^30 [a]And their scribes and the Pharisees ^[b]complained against His disciples, saying, ^(A)“Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

⁹ Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose and protested, saying, ^(A)“We find no evil in this man; ^[a]but ^(B)if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, ^(C)let us not fight against God.”

⁷ But when they saw it, they all ^[a]complained, saying, ^(A)“He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”

¹¹ The Pharisee ^(A)stood and prayed thus with himself, ^(B)‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep^(A)

15 Then ^(B)all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. ² And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man ^[a]receives sinners ^(C)and eats with them.”

³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, ^(A)“This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”

²⁹ And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors ^[a]justified God, ^(A)having been baptized with the baptism of John. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and ^[b]lawyers rejected ^(B)the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

^21 (A)And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? ^(B)Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic^(A)

¹⁷ Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present ^[a]to heal them.