In the Parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector Jesus upends his original audience's understanding of righteousness and justification. The Pharisee, who modern Christians view as being hypocritical and self-righteous, was a person revered by most ancient Jews. He was faithful, meticulous about his obedience to the law, a man "of the people," and a person whose way of living and being was an example for others. The tax collector was viewed as a collaborationist, an "agent" of Rome, a person who became wealthy by extorting their fellow Jesus. In short, the tax collector was a thief, a person to be scorned. But, in the parable, the tax collector enters the temple, stands to himself, doesn't raise his eyes to heaven, and prays for forgiveness fully aware of his desperate need for God's grace and mercy. The Pharisee, it seems, assumes God is saving a place for him in the kingdom. But, it's the humble, the one who knows their desperate need, who walks away justified.