Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise 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, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
This work © 2026 David Simon (https://www.life-everlasting.net) is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-BC-ND 4.0)
This license requires that reusers give credit to the creator. It allows reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form and for noncommercial purposes only.
The parable illustrates the two places people put their trust. The first a Jew, whose knowledge of Scripture would have surpassed the second, yet was not a believer in Yahweh - he trusted himself. The inevitable consequence of those who would desire to stand before God on the basis of their own self-righteousness is that they make comparisons between themselves and others. Today we could say he lack emotional intelligence, and theologically, he lacked spiritual intelligence; he understood not the sinfulness of his heart.
The second understood exactly where before God he stood - an unbeliever. As such when he came before God to seek forgiveness his behaviour and his words reflected a heart that recognized his own unworthiness before God.
Jesus concludes, to be exalted by God requires a willingness to recognize and acknowledge our unworthiness before Him. For those who do not recognize they are unworthy, who instead exalt themselves before God, they will be humbled, and will receive the judgment they assumed was reserved for those who they had made comparison with. The second could find no earthly solution for his sin: so he abandon all trust in self and place his trust in God for His mercy through His Son.
Who are you trusting to save you from judgement and hell?