“Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?”
The full verse · Luke 5:30 · KJV
, , do ye ?
Asked by
Scribes: experts in the law who, with the Pharisees, objected to the company at Levi's feast (Luke 5:30); Pharisees: members of the strict religious party who murmured at Jesus' disciples (Luke 5:30)
Asked to
Disciples: "his disciples" (Luke 5:30), the followers of Jesus (the text does not name them) eating at the great feast Levi made in his own house, with "a great company of publicans and of others" (Luke 5:29); the scribes and Pharisees "murmured against" them (Luke 5:30)
The Scene
After Levi, a publican, leaves the receipt of custom to follow Jesus, he makes Jesus "a great feast in his own house" with "a great company of publicans and of others" at the table (Luke 5:27-29).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionTo the scribes and Pharisees, sharing a meal with publicans and sinners meant approving of them. Barnes explains, "To eat and drink with others denotes intimacy and familiarity," and says the question accused Jesus "of seeking the society of such people, and of being the companion of the wicked." In Luke they address the disciples ("ye"), but Gill says that, "not caring to speak to him," they spoke to His disciples, though "they chiefly designed him." The question was a complaint dressed as an inquiry.
The Response
What Scripture recordsJesus answered for His disciples: "They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:31-32). He did not deny that His guests were sinners. He explained why He was with them. The critics then moved to another complaint, about fasting (Luke 5:33).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsPublicans collected taxes and were widely despised. Thayer notes that tax collectors "were detested not only by the Jews but by other nations also," and Barnes says the publican's character "among the Jews was commonly not very respectable." Levi had been "sitting at the receipt of custom," the tax booth, when Jesus called him (Luke 5:27).
"Murmured" is egongyzon, from gongyzo, which Thayer defines as "to murmur, mutter, grumble, say anything in a low tone." The complaint returns when the Pharisees and scribes "murmured" (diegongyzon) that Jesus "receiveth sinners, and eateth with them" (Luke 15:2).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyJesus' table shows the heart of His mission. He came as a physician to the sick, and He came to call "sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32). Matthew Henry says, "Christ undertakes to be the Physician of souls distempered by sin." In the Concise Commentary he adds, "It was a wonder of his grace, that he so patiently bore the contradiction of sinners against himself and his disciples."
The same complaint follows Jesus through Luke. People called Him "a friend of publicans and sinners" (Luke 7:34). The Pharisees murmured, "This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them" (Luke 15:1-2), and Jesus answered with parables of lost things found. When Jesus went to the house of Zacchaeus, "they all murmured," and Jesus said, "the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:7-10).
Look Closer
In Luke's account, to whom did the scribes and Pharisees address their complaint?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord Jesus, You sat at the table with publicans and sinners; who are You inviting me to welcome, and where do I still need You as my Physician?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- The scribes and Pharisees kept their distance from people they called sinners. What makes it easier to judge certain people than to sit at a table with them?
- Tell about someone who welcomed you when you felt like an outsider. What did it mean to you?
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Jesus' table is open to people others avoid. If you know you are sick and need a physician, you are exactly the kind of person He came for.
Levi shows what a new follower can do: he opened his home, and "a great company of publicans and of others" sat down with Jesus (Luke 5:29). Matthew Henry, on Matthew's account, says he "invited many publicans and sinners to meet him." You can do the same, sharing meals and friendship with people who might never step into a church.
This does not mean Jesus approved of sin. He came to call "sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32). Welcoming people is the beginning of His call, not the end of it.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?”
“How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?”
“Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?”
“Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?”