Now all the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around to listen to Jesus.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear him.
- KJV Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
- NKJV Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.
- NASB Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near Jesus to listen to Him.
- NLT Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Tax collectors and sinners draw near to hear Jesus. The outcasts are eager for His teaching and welcome.
Overview
Tax collectors and 'sinners' were despised and excluded by the religious establishment. Their eagerness to come close to Jesus shows the appeal of His gracious welcome. This sets the stage for the three parables of God's seeking love for the lost.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Tim 1:15This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.
- Matt 9:10–13Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples.
- Luke 5:29–32Then Levi hosted a great banquet for Jesus at his house. A large crowd of tax collectors was there, along with others who were eating with them.
- Matt 21:28–31But what do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first one and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
- Ezek 18:27But if a wicked man turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life.
- Rom 5:20The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
- Luke 7:29All the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice. For they had received the baptism of John.
- Luke 13:30And indeed, some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 15:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.