Pharisee and the Publican

In Luke 18:9–14,[1] a self-righteous Pharisee, obsessed by his own virtue, is contrasted with a tax collector who humbly asks God for mercy.

This parable primarily shows Jesus teaching that justification can be given by the mercy of God irrespective of the receiver's prior life and that conversely self-righteousness can prohibit being justified.

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

To some who thought they were self righteous and regarded others with contempt, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went to the temple to pray: one a Pharisee and the other a Tax Collector.

The Pharisee, standing by himself was praying thusly: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men: thieves, rogues, adulterers — or this tax collector.

I fast twice a week and I give you a tenth of all my income.’ “But the tax collector, standing far off; would not even look up to heaven as he prayed, rather he beat his breast in sorrow saying, ‘God, be merciful to me; a sinner.’ “I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other, for all who exalts himself will be humbled, and for all who humbles himself will be exalted.” The New Testament often depicts Pharisees as displaying a punctilious adherence to Jewish law.

[2] In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the parable is read as part of the preparatory period leading up to Great Lent.

There are works on the parable by artists such as James Tissot, John Everett Millais, Hans Holbein the Younger, and Gustave Doré.