7. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?
8. I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
9. To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:
10. “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
12. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13. “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14. “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
15. People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.
16. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.