Mark 2:16

16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, [when they] saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, began to say to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

Mark 2:16 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 2:16

And when the Scribes and Pharisees saw him eat
They were offended at his eating and drinking, though it was in moderation; because he did not fast as they, and their disciples did; and especially, that he eat

with publicans and sinners;
men of very infamous characters, and bad lives, with whom the Pharisees disdained to keep company:

they said unto his disciples, how is it that he eateth and drinketh
with publicans and sinners?
The Vulgate Latin, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions read, "your master", (See Gill on Matthew 9:11); so some Greek copies here.

Mark 2:16 In-Context

14 And [as he] was passing by, he saw Levi the [son] of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me!" And he stood up [and] followed him.

15 And it happened that he {was dining} in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners {were dining with} Jesus and his disciples, for there were many and they were following him.

16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, [when they] saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, began to say to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

17 And [when] Jesus heard [it], he said to them, "Those who are healthy do not have need of a physician, but those {who are sick}. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

18 And John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and they came and said to him, "{Why} do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"

Footnotes

• [a]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("saw") which is understood as temporal
• [b]. The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here ("began to say")