Luke 18:14

Confession is the beginning of glory, not the full desert of the crown; nor does it perfect our praise, but it initiates our dignity; and since it is written, "He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved," whatever has been before the end is a step by which we ascend to the summit of salvation, not a terminus wherein the full result of the ascent is already gained. He is a confessor; but after confession his peril is greater, because the adversary is more provoked. He is a confessor; for this cause he ought the more to stand on the side of the Lord's Gospel, since he has by the Gospel attained glory from the Lord. For the Lord says, "To whom much is given, of him much shall be required; and to whom more dignity is ascribed, of him more service is exacted." Let no one perish by the example of a confessor; let no one learn injustice, let no one learn arrogance, let no one learn treachery, from the manners of a confessor. He is a confessor, let him be lowly and quiet; let him be in his doings modest with discipline, so that he who is called a confessor of Christ may imitate Christ whom he confesses. For since He says, "Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he who humbleth himself shall be exalted; " and since He Himself has been exalted by the Father, because as the Word, and the strength, and the wisdom of God the Father, He humbled Himself upon earth, how can He love arrogance, who even by His own law enjoined upon us humility, and Himself received the highest name from the Father as the reward of His humility? He is a confessor of Christ, but only so if the majesty and dignity of Christ be not afterwards blasphemed by him. […]

(de Inc. Dei Nat. Hom. 5.) This parable represents to us two chariots on the race course, each with two charioteers in it. In one of the chariots it places righteousness with pride, in the other sin and humility. You see the chariot of sin outstrip that of righteousness, not by its own strength but by the excellence of humility combined with it, but the other is defeated not by righteousness, but by the weight and swelling of pride. For as humility by its own elasticity rises above the weight of pride, and leaping up reaches to God, so pride by its great weight easily depresses righteousness. Although therefore thou art earnest and constant in well doing, yet thinkest thou mayest boast thyself, thou art altogether devoid of the fruits of prayer. But thou that bearest a thousand loads of guilt on thy conscience, and only thinkest this thing of thyself that thou art the lowest of all men, shalt gain much confidence before God. And He then goes on to assign the reason of His sentence. For every one who exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (in Ps. 142). The word humility has various meanings. There is the humility of virtue, as, A humble and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. (Ps. 51:17.) There is also a humility arising from sorrows, as, He has humbled my life upon the earth. (Ps. 142:3.) There is a humility derived from sin, and the pride and insatiability of riches. For can any thing be more low and debased than those who grovel in riches and power, and count them great things? (Hom. de Prof. Ev.) This inflation of pride can cast down even from heaven the man that taketh not warning, but humility can raise a man up from the lowest depth of guilt. The one saved the Publican before the Pharisee, and brought the thief into Paradise before the Apostles; the other entered even into the spiritual powers. […]

The liars and the proud, too, He threatens; the former thus: "Woe to them that call bitter sweet, and sweet bitter;" and the latter: "Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight." "For he that humbleth himself shall be exalted, and he that exalteth himself shall be humbled."

Amen I say to you. After he has described the conditions of the persons and of the prayers, here now in the third place he describes the conditions of being heard. Moreover, the condition of being heard is described here with respect to personal judgment …

Someone might perhaps wonder why the Pharisee, although he spoke only a few words with haughtiness, was nevertheless condemned, while Job spoke very many great things about himself (Job 29:7–25), yet received a crown? This is because the Pharisee began to prattle in praise of …

Typically, the Pharisee is the Jewish people, who boast of their ornaments because of the righteousness of the law; but the Publican is the Gentiles, who being at a distance from God confess their sins. Of whom the one for His pride returned humbled, the other for his contrition was thought worthy to draw near and be exalted.

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Of the aforementioned people, both the proud and the humble, it can rightly be understood, just as we read elsewhere: Before destruction the heart is exalted, and before glory, …

15. What happened then'? "This man", says the Lord, "went down to his house justified rather than the other, for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" (Luke 18:14). As the devil is conceit itself and …

But should any one perchance marvel that the Pharisee for uttering a few words in his own praise is condemned, while Job, though he poured forth many, is crowned, I answer, that the Pharisee spoke these at the same time that he groundlessly accused others; but Job was compelled by an urgent necessity to enumerate his own virtues for the glory of God, that men might not fall away from the path of virtue.

I tell you that this man,.... The publican that so freely owned himself to be a sinner, and by his carriage acknowledged he was unworthy of any favour; and who was treated with so much contempt by the Pharisee: went down to his house; from the temple which was built on a mountain, justified, rather than the other: accounted as a righteous person in the sight of God; justified from all his sins, and accepted by him, when the other was abhorred and neglected.

