Bible Reference / Bible Book Studies / Gospel of Luke / Luke 18 / Luke 18:9-14
Quick Summary
The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) is a story Jesus told "to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt" (18:9). Two men go up to the Temple to pray. The Pharisee stands and thanks God that he is not like other people, "or even like this tax collector," and lists his religious accomplishments: he fasts twice a week and tithes all his income. The tax collector stands far off, will not even look up to heaven, beats his breast, and prays, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" (18:13). Jesus says it was the tax collector who "went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted" (18:14).
The meaning of the parable is that God receives those who come to him humbly asking for mercy, not those who trust in their own goodness and look down on others. It is one of the 24 parables in the Gospel of Luke, and it appears only in Luke.
Scripture Reference
Passage: Luke 18:9-14
Found only in: the Gospel of Luke
Characters: a Pharisee and a tax collector
Setting: the Temple in Jerusalem, at a time of prayer
Key verse: Luke 18:13, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!"
Placement in Luke: after the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8) and before Jesus blesses the little children (Luke 18:15-17)
Who Were the Pharisees and the Tax Collectors?
To hear this parable the way Jesus' first listeners did, we need to know who these two men were.
The Pharisee belonged to a respected lay movement devoted to keeping God's law faithfully in everyday life. Pharisees prayed, fasted, tithed, and studied Scripture with great care. Ordinary people admired them as models of devotion. When Jesus' audience heard "a Pharisee went up to the Temple to pray," they would have pictured a genuinely good man.
The tax collector was the opposite. Tax collectors collected tolls and taxes for Rome and its client rulers, kept whatever they charged beyond the official rate, and were widely seen as traitors and cheats. They were grouped with "sinners" and prostitutes. Read more about tax collectors in the Bible and why they were so despised.
The Pharisee is no fraud, and the tax collector is no secret saint. The shock of the parable is that a truly sinful man is the one who goes home right with God.
Verse-by-Verse Commentary on Luke 18:9-14
Who Jesus Was Talking To (Luke 18:9)
"He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt" (18:9).
Luke tells us the audience before the story begins. The parable is aimed at people with two connected problems: they trusted in themselves, and they looked down on others. The phrase "trusted in themselves" means they relied on their own moral and religious performance to make them right with God. The word for "contempt" means to treat others as nothing.
The two problems always travel together. Self-righteousness fosters pride, and pride breeds judgment. When we trust our own goodness to earn God's favor, we easily start to feel superior to others, and that disconnects us from grace and keeps us from seeing others as equals in need of God's mercy.
Jesus confronts these people to save them from what unchecked self-righteousness will do to them.
Two Men Went Up to Pray (Luke 18:10)
"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector" (18:10).
People "went up" to the Temple because Jerusalem sits on a hill. Public prayer was held at the Temple each morning and afternoon at the time of the daily sacrifices, which made atonement for the people's sins (Acts 3:1 mentions "the hour of prayer, at three o'clock in the afternoon"). Both men come to the same place, at the same hour, to the same God. Their attitudes could not be more different.
The Pharisee's Prayer (Luke 18:11-12)
"The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income'" (18:11-12).
"Standing by himself." The Greek can be read two ways. It may mean he stood apart from others so he would not be contaminated by them, or it may mean he "prayed to himself," which some translations reflect. Either way, the prayer never really leaves the Pharisee.
"God, I thank you." His prayer begins like a psalm of thanksgiving, but it quickly becomes a speech about himself. He uses the word "I" again and again. He never asks God for anything, never confesses anything, and never praises God for anything God has done. He thanks God for how good the Pharisee is.
"Not like other people." He lists thieves, rogues, and adulterers, then glances across the courtyard: "or even like this tax collector." His sense of righteousness depends on comparison. He measures himself against the worst people he can see instead of against God's holiness.
"I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income." These were real accomplishments. The law of Moses required only one annual fast, on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29). Devout Jews later fasted on Mondays and Thursdays, far beyond what was required. The law also required tithes on certain crops and animals, but this Pharisee tithed everything he acquired. He was going above and beyond. For more on these practices, see fasting in the Bible and Bible verses about tithing.
Jesus does not say fasting and tithing are wrong. The problem is what the Pharisee does with them. He treats them as a résumé to present to God and a measuring stick to hold over others. We live in foolishness if we look primarily at our outward actions and not our inward motives. James describes this kind of empty religion and calls instead for religion that is pure and undefiled.
