Luke 15:2

15:2 But ¹  the Pharisees ²  and the experts in the law ³  were complaining, ⁴  “This man welcomes ⁵  sinners and eats with them.”

Luke 19:7

19:7 And when the people ⁶  saw it, they all complained, ⁷  “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ⁸ 

Matthew 9:11

9:11 When the Pharisees ⁹  saw this they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹⁰ 

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

² sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

³ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

⁴ tn Or “grumbling”; Grk “were complaining, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

⁵ tn Or “accepts,” “receives.” This is not the first time this issue has been raised: Luke 5:27-32; 7:37-50.

⁶ tn Grk “they”; the referent is unspecified but is probably the crowd in general, who would have no great love for a man like Zacchaeus who had enriched himself many times over at their expense.

⁷ tn This term is used only twice in the NT, both times in Luke (here and 15:2) and has negative connotations both times (BDAG 227 s.v. διαγογγύζω). The participle λέγοντες (legonte") is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

⁸ sn Being the guest of a man who is a sinner was a common complaint about Jesus: Luke 5:31-32; 7:37-50; 15:1-2.

⁹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

¹⁰ sn The issue here is inappropriate associations. Jews were very careful about personal associations and contact as a matter of ritual cleanliness. Their question borders on an accusation that Jesus is ritually unclean.