108. Parable of the Pharisee and Publican

Then Jesus spoke a parable to those who were trusting in themselves and were impressed with their own righteousness.

Jesus said:

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, having himself as the object of his own prayers:

God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men, swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even tax collectors. I fast twice a week. I give my tithes faithfully.

The tax collector, standing far away from the temple, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but struck his chest and said:

God be merciful to me, a sinner.

I tell you that the tax collector went home justified. The Pharisee did not.

Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he that humbles himself will be exalted.