Their scribes and the Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answered them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
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He left everything, and rose up and followed him. Levi made a great feast for him in his house. There was a great crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining with them. Their scribes and the Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answered them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Parallel Translations
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Their scribes and the Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus answered them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
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And the Scribes and Pharises murmured agaynst his disciples sayinge: Why eate ye and drinke ye with publicans and synners?
Iesus answered and sayde vnto the: They that are whole nede not of the phisicion: but they that are sicke.
I came not to call the rightewes but synners to repentaunce.
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But they that were Scribes and Pharises among them, murmured against his disciples, saying, Why eate ye and drinke ye with Publicanes and sinners?
Then Iesus answered, and sayd vnto them, They that are whole, neede not the Physician, but they that are sicke.
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
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Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (36)
- Luke 19:10 (v32) For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”
- Luke 15:10 (v32) Even so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner repenting.”
- 1 Timothy 1:15-16 (v32) The saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However,…
- Luke 15:7 (v32) I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no…
- Acts 3:19 (v32) “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the…
Show all 36 cross-references
- Mark 2:17 (v31) When Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the…
- Matthew 9:12-13 (v31) When Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do. But you go and learn…
- Luke 24:47 (v32) and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
- Acts 17:30 (v32) The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent,
- Isaiah 55:6-7 (v32) Seek Yahweh while he may be found. Call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let…
- Luke 4:18-19 (v32) “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to…
- 2 Peter 3:9 (v32) The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but he is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish, but…
- Luke 18:10-14 (v32) “Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself…
- Acts 2:38 (v32) Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will…
- Acts 3:26 (v32) God, having raised up his servant Jesus, sent him to you first to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your wickedness.”
- Acts 20:21 (v32) testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus.
- Acts 26:18-20 (v32) to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins…
- 2 Timothy 2:25-26 (v32) in gentleness correcting those who oppose him: perhaps God may give them repentance leading to a full knowledge of the truth, and they may…
- Acts 5:31 (v32) God exalted him with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.
- Isaiah 57:15 (v32) For the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, says: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a…
- Jeremiah 8:22 (v31) Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then isn’t the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
- Matthew 18:10 (v32) See that you don’t despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in…
- 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (v32) Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor…
- Matthew 21:28-32 (v30) But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first, and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’ He answered, ‘I will…
- Mark 7:3 (v30) (For the Pharisees and all the Jews don’t eat unless they wash their hands and forearms, holding to the tradition of the elders.
- Mark 15:10 (v32) For he perceived that for envy the chief priests had delivered him up.
- Luke 5:17 (v30) On one of those days, he was teaching; and there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every village of…
- Luke 5:21 (v30) The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this that speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”
- Luke 7:29-30 (v30) When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they declared God to be just, having been baptized with John’s baptism. But the…
- Luke 15:1-2 (v30) Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear him. The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man…
- Luke 19:7 (v30) When they saw it, they all murmured, saying, “He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner.”
- Acts 23:9 (v30) A great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ part stood up, and contended, saying, “We find no evil in this man. But if…
- Isaiah 65:5 (v30) who say, ‘Stay by yourself, don’t come near to me, for I am holier than you.’ These are smoke in my nose, a fire that burns all day.
