And all who saw this began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinful man!”
Parallel translations
- WEB When they saw it, they all murmured, saying, “He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner.”
- KJV And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
- NKJV But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”
- NASB When the people saw this, they all began to complain, saying, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner!”
- NLT But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.
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 crowd grumbles that Jesus is the guest of a notorious sinner. Their complaint exposes their failure to grasp the mission of Christ.
Overview
Tax collectors were regarded as traitors and extortioners, so Jesus's choice scandalized the onlookers. Their murmuring echoes earlier objections in Luke (5:30; 15:2) to Jesus eating with sinners. The grumbling sets in relief the gospel truth that Christ came precisely for such people, not for those who think themselves righteous.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Luke 15:2So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
- Luke 7:39When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, He would know who this is and what kind of woman is touching Him—for she is a sinner!”
- Luke 7:34The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
- Matt 9:11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
- Luke 18:9–14To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable:
- Luke 5:30But the Pharisees and their scribes complained to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
- 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.’
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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 19:7 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.