Mark 2
2
Jesus Heals a Man Who Could Not Walk
(Matthew 9.1-8; Luke 5.17-26)
1Jesus went back to Capernaum, and a few days later people heard that he was at home.#2.1 at home: Or “in the house” (perhaps Simon Peter's home). 2Then so many of them came to the house that there wasn't even standing room left in front of the door.
Jesus was still teaching 3when four people came up, carrying a man on a mat because he could not walk. 4But because of the crowd, they could not get him to Jesus. So they made a hole in the roof#2.4 roof: In Palestine the houses usually had a flat roof. Stairs on the outside led up to the roof that was made of beams and boards covered with packed earth. above him and let the man down in front of everyone.
5When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the man, “My friend, your sins are forgiven.”
6Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses were sitting there. They started wondering, 7“Why would he say such a thing? He must think he is God! Only God can forgive sins.”
8At once, Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said, “Why are you thinking such things? 9Is it easier for me to tell this man his sins are forgiven or to tell him to get up and pick up his mat and go on home? 10I will show you that the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins here on earth.” So Jesus said to the man, 11“Get up! Pick up your mat and go on home.”
12The man got right up. He picked up his mat and went out while everyone watched in amazement. They praised God and said, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Jesus Chooses Levi
(Matthew 9.9-13; Luke 5.27-32)
13Once again, Jesus went to the shore of Lake Galilee. A large crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. 14As he walked along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus. Levi was sitting at the place for paying taxes, and Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” So he got up and went with Jesus.
15Later, Jesus and his disciples were having dinner at Levi's house.#2.15 Levi's house: Or “Jesus' house.” Many tax collectors#2.15 tax collectors: These were usually Jewish people who paid the Romans for the right to collect taxes. They were hated by other Jews who thought of them as traitors to their country and to their religion. and other sinners had become followers of Jesus, and they were also guests at the dinner.
16Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses were Pharisees, and they saw Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors. So they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17Jesus heard them and answered, “Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn't come to invite good people to be my followers. I came to invite sinners.”
People Ask about Going without Eating
(Matthew 9.14-17; Luke 5.33-39)
18The followers of John the Baptist and the Pharisees often went without eating.#2.18 without eating: The Jewish people sometimes went without eating (also called “fasting”) to show their love for God or to show sorrow for their sins. Some people came and asked Jesus, “Why do the followers of John and those of the Pharisees often go without eating, while your disciples never do?”
19Jesus answered:
The friends of a bridegroom don't go without eating while he is still with them. 20But the time will come when he will be taken from them. Then they will go without eating.
21No one patches old clothes by sewing on a piece of new cloth. The new piece would shrink and tear a bigger hole.
22No one pours new wine into old wineskins. The wine would swell and burst the old skins.#2.22 swell and burst the old skins: While the juice from grapes was becoming wine, it would swell and stretch the skins in which it had been stored. If the skins were old and stiff, they would burst. Then the wine would be lost, and the skins would be ruined. New wine must be put into new wineskins.
A Question about the Sabbath
(Matthew 12.1-8; Luke 6.1-5)
23 #
Dt 23.25. One Sabbath Jesus and his disciples were walking through some wheat fields. His disciples were picking grains of wheat as they went along.#2.23 went along: It was the custom to let hungry travelers pick grains of wheat. 24Some Pharisees asked Jesus, “Why are your disciples picking grain on the Sabbath? They are not supposed to do that!”
25 #
1 S 21.1-6. Jesus answered, “Haven't you read what David did when he and his followers were hungry and in need? 26#Lv 24.9. It was during the time of Abiathar the high priest. David went into the house of God and ate the sacred loaves of bread that only priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his followers.”
27Jesus finished by saying, “People were not made for the good of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for the good of people. 28So the Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath.”
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
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!”
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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.