Went down to his house justified - His sin blotted out; and himself accepted. Rather than the other - Η εκεινος: that is, the other was not accepted, because he exalted himself - he made use of the mercies which he acknowledged he owed to God, to make claims on the Divine approbation, and to monopolize the salvation of the Most High! He was abased, because he vainly trusted that he was righteous, and depended on what he had been enabled to do, and looked not for a change of heart, nor for reconciliation to God.

The parable we have now read, is closely connected with the one which immediately precedes it. The parable of the persevering widow — teaches the value of importunity in prayer. The parable of the Pharisee and tax-collector — teaches the spirit which should pervade our prayers. The first parable encourages us to pray and never give up. The second parable reminds us how and in what manner we ought to pray. Both parables should be often pondered by every true Christian. Let us notice, firstly — the sin against which our Lord Jesus Christ warns us in these verses.

THE publican was justified rather than the Pharisee. The outwardly worse man of the two was accepted rather than the one who was apparently better. "This man went down to his house justified rather than the other." Observe, dear Friends, our Savior's gentle way of describing the contrast between these two men. He says that the publican was "justified rather than the other," but we all know that behind this mild and lenient expression, there is the sad and solemn Truth of God that the Pharisee was not justified at all.

rather than the other--The meaning is, "and not the other"; for the Pharisee was not seeking justification, and felt no need of it. This great law of the Kingdom of God is, in the teaching of Christ, inscribed, as in letters of gold, over its entrance gate.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

The parable we have now read, is closely connected with the one which immediately precedes it. The parable of the persevering widow — teaches the value of importunity in prayer. The parable of the Pharisee and tax-collector — teaches the spirit which should pervade our prayers. The first parable encourages us to pray and never give up. The second parable reminds us how and in what manner we ought to pray. Both parables should be often pondered by every true Christian. Let us notice, firstly — the sin against which our Lord Jesus Christ warns us in these verses. There is no difficulty in finding this out. Luke tells us expressly, that "He spoke this parable to some who were confident of their own righteousness, and looked down on everybody else." The sin which our Lord denounces, is "self-righteousness." We are all naturally self-righteous. It is the family-disease of all the children of Adam. From the highest to the lowest — we think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. We secretly flatter ourselves, that we are not as bad as some, and that we have something to merit the favor of God. We forget the plain testimony of Scripture, "We all stumble in many ways." "Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins." "What is man — that he could be pure; or one born of woman — that he could be righteous?" "There is no one righteous — not even one!" (James 3:2, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Job 15:14, Romans 3:10) The true cure for self-righteousness, is self-knowledge. Once let the eyes of our understanding be opened by the Spirit, and we will no longer talk of our own goodness. Once let us see what there is in our own hearts, and what the holy law of God requires — and self-conceit will die. We shall lay our hand on our mouths, and cry with the leper, "Unclean, unclean!" (Leviticus 13:45.)

THE publican was justified rather than the Pharisee. The outwardly worse man of the two was accepted rather than the one who was apparently better. "This man went down to his house justified rather than the other." Observe, dear Friends, our Savior's gentle way of describing the contrast between these two men. He says that the publican was "justified rather than the other," but we all know that behind this mild and lenient expression, there is the sad and solemn Truth of God that the Pharisee was not justified at all. It is concerning that fact that I am about to speak to you. The publican was justified and the Pharisee was not, yet our Lord only said, "This man went down to his house justified rather than the other." It will be true wisdom on our part, also, to sometimes state a Truth in the very mildest way possible. A Scriptural Doctrine loses nothing of its effect by being tenderly expressed—indeed, a forcible Truth of God may even have its force increased by being rather understated than overstated. Our Lord Jesus Christ knew when to use this holy art and He did so on this occasion and, therefore, you and I will be wise if we do the same when a fitting opportunity occurs. Notice, further, dear Friends, that the pith, the marrow, the very center of the blessing that we expect to get in worship is justification.

I tell you - The Pharisees would have said that the first man here was approved. Jesus assures them that they judged erroneously. God judges of this differently from people. Justified - Accepted or approved of God. The word “justify” means to declare or treat as righteous. In this case it means that in their prayers the one was approved and the other not; the one went down with the favor of God in answer to his petitions, the other not. For every one ... - See the notes at Luk 14:11.

The whole secret of the practical success of Christendom lies in the Christian humility, however imperfectly fulfilled. For with the removal of all question of merit or payment, the soul is suddenly released for incredible voyages. If we ask a sane man how much he …

For the truth is much stranger even than it appears in the formal doctrine of the sin of pride. It is not only true that humility is a much wiser and more vigorous thing than pride. It is also true that vanity is a much …

As a matter of fact, the strongest nations are those, like Prussia or Japan, which began from very mean beginnings, but have not been too proud to sit at the feet of the foreigner and learn everything from him. Almost every obvious and direct victory …