- Luke 7:34 (v30) The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man, and a drunkard; a friend of tax collectors and…
- Luke 7:39 (v30) Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “This man, if he were a prophet, would have perceived who and what…
- Luke 18:11 (v30) The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men, extortionists, unrighteous,…
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Explain this passage (11 sources)
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John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv30–32 But their Scribes and Pharisees,.... Not the Scribes of…
But their Scribes and Pharisees,.... Not the Scribes of the publicans and sinners that sat down, but the Scribes of the people in general; the Scribes of the Jewish nation: all the eastern versions leave out the word "their":
murmured against his disciples, saying; or, "murmured, and said unto his disciples", as the Syriac and Persic versions render it: that is, they either murmured at the publicans and sinners sitting down at meat; or "against him", as the Ethiopic version reads: either against Matthew for inviting them; or rather against Christ for sitting down with them: and not caring to speak to him, address themselves to his disciples in these words,
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why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? The other evangelists represent these as saying, why does he, or your master, eat with such? doubtless, they included both Christ, and his disciples; though they chiefly designed him, and to bring an accusation against him, and fix a charge upon him, in order to render him odious to the people.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v30 Verse 30. Why do ye eat and drink, c.]…
Verse 30. Why do ye eat and drink, c.] See what passed at this entertainment considered at large on Mt 9:10-17 Mr 2:15-22.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v30 Luk 5:30-32. But their scribes and Pharisees murmured —…
Luk 5:30-32. But their scribes and Pharisees murmured — The Pharisees of Capernaum, who knew both Matthew’s occupation and the character of his guests, were highly offended that Jesus, who pretended to be a prophet, should have deigned to go into the company of such men; so offended that they could not forbear condemning his conduct openly, by asking his disciples, with an air of insolence, in the hearing of the whole company, why he sat with publicans and sinners. Jesus answering, said, They that be whole, &c. — The Pharisees had not directed their discourse to Jesus, but having spoken so loud as to let all the guests hear their censure, he could not with propriety let it pass without showing the unreasonableness of it; which he does in a forcible manner, in these words: As if he had said, They that are in perfect health do not need the converse and advice of the physician, but those that are sick; and therefore, because of their need of him, he visits and converses with them, though it cannot otherwise be agreeable to him to do it; and I act on the same principles; for I am not come to call the righteous — As you arrogantly suppose yourselves to be, but such poor sinners as these; to repentance — Or, the persevering penitence, faith, and holiness of such as are truly righteous, is not so much the object of my attention, as the conversion of sinners. See a like form of expression, 1Co 1:17. Some commentators imagine that self- righteous persons are here spoken of; but the scope and connection of the passage evidently confirm the former meaning. Indeed it is not true that our Lord did not come to call self-righteous persons to repentance: he certainly came as much to call them as any other class of sinners. Such were the scribes and Pharisees, and many of his discourses were evidently levelled at them, and intended to bring them to a sense of their sin and danger, in order to their humiliation, self-abasement, and conversion. See this paragraph more fully explained in the notes on Mat 9:9-13; Mar 2:13-17.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v31 Jesus Christ gives them here to understand, that they…
Jesus Christ gives them here to understand, that they were of the number of those who languished under a severe indisposition, and that he was come to act as their Physician. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. xxxi. in Matt.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v30 LEVI'S CALL AND FEAST. (Luk 5:27-32)
LEVI'S CALL AND FEAST. (Luk 5:27-32)
their scribes--a mode of expression showing that Luke was writing for Gentiles.
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv30–32 30. their scribes and Pharisees] Some MSS. read ‘the…
30. their scribes and Pharisees] Some MSS. read ‘the Pharisees and their scribes,’ i. e. those who were the authorised teachers of the company present. The scribes (Sopherîm from Sepher ‘a book’) were a body which had sprung up after the exile, whose function it was to copy and explain the Law. The ‘words of the scribes’ were the nucleus of the body of tradition known as ‘the oral law.’ The word was a general term, for technically the Sopherîm were succeeded by the Tanaîm or ‘repeaters’ from b. c. 300 to a. d. 220, who drew up the Halachôth or ‘precedents;’ and they by the Amoraim. The tyranny of pseudo-orthodoxy which they had established, and the insolent terrorism with which it was enforced, were denounced by our Lord (Luk_11:37-54) in terms of which the burning force can best be understood by seeing from the Talmud how crushing were the ‘secular chains’ in which they had striven to bind the free conscience of the people—chains which it became His compassion to burst (see Gfrörer, Jahrh. d. Heils, i. 140).
murmured against his disciples] They had not yet learnt to break the spell of awe which surrounded the Master, and so they attacked the ‘unlearned and ignorant’ Apostles. The murmurs must have reached the ears of Jesus after the feast, unless we imagine that some of these dignified teachers, who of course could not sit down at the meal, came and looked on out of curiosity. The house of an Oriental is perfectly open, and any one who likes may enter it.
