And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
Parallel translations
- WEB The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.”
- BSB So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
- NKJV And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”
- NASB And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to complain, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”
- NLT This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!
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
The Pharisees and scribes grumble that Jesus welcomes and eats with sinners. Their complaint becomes the occasion for the great parables of grace.
Overview
Sharing meals signified acceptance, so Jesus' table fellowship with sinners scandalized the religious leaders. Their murmuring reveals hearts that resent grace shown to the undeserving. Ironically, their criticism captures the very heart of the gospel, that Christ came to receive sinners.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Matt 9:11And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?
- Luke 19:7And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
- Luke 7:39Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
- Luke 5:30But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?
- Acts 11:3Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.
- Gal 2:12For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
- Luke 7:34The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!
- Luke 15:29–30And he answering said to his 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:
- 1 Cor 5:9–11I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
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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 15:2 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.