Mark 2:15-17 New English Translation
15 As Jesus[a] was having a meal[b] in Levi’s[c] home, many tax collectors[d] and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the experts in the law[e] and the Pharisees[f] saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”[g] 17 When Jesus heard this he said to them, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do.[h] I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
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- Mark 2:15 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Mark 2:15 tn Grk “As he reclined at table.”sn As Jesus was having a meal. 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.
- Mark 2:15 tn Grk “his.”
- Mark 2:15 sn The Roman system of taxation was frequently characterized by “tax farming” where an individual would bid to collect taxes for the Roman government throughout an entire district and then add a surcharge or commission (often exorbitant) which they kept for themselves as their profit. The tax collectors referred to in the NT were generally not the holders of these tax contracts themselves, but hired subordinates who were often local residents. Since these tax collectors worked for Rome (even indirectly), they were viewed as traitors to their own people and were not well liked. In addition, the system offered many opportunities for dishonesty and greed, both of which were often associated with local tax collectors.
- Mark 2:16 tn Or “the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
- Mark 2:16 sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.
- Mark 2:16 sn The issue here is inappropriate associations. Jews were very careful about personal associations and contact as a matter of ritual cleanliness. Their question borders on an accusation that Jesus is ritually unclean.
- Mark 2:17 sn Jesus’ point is that he associates with those who are sick because they have the need and will respond to the offer of help. A person who is healthy (or who thinks mistakenly that he is) will not seek treatment.
New English Translation (NET)
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