Matthew 9:11

Matthew the Tax Collector

9 ^aAs Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

10 ^aNow it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.

11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with ^atax collectors and ^bsinners?”

12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

13 But go and learn what this means: ^a‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, ^bbut sinners, to repentance.”

Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting

14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, ^a“Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?”

15 And Jesus said to them, “Can ^athe friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and ^bthen they will fast.

Commentaries:

Barnes' Notes

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Matthew 9:12 >>

Matthew 9:11

Why eateth and drinketh ... - To eat and drink with others denotes intimacy and familiarity. The Pharisees, by asking this question, accused him of seeking the society of such people, and of being the companion of the wicked. The inference which they would draw was, that he could not be himself righteous, since he delighted in the company of abandoned people.

**Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Matthew 9:11:**

Matthew 9:37
Luke 5:27-32
Luke 7:39
John 13:18

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Matthew 9:12 >>

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