The Meaning of Mark 2:16 Explained

Mark 2:16

KJV: And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?

YLT: And the scribes and the Pharisees, having seen him eating with the tax-gatherers and sinners, said to his disciples, 'Why -- that with the tax-gatherers and sinners he doth eat and drink?'

Darby: And the scribes and the Pharisees, seeing him eating with sinners and tax-gatherers, said to his disciples, Why is it that he eats and drinks with tax-gatherers and sinners?

ASV: And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with the sinners and publicans, said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?

What is the context of Mark 2:16?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  when the scribes  and  Pharisees  saw  him  eat  with  publicans  and  sinners,  they said  unto his  disciples,  How  is it that  he eateth  and  drinketh  with  publicans  and  sinners? 

What does Mark 2:16 Mean?

Study Notes

Sin
.
sinned
Sin, Summary: The literal meanings of the Heb. and (Greek - ἀλεκτοροφωνία sin," "sinner," etc)., disclose the true nature of sin in its manifold manifestations. Sin is transgression, an overstepping of the law, the divine boundary between good and evil Psalms 51:1 ; Luke 15:29 , iniquity, an act inherently wrong, whether expressly forbidden or not; error, a departure from right; Psalms 51:9 ; Romans 3:23 , missing the mark, a failure to meet the divine standard; trespass, the intrusion of self-will into the sphere of divine authority Ephesians 2:1 , lawlessness, or spiritual anarchy 1 Timothy 1:9 , unbelief, or an insult to the divine veracity John 16:9 .
Sin originated with Satan Isaiah 14:12-14 , entered the world through Adam Romans 5:12 , was, and is, universal, Christ alone excepted; Romans 3:23 ; 1 Peter 2:22 , incurs the penalties of spiritual and physical death; Genesis 2:17 ; Genesis 3:19 ; Ezekiel 18:4 ; Ezekiel 18:20 ; Romans 6:23 and has no remedy but in the sacrificial death of Christ; Hebrews 9:26 ; Acts 4:12 availed of by faith Acts 13:38 ; Acts 13:39 . Sin may be summarized as threefold: An act, the violation of, or want of obedience to the revealed will of God; a state, absence of righteousness; a nature, enmity toward God.
sinners
Sin
.
sinned
Sin, Summary: The literal meanings of the Heb. and (Greek - ἀλεκτοροφωνία sin," "sinner," etc)., disclose the true nature of sin in its manifold manifestations. Sin is transgression, an overstepping of the law, the divine boundary between good and evil Psalms 51:1 ; Luke 15:29 , iniquity, an act inherently wrong, whether expressly forbidden or not; error, a departure from right; Psalms 51:9 ; Romans 3:23 , missing the mark, a failure to meet the divine standard; trespass, the intrusion of self-will into the sphere of divine authority Ephesians 2:1 , lawlessness, or spiritual anarchy 1 Timothy 1:9 , unbelief, or an insult to the divine veracity John 16:9 .
Sin originated with Satan Isaiah 14:12-14 , entered the world through Adam Romans 5:12 , was, and is, universal, Christ alone excepted; Romans 3:23 ; 1 Peter 2:22 , incurs the penalties of spiritual and physical death; Genesis 2:17 ; Genesis 3:19 ; Ezekiel 18:4 ; Ezekiel 18:20 ; Romans 6:23 and has no remedy but in the sacrificial death of Christ; Hebrews 9:26 ; Acts 4:12 availed of by faith Acts 13:38 ; Acts 13:39 . Sin may be summarized as threefold: An act, the violation of, or want of obedience to the revealed will of God; a state, absence of righteousness; a nature, enmity toward God.

Context Summary

Mark 2:1-22 - The Friend Of Sinners
The leper, Mark 1:40-45. The news of Christ spread fast and far until it reached the outcasts from Jewish society, the very dregs of humanity. As the story of the wonderful miracles wrought by our Lord was pondered deeply by this man, He concluded that the only question which remained was that of Christ's willingness to hear. As to His power there could be no doubt. But no one of all the religious world of that time had ever thought of extending a helping hand to such as he. Note the instantaneousness of our Lord's response to this appeal. His love and power are commensurate; when you gauge the one, you have measured the other.
The paralytic, Mark 2:1-12. The disease had resulted from sin. It was necessary to deal with the soul before the body could be emancipated. As soon as we sin, God's pardon awaits our asking for it, and of this fact our Lord gave the paralytic man definite assurance. Jesus' right to speak was evidenced by His power to heal. If the latter was effectual, so was the former.
The sinner's friend, Mark 2:13-22. They thought to coin a term of reproach, but they added a crown of glory. In eternity the Friend of sinners will surround His table with saved sinners who have become His guests. [source]

