A parable of Jesus

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

God receives the one who comes empty, pleading for mercy, not the one who comes full of his own goodness.

Where and to whom Jesus told it

Luke tells us plainly for whom this parable was meant: Jesus spoke it unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. It follows immediately on the persistent widow, moving from how long we should pray to how we should pray, from perseverance to humility. Together the two parables form a short school of prayer.

The two men Jesus sets side by side would have carried opposite reputations. The Pharisee was the very model of religious devotion, respected and admired; the tax collector, a publican, was a collaborator with Rome and a byword for greed and betrayal, despised by all. Everyone listening would have known which of the two was the good man. The parable overturns that certainty.

The parable

Two men went up into the temple to pray, Jesus says; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

Jesus delivers the verdict: I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. The Pharisee's prayer is really addressed to himself, a recital of his own virtues and a glance of contempt at the man behind him. The publican has nothing to offer but a plea for mercy, and that plea is exactly what God receives. The despised man, not the admired one, goes home right with God.

What it means, and how it has been misread and rightly read

This parable can be misused in a curious way, so that we thank God we are not like that self-righteous Pharisee, and in doing so commit his very sin. Its point is not to give us a new class of people to despise but to strip us of all comparison. The moment we use the tax collector's humility as a badge of our own superiority, we have climbed back onto the Pharisee's platform.

Read rightly, it teaches that we are made right with God not by parading our goodness but by casting ourselves on his mercy. The Pharisee's fasting and tithing were real, and not condemned in themselves; what condemned him was that he trusted in them and despised others. The way to God is not up the ladder of our achievements but down into honest need. The publican's prayer, God be merciful to me a sinner, is the prayer that is always heard, because it comes empty-handed and asks only for grace.

The heart of God and the kingdom

This parable reveals a God who justifies the ungodly who throw themselves on his mercy, and who is not impressed by the self-congratulation of the outwardly righteous. He looks not at the résumé of our virtues but at the posture of the heart. The one who stands afar off, unable even to lift his eyes, goes home justified, because God gives grace to the humble and resists the proud.

It reveals, too, that the door to God is mercy, not merit, and that it stands open to the worst if only they will come as sinners in need. The most despised man in the story is the one God receives, precisely because he asks for nothing but mercy. This is the astonishing logic of grace: those who come with empty hands go home full, and those who come full of themselves go home unchanged.

What it asks of us

This parable warns us against the subtle pride that can poison even our prayers, turning them into self-congratulation and quiet contempt for others. It asks whether, when we come to God, we are secretly reciting our own goodness and measuring ourselves against people we look down on, or whether we come as the publican came, with nothing to offer but need.

And it teaches us the prayer God always hears: God be merciful to me a sinner. The way to be right with God is not to climb but to kneel, not to display our righteousness but to confess our need. Those who come humble and empty-handed go home justified; those who come proud and full go home as they came. The parable calls us again and again to the tax collector's place, which is the only place where grace is received.

How it points to Christ

The tax collector's cry for mercy is answered because of what Christ would do. Jesus is the one through whom the ungodly are justified, not by their works but by grace received through faith. He welcomes the humble and sends the self-righteous away empty, and at his cross the sinner's plea, God be merciful to me, is met with a mercy that makes us truly and freely right with God. He himself became the sacrifice that turns that prayer into pardon, so that every sinner who prays it goes home justified.

Frequently asked questions

What does the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector mean?

Two men pray: the Pharisee boasts of his goodness, the tax collector begs, 'God be merciful to me a sinner.' Jesus says it was the humble tax collector who went home justified. God receives those who come empty-handed for mercy, not those full of their own righteousness (Luke 18:9-14).

Why was the tax collector justified and not the Pharisee?

Because he came in honest humility, pleading only for mercy, while the Pharisee trusted in his own record and despised others. Jesus concludes, 'every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.'