Matthew 9:11 Commentary and Bible Study

The Pharisees were already deeply prejudiced against the Lord, but there was something more to this complaint. They were personally offended by what they saw. Here was this teacher who preached that the kingdom of heaven was near, and who commanded all to repent. He clearly claimed to represent righteousness. But here he was, associating with those who were the most despised member of their society. He chose to eat and drink with tax collectors as if they were worthy of his company. This reflected badly on him. But the Pharisees felt it also reflected badly on them – ‘Surely a righteous man should associate with righteous people, like us, not with these dregs of society – these tax collectors!’ They made two mistakes. The first was to think that anyone on earth is righteous, is fit company for the Son of God. Did Christ come to earth to interact with those who were already, by their own effort, acceptable to God? The Pharisees assumed that must be the case. Furthermore, they considered that if anyone was righteous and acceptable to God, it was them. They had carefully defined righteousness to exclude all their heart sins, and to commend all their minute adherence to the ceremonial law. In doing this, they behaved as if God was a mere man, and could see no further than a person’s outward behaviour. But God looks on the heart, and what goes on there is more significant even than outward sin. The implication of Christ seeming to prefer the company of tax collectors was that the Pharisees were less righteous even than these lowest of men. That was ridiculous in their eyes and offensive. Secondly, they misunderstood why Christ had come to earth. He had come to be a Saviour, and he had not come to save those who were already righteous. Being blind to their own sin, they said, ‘We don’t need a Saviour from sin. God may judge these wicked tax collectors, but we are sure he will be pleased with us, for we are careful to keep his requirements and he will find no fault with us.’ So they asked the disciples, ‘Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ No answer is recorded from the disciples, and we can assume that they did not know how to answer the question properly, and therefore came to report the matter to Christ. ‘How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?’ (Mark 2:16). Luke tells the spirit in which they said this – ‘they murmured.’ They were complaining, scorning, deriding. To do justice to their words, we would have to read them in a scornful way. They didn't eat with such people; they didn't reach out to outsiders. They stayed in the temple or the synagogue. They were very proud of themselves. They had perverted the Jewish religion. Instead of all the wonderful ceremonies of the law being used to teach about grace and Christ’s atoning work on Calvary, they turned them into works, and added to them and complicated them. They looked down on people who were off track like tax gatherers; they viewed them with disdain and contempt. They would never have been concerned about their souls, or their salvation. They didn't think like that, so they say, how can this man, Jesus of Nazareth, be from God, if he associates with that class of person?