The Jewish Scriptures clearly stated that one should not fellowship with sinners (Ps 1:1; 119:63; Prov 13:20; 14:7; 28:7), but these references warn against being influenced by sinners. Jesus is eating with sinners, but even though he is the one influencing them (9:9, 13; Lk 15:1), his ministry looks bad. Early Jewish literature indicates that, for all Judaism's emphasis on mercy and repentance, Jesus' act of actively pursuing sinners was virtually unheard of (Ladd 1974b:83); it is thus not surprising that it appeared scandalous.

This is not to play down the emphasis on repentance among Jesus' contemporaries. Jewish tradition already warned not to reproach one who had turned from sin (Sirach 8:5), but we are not always what our doctrine says we should be. I often see vibrant churches attracting young people with whom some older members (or even denominational officials) tend to be uncomfortable. Well-endowed churches reaching out to inner-city projects often encounter children with hygiene and discipline habits different from those to which their members are accustomed. At times some apparently pious members of our churches have the same spiritual depth and commitment of this passage's Pharisees.