“Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?”
The full verse · Matthew 9:11 · KJV
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Asked by
Pharisees: a Jewish religious party known for strict keeping of the law and tradition, who saw Jesus at table with publicans and sinners (Matthew 9:10-11)
Asked to
Disciples: "his disciples" (Matthew 9:11), a wider group of followers that the text does not number, sitting at meat with Jesus and "many publicans and sinners" (Matthew 9:10) soon after Matthew "arose, and followed him" (Matthew 9:9); the Pharisees put the question to them.
The Scene
Right after Jesus calls Matthew from the receipt of custom, He sits at meat in the house, and many publicans and sinners come and sit down with Him and His disciples (Matthew 9:9-10).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThe Pharisees were not asking for information; they were objecting. Barnes explains that "to eat and drink with others denotes intimacy and familiarity," and that by asking this question the Pharisees "accused him of seeking the society of such people, and of being the companion of the wicked." Gill quotes Jewish rules that show why: a man who became a tax collector was driven from society, and a house the king's collectors entered was counted defiled. They put the question to the disciples rather than to Jesus. Gill suggests they might hope to unsettle the disciples and draw them away from following Him.
The Response
What Scripture recordsWhen Jesus heard it, He answered for His disciples: "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick" (Matthew 9:12). He then sent the questioners back to their own Scriptures: "But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice" (Matthew 9:13, quoting Hosea 6:6). He ended by stating His purpose: "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." No reply from the Pharisees is recorded.
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsPublicans were tax collectors. Gill describes them as gatherers of the Roman tax, toll, or tribute, and says they were "persons of a very infamous character" among the Jews. Matthew himself had just been called from "the receipt of custom," a tax collector's booth (Matthew 9:9).
Barnes suggests the guests at this meal were probably Matthew's old friends whom he had invited. Mark and Luke tell us the feast was in Levi's (Matthew's) own house (Mark 2:15; Luke 5:29). The word "Master" here is didaskalos, meaning teacher, which is why the ESV reads "your teacher."
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question reveals what Jesus came to do. The Pharisees saw table fellowship with sinners as a sign of approving sin. Jesus saw it as a physician going where the sick are. Matthew Henry writes that "Christ's conversing with sinners is here called mercy; for to promote the conversion of souls is the greatest act of mercy."
Jesus' answer points back to God's own words through Hosea: "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6). Barnes explains that this is not a rejection of sacrifices but a Hebrew way of saying God prefers mercy to outward religion. The God of the Old Testament had always wanted a heart of mercy. Jesus was showing that heart at Matthew's table.
Look Closer
Why did the Pharisees object to this meal?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, You came to call sinners and sat at their table; who are You inviting me to show mercy to that I have kept at a distance?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- The Pharisees measured holiness by whom they avoided. What do you tend to measure it by, and how does Jesus' answer challenge that?
- Matthew opened his home to Jesus, and many publicans and sinners sat down with Him (Matthew 9:10; Luke 5:29). Tell about a time someone welcomed you to a table where you met Christ.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Jesus did not keep His distance from people the religious world had written off. He sat with them, ate with them, and called them to repentance. If you have ever felt like the wrong kind of person to come near God, this meal is for you.
It also challenges how you treat others. Mercy goes toward people, not away from them. Matthew Henry notes that "those who are effectually brought to Christ, cannot but desire that others also may be brought to him," and Matthew's meal shows exactly that.
This does not mean sin no longer matters. Jesus came as a physician, and He called sinners "to repentance" (Matthew 9:13). Being near sinners was for their healing, not for joining in what harmed them.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?”
“Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?”
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?”
“Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?”