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Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.(1) The Pharisees and their scribes continually criticized Jesus because He was associating with “such sinful people” — even eating with them! The religious leaders were functioning under the false belief that there is a hierarchy of sin – dividing “acceptable” sins from those that proper Jewish society would have deemed to be “unacceptable”. They would have identified “notorious sinners” as people who led conspicuously immoral lives and/or engaged in highly questionable occupations.

But it also would have included people with certain diseases or disabilities that were perceived to be a sign of some great sin. This group would have been physically and morally unapproachable by these religious leaders. Tax collectors were generally hated and despised by their fellow countrymen. Therefore they would have also been considered to be a part of this larger group. No “respectable” Jew would have had anything to do with this collection of “notorious sinners”.  The Pharisees viewed this group as being “beyond saving” and viewed themselves as not being in need of saving. Sadly, the Pharisees never saw themselves as being among the lost.