Luke 18:12

"The Pharisee stood and prayed by himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men: extortionists, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector."

Key Reflection

The Pharisee's prayer highlights his self-righteousness and lack of genuine humility. By contrast, the tax collector’s silence and admission of sin foreshadow the importance of humility in God's eyes, a key theme in Luke's Gospel that emphasizes divine mercy over human piety.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verse 12. I fast twice, &c. This was probably the Jewish custom. The Pharisees are said to have fasted regularly on the second and fifth days of every week in private. This was in addition to the public days of fasting required in the law of Moses, and they therefore made more a matter of merit of it be cause it was voluntary. I give tithes. A tithe means the tenth part of a thing. A tenth part of the possessions of the Jews was required for the support of the Levites, Nu 18:21. In addition to the tithes required strictly by law, the Pharisees had tithed everything which they possessed--even the smallest matters--as mint, anise, cummin, &c., Lu 11:42.

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