The parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee is a story that Jesus told to illustrate the importance of humility and repentance. It contrasts the attitude of two men who went to the temple to pray: one was a self-righteous Pharisee who boasted about his good deeds, and the other was a humble tax collector who pleaded for God’s mercy. Jesus said that the tax collector, not the Pharisee, went home justified before God.