Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic(A)

And again (B)He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. [a]Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a (C)paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? (D)Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? (E)Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has [b]power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and (F)glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Matthew the Tax Collector(G)

13 (H)Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. 14 (I)As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, (J)“Follow Me.” So he arose and (K)followed Him.

15 (L)Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. 16 And when the scribes [c]and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”

17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, (M)“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, [d]to repentance.”

Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting(N)

18 (O)The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the [e]friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be (P)taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath(Q)

23 (R)Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began (S)to pluck the heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is (T)not lawful on the Sabbath?”

25 But He said to them, “Have you never read (U)what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: 26 how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, (V)which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?”

27 And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the (W)Sabbath. 28 Therefore (X)the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 2:2 NU omits Immediately
  2. Mark 2:10 authority
  3. Mark 2:16 NU of the
  4. Mark 2:17 NU omits to repentance
  5. Mark 2:19 Lit. sons of the bridechamber

Power to Pardon the Paralyzed

When He returned to Capernaum after some days, it was heard that He was at the house. So many were gathered that there was no longer room for them even outside the door. He kept proclaiming the word to them.

Some people came bringing to Him a paralyzed man, carried by four men. When they couldn’t get near Yeshua because of the crowd, they removed the roof where He was. After digging through, they lowered the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying. Yeshua, seeing their faith, said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

But some of the Torah scholars were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this fellow speak like this? He blasphemes! Who can pardon sins but God alone?”

Immediately Yeshua, knowing in His spirit that they were raising questions this way within themselves, said to them, “Why are you questioning these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and take your mat and walk’? 10 But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority to pardon sins on earth. . ..” He tells the paralyzed man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home!”

12 At once the man got up, took his mat, and walked before them all. They were all astonished and glorified God, saying, “We’ve never seen anything like this!”[a]

Fellowship with Sinners

13 Again, Yeshua went out by the sea. The whole crowd kept coming to Him, and He continued to teach them. 14 As He was passing by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. He said to him, “Follow Me.” And he got up and followed Him.

15 Now it happens that Yeshua was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, and many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Yeshua and His disciples. For there were many, and they were following Him. 16 When the Torah scholars of the Pharisees saw Him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they began to say to His disciples, “With tax collectors and sinners He eats?”

17 And when He heard this, Yeshua said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a doctor, but those who are sick do. I did not come to call the righteous, but the sinful.”

Feasting in His Presence

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. They came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

19 And Yeshua said to them, “The guests of the bridegroom cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.

21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise the patch pulls away from the old, and a worse tear happens. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins; and the wine is lost, also the skins. But one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

Shabbat Restoration

23 Now it happened on Shabbat that Yeshua was going through the grain fields; and His disciples began to make their way, plucking the heads of grain. [b] 24 The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not permitted on Shabbat?”[c]

25 And He said to them, “Haven’t you ever read what David did when he was in need, and he and those with him became hungry? [d] 26 How he entered into the house of God when Abiathar was kohen gadol and ate the showbread, which is permitted only for the kohanim to eat, and gave some even to those who were with him?”

27 Then He said to them, “Shabbat was made for man, and not man for Shabbat. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of Shabbat.”