Mark 2

¹And when he entered Capernaum again after some days, it was heard that he was at home. ²And so many gathered that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he was speaking the word to them.

³And they come bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four men. ⁴And being unable to bring him near because of the crowd, they removed the roof above where Jesus was, and after digging through it, they lower the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying. ⁵And seeing their faith, Jesus says to the paralyzed man, "Child, your sins are forgiven."

⁶Now some of the scribes were sitting there, reasoning in their hearts: ⁷"Why does this man speak like this? He blasphemes! Who can forgive sins except God alone?" ⁸And immediately perceiving in his spirit that they were reasoning this way within themselves, Jesus says to them, "Why are you reasoning these things in your hearts? ⁹Which is easier—to say to the paralyzed man, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, pick up your mat, and walk'? ¹⁰But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"—he says to the paralyzed man— ¹¹"I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go to your home." ¹²And he rose and immediately picked up his mat and went out before them all, so that they were all astounded and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

¹³And he went out again beside the sea, and the whole crowd kept coming to him, and he was teaching them. ¹⁴And passing by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the toll booth, and he says to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.

¹⁵And it happens that he was reclining at table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were reclining together with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who were following him. ¹⁶And the scribes of the Pharisees, seeing that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, were saying to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" ¹⁷And when Jesus heard this, he says to them, "Those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

¹⁸Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And they come and say to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" ¹⁹And Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. ²⁰But days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day."

²¹"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth onto an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece pulls away from the old, and a worse tear results. ²²And no one puts fresh wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are destroyed. Rather, fresh wine goes into new wineskins."

²³And it happened that he was passing through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples began to make their way, plucking the heads of grain. ²⁴And the Pharisees were saying to him, "Look—why are they doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath?" ²⁵And he says to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him— ²⁶how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which no one is permitted to eat except the priests, and gave it also to those who were with him?" ²⁷And he was saying to them, "The Sabbath was made for humanity, not humanity for the Sabbath. ²⁸Therefore the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."