Chapter Summary: Mark 2

1  Jesus followed by multitudes,
3  heals a paralytic;
13  calls Matthew;
15  eats with tax collectors and sinners;
18  excuses his disciples for not fasting;
23  and for picking the heads of grain on the Sabbath day

Greek Commentary for Mark 2:16

The scribes of the Pharisees [οι γραμματεις των Παρισαιων]
This is the correct text. Cf. “their scribes” in Luke 5:30. Matthew gave a great reception These publicans and sinners not simply accepted Levi‘s invitation, but they imitated his example “and were following Jesus” It was a motly crew from the standpoint of these young theologues, scribes of the Pharisees, who were on hand, being invited to pick flaws if they could. It was probably in the long hall of the house where the scribes stood and ridiculed Jesus and the disciples, unless they stood outside, feeling too pious to go into the house of a publican. It was an offence for a Jew to eat with Gentiles as even many of the early Jewish Christians felt (Acts 11:3) and publicans and sinners were regarded like Gentiles (1 Corinthians 5:11). [source]
Scribes and Pharisees []
But the best texts read γραμματεῖς τῶν Φαρισαίων , scribes of the Pharisees. So Rev. Scribes belonging to the sect of the Pharisees. They had followed him into the hall where the company were seated. This hall answered to the k)ha3wahof Arabian houses, which is thus described by William Gifford Palgrave: “The k)ha4wahwas a long, oblong hall about twenty feet in height, fifty in length, and sixteen or thereabouts in breadth. The walls were covered in a rudely decorative manner with brown and white wash, and sunk here and there into small triangular recesses, destined to the reception of books, lamps, and other such like objects. The roof was of timber, and fiat; the floor was strewn with fine, clean sand, and garnished all round alongside of the walls with long strips of carpet, upon which cushions, covered with faded silk, were disposed at suitable intervals. In poorer houses, felt rugs usually take the place of carpets” (“Central and Eastern Arabia”). [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Mark 2:16

Mark 9:28 Privately, saying [kat' idian hoti)]
Indoors the nine disciples seek an explanation for their colossal failure. They had cast out demons and wrought cures before. The Revisers are here puzzled over Mark‘s use of hoti as an interrogative particle meaning why where Matthew 17:19 has dia ti Some of the manuscripts have dia ti here in Mark 9:28 as all do in Matthew 17:19. See also Mark 2:16 and Mark 9:11. It is probable that in these examples hoti really means why. See Robertson, Grammar, p. 730. The use of hos as interrogative “is by no means rare in the late Greek” (Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East, p. 126). [source]
Luke 5:30 The Pharisees and their scribes [οι Παρισαιοι και οι γραμματεις αυτων]
Note article with each substantive and the order, not “scribes and Pharisees,” but “the Pharisees and the scribes of them” (the Pharisees). Some manuscripts omit “their,” but Mark 2:16 (the scribes of the Pharisees) shows that it is correct here. Some of the scribes were Sadducees. It is only the Pharisees who find fault here. [source]

What do the individual words in Mark 2:16 mean?

And the scribes of the Pharisees having seen Him eating with the sinners tax collectors were saying to the disciples of Him Why does He eat
καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς τῶν Φαρισαίων ἰδόντες ὅτι ἐσθίει μετὰ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν τελωνῶν ἔλεγον τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ Ὅτι ἐσθίει

γραμματεῖς  scribes 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: γραμματεύς  
Sense: a clerk, scribe, esp.
τῶν  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Φαρισαίων  Pharisees 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: Φαρισαῖος  
Sense: A sect that seems to have started after the Jewish exile.
ἰδόντες  having  seen 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: εἶδον 
Sense: to see with the eyes.
ἐσθίει  eating 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐσθίω 
Sense: to eat.
ἁμαρτωλῶν  sinners 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: ἁμαρτωλός  
Sense: devoted to sin, a sinner.
τελωνῶν  tax  collectors 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: τελώνης  
Sense: a renter or farmer of taxes.
ἔλεγον  were  saying 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
τοῖς  to  the 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
μαθηταῖς  disciples 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: μαθητής  
Sense: a learner, pupil, disciple.
αὐτοῦ  of  Him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Ὅτι  Why 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
ἐσθίει  does  He  eat 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐσθίω 
Sense: to eat.