Mark 2
2
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man
1A few days later, Jesus came back to Capernaum. The news spread that he was home. 2So many people gathered to hear him preach that the house was full. There was no place to stand, not even outside the door. Jesus was teaching them. 3Some people came, bringing a paralyzed man to Jesus. Four of them were carrying the paralyzed man. 4But they could not get to Jesus because of the crowd. So they went to the roof above Jesus and made a hole in the roof. Then they lowered the mat with the paralyzed man on it. 5Jesus saw that these men had great faith. So he said to the paralyzed man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”
6Some of the teachers of the law were sitting there. They saw what Jesus did, and they said to themselves, 7“Why does this man say things like that? He is saying things that are against God. Only God can forgive sins.”
8At once Jesus knew what these teachers of the law were thinking. So he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9Which is easier: to tell this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up. Take your mat and walk’? 10But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, 11“I tell you, stand up. Take your mat and go home.” 12Immediately the paralyzed man stood up. He took his mat and walked out while everyone was watching him.
The people were amazed and praised God. They said, “We have never seen anything like this!”
13Jesus went to the lake again. A crowd followed him there, and he taught them. 14While he was walking beside the lake, he saw a tax collector named Levi son of Alphaeus. Levi was sitting in the tax office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And Levi stood up and followed Jesus.
15Later that day, Jesus ate at Levi’s house. There were many tax collectors and “sinners” eating there with Jesus and his followers. Many people like this followed Jesus. 16The teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with the tax collectors and “sinners.” They asked his followers, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17Jesus heard this and said to them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor. It is the sick who need a doctor. I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners.”
Jesus’ Followers Are Criticized
18One day the followers of John# John the Baptist who preached to the Jews about Christ’s coming (Mark 1:4–8). and the Pharisees were giving up eating.# This is called “fasting.” The people would give up eating for a special time of prayer and worship to God. It was also done to show sadness. Some people came to Jesus and said, “John’s followers and the followers of the Pharisees give up eating. But your followers don’t. Why?”
19Jesus answered, “When there is a wedding, the friends of the bridegroom are not sad while he is with them. They do not give up eating while the bridegroom is still there. 20But the time will come when the bridegroom will leave them. Then the friends will be sad and will give up eating.
21“When a person sews a patch over a hole on an old coat, he never uses a piece of cloth that is not yet shrunk. If he does, the patch will shrink and pull away from the coat. Then the hole will be worse. 22Also, no one ever pours new wine into old leather bags for holding wine. If he does, the new wine will break the bags, and the wine will be ruined along with the bags for the wine. People always put new wine into new leather bags.”
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
23On the Sabbath day, Jesus was walking through some grainfields. His followers were with him and picked some grain to eat. 24The Pharisees saw this and said to Jesus, “Why are your followers doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
25Jesus answered, “You have read what David did when he and those with him were hungry and needed food. 26It was during the time of Abiathar the high priest. David went into God’s house and ate the bread that was made holy for God. The law of Moses says that only priests may eat that bread. But David also gave some of the bread to those who were with him.”
27Then Jesus said to the Pharisees, “The Sabbath day was made to help people. They were not made to be ruled by the Sabbath day. 28The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
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Mark 2: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Mark 2
2
Jesus Heals a Crippled Man
(Mt. 9:1–8; Lk. 5:17–26)
1A few days later, Jesus came back to Capernaum. The news spread that he was back home. 2A large crowd gathered to hear him speak. The house was so full that there was no place to stand, not even outside the door. While Jesus was teaching, 3some people brought a paralyzed man to see him. He was being carried by four of them. 4But they could not get the man inside to Jesus because the house was so full of people. So they went to the roof above Jesus and made a hole in it. Then they lowered the mat with the paralyzed man on it. 5When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the paralyzed man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”
6Some of the teachers of the law were sitting there. They saw what Jesus did, and they said to themselves, 7“Why does this man say things like that? What an insult to God! No one but God can forgive sins.”
8Jesus knew immediately what these teachers of the law were thinking. So he said to them, “Why do you have these questions in your minds? 9-10The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. But how can I prove this to you? Maybe you are thinking it was easy for me to say to the crippled man, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ There’s no proof it really happened. But what if I say to the man, ‘Stand up. Take your mat and walk’? Then you will be able to see if I really have this power or not.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, 11“I tell you, stand up. Take your mat and go home.”
12Immediately the paralyzed man stood up. He picked up his mat and walked out of the room. Everyone could see him. They were amazed and praised God. They said, “This is the most amazing thing we have ever seen!”
Levi (Matthew) Follows Jesus
(Mt. 9:9–13; Lk. 5:27–32)
13Jesus went to the lake again, and many people followed him there. So Jesus taught them. 14He was walking beside the lake, and he saw a man named Levi, son of Alphaeus. Levi was sitting at his place for collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Then Levi stood up and followed Jesus.
15Later that day, Jesus and his followers ate at Levi’s house. There were also many tax collectors and others with bad reputations eating with them. (There were many of these people who followed Jesus.) 16When some teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with such bad people, they asked his followers, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “It is the sick people who need a doctor, not those who are healthy. I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners.”
Jesus Is Not Like Other Religious Leaders
(Mt. 9:14–17; Lk. 5:33–39)
18The followers of John and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came to Jesus and said, “John’s followers fast, and the followers of the Pharisees fast. But your followers don’t fast. Why?”
19Jesus answered, “At a wedding the friends of the bridegroom are not sad while he is with them. They cannot fast while the bridegroom is still there. 20But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them. Then they will fast.
21“When someone sews a patch over a hole in an old coat, they never use a piece of cloth that is not yet shrunk. If they do, the patch will shrink and pull away from the coat. Then the hole will be worse. 22Also, no one ever pours new wine into old wineskins. The wine would break them, and the wine would be ruined along with the wineskins. You always put new wine into new wineskins.”
Jesus Is Lord Over the Sabbath Day
(Mt. 12:1–8; Lk. 6:1–5)
23On the Sabbath day, Jesus and his followers were walking through some grain fields. The followers picked some grain to eat. 24Some Pharisees said to Jesus, “Why are your followers doing this? It is against the law to pick grain on the Sabbath.”
25Jesus answered, “You have read what David did when he and the people with him were hungry and needed food. 26It was during the time of Abiathar the high priest. David went into God’s house and ate the bread that was offered to God. And the Law of Moses says that only priests can eat that bread. David also gave some of the bread to the people with him.”
27Then Jesus said to the Pharisees, “The Sabbath day was made to help people. People were not made to be ruled by the Sabbath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord of every day, even the Sabbath.”
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