Now Jesus is going to speak about the tax collector. This man remains standing far away from the holy place. He does not even dare to look up to heaven. He is utterly dejected. Oh, how sinfully I have lived! How terribly I have messed up in my dealings with people, and certainly in God's eyes, I am a great sinner.
Only the plea from Psalm 51:1–19 still emerges from his mouth: Be gracious to me, O God.
And his whole demeanour—he beats his breast—shows that he deeply repents of his sins.
The first listeners would have nodded at these words. Yes, unlike that pious Pharisee, that tax collector has every reason to feel guilty.
13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’