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with publicans and sinners] Rather, “with the publicans and sinners”. The article is found in nearly all the uncials.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv30–32 (30) Murmured.—Better, were murmuring. In reporting what was said…
(30) Murmured.—Better, were murmuring. In reporting what was said by others, St. Luke naturally gives the word “sinners” as it was actually spoken.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv30–31 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples.…
But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples. Many of the older authorities here omit "their" autwn before "scribes." The older authorities vary slightly in the position of the words here. The best reading and translation would give, "The Pharisees and the scribes among them them," that is, among the Capernaites; in other words, "They among them who were Pharisees and scribes." These scribes (Hebrew, sopherim), under this appellation, first appear after the Exile. Their occupation was to copy and to expound the Law. They were the recognized teachers of the Jews, and seem to have succeeded that great and influential class or order, the "sons of the prophets," originally founded by Samuel. These "sons of the prophets" are repeatedly mentioned in the books of the Old Testament which treat of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The scribes were succeeded, in the year 300 B.C., by the tanaim (repeaters), under which name the scribes were officially, though apparently not popularly, known until A.D. 220, after which date these scribes were termed amoraim. The Talmud (Mishna and Gemara) may be said to have been the work of this great and enduring teacher order. The Talmud was finally closed in A.D. 490, by Rabbina Abina, the last of the amoraim. Why do you eat and drink with publicans and sinners?
Vers. 30-39. The new and the old.
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Two classes of persons are amazed and offended those to whom old ways and recognized canons of respectability were of the very essence of the religious life; and those whose minds occupied a sort of intermediate position, who had so far broken from the old, but had not yet received the spirit of the new time which had begun in Galilee. Here is this Rabbi, whose fame has spread far and wide, who is undoubtedly possessed of marvellous powers, associating with persons whom every respectable Hebrew shunned, accepting a tax-gatherer"s invitation, and freely mingling with the worthless folk found at a tax-gatherer"s table. What an outrage on social and religious decency! The scribes and Pharisees the one of these two classes murmur (observe, against the disciples; they do not dare to the Lord himself), "Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?" The disciples, simple, guileless souls, were probably unable to explain or account for their Master. He himself replies by quoting an Old Testament Scripture one of those great prophetic words which express the spirit of all true religion, and prefacing and following this quotation by sentences of searching irony. "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." How significant is every clause! "They that are whole." Will the murmurers take that description as appropriate to them? Then the Jesus whom they surround has nothing for them; his work is not for the self-righteous, but for the consciously sinful and needy. But "whoso" would be teachers of the people as they may be, let them go and learn the first lesson of Divine wisdom, viz. that it is the delight of God"s love to find out fatherless souls; that he is satisfied, not by formal acts of worship, rendered in mere obedience to usage, but by the seeking of poor outcasts from ordinance and society, by such fellowship with them as reveals the purpose, "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice." Now comes the moment at which, along with the Pharisees, the other of the two offended classes those occupying an intermediate position between the old and the new appears on the scene. Some disciples of the Baptist have been scanning the movements of the Prophet of Nazareth, and the feast just held gives increased force to their doubts and difficulties. The joyous life which Jesus and his followers are living contrasts with the sternly simple, ascetic life which they have been taught to regard as the best. Can the joyous life be right? Why the disregard of the outward signs of discipline? Why is he so lax with those whom he has called? The answer returned has an abiding interest for the Church in all times. First, observe Christ"s word with regard to the special issue raised; and, secondly, observe his setting forth of the general truth as to his gospel and kingdom.
I THE SPECIAL ISSUE IS FASTING. Jesus does not deny its utility. He fasted. Moreover, in his sermon from the mount, he recognized fasting as one of the elements of the religious life. What his saying bears on is its observance as a fixed habit or rule. The time, the rule, Christ teaches, must come from within. He goes to the root of the matter when he asks, "Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn?" There is nothing if there is not mourning. Mere non-eating is nothing; mere austerities are nothing. Self-denial for the sake of self-denial is nothing. It is the relation to spiritual ends, the power of interpreting and helping spiritual life, that gives any service its value. "How can you make these children mourn while I am with them? Their fasting, at present, would be wholly artificial. It is the worship in spirit and truth that I want. When they can really mourn, they will. Until then, let them rejoice." The days did come. The Bridegroom was taken from them. And they mourned..and still, as then, there are, as one has called them, "fast-days which God appoints souls." Christ"s disciples should have their retreats, when the round of pleasure or of care is given up, and the blessing of entire solitude with God is realized. Only, let these be, not because of a law made for them, but because of the law which the Lord, by the dealing of his Holy Spirit, writes within their own hearts. And, supposing the space for such retreats cannot be secured, remember there is a fasting which all can practise. All can abstain from self-pleasing and indulgence. All may consider whether it be not a duty to abstain from things lawful when the use of such things is an occasion of stumbling to their brethren. And all should recollect the grand old words, "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
II THE WORD AS TO FASTING BRINGS INTO SIGHT THE WHOLE QUESTION AS TO THE REQUIREMENTS AND THE NATURE OF THE TRUTH AS IT IS IN JESUS, Glance at the outstanding features of the ever-memorable parable between the thirty-sixth and the thirty-ninth verses.
