And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, Why eats your Master with publicans and sinners?
they said.
Mark 2:16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
Mark 9:14-16 And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them…
Why.
Matthew 11:19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
Isaiah 65:5 Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.
Luke 5:30 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?
they asked His disciples
The Pharisees approached the disciples rather than Jesus directly, possibly indicating a strategy to undermine Jesus' authority by questioning His followers. This indirect approach might also suggest a level of intimidation or an attempt to sow doubt among the disciples. The disciples, being learners and followers of Jesus, were often questioned about His teachings and actions, reflecting the communal nature of rabbinic teaching where disciples were expected to defend and explain their teacher's actions.
“Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Tax collectors were despised in Jewish society for their role in collecting taxes for the Roman occupiers and often for their reputation of extortion. Sinners, in this context, refers to those who were seen as living outside the bounds of the law, including those who did not adhere to the Pharisaic interpretations of purity. Eating with such individuals was seen as a sign of acceptance and fellowship, which was scandalous to the Pharisees who emphasized separation from impurity. This question highlights the tension between Jesus' ministry, which emphasized grace and outreach to the marginalized, and the Pharisaic focus on ritual purity and separation. Jesus' actions here foreshadow His mission to bring salvation to all, including those marginalized by society, fulfilling prophecies such as Isaiah 61:1-2, which speaks of bringing good news to the poor and freedom to the captives.
“When the Pharisees saw this” places us at Matthew’s house right after Jesus has called the tax collector to follow Him (Matthew 9:9-10).
• The Pharisees, known for guarding ceremonial purity, immediately notice Jesus relaxing at the table with people they regarded as spiritually unclean.
• Their habit of scrutinizing Jesus’ actions pops up elsewhere—“When the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, ‘Look, Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath’ ” (Matthew 12:2).
• Luke records the same scene: “But the Pharisees and scribes were grumbling, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ ” (Luke 5:30).
• By “seeing,” they judge externally, echoing God’s reminder in 1 Samuel 16:7 that people look on the outward appearance while He looks at the heart.
The verse grounds us in a literal historical moment: religious leaders physically watching Jesus break their social code.
“They asked His disciples” shows the Pharisees dodging direct conversation with Jesus.
• Approaching the disciples feels safer; they hope to sow doubt, much like the scribes disputing with the disciples while Jesus is momentarily elsewhere (Mark 9:14-16).
• Their tactic mirrors later hostility: “We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from” (John 9:29).
• The disciples are still learning Who Jesus is; the Pharisees exploit that vulnerability.
• Yet even in their indirect attack, they unwittingly highlight Jesus’ unique approach to sinners—a contrast drawn again in Luke 15:1-2, where tax collectors draw near to hear Him while the Pharisees murmur.
“Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” crystallizes the Pharisees’ shock.
• Sharing a meal in that culture signified acceptance and fellowship. The question implies: “How can a holy man endorse unholy people?”
• Jesus later answers, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” (Matthew 9:12-13), citing Hosea 6:6. He affirms the law yet shows its goal: mercy leading to repentance.
• Cross references underline His mission:
– Luke 19:7-10—criticism over Jesus dining with Zacchaeus ends with “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
– Mark 2:17—“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
– 1 Timothy 1:15—“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.”
• The title “Teacher” (didaskalos) shows even opponents concede His authority, though they miss the lesson: holiness moves toward the lost, not away from them.
• Romans 5:8 frames the gospel logic behind the meal: “But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Matthew 9:11 exposes a clash between religious pride and the compassionate heart of God. The Pharisees judge by sight and social rules; Jesus sees spiritual need and moves toward it. By eating with tax collectors and sinners, He demonstrates the very purpose of His incarnation—to call the needy to repentance and life. Far from compromising holiness, His table fellowship reveals the holy love that reaches out, heals, and restores.
(11) When the Pharisees saw it.--"Scribes of the Pharisees" (Mark 2:16). These were probably those who had been present at the healing of the paralytic. the scribes who had come from Jerusalem. They, of course, would not enter the publican's house, but they stood outside and watched the mingled guests with wonder, and asked their two-fold question, "Why do ye eat and drink . . . (Luke 5:30)?" "Why doth your Master . . .?"Verse 11. - And when the Pharisees. Mentioned thus far only in Matthew 3:7 and Matthew 5:20. This is, therefore, the first time that Matthew speaks of them as coming into direct contact with Jesus. Although Mark (cf. Luke) says that the objection was raised by those among the Pharisees who were also scribes (οἱ γραμματεῖς τῶν Φαρισαίων), yet the difference of expression from that in ver. 3 must not be overlooked. There the fact that they were scribes, accustomed to weigh the statements of the Law about blasphemy, etc., was prominent in the mind of the narrator; here it is rather the fact that they were Pharisees, men who by their very name professed to hold aloof from those who neglected the Law. Saw it. They could freely come into the court of the house, and when there could both see and hear what was passing in the rooms that opened into it. They said; ἔλεγον: dieebaat (Vulgate); "were saying." Their eager talk is brought vividly before us. Unto his disciples. Probably these were nearer to the Pharisees than Jesus himself was, or perhaps the Pharisees thought it easier to attack Jesus through them. On the naturalness of this remark in the mouth of Pharisees, vide Schurer, II. 2. p. 25. Why eateth your Master (διδάσκαλος); Teacher (Revised Version margin) is preferable, for both Pharisees and disciples realized that even Jesus' actions were intended to instruct his followers. But the reason for this action (why, cf. also ver. 14) they did not understand. It is possible that the order of the Greek points to irony on the part of the Pharisees. The man who presumes to be called Teacher, and whom the disciples accept as such, sets at defiance the primary rules of right and wrong. Professor Marshall (Expositor, IV. 4. p. 222) explains the variants "teacher" (here) and "drink" (parallel passages) by the original Aramaic word for "drink" (רוא) having been written here with the peculiar spelling of the Samaritan Targum (רבא). With (the, Revised Version) publicans and sinners? Who form but one class (τῶν τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν). (For the thought, cf. Matthew 11:19; Luke 15:2; also Psalm 101:5 [LXX.].