Lakes were obviously good places for meeting people and speaking to crowds. As always Jesus began to teach them. Walking along He met Levi, a tax collector. Levi is Matthew, Levi being his given name and Matthew his Greek name. Levi was at a booth where taxes would be collected, possibly a toll booth on the international road that ran from Damascus to Egypt. Jesus commanded Levi to follow Him.
Jesus had dinner with Levi, and so many of Levi's friends and acquaintances were there. Getting to know one person in a particular group can often act as a doorway to getting to know others. The "sinners" were those who were considered generally undesirable and beyond the pale.
Jesus eating with these undesirables, and tax-collectors were held in contempt as well, produced disdain from the Pharisees. How could a supposed man of God eat with people who did not uphold the Law?
Jesus heard their mutterings and declared that He had come to save sinners, not the righteous. There are two sides to this statement. One is that reaching society's undesirables is a key part of the mission. The other is that we are all "sinners", meaning not just that we have sinned, but on our own merits we are just as undesirable as those we hold in contempt.
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