1. The bearing of the sentence as to patching. The disciples of John and the Pharisees virtually ask that Jesus sew the new cloth, which is woven out of his Person and sacrifice, into an old rotten garment. The answer is "No; what has decayed and is waxing old is ready to vanish; let it go. When it comes to this, patching and mending is worthless policy. It does not benefit the old, whilst it spoils the new. The new will not hold to the seam of the old, and, when it gives way, not only is the rent made worse, but in the end the new must be rejected also." What is particularly meant by the similitude of the garment is the manner of life, that which forms the envelopment of the soul. As to this, Christ will have no patching. Christianity is not Judaism with something sewn on to it. It is not a conglomerate of religions. It comprehends all that is good anywhere. It destroys nothing. But it is a new robe. All that is old is made new. And so must it be with the character. It is not a mere amending at this point or at that that will suffice. Merely to sew a piece of the new cloth, to have a fragment of Christ"s religion patched to the old self, will that suffice? Verily no. Put off the old man. Put on the new. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.
2. The bearing of the sentence as to wine. By this, as it would seem, the Lord means the inward spiritual principle, the grace best wine which goeth down smoothly, gliding through the lips of those that are asleep." This is not some compound of dregs of old wines; it has all the strength and flavour of the old, but it is new. It is the fruit of a grape which none but the Son of God could bruise; it is the product of a wine-press which none but he could tread; it has the power of a sustenance which none but he could infuse. And this new life must be put into new bottles. It demands forms of worship and action peculiar to itself forms of worship adapted at once to the richness of the sentiments and the simplicity of its utterance, the natural and becoming vehicles of its own voice of prayer and praise; forms of action in harmony at once with its spirituality and its humanity. It is too living and strong for any receptacle of its influence except that which has been created for and by itself. New wine and new bottles. Let the hearer of the Word ponder this. Note the point of junction between liberty and discipline in the Christian life. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." But to realize this liberty, the will presented to the Lord must be so opened and ordered that the movements of his love shall flow in, and the power of his grace shall be fulfilled. It is all of grace, but the new bottle is needed for the new wine. The Lord is very decided as to this. The principle of an entire subjection to God must be asserted over every impeding tendency. In our present state pains must go with prayers, that the heart be kept "believing, true, and clean," a wineskin fit for the new wine. Hereafter, in the eternal year of the Bridegroom-joy, it shall be otherwise. Then, they who wait upon the Lord shall "ran, and not be weary; and walk, and not faint."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv30–32 But the scribes and Pharisees murmur
Luk_5:30
But the scribes and Pharisees murmur
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The Friend of sinners
We cannot wonder at the scribes and Pharisees asking this question.
I think that we should most of us ask it now, if we saw the Lord Jesus going out of His way to eat and drink with publicans and sinners. Make merry with them He could not, but He certainly so behaved to them that they were glad to have Him among them, though He was so unlike them in thought, and word, and look, and action. And why? Because, though He was so unlike them in many things, He was like them at least in one thing. If He could do nothing else in common with them, He could at least eat and drink as they did, and eat and drink with them too. Yes. He was the Son of Man, the man of all men, and what He wanted to make them understand was that, fallen low as they were, they were men and women still, who were made at first in Gods likeness, and who could be redeemed back into Gods likeness again. The only way to do that was to begin with them in the very simplest way--to meet them on common human ground. Self-respect would begin to rise in those poor sinners hearts when our Lord came to them and ate and drank with them. (Charles Kingsley.)
