New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 9:10

The Doctor for the Sick

Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples. Matthew 9:10 · Berean Standard Bible

What It Means

Matthew 9:10, in plain English

Jesus sat down to dinner at Matthew's house, surrounded by tax collectors and others that religious people avoided.

Why it's here

In that culture, sharing a meal with someone meant you accepted them. Jesus was making a statement.

Who's speaking

Matthew, describing a scandalous dinner party.

Where it sits in the story

This dinner party is a picture of God's kingdom: everyone is welcome at the table.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

Jesus dines at Matthew's house with many telonai (tax collectors) and hamartoloi (sinners), creating a scandalous scene of table fellowship with the socially and religiously excluded.

Language and setting

Sharing a meal in Jewish culture signified acceptance and communion; eating with 'sinners' implied religious endorsement in the eyes of the Pharisees.

Voice

Matthew, narrating the dinner party.

Significance

This meal becomes a defining image of Jesus' ministry: radical inclusion at the table, overturning social and religious boundaries.

In context

Matthew 9:8–12

8When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

9As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him.

10Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples.

11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

12On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

Read all of Matthew 9 — Jesus eats with sinners, forgives the paralyzed, and raises the dead. The religious leaders are horrified; the broken are set free.

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