Luke tells us Jesus told this parable to “some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt” (v. 9). The Pharisee in the parable is not a hypocrite performing religion he does not believe; he appears to be sincere. His prayer is a list of genuine achievements. The tax collector, by contrast, is a member of the occupation's economic apparatus — a traitor and an extortionist by his contemporaries' reckoning. His prayer is four words. The verdict Jesus gives is the shock of the parable: the four words trump the achievement list.

From the writers we read together

Brennan Manning

Franciscan priest and author of The Ragamuffin Gospel (1934-2013)

Manning called the tax collector's prayer the purest form of the ragamuffin's prayer, and he argued that the church's greatest temptation is not to become the tax collector but to become the Pharisee — to accumulate a religious achievement list and present it to God as the grounds of acceptance. The Pharisee's prayer is not disingenuous; it is simply aimed at the wrong target. He is not asking for anything; he is presenting his credentials. Manning would say you cannot receive what you believe you have already earned.

The word “justified” (dedikaiōmenos) at the end of verse 14 is the vocabulary of the law court: declared righteous, acquitted. The tax collector goes home acquitted. The Pharisee goes home exactly as he arrived: self-sufficient. Manning's application was pastoral rather than moralistic. He did not use this parable to shame the Pharisees in the congregation; he used it to invite them to exchange the list for the prayer. Four words are enough: God, be merciful to me. The hilaskomai does the rest.