Mark 2
JESUS
Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man
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 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, 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.’
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?”
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 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, saying,
‘We have never seen anything like this!’
JESUS Calls
Levi and Eats With Sinners
13 Once again JESUS went out beside
the lake. A large crowd came to HIM, and HE began to teach them.
14 As HE walked along, HE saw Levi
son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ JESUS
told him, and Levi got up and followed HIM.
15 While JESUS was having dinner at Levi’s
house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with HIM and HIS disciples,
for there were many who followed HIM.
16 When the teachers of the law who
were Pharisees saw HIM eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked
HIS disciples: ‘Why does HE eat with tax collectors and sinners?’
17 On hearing this, JESUS said to
them, ‘It is
not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the
righteous, but sinners.’
JESUS
Questioned About Fasting
18 Now John’s disciples and the
Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked JESUS, ‘How is it
that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but YOURs
are not?”
19 JESUS
answered, ‘How
can the guests of THE
BRIDEGROOM fast while HE is with them? They cannot, so long as they
have HIM with them.
20 But the time will come when THE BRIDEGROOM will be taken from
them, and on that day they will fast.
21 ‘No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old
garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear
worse.
22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins
will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.’
JESUS
is LORD OF THE SABBATH
23 One Sabbath JESUS was going
through the grainfields, and as HIS disciples walked along, they began to pick
some heads of grain.
24 The Pharisees said to HIM, ‘Look,
why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?’
25 HE answered, ‘Have you never read what David did when he and his
companions were hungry and in need?
26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he
entered the house of GOD
and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to
eat. And he also gave some to his companions.’
27 Then HE said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the
Sabbath.
28 So THE SON OF MAN IS LORD EVEN OF THE SABBATH.”
