Mark
Chapter 2
1 He went back to Capernaum after a few days, and people heard that he was at home.
2 Right away, many people came together, so much that there was no space for them, not even near the door, and he shared God’s message with them.
3 They came to him, carrying a man paralyzed by sickness, who was carried by four people.
4 When they couldn’t get close to him because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above where he was. After they made a hole, they lowered the mat where the person with paralysis was lying.
5 When Jesus saw how much they believed, he said to the man who could not move, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Some teachers were sitting there, thinking to themselves.
7 Why does this man speak such insults? Who can forgive sins except God alone?
8 Right away, when Jesus knew in his spirit that they were thinking this way inside, he asked them, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?”
9 Is it easier to tell someone with paralysis, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up, take your mat, and walk?”
10 So you may know that the Son of man has the power on earth to forgive sins, he said to the sick man with paralysis.
11 I tell you, get up, take your bed, and go home.
12 Right away he got up, picked up his mat, and walked out in front of everyone. They were all so amazed, they praised God, saying, “We’ve never seen anything like this.”
13 He went out again by the sea, and all the people came to him, and he taught them.
14 As he walked by, he saw Levi, Alphaeus’ son, sitting at the tax booth and told him, “Follow me.” Levi got up and followed him.
15 As Jesus was eating in his house, many tax collectors and wrongdoers were also eating with him and his followers, because there were a lot of them, and they followed him.
16 When the teachers of the law and Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and sinners, they asked his followers, “Why does he eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn’t come to call the good, but sinners to change their ways.”
18 John’s followers and the Pharisees often fast, and they came and asked him, “Why do John’s followers and the Pharisees fast, but your followers do not fast?”
19 Jesus asked them, “Can wedding guests fast while the groom is with them? As long as they have the groom, they can’t fast.”
20 But a time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast on those days.
21 No one sews a new piece of cloth onto an old piece of clothing. If they do, the new patch pulls away from the old and the tear gets bigger.
22 No one puts new wine into old bottles; otherwise, the new wine will burst the bottles, the wine will spill out, and the bottles will be ruined. But new wine should be put into new bottles.
23 He walked through the cornfields on the Sabbath, and as they walked, his followers started to pick corn ears.
24 The Pharisees asked him, “Look, why do they do things on the Sabbath day that are not allowed?”
25 He asked them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, along with his companions?”
26 He entered God’s house when Abiathar was high priest, ate the sacred bread, which only priests can legally eat, and shared it with his companions.
27 He said to them, “The sabbath was made for people, not people for the sabbath.”
28 So, the Son of Man is also the ruler of the Sabbath.