Jesus was at a dinner party hosted by Levi (Matthew).  Levi had been called by Jesus to “Follow Me!”  And he did, he wanted his friends and those with whom he worked to meet Jesus.  So he gave a dinner party…a sit-down dinner for them.  (Luke 5:27-29)

  Also present were people who were malicious toward Jesus.  Scripture zeroes in on that group of complainers and grumblers.
(NASB) Luke 5:30 “The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?’”

Why do people do that?  Grumble and complain to the followers of Jesus, when they really want to target and “get” Jesus?  Undermining and undercutting His followers is to “go after” Jesus.

How does anyone undermine and undercut another?  A tone of voice, a facial expression, body language, words which “put down” another.  Vicious!  To use language of the internet, Malware!
Undermining and undercutting is malicious with the intent to destroy a person’s integrity, program, and/or reputation.

Why does anyone want to destroy another?  Jealousy, envy, for political purposes and power, getting even, vengeance, striking out another for a perceived wrong done against “me”.  Do you think of other reasons?

For the followers of Christ we are to love those who persecute us!
What godly love is not:
Impatient; unkind; jealous; bragging; arrogant; acts unbecomingly; seeks its own way; provokes others; seeks revenge; rejoices when another has been “put in their place”.
(1 Corinthians 13:4-6)

Followers of Christ: what we were before receiving God’s gift of salvation through belief in His Son:
(NASB) Titus 3:3 “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.”

  Then we can know that what God does for those who turn to Christ as their Savior:
(NASB) Titus 3:5-7 “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”