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Luke 10:29
But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

Luke 15:29
And he answering said tohis father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:

Luke 16:15
And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

that they were righteous.

Luke 18:11
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other menare, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

Luke 7:39
Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him sawit, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of womanthis is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

Luke 15:2,30
And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them…

and viewed others with contempt
The attitude of contempt towards others is a reflection of pride and a lack of love, which is contrary to the greatest commandments to love God and love one's neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39). This disdain for others often manifested in the Pharisees' interactions with those they deemed sinners or unclean, such as tax collectors and Gentiles. The cultural context of first-century Judaism placed a high value on ritual purity and social status, which often led to exclusion and judgment of those who did not conform.

He also told this parable:
Jesus frequently used parables as a teaching tool to convey spiritual truths through simple stories. Parables were a common method of instruction in Jewish culture, allowing listeners to engage with the narrative and uncover deeper meanings. This particular parable, like many others, is designed to challenge the listener's understanding and provoke self-reflection. The use of parables also fulfilled prophecy, as seen inPsalm 78:2, which speaks of teaching in parables. Jesus' parables often revealed the nature of God's kingdom and the attitudes required to enter it, emphasizing themes of humility, repentance, and faith.

Jesus does not address a vague crowd here; He directs His words to a definite subset of listeners.

• His specificity recalls moments likeMatthew 23:13 where He singles out scribes and Pharisees.

• By identifying “some,” Luke highlights personal accountability (Romans 14:12).

• The Lord knows every heart (Jeremiah 17:10), so His pinpointed audience assures us that Scripture discerns our innermost thoughts (Hebrews 4:12).

Trust is a matter of reliance—placing confidence in what will save.

• Self-reliance for righteousness contradictsIsaiah 64:6, which says, “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.”

• Paul echoes this warning inPhilippians 3:9, longing to “be found in Him, not having my own righteousness.”

• When people rest on self-made moral track records, they quietly deny the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement (Galatians 2:21).

• This attitude blinds a person to the humble posture Jesus commends in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3).

Pride toward God inevitably spills over into disdain for neighbor.

•James 2:13 warns, “Judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.”

• The Pharisee in the ensuing parable thanks God he is “not like other men” (Luke 18:11), revealing how self-righteousness breeds comparison and scorn.

•Proverbs 6:16-17 lists “haughty eyes” among the seven things the Lord hates—an attitude that elevates self and diminishes others.

• True love “does not boast, it is not proud” (1 Corinthians 13:4); contempt shows the opposite spirit.

The story that follows (Luke 18:10-14) contrasts a Pharisee and a tax collector, illustrating the danger just described.

• Parables function as mirrors (2 Samuel 12:1-7; Nathan’s story to David) to expose hidden sin.

• Jesus ends the parable with God’s verdict: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” This fulfillsProverbs 29:23 and underscores that justification is God’s action, not ours.

• By prefacing the parable with verse 9, Luke ensures we grasp its purpose: to dismantle self-confidence in moral performance and replace it with humble trust in God’s mercy (Titus 3:5).

Luke 18:9 introduces a lesson aimed at people convinced of their own goodness and dismissive of others. Jesus exposes the twin sins of self-righteousness and contempt, reminding us that only humble reliance on God’s mercy leads to justification. When our confidence shifts from ourselves to Christ, pride gives way to compassion, and we walk in the righteousness God freely provides.

The "certain which trusted" are not specified as being actually Pharisees, and included, we may believe, disciples in whom the Pharisee temper was gaining the mastery, and who needed to be taught as by areductio ad absurdum, what it naturally led to.

Despised others.--Literally,the rest--viz., all others. The word for "despise," literally,count as nothing, is again one of those which St. Luke has, and the other Evangelists have not (that inMark 9:12 differs in form), but which is frequent in the vocabulary of St. Paul (Romans 14:3;Romans 14:10;1Corinthians 16:11,et al.). This universal depreciation of others would seem almost an exaggeration, if experience did not show--e.g., as in the history of Montanism and analogous forms of error--how easily men and women, religious societies and orders, drift into it, and how hard it is to set any limits to the monomania of egotism--above all, of religious egotism. It never uttered itself, perhaps, in a more repulsive form than when the Pharisees came to speak of the great mass of their brother-Israelites as the brute people, the "people of the earth."