Mark 2:15-17

The context

Jesus has just called Levi, a tax collector, from his booth. The next scene is a meal at Levi's house with a crowd of tax collectors and sinners, and scribes of the Pharisees ask the disciples why he eats with such people. Jesus answers with the physician saying.

What it establishes

It establishes that Jesus' table practice was deliberate and controversial, and that he described his mission as a call to the sick rather than the healthy. The meal is the argument; the saying explains it.

What it does not establish

It does not endorse everything done at the table. The verse records who was present and what Jesus said about his purpose; it does not say he approved of his companions' conduct. Nor is the saying a social program; it is a defense of his own associations, offered to critics.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

• The Bible says that God’s eyes are too pure to look upon sin. So then how can the Holy Spirit be present at all times with people (even believers, who still commit sins)?

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.