“And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.”
My Notes
What Does Luke 15:2 Mean?
The Pharisees murmur against Jesus for two related offenses: He receives sinners and He eats with them. Receiving means He welcomes them — they're not turned away. Eating means He shares table fellowship — the most intimate social bond in the ancient world. Jesus doesn't just tolerate sinners. He invites them to dinner.
This verse is the preface to three of Jesus' most beloved parables: the lost sheep (verses 3-7), the lost coin (verses 8-10), and the prodigal son (verses 11-32). Each parable is Jesus' response to the Pharisees' complaint. You think receiving sinners is wrong? Let me tell you what God thinks about lost things being found.
The word "murmured" (diagoggyzō) means to grumble in undertones — the quiet, poisonous complaint that spreads through a room. They didn't confront Jesus openly. They whispered about Him. The opposition to grace often comes not as a roar but as a murmur.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How do you respond when someone with a 'sinner' reputation enters your community — with murmuring or welcome?
- 2.What does it mean that the Pharisees' accusation ('receiveth sinners') is actually the gospel's mission statement?
- 3.Who in your life needs you to 'pull up a chair' — to share table fellowship rather than maintain distance?
- 4.Does the contrast between the Pharisees' murmuring and heaven's celebration (verse 7) challenge who you're aligned with?
Devotional
"This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." They meant it as an accusation. It's actually the gospel in one sentence.
The Pharisees thought they were indicting Jesus. He welcomes the wrong people. He eats with the wrong crowd. He doesn't maintain the boundaries that separate the clean from the unclean. And they're right about the facts. They're wrong about the conclusion.
Jesus receives sinners. That's not a failure of His ministry. It's the mission statement. He doesn't receive the righteous (they don't think they need Him). He receives sinners — the ones the religious system has labeled, excluded, and written off.
And He eats with them. In the ancient world, eating together was covenant. It meant: you belong at my table. You're part of my circle. I'm not embarrassed to be seen with you. The Pharisees kept sinners at arm's length. Jesus pulled up a chair.
The three parables that follow — lost sheep, lost coin, prodigal son — are all answers to the Pharisees' murmur. And every answer says the same thing: when something lost is found, heaven throws a party. The Pharisees murmur. Heaven celebrates. The disconnect is total.
Which response is yours? When a sinner walks into the room — the person with the reputation, the one the system has excluded — do you murmur or celebrate? Do you maintain the boundary or pull up a chair?
Jesus ate with sinners. That's not the scandal. That's the invitation.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And the Pharisees and Scribes murmured,.... When they saw the easy access these wicked men had to Christ; and that he…
Murmured - They affected to suppose that if Jesus treated sinners kindly he must be fond of their society, and be a man…
Receiveth sinners - Προσδεχεται. He receives them cordially, affectionately - takes them to his bosom; for so the word…
Here is, I. The diligent attendance of the publicans and sinners upon Christ's ministry. Great multitudes of Jews went…
the Pharisees and scribes See Excursus VI.
murmured Rather, were loudly murmuring (Luk 19:7; Jos 9:18). "With arid heart…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture