Imagine Jesus invites you to dinner and a round of Jeopardy. He’s prepared a fine meal of pan-seared tilapia, fire-roasted vegetables, flatbread dipped in garlic-infused olive oil, and a robust wine directly from his personal collection. It’s an exquisite dining experience superior to any Michelin star rating.

Jesus also creates a calming ambiance. The sinking sunlight draws an arc dividing the sky and the Sea of Galilee. It’s the golden hour, a magnificent display of warm fall colors. While lounging on a Jerusalem hillside, a question breaks through the ease of the evening: whose prayer will likely be more righteous, a Pharisee or tax collector?

Cue Jeopardy’s thinking jingle. You weigh the cultural evidence of both groups.

Tax collectors were Jewish men who made no time for prayer or worship because of their sinful lifestyle. Other Jews despised them and considered them traitors. They lacked moral high ground because they used cruel means to extort money from their own people. They fattened their purse and the reserves of the Roman government on the vulnerability of the poor and weak.

Yet, the Pharisees were godly men who were respected in the community, the epitome of an educated orthodoxy. They were disciplined in prayer, worship, and tithing.

Final answer: the Pharisee is more righteous. Jesus gives a slight smile indicating the answer is incorrect. He continues the parable with an unexpected plot twist.

The Pharisee and tax collector go to the temple to pray. The Pharisee prays, “God, I thank you that I’m not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get” (verses 11-12). The Pharisee’s prayer begins well with an inkling of gratitude but quickly goes south. He places himself on a pedestal of superiority to other sinners. He unjustly assumes the tax collector, who was also praying in the temple, was in the same category of sin that he’s successfully skirted.

“The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to Heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God be merciful to me, sinner that I am.’” (verse 13). Here the tax collector was so burdened by the weight of his sin that he didn’t feel worthy to enter the temple or to even raise his eyes in the direction of God. Rather, he lingered on the fringes of the temple, hoping for drippings of God’s mercy. He beats his chest, an outward expression of inward regret.

The next verse provides the correct answer to Jesus’ question. Whose prayer was more righteous? With a surprising plot twist, verse 14 says, “I tell you that this man went home justified rather than the Pharisee.” In other words, the tax collector was declared righteous, and his prayer was heard and honored because of his humility.

No one should assume righteous acts guarantee we are God-approved, nor should we see ourselves better than the worst sinner. Attending church, practicing recurrent giving, or volunteering in community service is not an automatic good-standing stamp. We should not look down on or say disparaging remarks about those in the body of Christ whose walk may look different from our own.

Going into God’s house does not make us any more holy or righteous than the unholy and unrighteous sinner outside church. We are all sinners needing grace and mercy, churched and unchurched. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

God’s
Riches
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Christ’s
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Reflection:

• Take inventory of your prayers. Are your prayers more requests than thanksgiving? Are you more like the Pharisee with his self-righteous pride or are you more like the tax collector with his humility? Do your prayers give a sweet aroma from the fruits of the Holy Spirit (love, peace, kindness), or do your prayers return to God with a foul odor (haughtiness, selfishness, or pride)?
• Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for the gift of prayer. I acknowledge that it’s only because of Jesus’ completed work on the cross that I can approach Your throne of grace and mercy. Forgive me for the times my words were self-serving and forgive me for the times I missed asking for mercy when I should have. I want my words to be a sweet aroma. In the name of Jesus, my Messiah and Savior, Amen.

Family Application: Luke 18:9-14

Author: Cindy Ogilive

Today’s reading is about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Both men went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee prayed “God, I thank you that I am not like other people — robbers, evildoers, adulterers, — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” The Tax collector prayed “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” The tax collector went home more fulfilled than the Pharisee, why? Because all who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves are exalted.

In this story, there are two different views. One man was more fulfilled than the other after his prayer. Why? Because he told God the truth, he knew he sinned, and he knew God forgave him.

• Today is a tough challenge. I want you to confess one of your sins in your prayers because we aren’t all perfect. But if we confess our sins in prayer, God is perfect in forgiving us.
• Prayer: Lord, I pray that whatever sin it is that I have done, You will forgive me. Lord, I know what I’ve done, and I’m asking for forgiveness. Lord, I love You and thank You for being a forgiving God. Amen.