Practical sympathy
A city missionary was one day visiting one of the lowest and most degraded courts in London, and a woman said something like this to him:--You say you care for us, and are anxious about us; but it is a very easy thing for you to come from your clean, quiet home just to visit us. Would you come and bring your family, and live in this court, expose yourself to all these evils day by day, in order to lift us up? The missionary felt he had hardly enough love for that: but Jesus dwelt with sinners, ate and drank with them as well as died to save them. (Biblical Treasury.)
Sympathetic help
A Boston minister a short time ago had occasion to look up a very poor family, and climbed up four flights of stairs in a noisome tenement house on his errand. His tap at the door was answered by Dr. Phillips Brooks, with a baby in his arms. Inquiry revealed the fact that the woman had been very lit, and sorely needed fresh air, but had no one with whom to leave her little baby. Phillips Brooks found her out, gave her tickets for a tram-car ride, and was staying tending the baby while she enjoyed it. Only from a large heart filled with the spirit of Christ could such an act of real kindness have sprung. (American Paper.)
Frigid selfishness
A great poet has represented the souls of thoroughly selfish men as encased in ice, alternately shivering and benumbed, with only enough of life to be conscious of the surrounding all-pervading death. This supreme selfishness, or rather indifference--this insensibility to What is generous and lofty, this prudent self-complacent, self-indulgent regard for ones own interests, is what our modern civilization, with its wonderful development of material wealth, has been drifting towards. And nothing can be more fatal to the highest interests and happiness of man. A splendid frost-work of society-sparkling like what we sometimes see around us after snow or rain on a winters day--as beautiful, but also as cold and as fatal to all spontaneous outgushing of warm and generous life. (J. H.Thompson.)
Christ in the company of social outcasts
The Jews and Egyptians, and indeed other peoples, were very scrupulous with whom they ate, much as are the Hindoos to the present day. It will be remembered that Joseph Gen_43:32) ate with his brethren apart, and the Egyptians by themselves, for it was an abomination to the latter to eat with Hebrews. And so the old Tobias, during the Assyrian captivity, exhorted his son not to eat and drink with sinners. Christ, by sitting down to table with these despised and excommunicate publicans, add with heathen, broke through the caste rules, of which separation at table was the most conspicuous symbol. He showed that this holding aloof from others, whether it were national or individual, was contrary to the principles of the gospel, against the fundamental laws of His Church. (S. Baring-Gould, M. A.)
The Saviour and the publicans
This question was asked partly in ignorance and partly in ill-will. Our Lord would not leave to His simple and timid disciples the task of answering the critics. First, He rebukes with stern irony the self-righteousness of the questioners, and then He explains.
I. THE ANSWER SET FORTH THE GLORY OF OUR DIVINE SAVIOUR. The Friend of sinners is one of our Lords most glorious titles. Gods condescensions reveal His glory more completely than His magnificence.
1. The glory of His work-To call Sinners to repentance.
2. The glory of His character--, Which of you convinceth Me of sin?
II. A COMMENT ON THE ACTION AND HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. Like her Lord, the Church of Christ has entered into the life of sinful humanity to purify and elevate it. She may not cease to eat and drink with publicans and sinners.
III. SUGGESTIVE AS TO THE DUTY AND CONDUCT OF PRIVATE CHRISTIANS. In consorting with those who openly deny the truth of religion, or who live in flagrant violation of its precepts, there are two dangers to be guarded against.
1. We must keep clear of Pharisaism, that rank weed which so soon springs up in the souls of believers.
2. We must not voluntarily expose our souls to risks which are palpable and overwhelming, when no good can be done for the souls of others. Let us endeavour, when we arc thrown with others, be they who they may, to think of our Lord at Matthews feast, and pray Him for His gracious help that we too, sinners though we be, may speak a word in season to him that is weary. (Canon Liddon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv30, 32 Sin. (See Scofield "Rom 3:23").
sinners
Sin. (See Scofield "Rom 3:23").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv30–31 5:30 Meals were rituals of social status in the…
5:30 Meals were rituals of social status in the ancient world, and eating with someone meant social acceptance of that person. The Pharisees refused to eat with tax collectors and other sinners, or to enter their homes, believing that this would defile them. They expected Jesus, as a rabbi, to do the same. Jesus shattered social norms by dining with sinners and allowing sinful people to touch him (5:29; 7:39; 15:1). The religious leaders severely criticized him for this and derisively called him “a friend of tax collectors and other sinners” (7:34).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.