Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place^(A)

³⁵ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.^{(B) 36} Simon and his companions went to look for him, ³⁷ and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

³⁸ Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”^{(C) 39} So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues^(D) and driving out demons.^(E)

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy^(F)

⁴⁰ A man with leprosy^[a] came to him and begged him on his knees,^(G) “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

⁴¹ Jesus was indignant.^[b] He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

⁴³ Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ⁴⁴ “See that you don’t tell this to anyone.^(H) But go, show yourself to the priest^(I) and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing,^(J) as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places.^(K) Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.^(L)

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man^(M)

2 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. ² They gathered in such large numbers^(N) that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. ³ Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man,^(O) carried by four of them. ⁴ Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. ⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”^(P)

⁶ Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ⁷ “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”^(Q)

⁸ Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? ⁹ Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰ But I want you to know that the Son of Man^(R) has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, ¹¹ “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ¹² He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God,^(S) saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”^(T)