Passage
And both the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
Luke 15:2 (LSB)
Nearby Context
Luke 15:1 Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.
Luke 15:2 And both the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
Luke 15:3 So He told them this parable, saying,
Luke 15:4 “What man among you, if he has one hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "both", "pharisees", "scribes", "grumbling", "saying", "receives", "sinners", and "eats". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "both" and "pharisees", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 1's "Now all the tax collectors and the..." into verse 3's "So He told them this parable saying...", so "both" and "pharisees" belong inside that flow. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "both" and "pharisees" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.