Mark 2:15
“He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners sat down with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many, and they followed him.”
What does Mark 2:15 mean?
Jesus was eating at a meal (likely Matthew's house, after calling him as a disciple), and he sat with people the religious community rejected: tax collectors who collaborated with Rome and others labeled as sinners. This was shocking behavior for a respected teacher, who was expected to keep distance from such people. By sharing a table with them, Jesus showed that God's welcome extends to the outcast and the broken, not just the respectable. It's a quiet but powerful statement that his mission includes everyone, especially those others had written off.