And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.
So Jesus was having dinner at someone's house, and a bunch of tax collectors and people with messy reputations showed up and sat down to eat with him and his crew.
Jesus didn't just preach about love, he literally shared meals with the people everyone else avoided.
📚 Historical Context
In the first century AD, tax collectors were despised by the Jewish people as collaborators with the Roman Empire, often seen as traitors who exploited their own community for personal gain. This verse describes an event shortly after Jesus called Matthew, a tax collector, to follow him, leading to a meal in Matthew's house where Jesus dined with these outcasts and his disciples. It reflects Jesus' broader mission to reach the marginalized, challenging the religious norms of the time that emphasized separation from sinners.
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