THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW - Chapter 9 - Verse 11

Verse 11. Why eateth and drinketh, etc. To eat and drink with others denotes intimacy and familiarity. The Pharisees, by asking this question, accused him of seeking the society of such men, and of being the companion of the wicked. The inference which they would draw was, that he could not be himself righteous, since he delighted in the company of abandoned men.

{t} "and sinners" Mt 11:9; Lu 15:2; Hebrews 5:2