³⁰ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect^(A) complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”^(B)

⁹ There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees^(A) stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,”^(B) they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”^(C)

⁷ All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”^(A)

¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself^(A) and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep^(A)

15 Now the tax collectors^(B) and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”^(C)

³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet,^(A) he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

²⁹ (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John.^{(A) 30} But the Pharisees and the experts in the law^(B) rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)

²¹ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”^(A)

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man^(A)

¹⁷ One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law^(B) were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick.^(C)

³ (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.^(A)