And when they saw it
The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions read, "when they all saw this"; that is, as the Persic version, rather paraphrasing than translating, says, "the men and the multitude that were with him"; the "pharisaical" sort, the priests and Levites, of which there were great numbers in Jericho; (See Gill on Luke 10:31).
They all murmured;
as the Scribes and Pharisees did, at his eating with publicans and sinners, ( Luke 15:2 ) .
Saying, that he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner;
a notorious one, an abandoned profligate creature; one of the worst of sinners, as being a publican, and the chief of them; who had amassed vast riches to himself, by extortion and oppression; and they thought it was not agreeable to the character of an holy man, and a venerable prophet, which Christ bore, to go into such a man's house, eat at his table; and have familiar conversation with him; see ( Matthew 9:10 ) .