Mateus 9

Mateus 9

Utley quips "I think many “church people” would ask this same question today, which shows how easy it is to forget the purpose of Jesus’ coming." Paul gave the perfect answer to their question stating that "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Ro 5:8+). The Pharisees had their own (false) definition of sinners as those who did not obey their legalistic Pharisaic interpretations of the law. David Turner notes that "Fellowship around a table was taken seriously in Jesus’ time, as being an act that implies deeper unity than is currently attributed to it in the West....His participation in table fellowship probably should be viewed as a foretaste of eschatological festivities (Mt 8:11; Mt 22:1–14; Mt 25:1–13; Mt 26:29)." (Cornerstone Bible Commentary) Notice that the disciples do not answer the question of the religious leaders but leave that for Jesus to address. The rabbis had established the (non-Biblical) rule that “The disciples of the learned shall not recline at table in the company of the ‘am hā—’āreç” (translated = “the people of the soil,” aka “the rabble that does not know the law.”) The word sinners was used in Jesus' day of people who had no concern/respect for the Law or the Jewish traditions and thus were considered vile, wretched and worthless. And yet Jesus condescends to dine with them! An interesting question, not answered by any of the synoptic accounts is how did the tax collectors and sinners respond to Jesus? We simply do not know. The only tax collector in this chapter that is a certainty is Matthew. Jesus would later allude to this and similar events declaring "“The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they (THE CRITICS OF JESUS) say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous (phagos - habitually eating and drinking in excess) man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” (Mt 11:19, cf Lk 15:2+)