35 · Parable of Jesus

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Luke 18:9–14

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A Pharisee prays confidently in the temple while an adult tax collector stands farther away with lowered eyes and prays humbly.

Jesus tells of two men praying in the temple.

What is wrong with the Pharisee's self-view?

Choose a perspective

There is no score – choose the perspective you find closest and discuss why.

Discuss: When does gratitude for your life become self-righteousness?

After your discussion: compare with our assessment

Our assessment

A takes both Luke's introduction and the Pharisee's prayer seriously. The problem is larger than mentioning good deeds. Luke explicitly says the parable concerns people who trust in their own righteousness and treat others with contempt, and the Pharisee's prayer displays both tendencies. C captures the central reversal. The tax collector makes no claim to moral superiority but asks for God's mercy. According to Jesus, he is the one who goes home justified.

35 · Luke 18:9–14

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Text & context

Full translation

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated the others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed these things to himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortioners, unjust people, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of everything I acquire.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far away, would not even lift his eyes toward heaven, but kept beating his chest and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Translated from the Greek text – SBLGNT

What is happening here?
Luke gives a clear interpretive key before the parable even begins. Jesus tells it to people who trust in themselves that they are righteous while treating others with contempt. Two men go to the temple to pray. The Pharisee thanks God that he is not like other people and lists both wrongs he avoids and religious practices he performs. He fasts twice a week and gives a tenth of everything he acquires. The tax collector, by contrast, stands at a distance. He will not even raise his eyes toward heaven, beats his chest, and asks God for mercy. Jesus ends with a surprising judgment: the tax collector goes home justified rather than the other man. Jesus then states the wider principle that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, while the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
Notice this

The Pharisee looks toward the other man through comparison: “I am not like ... this tax collector.” The tax collector says nothing about the Pharisee. He simply prays: “God, be merciful to me, the sinner.” There is also an ironic trap for the reader. It is easy to finish the parable thinking: “What a self-righteous Pharisee. I'm glad I'm not like him.” But then our own thought begins to sound suspiciously like his: “I am not like that...” The parable therefore makes it difficult to use the Pharisee as yet another person over whom to feel morally superior.

Language & translation

From the Greek

πεποιθότας ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτοῖς – pepoithotas eph' heautois

trusted in themselves Luke identifies self-reliance as part of the problem before the parable begins.

ὅτι εἰσὶν δίκαιοι – hoti eisin dikaioi

that they were righteous Dikaios means righteous or just. The same word family returns when Jesus later says that the tax collector goes home “justified.”

ἐξουθενοῦντας τοὺς λοιπούς – exouthenountas tous loipous

treated the others with contempt Exoutheneō can mean to despise, treat with contempt, or regard as insignificant.

εὐχαριστῶ σοι – eucharistō soi

I thank you The Pharisee's prayer begins as thanksgiving to God. The problem emerges in what the thanksgiving becomes: comparison and self-exaltation.

νηστεύω δὶς τοῦ σαββάτου – nēsteuō dis tou sabbatou

I fast twice a week The Pharisee describes his religious discipline. Jesus does not say fasting itself is wrong.

ἀποδεκατεύω πάντα ὅσα κτῶμαι – apodekateuō panta hosa ktōmai

I give a tenth of everything I acquire This too is presented as a religious practice without the act itself being condemned.

μακρόθεν ἑστὼς – makrothen hestōs

standing far away The tax collector's physical position strengthens the contrast between the two men.

ἱλάσθητί μοι τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ – hilasthēti moi tō hamartōlō

be merciful to me, the sinner Hilaskomai is connected with mercy and atonement. The tax collector does not focus on someone else's failure but on his own need before God.

δεδικαιωμένος – dedikaiōmenos

justified From dikaioō, the same word family as dikaios in verse 9. The contrast is striking between people who trust that they themselves are righteous and the man who goes home justified.

ὑψῶν ἑαυτόν / ταπεινῶν ἑαυτόν

exalts himself / humbles himself Jesus' closing words turn the reversal into a general principle.

Translation note

Independent English translation from the Greek text, using SBLGNT as the primary Greek edition.

Compare for yourself

Read Luke 18:9–14 and mark the connection between: “trusted in themselves that they were righteous” and: “went home justified.” Pay particular attention to:

  • peithō / pepoitha
  • dikaios / dikaioō
  • exoutheneō
  • eucharisteō
  • hilaskomai
  • hamartōlos
  • hypsoō
  • tapeinoō

Also compare Luke 14:7–11, where Jesus closes with the same principle about the one who exalts himself being humbled and the one who humbles himself being exalted.

Continue the conversation

Discuss further
  1. Is anything in the Pharisee's list of practices explicitly said by Jesus to be wrong?
  2. How can gratitude to God turn into comparison with other people?
  3. What is the difference between humility and simply thinking badly of yourself?
  4. Why do you think Luke mentions both self-trust and contempt for others in the introduction?
  5. How can we read the parable without beginning to despise the Pharisee ourselves?
Parallel passages
  • Luke 14:7–11
  • Luke 16:14–15
  • Luke 19:1–10
Sources
  • The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition (SBLGNT), Michael W. Holmes, ed.
  • Luke 18:9–14
  • Standard Greek lexical resources for peithō, dikaios, dikaioō, exoutheneō, eucharisteō, hilaskomai, hypsoō, and tapeinoō