We read here that Jesus was in a certain place and the Pharisees criticized Him because He "receives sinners and eats with them". Jesus spent time with the tax collectors and sinners, and was criticized severely by the scribes and pharisees. What type of people were the tax collector? The tax collectors in Jesus day collected the tax for the government of the day, the Roman government. Nobody liked them. When they taxed people, they would add to the cost for their own pocket. They were thieves, charging more than the government required. And even today there are such people in the world who require bribes for their work. These tax collectors were therefore despised. And Jesus was sitting with them and ate with them! We must be careful interpreting this lest we think that Jesus loves a person that is corrupt and steals from others. And the sinners with whom Jesus ate would include those who divorce, adulterers, drunkards, blasphemers of God, very evil people.
