–35) went up into the temple. Even if a person is in Jerusalem, he or she still must go “up” to the temple and “down” from there (see 18:14) because the temple was situated on an elevated mount with the rest of Jerusalem below it (on the temple, see note on John 2:14). Pharisee. See note on Luke 5:17. For tax collector, see notes on 3:12–14; Matt. 5:46–47. The people who lived near Jerusalem often went to the temple to pray. The temple was the center of their worship.
- Luke 18:11 The Pharisee, standing. The normal posture of prayer. God, I thank you that I. The five “I’s” in this passage reveal the egocentricity of the Pharisee. Rather than thanking God for what God has done for him, the Pharisee arrogantly brags to God about his own moral purity and religious piety. Luke 18:12 I fast twice a week. The OT law did not require this much fasting, but apparently only one fast a year, on the Day of Atonement (see note on Matt. 6:16–18). tithes of all that I get. See Deut. 14:22–27, which required a tithe of the crops; see also Lev. 27:30–32; Num. 18:21–24. Luke 18:11-14 The Pharisee didn’t go to the temple to pray to God but to announce to all within earshot how good he was. The tax collector went recognizing his sin and begging for mercy. Self-righteousness is dangerous. It leads to pride, causes a person to despise others, and prevents him or her from learning anything from God. The tax collector’s prayer should be our prayer because we all need God’s mercy every day. Don’t let pride in your achievements cut you off from God. The Pharisees, on the other hand, thought their own goodness was so impressive that it could not fail to make them acceptable to God. They held rigorously to the ceremonies and traditions of the law, making a public show of their religiosity, all to be seen by other men, many of whom they despised as being beneath them. The Pharisee in the story is the epitome of one who is self-justifying. Notice that his prayer has no elements of confession. He does not ask forgiveness for his sins, perhaps because he believes he has nothing to confess. Nor is there any word of praise or thanksgiving to God. His prayer is all about him. Even the thanks he does offer is designed to exalt himself and place himself above others whom he treats with disdain. Going to the temple to pray with the condition of his heart as it was, he might as well have stayed home. Such a “prayer” is heard by God, but He does not listen to it.
- Luke 18:13 Because of shame the tax collector … would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, which was a sign of sorrow and contrition (cf.23:48), and said, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. The “sinner’s prayer” (cf. Ps. 51:1) seeks God’s mercy. The stark contrast between the contrition of the sinner and the self-righteousness of the Pharisee is key to understanding the central point of the parable. Luke 18:14 Jesus pronounces a shocking reversal of common expectations (cf. 14:11 and Introduction: Key Themes). The Pharisee thought that he was “righteous” (18:9) and tried to justify himself (cf. 16:15), but the tax collector depended on God’s mercy and as a result received God’s gift of righteousness and was pronounced justified. Unlike the Pharisee, who stands boldly in the temple reciting his prayers of self-congratulation, the tax collector stood “afar off” or “at a distance,” perhaps in an outer room, but certainly far from the Pharisee who would have been offended by the nearness of this man. Tax collectors, because of their association with the hated Romans, were seen as traitors to Israel and were loathed and treated as outcasts. This man’s posture spoke of his unworthiness before God. Unable to even lift his eyes to heaven, the burden of his guilt and shame weighed heavily upon him, and the load he carried had become unbearable. Overcome by his transgressions, he beats his breast in sorrow and repentance and appeals to God for mercy. The prayer he speaks is the very one God is waiting to hear, and his attitude is exactly what God wants from all who come to Him. The tax collector exhibits precisely what Jesus spoke about in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Being poor in spirit means admitting we have nothing to offer to God to atone for our sin. We come to God as empty, impoverished, despised, bankrupt, pitiable, desperate beggars. The tax collector recognizes his sinful condition and seeks the only thing that can bridge the gap between himself and God. “Have mercy on me,” he cries, and we know from the end of the parable that God heard his prayer for mercy and answered it. Jesus tells us in verse 14 that the tax collector went away justified (made righteous) because he had humbled himself before God, confessing that no amount of works could save him from his sin and that only God’s mercy could.
- If we are truly broken-hearted over our sin, we can be assured of God’s boundless love and forgiveness in Christ. He has promised in His word to accept us, love us, and make us alive again through His Son (Colossians 2:13). No amount of good works, church attendance, tithes, community service, loving our neighbor or anything else we do is sufficient to take away the blot of sin and enable us to stand before a holy God on our own. That is why God sent Jesus to die on the cross. His death is the only “work” that is able to cleanse us and make us acceptable to God. In addition, we must not make the mistake of comparing ourselves with others and gaining confidence from what we see in that comparison. In fact, Jesus specifically warns us against this attitude at the beginning of the parable. When we try to justify ourselves by comparing ourselves to others, we naturally end up despising them. Our standard for comparison is God Himself, and we all fall short of His glory (Romans 3:23).