The Tax Collector's Prayer (Luke 18:13)
"But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'" (18:13).
Every detail of his posture shows humility:
"Standing far off." He keeps his distance, as if he does not belong in God's house.
"Would not even look up to heaven." Jews commonly prayed standing with eyes and hands lifted. He cannot bring himself to look up.
"Beating his breast." This was a gesture of deep grief and remorse. Luke uses the same image at the cross, where the crowds who watched Jesus die "returned home, beating their breasts" (23:48).
His prayer is just six words, in English and in Greek: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" He makes no excuses and no comparisons. He does not list anything he has done. He simply throws himself on God's mercy.
Word Study: "Be Merciful" (Hilasthēti)
The verb translated "be merciful" is not the usual Greek word for mercy. It is hilaskomai, a word connected with atonement. A related noun, hilastērion, was used for the "mercy seat," the cover of the ark of the covenant where the high priest sprinkled blood on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16), and Paul uses it for Christ's sacrifice in Romans 3:25.
So the tax collector is asking for more than kindness. In the Temple, at the hour when sacrifices were offered for sin, he is asking God to accept atonement for him. It is a prayer for forgiveness, and he has nothing to offer but his need.
"Me, the Sinner"
In Greek, the tax collector literally says "to me, the sinner." The Pharisee compared himself to others; the tax collector compares himself to no one. He does not think of himself as one sinner among many. In his own eyes, he is the sinner standing before God. Paul would later describe himself the same way, as the foremost of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).
This humility is not self-generated. It is a grace-given posture that lets the tax collector approach God in honesty. As James writes, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). Read more about who wrote Jamesand James' teaching on the inner line of good and evil.
"This Man Went Down to His Home Justified" (Luke 18:14)
"I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted" (18:14).
Jesus delivers the twist. The tax collector, not the Pharisee, goes home "justified."
"Justified." The Greek verb dikaioō means to be declared righteous, put in right standing with God. It is the same word Paul uses throughout Romans and Galatians to describe how God makes sinners right with himself through grace. Here, in a parable, Jesus pictures what Paul later explains: no one is justified by their record, and anyone can be justified by God's mercy. Paul says it plainly in Ephesians: "by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Read more about who was Paul.
"All who exalt themselves will be humbled." Jesus closes with a saying he also used at a dinner party when guests were scrambling for the best seats (Luke 14:7-14). It echoes Mary's song at the very beginning of the Gospel: God "has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly" (Luke 1:52). In God's kingdom, the order is reversed.
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector Side by Side
The parable works by contrast. The table below shows how completely the two men differ.
| The Pharisee | The Tax Collector | |
|---|---|---|
| Reputation | Respected, devout, a model of religious life | Despised as a traitor, cheat, and sinner |
| Where he stands | "Standing by himself," apart from others | "Standing far off," as if he does not belong |
| Posture | Confident and upright | Will not look up to heaven; beats his breast |
| Focus of the prayer | Himself: "I am not like other people... I fast... I give" | God's mercy: "God, be merciful to me" |
| How he sees others | With contempt: "or even like this tax collector" | Makes no comparisons at all |
| How he sees himself | Righteous by his own record | "The sinner," with nothing to offer |
| What he asks for | Nothing | Mercy and atonement |
| How he goes home | Not justified; "all who exalt themselves will be humbled" | Justified; "all who humble themselves will be exalted" |
Quotations from the NRSV, Luke 18:9-14.
Why Did Jesus Tell This Parable?
Luke places this parable in a series of teachings about prayer, humility, and who belongs in God's kingdom:
Right before it, Jesus tells the parable of the persistent widow, about praying always and not losing heart (18:1-8). Both parables teach about prayer: one about persistence, the other about humility.
Right after it, Jesus welcomes little children and says the kingdom belongs to those who receive it like a child (Luke 18:15-17). Children, like the tax collector, bring nothing but their need.
Then comes a rich ruler who has kept all the commandments but cannot let go of his wealth (Luke 18:18-30), followed by a blind beggar who cries out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (18:38), and then Zacchaeus, a real-life tax collector who goes home changed (19:1-10).
The parable also continues a conflict that began in Luke 5, when the Pharisees complained that Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 5:27-32). It echoes the parable of the prodigal son, where the faithful older brother refuses to celebrate his younger brother's return, much like the Pharisee who cannot see past his own record.
