Luke 18:9-14
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
As we watched Jesus begin His ministry He did not go to kings and palaces...He was not constantly around the wealthy man...He went to the outcasts...He went to the places of fishermen and tax collectors...He did not go to those who had much, but He went to those who had little...He went among those who needed forgiving...He went among those who needed better health...He often ate with sinners...We walked among lepers and women...He went among those who needed something...He proclaimed the good news to the poor...Maybe those who are in need and have little are a little more humbler than those who have many things...In Jesus' Parable of the taxpayer, he is humbled before God...