Pharisee and the Publican

The parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (or the Pharisee and the Tax Collector) is a parable of Jesus that appears in the Gospel of Luke. In Luke 18:9-14, a Pharisee, obsessed by his own virtue, is contrasted with a tax collector who humbly asks God for mercy.

This parable demonstrates the need to pray humbly. It immediately follows the Parable of the Unjust Judge, which is also about prayer.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee commemorates the parable and begins the three-week pre-Lenten Season.

The parable is as follows:

He spoke also this parable to certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised all others. "Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: 'God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn't even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."

In the New Testament's telling, Pharisees often display a punctilious adherence to Jewish Law. The Pharisee depicted in this parable went beyond his fellows, fasting more often than was required, and giving a tithe on all he receives, even in cases where the religious rules did not require it. Confident in his religiousity, the Pharisee asks God for nothing, and thus receives nothing.

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