Mark 2
2
1A few days later Jesus returned home to Capernaum, and news spread that he was there. 2So many people crowded inside the house that it was packed, even outside the door, as Jesus explained the message#2:2. Literally, “the word,” here used for the first time to mean the message of God's good news. to them. 3Four men had brought a man who was paralyzed, 4but they could not get near Jesus because of the crowds. So they went up on the roof and took it apart. After they had made an opening above Jesus, they lowered down the mat with the paralyzed man lying on it.
5When Jesus saw the trust these men had, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
6Some of the religious teachers sitting there thought to themselves, 7“Why is he talking like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins? Only God can do that!”
8Jesus knew right away what they were thinking. He said to them, “Why are you thinking like this? 9What's easier: to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’? 10But to convince you that the Son of man has the right to forgive sins, 11I say to you (the paralyzed man), ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.’”
12He stood up, picked up his mat, and walked out in front of everyone there. They were all amazed, and praised God, saying, “We've never ever seen anything like this!”
13Jesus went out beside the sea once more and taught the crowds that came to him. 14As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth.
“Follow me,” Jesus told him. Levi got up and followed Jesus.
15That evening Jesus ate dinner at Levi's house. Many tax collectors and “sinners”#2:15. “Sinners” here refers to those who were not seen as so strict in their keeping of the religious law as the religious teachers and the Pharisees. joined Jesus and his disciples for the meal, for there were many of these people that followed Jesus.
16When the religious leaders of the Pharisees saw Jesus eating with such people, they asked Jesus' disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17When Jesus heard this, he told them, “It's not healthy people who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I haven't come to invite those who live right, but those who don't—the sinners.”
18Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting.#2:18. Fasting: choosing not to eat on certain days for religious reasons. Some of them came to Jesus, and asked him, “Why is it that John's disciples and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don't?”
19“Do wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?” Jesus asked them. “No. While the bridegroom's with them, they can't fast. 20But the day is coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they'll fast. 21No one puts a patch that's not shrunk on old clothes. Otherwise the new piece will shrink away from the old, and make the tear worse. 22No one puts new wine in old wineskins. Otherwise the wine will burst the wineskins, and both the wine and wineskins will be wasted. No. You put new wine in new wineskins.”
23One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through the grain fields, his disciples started picking heads of grain as they walked along. 24The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Look, why are they doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath?”
25“Haven't you ever read what David did when he and his men were hungry and in need?” Jesus asked them. 26“He went into God's house when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the consecrated bread which no one except the priests are permitted to eat, and gave it to his men too.”
27“The Sabbath was made for your benefit, not for you to benefit the Sabbath,” he told them. 28“So the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
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Mark 2: FBV
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
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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