Bible Strands
Mark 2:15
While Jesus was dining at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Him and His disciples—for there were many who followed Him.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus dines at Levi’s house while tax collectors and sinners eat with Him and His disciples. This scene follows Levi’s immediate departure from his tax booth to follow Jesus.
The words — κατακεῖσθαι (katakeisthai) literally means reclining, describing the formal dining posture. γίνεται (ginetai) translates as “it came to pass,” marking the narrative entry into the meal.
The thread — Matthew 9:10 and Luke 5:29 record the same gathering at Levi’s house. Luke 15:1 notes tax collectors and sinners gathering around Jesus to listen.
Why it lands — The text states that many followed Jesus and ate with Him, but does not declare the meal as the cause of their following. It requires the reader to note the actual company Jesus kept without supplying a theological explanation for their presence.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.
Cross-references
- Luke 15:1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around to listen to Jesus.
- Matthew 9:10 Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples.
- Luke 5:29 Then Levi hosted a great banquet for Jesus at his house. A large crowd of tax collectors was there, along with others who were eating with them.
- Matthew 21:31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.
- Luke 6:17 Then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples was there, along with a great number of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.