Parable · Luke 18:9-14
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Two men pray in the temple. One lists his virtues. One asks for mercy.
Also called Two Men Praying
The point
The one who goes home right with God is the one who brought nothing to the conversation.
9To 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 the 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.”
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- Lectionary 30 Year CGospel, Luke 18:9-14
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The parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, explained in plain words. Two men pray. One lists his virtues. One asks for mercy. https://freescripture.org/parables/pharisee-and-tax-collector/
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