Self-Righteousness and Humility in Scripture
Self-righteousness is the belief that our moral standing or religious practices make us right with God, usually accompanied by looking down on others. The Pharisee in this parable embodies it. It is dangerous because it convinces people they can earn God's favor, and it leaves little room for compassion.
The Bible speaks to this again and again. Isaiah confessed that "all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth" (Isaiah 64:6). Read more about Isaiah. Paul writes that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), and he describes our condition apart from Christ in Ephesians 2:1-3. Ephesians also reminds us that God chose us in love "before the foundation of the world" (Ephesians 1:3-6), before we could do anything to deserve it.
Humility, on the other hand, is a gift of grace. It is an honest recognition of our dependence on God. It reflects the character of Christ himself, who "humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8). The humility Jesus calls for is a posture of the heart that shows itself in love, service, and compassion. For more, see Bible verses about humility and Bible verses about pride.
The Tax Collector's Prayer and the Jesus Prayer
The tax collector's words have shaped Christian prayer for centuries. In Eastern Orthodox spirituality, the Jesus Prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner," draws directly from this parable and from the cry of the blind man in Luke 18:38. Many Christians pray it repeatedly as a way of keeping a humble heart before God. The ancient liturgical cry Kyrie eleison, "Lord, have mercy," carries the same spirit. For more, see Bible verses about mercy and Bible verses about confession.
Translation Comparison: Luke 18:9-14
Luke 18:11. The NRSV says "standing by himself, was praying thus"; the ESV says "standing by himself, prayed thus"; the NLT says "stood by himself and prayed this prayer." Some interpreters read the Greek as "prayed to himself."
Luke 18:12. The NRSV says "a tenth of all my income"; the ESV says "tithes of all that I get"; the NLT says "a tenth of my income." The Greek refers to everything he acquired.
Luke 18:13. The NRSV says "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!"; the ESV says "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!"; the NLT says "O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner." The Greek uses an atonement word and reads literally "the sinner."
Luke 18:14. All three say the tax collector went home "justified" (NLT: "justified before God"), using the same word Paul uses for being made right with God.
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector: Meaning for Today
This parable continues to search our hearts. Jesus teaches that true righteousness does not come from comparing ourselves with others or piling up religious accomplishments. It comes from humility, repentance, and reliance on God's mercy. We cannot earn God's favor, and trying to only leads to pride and spiritual blindness.
The hardest part of this parable is that it is easy to read it like the Pharisee. We can finish it and think, "God, I thank you that I am not like that Pharisee." The moment we do, we have become him. The parable invites us to stand where the tax collector stood, with nothing to offer but our need.
It also calls us to stop judging others by appearances or reputation. Jesus flips society's expectations, showing that the humble and broken are the ones who find grace. For more, see Bible verses about judging others and Bible verses about grace.
FAQ: The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
What is the meaning of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector? The parable teaches that God accepts those who humbly ask for mercy, not those who trust in their own righteousness and look down on others. The humble tax collector goes home justified, while the self-righteous Pharisee does not.
Where is the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in the Bible? It is found in Luke 18:9-14. It appears only in the Gospel of Luke.
Why was the tax collector justified rather than the Pharisee? The tax collector came to God honestly, admitting his sin and asking for mercy. The Pharisee came trusting in his own good works and comparing himself to others. Jesus taught that "all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted" (Luke 18:14).
What was the tax collector's prayer? The tax collector prayed, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" (Luke 18:13). The word for "be merciful" is connected with atonement, so he was asking God to forgive his sin.
Was the Pharisee a bad person? By the standards of his day, the Pharisee was a devout and respected man who fasted twice a week and tithed all his income. His problem was his trust in that practice and his contempt for others.
Who did Jesus tell this parable to? Luke says Jesus told it "to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt" (18:9).
Why were tax collectors considered sinners? Tax collectors worked for Rome and its client rulers and often overcharged people to enrich themselves, so they were seen as traitors and cheats. Read more about tax collectors in the Bible.
What does "justified" mean in Luke 18:14? To be justified means to be declared righteous, or put in right standing with God. Jesus says the tax collector went home justified because God accepted his plea for mercy.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Works Consulted
Darrell L. Bock, Luke 9:51-24:53 (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament)
Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke (New International Commentary on the New Testament)
Kenneth E. Bailey, Through Peasant Eyes
Klyne R. Snodgrass, Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus
