Luke 18:9

The context

Luke introduces the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector with an explicit statement of its audience and purpose. The setting is the travel section, and the parable that follows is about prayer in the temple. Luke's editorial note is unusual in its directness about who is being addressed.

What it establishes

It establishes that the parable targets self-confidence and contempt for others, and that the narrator says so before telling it. The two faults are named together, before the story is told. The note is editorial, and it controls the reading.

What it does not establish

It does not condemn the Pharisee's practices as such. Fasting and tithing are not criticised in the parable; the criticism falls on the posture of the one who does them. The verse describes an audience, and the parable's application is narrower than a general attack on observance.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

• Why do Christians think God is going to let them into heaven because they were better than everybody else?

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.