Matthew 9:10-11

9:10 As ¹  Jesus ²  was having a meal ³  in Matthew’s ⁴  house, many tax collectors ⁵  and sinners came and ate with Jesus and his disciples. 9:11 When the Pharisees ⁶  saw this they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ⁷ 

Matthew 21:31-32

21:31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” ⁸  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, ⁹  tax collectors ¹⁰  and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God! 21:32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although ¹¹  you saw this, you did not later change your minds ¹²  and believe him.

Luke 5:29-30

5:29 Then ¹³  Levi gave a great banquet ¹⁴  in his house for Jesus, ¹⁵  and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting ¹⁶  at the table with them. 5:30 But ¹⁷  the Pharisees ¹⁸  and their experts in the law ¹⁹  complained ²⁰  to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” ²¹ 

Luke 6:17

The Sermon on the Plain

6:17 Then ²²  he came down with them and stood on a level place. ²³  And a large number ²⁴  of his disciples had gathered ²⁵  along with ²⁶  a vast multitude from all over Judea, from ²⁷  Jerusalem, ²⁸  and from the seacoast of Tyre ²⁹  and Sidon. ³⁰  They came to hear him and to be healed ³¹  of their diseases,

Luke 15:1

The Parable of the Lost Sheep and Coin

15:1 Now all the tax collectors ³²  and sinners were coming ³³  to hear him.

¹ tn Grk “And it happened that while.” The introductory phrase καὶ ἐγένετο (kai egeneto, “it happened that”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Grk “was reclining at table.”

⁴ tn Grk “in the house.” The Greek article is used here in a context that implies possession, and the referent of the implied possessive pronoun (Matthew) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

⁷ 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.

⁸ tc Verses 29-31 involve a rather complex and difficult textual problem. The variants cluster into three different groups: (1) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. The second son is called the one who does his father’s will. This reading is found in the Western mss (D it). But the reading is so hard as to be nearly impossible. One can only suspect some tampering with the text, extreme carelessness on the part of the scribe, or possibly a recognition of the importance of not shaming one’s parent in public. (Any of these reasons is not improbable with this texttype, and with codex D in particular.) The other two major variants are more difficult to assess. Essentially, the responses make sense (the son who does his father’s will is the one who changes his mind after saying “no”): (2) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. But here, the first son is called the one who does his father’s will (unlike the Western reading). This is the reading found in (א) C L W (Z) 0102 0281 ˹ 33 Ï and several versional witnesses. (3) The first son says “yes” but does not go, and the second son says “no” but later has a change of heart. This is the reading found in B Θ Ë¹³ 700 and several versional witnesses. Both of these latter two readings make good sense and have significantly better textual support than the first reading. The real question, then, is this: Is the first son or the second the obedient one? If one were to argue simply from the parabolic logic, the second son would be seen as the obedient one (hence, the third reading). The first son would represent the Pharisees (or Jews) who claim to obey God, but do not (cf. Matt 23:3). This accords well with the parable of the prodigal son (in which the oldest son represents the unbelieving Jews). Further, the chronological sequence of the second son being obedient fits well with the real scene: Gentiles and tax collectors and prostitutes were not, collectively, God’s chosen people, but they did repent and come to God, while the Jewish leaders claimed to be obedient to God but did nothing. At the same time, the external evidence is weaker for this reading (though stronger than the first reading), not as widespread, and certainly suspect because of how neatly it fits. One suspects scribal manipulation at this point. Thus the second reading looks to be superior to the other two on both external and transcriptional grounds. But what about intrinsic evidence? One can surmise that Jesus didn’t always give predictable responses. In this instance, he may well have painted a picture in which the Pharisees saw themselves as the first son, only to stun them with his application (v. 32).

⁹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

¹⁰ sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹² sn The word translated change your minds is the same verb used in v. 29 (there translated had a change of heart). Jesus is making an obvious comparison here, in which the religious leaders are viewed as the disobedient son.

¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹⁴ sn A great banquet refers to an elaborate meal. Many of the events in Luke take place in the context of meal fellowship: 7:36-50; 9:12-17; 10:38-42; 11:37-54; 14:1-24; 22:7-38; 24:29-32, 41-43.

¹⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Grk “reclining.” This term reflects the normal practice in 1st century Jewish culture of eating a meal in a semi-reclining position. Since it is foreign to most modern readers, the translation “sitting” has been substituted.

¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the implied contrast present in this context.

¹⁸ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

¹⁹ tn Or “and their scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

²⁰ tn Or “grumbled”; a term often used in the OT for inappropriate grumbling: Exod 15:24; 16:7-8; Num 14:2, 26-35; 16:11.

²¹ sn The issue here is inappropriate associations (eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners) and the accusation comes not against Jesus, but his disciples.

²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

²³ tn Or “on a plateau.” This could refer to a message given in a flat locale or in a flat locale in the midst of a more mountainous region (Jer 21:13; Isa 13:2). It is quite possible that this sermon is a summary version of the better known Sermon on the Mount from Matt 5-7.

²⁴ tn Grk “large crowd.”

²⁵ tn There is no verb in Greek at this point, but since “a large crowd” (see preceding tn) is in the nominative case, one needs to be supplied.

²⁶ tn Grk “and.”

²⁷ tn Grk “and from,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

²⁸ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²⁹ map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.

³⁰ sn These last two locations, Tyre and Sidon, represented an expansion outside of traditional Jewish territory. Jesus’ reputation continued to expand into new regions.

³¹ sn To hear him and to be healed. Jesus had a two-level ministry: The word and then wondrous acts of service that showed his message of God’s care were real.

³² sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.

³³ tn Grk “were drawing near.”