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.”
