Mark 2
2
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Man Who Can’t Walk
1Some time later, Jesus went back into Capernaum. When the people learned that he’d come home, 2so many of them gathered at the house that it was packed right to the door. As Jesus was preaching the word to them, 3four men came carrying their friend who couldn’t walk. 4They couldn’t get him close to Jesus because of the crowd, so they went up onto the roof and dug through it right above Jesus. Then they lowered the man on a mat through the hole in the roof. 5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6Some teachers of the law were sitting there thinking, 7“Why is this person talking as if he were God? Only God can forgive sins!”
8Right away Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9Which is easier to say to this man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or, ‘Get up, take your mat, and walk’? 10But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So Jesus said to the man who couldn’t walk, 11“I tell you, get up, take your mat, and go home.” 12The man got up, took his mat, and walked away while everyone was watching. All the people were amazed. They praised God and said, “We’ve never seen anything like this!”
Jesus Chooses Levi and Eats With Sinners
13Jesus went back out beside the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14As he was walking along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at a tax collection booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him. Levi got up and followed him.
15Later Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, and many tax collectors and sinners came to eat with him and his disciples. They were part of the large crowd that was following Jesus. 16Some teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors, and they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17When Jesus heard that, he told them, “People who are healthy don’t need a doctor. Sick people do. I haven’t come to call those who are right with God. I’ve come for sinners.”
Jesus Teaches About Fasting
18John’s disciples and the Pharisees were going without eating. Some people came and asked Jesus, “John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees often go without eating, so why don’t your disciples do the same?”
19Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the groom go without eating while he’s with them? They won’t fast while he’s celebrating with them. 20But the time will come when the groom is taken away from them, and on that day, they will go without eating.
21“No one sews a patch of new cloth onto old clothes. If they do, the new piece will pull away from the old, and that will make the tear worse. 22And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the wine will burst the skins, and then the wine and the wineskins will both be ruined. No, people pour new wine into new wineskins.”
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath Day
23One Sabbath day Jesus was walking with his disciples through some grainfields. His disciples began to break off heads of grain and eat them. 24The Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look! It’s against the Law to do that on the Sabbath day. Why are your disciples doing it?”
25Jesus answered, “Haven’t you ever read about what David did when he and his men were hungry and needed food? 26In the days when Abiathar was the high priest, David went into the house of God and ate the holy bread that only the priests were supposed to eat. He even gave some to his men.”
27Then Jesus told them, “The Sabbath day was made for man. Man wasn’t made for the Sabbath day. 28So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.”
Currently Selected:
Mark 2: RAD
Highlight
Copy
Compare
Share
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Radiate™ New Testament
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014, 2020 by Biblica, Inc.
Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Mark 2
2
A Paraplegic
1-5After a few days, Jesus returned to Capernaum, and word got around that he was back home. A crowd gathered, jamming the entrance so no one could get in or out. He was teaching the Word. They brought a paraplegic to him, carried by four men. When they weren’t able to get in because of the crowd, they removed part of the roof and lowered the paraplegic on his stretcher. Impressed by their bold belief, Jesus said to the paraplegic, “Son, I forgive your sins.”
6-7Some religion scholars sitting there started whispering among themselves, “He can’t talk that way! That’s blasphemy! God and only God can forgive sins.”
8-12Jesus knew right away what they were thinking, and said, “Why are you so skeptical? Which is simpler: to say to the paraplegic, ‘I forgive your sins,’ or say, ‘Get up, take your stretcher, and start walking’? Well, just so it’s clear that I’m the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both . . .” (he looked now at the paraplegic), “Get up. Pick up your stretcher and go home.” And the man did it—got up, grabbed his stretcher, and walked out, with everyone there watching him. They rubbed their eyes, stunned—and then praised God, saying, “We’ve never seen anything like this!”
The Tax Collector
13-14Then Jesus went again to walk alongside the lake. Again a crowd came to him, and he taught them. Strolling along, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, at his work collecting taxes. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” He came.
15-16Later Jesus and his disciples were at home having supper with a collection of disreputable guests. Unlikely as it seems, more than a few of them had become followers. The religion scholars and Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company and lit into his disciples: “What kind of example is this, acting cozy with the misfits?”
17Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting the sin-sick, not the spiritually-fit.”
Feasting or Fasting?
18The disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees made a practice of fasting. Some people confronted Jesus: “Why do the followers of John and the Pharisees take on the discipline of fasting, but your followers don’t?”
19-20Jesus said, “When you’re celebrating a wedding, you don’t skimp on the cake and wine. You feast. Later you may need to pull in your belt, but not now. As long as the bride and groom are with you, you have a good time. No one throws cold water on a friendly bonfire. This is Kingdom Come!”
21-22He went on, “No one cuts up a fine silk scarf to patch old work clothes; you want fabrics that match. And you don’t put your wine in cracked bottles.”
23-24One Sabbath day he was walking through a field of ripe grain. As his disciples made a path, they pulled off heads of grain. The Pharisees told on them to Jesus: “Look, your disciples are breaking Sabbath rules!”
25-28Jesus said, “Really? Haven’t you ever read what David did when he was hungry, along with those who were with him? How he entered the sanctuary and ate fresh bread off the altar, with the Chief Priest Abiathar right there watching—holy bread that no one but priests were allowed to eat—and handed it out to his companions?” Then Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made to serve us; we weren’t made to serve the Sabbath. The Son of Man is no yes-man to the Sabbath. He’s in charge!”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Copy
Compare
Share
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.