Matthew 9:11-13

9:11 When the Pharisees 1  saw this they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 2  9:12 When 3  Jesus heard this he said, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. 4  9:13 Go and learn what this saying means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ 5  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

1 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

2 sn The issue here is inappropriate associations. Jews were very careful about personal associations and contact as a matter of ritual cleanliness. Their question borders on an accusation that Jesus is ritually unclean.

3 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

4 sn Jesus’ point is that he associates with those who are sick because they have the need and will respond to the offer of help. A person who is healthy (or who thinks mistakenly that he is) will not seek treatment.

5 sn A quotation from Hos 6:6 (see also Matt 12:7).